Disciples Global Network

After defeating Satan, Jesus began proclaiming the “Good News” of the Kingdom in Galilee – “ The season is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel .” The term “Kingdom of God” is a summary statement that meant different things to different people, but the man from Nazareth identified his mission with the glorious “ Son of Man ” figure described in the  Book of Daniel .

Religious leaders from Jerusalem began to object to the looseness of Jesus to their Sabbath traditions, but he used the opportunity to show that the “ Son of Man ” is “ Lord ” even over that day. God did cease His creative activities on the seventh day, but its formal establishment as a regulated day on which no work was to be done did not occur until the Torah was given through Moses at Mount Sinai (“ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy ”).

When Jesus pronounced the paralytic’s sins “ forgiven ,” he offended the sensibilities of the scribes and Pharisees, the allies if not representatives of the Temple authorities in Jerusalem. Then he alienated them further by reaching out to “ sinners ” that were considered especially unclean by the more scrupulously religious men and leaders of Israel. The Nazarene summoned ordinary men to follow him, including fishermen and tax collectors. Observing him eating with the latter, his opponents insinuated he must be a notorious sinner.

The literary unit in chapters 1 and 2 of the  Gospel of Mark  includes five stories highlighting the authority of Jesus as the “ Son of Man .” It also shows the growing conflicts between him and the religious authorities based in the Jerusalem Temple, especially over issues of ritual purity and Sabbath regulations. There are parallels between the present story and the preceding one about the cleansing of the leper.

Jesus commanded his followers to announce the same message he preached: He summarized it as the “ Good News of the Kingdom of God .” His Church would establish this Kingdom in unexpected and paradoxical ways. By his return, his sovereignty over all nations will be established and his “ enemies ” will be subdued, including the last one, “ death .” Until then, his disciples must proclaim his message to the “ uttermost parts of the Earth .”

The touch of the Nazarene cleansed a leper from ritual impurity, restoring him physically AND religiously. Moreover, Jesus touched the leper BEFORE he was cleansed of his ritual defilement. Any concern over contracting “uncleanness” did not prevent the Messiah from healing a son of Israel. In fact, the Son of Man’s touch drove out the disease and the impurity - (Mark 1:40-45).