Big Idea - One way to get an idea of what life is like for someone in a profession, or life situation is to follow them around for a day - A day in the life of . . . It gives us a picture of what their life is like, but it also tells us a great deal about what is important to them, what their priorities are, and what motivates them. What would the typical day in your life tell us about you? In Mark chapter 1, we get an amazing glimpse into the typical day in the life of Jesus, and what it reveals about Jesus gives us a clear picture of the extraordinary life that He lived. More importantly, it reveals the heart and mission of Jesus. So, what can we learn about His purpose and mission by this look at a day in the life of Jesus?
First, and most significantly, we learn what Jesus meant when He proclaimed, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15). The arrival of the Kingdom of God in Christ meant that the kingdom of darkness was being defeated and brought under the dominion of Jesus the King. We see this in-breaking of the kingdom in two ways. First, in the casting out of demons. The demons must do as Jesus commands. Until now, they had free reign and could wreak havoc in the lives of many people, but Jesus is now driving them back, and they can no longer oppress and destroy people's lives. Secondly, Jesus heals every kind of sickness and disease. The kingdom of darkness brings brokenness into every realm of life, but the kingdom of God is a kingdom where life is restored to health and wholeness as God intended in the original creation before sin entered and wrecked everything.
Casting out demons and healing the sick form a major part of Jesus' ministry, so much so that a day in the life of Jesus was a day spent healing many. This may raise the question in our mind: if the kingdom arrived with Jesus and the kingdom of darkness has been pushed back, why is there still so much sickness and evil in the world? Was the kingdom only temporary? Do we need to wait for His return to experience the deliverance from sickness, disease, and brokenness that people experienced for the brief time Jesus walked on earth? Jesus did not take the kingdom with Him when he returned to heaven. He offers it freely to all who will enter by faith. But, the kingdom begun is not the kingdom completed. Jesus did not heal everyone, and everyone He healed eventually died. He drove demons out of people, He did not drive Satan and his army out of the world. When Jesus said the time is fulfilled for the Kingdom to come, He was declaring the inauguration of His kingdom, not its final and complete victory where all of creation would be made new and every evil banished to the lake of fire for eternity. What does this mean for us as we seek deliverance from our own brokenness? Will God heal us? Will God deliver us from demons and spiritual enemies? The good news is that those who enter the kingdom have access to the power to overcome sin and all its consequences. But, in this life, we only experience the beginning of healing and deliverance. For Full and final deliverance, we must wait for the second coming of Christ when He brings the full and final kingdom. We are already in the kingdom and are already being restored and made new, but it is a work in progress, and the work God has begun in us will not be completed until Jesus returns.
A day in the life of Jesus reveals a second fact about Jesus that is of vital importance, and that is the source of Jesus' power to live His life with such power to heal and overcome all the spiritual forces of darkness. Jesus rose long before daybreak and went into the wilderness to pray. He got away from the crowds and the distractions to meet with His Father, and in that place, God taught Him what to teach and showed Him what He was to do that day. It was there Jesus, the man who had set aside His glory and eternal power, received power from God to heal. Later, when Jesus sent out the twelve to heal and cast out demons, they ran into a demon who would not leave. They asked Jesus what was the cause of their failure, and He told them, "This kind comes out only by prayer." Jesus understood that the power to overcome the kingdom of darkness begins by seeking God in times of earnest prayer. The kind of prayer Jesus is talking about is wilderness prayer. That is the prayer that 1) puts away every distraction, 2) puts oneself under the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit, 3) determines to depend on God and not our own strength, and 3) does battle with Satan to overcome every temptation.
Finally, we see in the day in the life of Jesus that He was driven by the mission of God, not the mission of men. He knew God's call on His life, and He would not be distracted by the aims and ambitions of men. His primary purpose was to preach the kingdom. The arrival of the kingdom, on the one hand, meant healing the brokenness caused by sin, but it also meant proclaiming the new life that God was calling people to in Christ. In other words, Jesus didn't come just to do miracles; He ultimately came to proclaim a message, and that message is that the King has come, and we can have life in Him, and not just temporary healing but eternal life!
What are some things we can take away from a day in the life of Jesus? First, the message Jesus proclaimed is far more important than the miracles He performed. The crowd was in awe of what Jesus did, but what they really needed was to pay attention to what He was saying! We all want healing, but what we need more desperately is the saving that comes through the Gospel message! Second, the power to live life well and to overcome sin, evil, and our brokenness requires going into the wilderness to pray and meet God! God has not promised to heal every sickness, but it may well be we are not experiencing the deliverance from our brokenness that God intends because of our failure to meet God in the wilderness! Thirdly, we should always pray for healing, along with seeking medical help. Both are a gift from God, and we should take advantage of both!
