A Day in the life of Jesus

A Day in the life of Jesus

Much of the time when reading Scripture it is the information within the story we miss.  I’ve found it helpful to use the God given gift of imagination to join the story, if we wish for the story to have greater penetration, ask the Spirit to open that wonderful gift from your childhood.

This is one day with Jesus in Capernaum on the Sabbath.  He goes to the synagogue and begins to teach, and those who were gathering for worship were amazed by Jesus’ teachings.  Why do you think they were?   He did not teach like a scribe, but like one with authority.

The next thing that happens is some guy yells out and stop the service, and we are told in Mark’s account the person had an unclean spirit, or was demon possessed or oppressed.  Now, I’ve got to ask this question; how many services have you been to where some person yelled out and stopped the teacher/ preacher?  If you encounter an unclean spirit would you know it?  God has given us an example: In Matthew 8:28, the demon possessed men ask the same question of Jesus as this man in our story. You do remember the evil spirits going into the herd of pigs?  They were demon possessed, and the next example is found also in Matthew 9:32-33, this man was demon-oppressed, and when the demons were cast out of him, he spoke.  Now the best of news is Jesus came to set us free from the control of demons, (John 10:10) and a great example is found in Luke’s gospel in chapter 8:2 about Mary Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and also other women who were with her.

Now getting back to our day with Jesus; when the guy with the unclean spirit yelled out; “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are-the Holy One of God.”  Jesus said, “Be silent and come out of him.”  Who is Jesus addressing?  And guess what, it obeys!

Now if you’re in the crowd you would have heard the people talking among themselves, saying, “What is this?  A new teaching with authority!  He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 

Often, we are left to wonder why, why did Jesus leave the synagogue at this time, but this we know Jesus leaves the synagogue very soon after this, and went to the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  Simon’s mother-in-law is ill with a fever and they told Jesus and He went and took her hand, lifts her up, and she began to serve them.

It has been a long day, but we discover at sundown the people began to bring everyone who was sick or oppressed by demons.  Do you recall the whole city was at Simons door, and this is Mark’s account: “And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.”  Turn in your Bibles to Mark 3:11-12, there seems to be a pattern taking place when unclean spirits encounter Christ.  Could it be said that they were a better witness than most Baptist, when encountering Jesus?  Now, we have seen part of one day in the life of Jesus, and it is the next morning it has been a late night, so Jesus tells the guys, let me sleep in, that is not what happened!  That is what I would have done, but not Jesus.

As we read Mark 35-39 we see that Jesus rises very early in the morning, while it is still dark, and he goes to a desolate place to pray.  Jesus, being God, understood all that the day would hold.  It was going to be a day of travel, and more preaching, and so they traveled into all of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.  When you have a very busy schedule how does your day begin?   Have you given thought as to why we forget to prepare in the same way, why do we allow the day to begin without the direction and fellowship with the Father?

When the disciples look for Jesus, He is not in the house, nor in the yard, or village, so they go looking for Him, have you wondered how they knew where to look?  It was a pattern of His life, to seek the Father?  Matthew reports shortly after feeding the five thousand Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and He dismissed the crowds and went to a quiet place to pray, you will find the account in Matthew 14:23.  Now turn to Dr. Luke’s account of the same pattern in Luke 5:16, after Jesus has cleansed a leper.

As we look into Matthew 24:40-45 in this day with Jesus, are you asking the Lord to open that gift of imagination as you read this story, can you grasp this cry for help from the man who is a leper?  He is on his knees, he is begging Jesus, and he is proclaiming “If you are willing, You can make me clean.”  Does that move you, it moved Jesus and He reached out His hand and touched him.  “I am willing,” He told him.  “Be made clean.”  And he was clean that very moment.  Jesus told him, who had been a leper but now was cleansed, to tell no one but go and show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses’ commanded as a testimony.  But that is not what he did, he told everyone he saw what Jesus had done for him, and it affected Jesus’ ministry.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice