The Story of Jesus According to Mark, Pt4: Radical Evangelism

 

April 28, 2024                          NOTES NOT EDITED
The Story of Jesus:  “Radical Evangelism”
Mark 2:1-12

SIS: Radical Evangelism does whatever it takes to introduce people to Jesus.

It is not often that I agree with anything the Catholic Pope says, but on one issue I must make an exception.  I was studying for this sermon and I came across a headline that said,

Pope Benedict XVI calls for 'radical evangelism' to tackle modern society’s 'amnesia' about God

We live in a world in which God has drifted so far from our national consciousness that it can be described as “amnesia”—a complete and utter forgetfulness and ignorance of Almighty God.

Nothing less than “Radical Evangelism” has any hope of breaking through the thick walls of apathy and even down-right animosity toward anything Christian.  The Pope goes on to say,

“. . . that education is more than training for work but should lead the young to “love, reason, and faith. . . “Your lives must testify to the personal encounter with Christ which has nourished your consecration, and to all the transforming power of that encounter . This is all the more important today when we see a certain 'eclipse of God’ taking place, a kind of amnesia.”

One of the most terrifying events in the lives of ancient people was a solar eclipse, when the moon passes across the path of the sun send an entire area into darkness.  The Pope is wrong about a lot of things, but he is right to point out that the public campaign to eclipse God’s glory has been too successful.

We are seeing now a total “eclipse” of the Son—S-O-N—and our world has never been darker spiritually or politically.  People in our nation do not even know the most basic stories of the Bible, that many of us learned in Sunday School.  We have as many as three generations of Americans who simply live in the darkness created by an “eclipse” of Godly teaching.

In 1962 (Prayer), and followed in 1963 (Bible Reading), we did not just take prayer and Bible reading out of our schools, but government forced schooling officials began the wholesale “eclipse” of anything and everything related to God.  Thus, we are now living in a thick, black darkness that threatens to smother the life out of our nation.

The only hope for our nation is a Great Awakening of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  But, for that to happen, we must discover and practice RADICAL EVANGELISM—a do-whatever-it-takes-face-any-obstacle-pay-any-price evangelism that enthusiastically and boldly seeks lost souls.  These are “radical” times and only “radical” evangelism will be effective.

Pitiful, religious programming once a week will not get the job done.  We need a “raze-the-roof-drop-them-at-the-Savior’s-feet” revival!  That’s what we have in our text today.  Let’s read this together:

2 When  He entered Capernaum  again after some days, it was reported that He was at home. ² So many people gathered together that there was no more room, not even in the doorway, and He was speaking the message  to them. ³ Then they came to Him bringing a paralytic,  carried by four men. ⁴ Since they were not able to bring him to  Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above where He was. And when they had broken through, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying. ⁵ Seeing their faith,  Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins  are forgiven.” ⁶ But some of the scribes  were sitting there, thinking  to themselves:  ⁷ “Why does He speak like this? He’s blaspheming!  Who can forgive  sins  but God alone?” ⁸ Right away  Jesus understood in His spirit  that they were thinking like this within themselves and said to them, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?  ⁹ Which is easier:  to say to the paralytic,  ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’?  ¹⁰ But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” He told the paralytic, ¹¹ “I tell you: get up, pick up your mat, and go home.” ¹² Immediately he got up, picked up the mat, and went out in front of everyone. As a result, they were all astounded and gave glory to God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Radical Evangelism has at least four significant characteristics:

1.  Radical Evangelism dares to do what is DIFFICULT (v 3)

³ Then they came to Him bringing a paralytic,  carried by four men.

These words in verse 3 strike me as particularly important:  “carried by four men.” They sort of jumped off the page as I connected these words with the idea of “radical evangelism.”

We don’t know how much this paralytic man weighed, but whatever it was, it was not an easy task to carry him around.  These four friends had to put forth some great deal of effort just to get the man to the place where Jesus was.

Don’t ever think you will come to a point when telling someone about Jesus Christ is “easy.” 

