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The Power of Jesus over Disease and Demons (Mark 3:7-12)

by Wayne Davies  
10/25/2014 / Bible Studies

Mark 3:7-12 begins with Jesus' response to the death plot of the Pharisees: "Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake" (Mark 3:7). "The lake" is the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had been spending much time in Capernaum, a town on the northwest corner of the lake, so now Jesus goes to a remote area near the lake to escape the murderous intentions of his harshest critics, the Pharisees.

It is not time yet for Jesus to die. He is on God's timetable, not man's. And so this is a calculated response motivated by common sense and the desire to protect both himself and his closest followers. The day will come when Jesus will allow his enemies to kill him. But it is too early for that and so he simply gets out of harm's way.

But Jesus' popularity and power are too great for him to escape from the crowds. No matter where he goes, "a large crowed from Galilee followed" (Mark 3:7). Mark has been telling us repeatedly about Jesus' fame in Galilee, the northern part of Israel (see Mark 1:28, 1:32, 1:36-37, 1:45, 2:2, 2:13). Now we see the geographical extent of his popularity people are coming to Jesus from all over Israel and the surrounding areas. "When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea (the southern part of Israel), Jerusalem (the capital and largest city), Idumea (a Gentile area southeast of Israel), and the regions across the Jordan (Gentile region east of Israel) and around Tyre and Sidon (another Gentile area northwest of Israel)" (Mark 3:8).

This survey of the huge geographical impact of Jesus' presence becomes a summary statement of the ministry of the Messiah. The irony here is that Jesus is trying to flee the Pharisees and maintain a low profile. But word has spread far and wide that an extraordinary miracle worker is in Galilee, and the throngs are tracking him down no matter where he goes.

Mark summarizes the ministry of Jesus as one of divine power:

Power over the physical world.
"He had healed many" (Mark 3:10). This is such a simple statement, yet it is hard for us to imagine just how incredible the healing ministry of Jesus was. He likely healed hundreds of people every day for three years, so the total number of healings reached into the thousands or tens of thousands. It is no wonder that people came from many miles to get near him.

Mark has recorded three specific healings in chapters 1 and 2 (see 1:29-31, 1:40-42, 2:1-12). Now he gives us a better idea of just how dramatic this power display was there were so many people coming to him for healing that Jesus had to get into a boat to protect himself from the crowd. "Those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him" (Mark 3:10). The language here indicates that Jesus would have been literally crushed by the crowd had he not gotten into the boat.

Power over the spiritual world.
When reading the accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke, we get the distinct impression that a large number of demons converged on Jesus during his ministry. Mark has already reported one specific incident of demon activity in chapter 1. Now he provides a summary statement to show that Jesus encountered demons on a daily basis: "Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, 'You are the Son of God.' "

Jesus demonstrated his power over disease by healing the sick. And he demonstrated his power over demons by casting them out of their victims and telling them to be quiet. Obviously, for a demon to proclaim the truth of Jesus' identity would only confuse people and give the appearance that Jesus had an alliance with the devil. So Jesus had the power to silence demons at will. Who needs the enemy as a press agent?

As we reflect on the power of Jesus, note the manner in which Mark is providing abundant evidence to support his opening statement that this book is "about Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mark 1:1). He tells us that this Jesus is both the Messiah and God, and then he proceeds to tells us why we should believe this. Because Jesus is God, he has the power of God over the physical world and the spiritual world. He is King of kings and Lord of lords, the one and only God-Man. The only appropriate response to the Son of God is submission and worship.

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