Rev. Paul Leonard Rev. Paul Leonard

We often hear the words "Jesus, Son of God" and just assume we know what they mean. In fact, a great many people think they are sure themselves but wouldn't agree with others. So as we begin to read the Gospel of Mark we get to first things first... letting Mark define his gospel.

Many people focus on the sayings of Jesus, but according to Mark Jesus had a very distinct message that he preached. Jesus preached that the kingdom had come.That set him apart from John the Baptist who said it was coming, and others who said it was a place.Jesus preached the Kingdom had come because HE was the kingdom.

Jesus now shifts his ministry to building up the kingdom by calling the first disciples. This brings conflict with evil as a Demon confronts him. But Jesus shows his authority by casting it out and amazing the crowd.

Jesus has now built a reputation; people are coming to him only because of his reputation and not his message. Eager to preach the kingdom, Jesus makes a choice to heal a man even though it would hindering his preaching

Today we look at the popular story where Jesus heals the man lowered through the roof. Jesus when challenged asked his opponents if it is easier to say God forgives sins, or to tell someone to be healed. In today's times, we often say the first a lot! And hardly anyone claims the later. And that is what Jesus is getting at.

In Mark Ch2, Jesus gets in 5 conflicts with the Pharisees as he is ministering in Galilee. In calling Levi and eating with sinners Jesus also should be challenging us! The action is more radical than we assume if we really dig into the text.