Also, notice that he was carried by “four men.”  Any task is made easier when it is shared by others.  I truly believe that the “church” has a role to play in bringing people to faith in Jesus Christ.  I don’t think evangelism is an individual sport, like say wrestling, but it is a team sport like say, football.  In football, only 11 people play on the field at a time but each NFL team has 53 on the roster (45 on the game day roster).  It takes 53 people to make a team of 11 successful.  And that’s not counting all the coaches and behind-the-scenes people.  Everyone makes a salary on a professional team, so everyone is expected to play a role in making the team’s effort successful.

Sunday is “game day” for the Church.  I may be the only one preaching, but it takes our entire church team to make the sermon successful and effective in bringing lost souls to know Jesus.  The more church members who are committed to “radical” evangelism, the more people there will be that get saved.  Radical evangelism is simple, but it is also very difficult.

Radical Evangelism happens when a dedicated “team” of believers dare to do what is difficult.

2.  Radical Evangelism dares to do what is UNORTHODOX (v 4)

Look at verse 4:  “⁴ Since they were not able to bring him to  Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above where He was. And when they had broken through, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying.”

Now, that’s “Radical Evangelism!”  I can only imagine the look on people’s faces when dust and debris began falling on their heads and a man was lowered on a stretcher right down to the feet of Jesus.

This has to be one of the most remarkable scenes in the N.T.  Miracles always caught the attention of the crowds (and still do) but in this instance, the miracle of healing almost takes a back seat to the “miraculous boldness” of the four friends.  When we are tempted to criticize some new way of doing things in church to help reach more people for Christ, we ought to recall this story.

The word, “unorthodox” means, “not conforming to rules, traditions, or modes of conduct, as of a doctrine, religion, or philosophy.”

Historically, in regard to theology, the word “orthodox” carries a very positive meaning.  The word, “orthodox,” comes from two Latin words, ortho, meaning “right” and doxus meaning “opinion.”  It came to mean theologically, “correct doctrine.”

The problem with orthodoxy is that we have extended the idea of “correct doctrine” to “rigid practice.”  Sometimes, orthodox practices rest on solid Biblical traditions, but sometimes the prevailing orthodoxy in theology leads to legalistic, burdensome, and problematic traditions.  Jesus reminded the Pharisees, who were considered quite orthodox, (Mt. 23:4), 

[You] tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry  and put them on people’s shoulders, but [you, yourselves] aren’t willing to lift a finger  to move them. 

I’ve never been in a Baptist church that people did not know exactly what things “seemed right to do,” and what things were obviously wrong.  For example:  I have personally had someone tell me that taking up the offering at the end of the service was Biblically incorrect.  Of course, they didn’t know what Bible verse exactly instructs us when to pass the plate.

My point is this:  sometimes because of what we think is “orthodox” and right, we create barriers to people coming to know Jesus Christ as Lord.  Things like buildings, orders of service, singing certain types of music and not others, not dancing, the days and times of our services, how we dress,  and a hundred other traditions, while seeming quite “orthodox” actually create barriers to reaching people.

What we see these four friends do is not what we might call, “orthodox.” It was definitely out of the norm.  Would you be willing to tear off some stranger’s roof to get your friend to Jesus?  Would you be willing to sing an entirely different kind of music if it would help someone come to know Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior?  Would you be willing to change the times of our church services if more people would be reached for Jesus Christ?  Would you be willing to “UNROOF THE ROOF” TO REACH MORE PEOPLE FOR JESUS?

We all have our “roofs” in our religion.  Are we willing to have our roof destroyed so someone’s life could be “restored?”  This is the question we must ask about everything we do as believers?  Radial Evangelism requires that we dare to do what is “unorthodox.”

3.  Radical Evangelism dares to do what is COSTLY (v 4)

Somebody had to pay to repair that roof.  The paralyzed man had probably been reduced to a life of begging.  He no doubt could not pay for the repairs.  The four friends actually did the damage, so I guess they would be responsible for the repairs.

