StoneBridge Community Church
Senior Pastor Jon Saur
"Truly Natural"
The title for this sermon series comes from a quote by theologian Jurgen Moltmann:
"Jesus’ healings are not supernatural miracles in a natural world. They are the only truly ‘natural’ thing in a world that is unnatural, demonized and wounded.”
We often think of Jesus' healings as "defying nature," but the truth is that they show us how the world was intended to be. God created the world to be free of illness, disease and injury. In the fall, humans made creation unnatural, corrupting it with sin. In his healings, Jesus gives a glimpse of what the natural order, as God intended it, was made to look like.
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is presented primarily as a healer. In this sermon series, we will be looking at Jesus' healings in Mark, seeing how these healings show us what God intends for creation and for our lives.
Mark 5:1-20 NRSV
SERMON OUTLINE:
I. "Truly Natural"
A. Healings
B. Moltmann
II. Healing of Demoniac
A. Jesus takes something broken and fixes it.
B. Demoniac - Edwards' description.
C. Region - Edwards' description.
III. What's the deal with the pigs?
A. Unclean animals
B. "Legion"
C. Money
D. Disruption
IV. Jesus is healing more than just a human.
A. Demoniac and the broader region.
B. The people aren't ready for it.
V. They began to beg Jesus...
A. ... to leave?
B. Contrast with previous crowds.
C. Why?
VI. Are people ready for Jesus' healing today?
A. Are you ready for Jesus' healing?
B. What does Jesus' healing change?
Quotes from the Sermon
Here are two quotes Pastor Jon cited in the sermon from Jim Edwards, a New Testament scholar:
"Even in life he (the demoniac) is consigned to the land of the dead. There, wailing among the tombs, he wreaks havoc on himself day and night. Mark's vocabulary is raw and brutal; even 'bindings,' 'chains,' and 'irons' are unsuccessful 'to subdue' the demoniac. Mark's description is more fitting of a ferocious animal than of a human being..." Jim Edwards
"...Jesus meets a man with an unclean spirit living among unclean tombs surrounded by people employed in unclean occupations, all in unclean Gentile territory." - Jim Edwards
NEXT STEPS:
1) Identify something in the world that needs healing.
2) Reach out to another Christian and pray for that healing together.
GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1) Pastor Jon shared a quote describing Jesus' healings. (See the intro to this series above.) Does this understanding of Jesus' healings make sense to you? If so, why? If not, what doesn't make sense?
2) What do you think Jesus is healing in Mark 5? Do you think it's just the man with the demons?
3) Why do you think the townspeople in Mark 5 beg Jesus to leave?
4) What do you think Jesus is healing in our world today?
5) What do you think Jesus is healing in your life?
6) How can you come alongside Jesus' work of healing?
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