The extent of their actions may not be fully appreciated by us these many centuries separated from that event. Oriental roofs of that day were a center of family activity--an extension of the living space. Oriental roofs had stairs providing access.

Such roofs were not casually thrown together but minor projects of sophisticated engineering. Here's what one researcher says,

"an oriental roof would have to be dug to make such an opening as was required. A composition of mortar, tar, ashes, and sand is spread upon the roofs, and rolled hard, and grass grows in the crevices.… In some cases, as in this, stone slabs are laid across the joists."

"Unroofing this roof" was a serious—AND EXPENSIVE-- undertaking!

As I continue to let that phrase, "unroofing the roof," percolate in the pot of my mind, it is morphing into the idea of "unchurching the church." Just as this "house" and those worshipping Jesus was preventing this needy man from getting to Jesus, so often it seems our "Church Buildings and its Programs" keep needy souls from seeing Jesus. We need to be willing to pay the price of sacrificing our personal PREFERENCES for others to receive eternal PROMISES.

Drilling down into the phrase, "they made an opening in the roof," I realized the original Greek words formed a "catchy phrase." Literally it says, "They unroofed the roof!" I can't get that phrase out of my head, "unroofed the roof." My new definition for radical evangelism is "unroofing the roof."

Listen closely my friends:  somebody has to pay the cost for Radical Evangelism.  The gospel is free, but not without cost.  Jesus Christ had to “pay the price in His own blood” for you and I to be saved.  We could not pay the price—He had to pay it for us.  And it was costly indeed. Somebody had to carry the man’s weight because he could not carry it, himself.

This is exactly what Jesus did on the cross.  We could not bear the burden for our own sin, or pay the cost, so Jesus paid it for us.

And this is the price that was paid: Phil. 2:8 

⁸ He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.

He left His throne in heaven enduring the pain, bearing the full weight of our sin, and “by HIS stripes, we are healed” (Isa. 53)

Radical Evangelism is not cheap.  It is COSTLY.  Somebody has to pay the price for spreading the gospel.  The lost are not going to pay us to bring the gospel to them like they are some customer at the drive through window.

Spreading the gospel is COSTLY.  Those that need the gospel most have no desire to pay for hearing it.  Somebody else has to pay for sending the gospel into the world—that somebody else is you (and I).

You know, there is no complaint offered by the owner of this home.  Many scholars believe this is the same home that was mentioned in verse 29 of chapter 1:  they went into Simon  and Andrew’s  house  with James  and John.

In verse 2:1 the wording is very specifically constructed in the Greek language.  The HCSB brings out this construction.  Verse 2:1 says,

When  He entered Capernaum  again after some days, it was reported that He was at home.

The construction in Greek (anarthrous use of noun) suggests a connectin between the word “again” and “house.”  It suggests that this “house” (no article, anarthrous) was a specific house suggesting it was the same house that Jesus had performed a healing. 

Remember, this is the house of Simon and Andrew, and where Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law.

Here’s my point:  we don’t hear one complaint from the owner of the house because I believe it was someone who had, herself, been touched by the Hand of the Lord.  When you receive such a glorious gift as a “Saving Touch of The Master’s Hand,” you are willing—NO YOU ARE ENTHUSIASTIC—about paying whatever it costs to get someone else a touch from the Lord.

Radical Evangelism is DIFFICULT, it is UNORTHODOX, and it is costly.

4.  Radial Evangelism dares to do what is UNPOPULAR (6-12)

Jesus was really popular when He was healing people and making their bodies whole. The crowds were so large, people could not even get in the door of the house.  They had to install a temporary “sky light.”  But, look at verses 6-11, something happened that made Jesus UNPOPULAR with the religious establishment.  Read along with me:

⁵ Seeing their faith,  Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins  are forgiven.” ⁶ But some of the scribes  were sitting there, thinking  to themselves:  ⁷ “Why does He speak like this? He’s blaspheming!  Who can forgive  sins  but God alone?” ⁸ Right away  Jesus understood in His spirit  that they were thinking like this within themselves and said to them, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?  ⁹ Which is easier:  to say to the paralytic,  ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’?  ¹⁰ But so you may know that the Son of Man  has authority  on earth to forgive sins,”  He told the paralytic, ¹¹ “I tell you: get up,  pick up your mat, and go home.” 

What twisted the shorts of these religious snobs?  It can be linked to one word, “forgiveness.”  The crowd would take all the healing Jesus could give, but when He started talking about “forgiveness and sins,” well, that was just not going to fly with the religious crowd.

Follow me here:  some people, most people desire that God give them all they want, but do not want God to give them what they really need.  Why do you think there are so many “prosperity preachers” drawing crowds and selling millions of copies of books like, “Your Best Life Now?”  Health and prosperity are popular topics.

A BETTER TITLE WOULD BE,  “Get Saved, or Now IS Your Best Life!”   I bet that wouldn’t hit the N.Y. Times Bestseller list.  But, that’s really what Jesus did.  Everyone was focused on the “physical,” and Jesus emphasized the “spiritual.”  Everyone was focused on the healing of the paralyzed man, Jesus immediately turned the conversation to the “Son of Man”  (v10).  This term first arises in Daniel as a description of the Messiah—God in human form.  That CHANGED the image of Jesus in the eyes of the religious leaders like poking a needle into a balloon because, according to their own religious custom Jesus was saying, “I am Yahweh, God Almighty!”  According to the Scribes and Pharisees, the religious elites, sickness was a result of sin and only God could forgive sins.

The Lord’s words brought a very negative response from the religious leaders.  They made the very serious charge of “blasphemy.”  Nobody complains about a Jesus Who passes out “health and wealth” but one that preaches on sin and the need for forgiveness is not so popular.

When Jesus was handing out the blessings of deliverance and healing, He was everybody’s hero.  But, when He asserted his “authority” as God Almighty with the power over, not only sickness, but the very root of all human ills which is sin, then Jesus became the target of what would become increasing hostility, eventually leading to the cross.

The world wants all the benefits God has to give, but they don’t want God meddling in their lives in regard to their love of sin.  This is why the Word says, (Hebrews 12:1)

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses  surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us.

People—you and I—love sin. That’s our nature. It is unpopular when God addresses the “sin” in our life.

Jesus had just finished a year of ministry in Galilee where He became immensely popular as a “healer and teacher.”  However, Jesus did not come to be primarily a “healer and teacher.”  Our problems are not at the core primarily physical, but spiritual.

Jesus came to assert His spiritual authority over sin.  His eye was continually fixed upon the “cross that lay before Him.”  This hit a nerve with the religious leaders. For one, they did not think they were common sinners in need of forgiveness.  And two, they did not have any intention of giving up their religious authority to some travelling preacher.

When Jesus asserts His authority over sin, literally all hell breaks lose.  This pronouncement and healing was a direct assault on the forces of hell.  This made Jesus very unpopular with those who were themselves, agents of hell.  Jesus said of the religious teachers:

Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one proselyte,  and when he becomes one, you make him twice as fit for hell  as you are!

Radical Evangelism dares to go into the very territory of the Devil and rescues souls from the slavery of sin.  That makes a Bible-believing, Spirit-filled, soul-saving church very unpopular.\

In order for our nation to experience a revival with all the benefits that would bring, we must have churches that are committed to RADICAL EVANGELISM.

We must dare to do what is DIFFICULT; dare to do what is UNORTHODOX; dare to do what is COSTLY; and dare to do what is UNPOPULAR.  Nothing less than RADICAL EVANGELISM will grow a godly church.

APPLICATION:  In the church there are three types of people:  those who are not in the Kingdom of God, those who are in the work, and those who are “in the way.”  My plea for us today is to get into the work and out of the way be committing ourselves to building a church that practices RADICAL EVANGELISM.