With Christ in the Marketplace

As Christians we sometimes say that we pattern our lives after Jesus by asking the question, “WWJD – What would Jesus do?” In reality we don't need to ask that question, but we need to ask, “WDJD – What did Jesus do?” We are to pattern our lives after what Jesus did. So before we continue examining Christ's miracles, I would like to take this opportunity to consider Christ in the marketplace. A quick review of the gospels will reveal that, although Jesus ministered in the synagogues, temple, and in private personal work, Christ's main ministry was in public. He minister in the marketplace of activity and ideas. At some other time we will look examine the other areas of Christ's work, but for now lets go with Jesus into the marketplace. Let's use Mark 5:21-24 as our text.

“And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea (Mark 5:21).” At this point in Jesus ministry He was becoming famous. His miracles and message were coming up more and more often in conversation. Human nature being consistent, people are drawn to celebrity. Most of the people that met Jesus at the boat that day were just curious about this man that had become so famous in recent days. Yet, Jesus rarely avoided the crowds. Why? First, because it was mankind that Jesus came to save. Jesus came to save sinners and these rarely went to the synagogue in His time or the church in ours. Also, Jesus was about the business of discipling His disciples – training them how to do the work of the ministry. Their work was patterned after the example of Jesus and His ministry. So much of Jesus' training of His disciples was by His example. Even when Jesus was instructing them it was more often than not in public with a crowd of people eaves dropping in on the lesson. If we'll think about it we will learn a good lesson from Christ's example.


The next two verses in our text tell of a brokenhearted father. “And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live (Mark 5:22-23).” How often do we find Jesus confronted by a person in crisis. “Come, my son is dying...” Come, my daughter is dying...” “If you will you can make me whole...” All people in crisis. The pastor may get this call, but seldom from total strangers. Jesus was constantly face with people in need. The need was real, it was critical, and they needed help now! In every case Jesus met the need – though not always as the one in crisis expected. People have always been needy. Even those that appear to have no earthly need need the Savior and Jesus was there for them (John 3). Every met need promoted the spread of the gospel and the salvation of souls.


“And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.” There seemed to be crowds of people that followed Jesus to see what would happen next. Curiosity seekers are everywhere – witness the gawkers at nearly every car accident. When Jairus asked for help, others, curious about what Jesus would do, followed. How many come to faith in Christ seemingly by accident instead of intent? These were not truth seekers. They were just curious, but having seen what Jesus did, they believed to the saving of their souls. How many in the crowd of curious followers later became dedicated disciples of Christ?


Every follower of Christ must ask the question, “What did Jesus do?” Once asked and answered by scripture, we have one duty to perform: Do what Jesus did. Don't reject the crowds in the marketplace. Embrace and bring the gospel to them. Don't invite them to church. Invite them to follow Christ. Meet them in the crisis of their need and do everything that we can to wisely meet that need. Make the crowds curious and use that curiosity to lead them to Christ. What did Jesus do? You know what He did, now follow Jesus by doing the same in the marketplace.

Free Indeed

If you have any acquaintance with the gospel you know about the Gadarene demoniac. This poor man was possessed of a legion of demons and was instantly set free by the Lord Jesus. In fact, his change was so complete that this maniac man was found by the villagers with Jesus “...sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind (Mark 5:15).” This poor man that was once enslaved and tortured by the devils, was now free and in his right mind. In fact he was more than free. He was free indeed, but his freedom is no less than that which we possess that have been saved from Satan, death, and hell by our Lord Jesus Christ. We, like the former Gadarene demoniac, are free indeed.

Notice the change in his desires. “...he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him (Mark 5:18).” Like him we all were enslaved to sin, but now we are free to follow Christ. If you are a Christian, consider what you once were. Were you addicted to drugs? All you wanted to do was to pursue that addiction. You served your master, which was the drugs to which you were addicted, but now Christ has set you free. And it is the same with all sin. Even those that we call minor sins. You are either enslaved to the devil and sin, or, you are a slave of Christ and righteousness. “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life (Romans 6:22).” You cannot serve two masters, but once Jesus has set you free you are free to follow Him.


Notice, also, the response of his Savior. “Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee (Mark 5:19).” If we are free to follow, then we are also free to be led. We cannot call Jesus Lord and tell Him what we will do. It was good for the man that he wanted to stay with Jesus, but it was better for him and the gospel for him to return home. So it is with most of us. Few are called to follow Jesus in ministry, but each of us have our own ministry to family and friends. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).” Do not think less of the Lord because He sends you home to proclaim and be a witness of His good news. The Lord knows how best to put His servants to good use. Live free to be led by Christ your Lord.


Finally, notice the faithful obedience of the man. “And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel (Mark 5:20).” Every follower of Christ is free to show grateful obedience. As you have put your trust in Christ to save you put your trust in Him to obey Him. He knows best and you will find joy in showing your gratitude toward Him by obeying the Lord's every command. Tell everyone what great things God has done for you in Christ. Tell of the forgiveness you have experienced. Tell them of the change that has taken place in your life. Show them the blessedness of being freed by Jesus. Live before them as a faithful servant of Christ Who set you free.


“Once like a bird in prison I dwelt, no freedom from my sorrow I felt, but Jesus came and listened to me and glory to God, He set me free (He Set Me Free, Albert E. Brumley).” Jesus came to set the captive free. I am one of Jesus' freedmen. I plead with you to come to the Savior in repentance and faith and He will set you free. Then you will know what it is like to be free indeed.

Where is Your Faith?

Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as “...the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” When trials of life come our way, then our faith is tested. Each of us must endure the storms of life. In Luke 8:22-25 we are told that Jesus and His disciples entered into a boat to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. As they journeyed Jesus fell asleep. Suddenly, a storm blew in with such force that the seasoned fishermen feared for their lives. They woke Jesus up, “Master, Master, we're all about to drown!” Jesus got up and rebuked the wind, and everything became calm. The Jesus asked His disciples, “Where is your faith?” That is a good question for each of us to ask ourselves, so let me ask you, “Where is your faith?”

Within the question is an important point about faith. Faith must be properly directed. It is not enough to just have faith. In fact, it is foolish to make faith its own object. You can't just have faith in faith. Jesus asked, “Where is your faith?” Where is the focus of your faith? Surely you can see that faith that is focused on itself is a useless faith. Faith, to be effectual, must focus on that which is sure and trustworthy. Otherwise we are really just trusting in ourselves. But we know that in the real storms of life we must look beyond ourselves to find help. Drowning men must look beyond themselves and focus their faith on another to rescue them.


So, where are we to focus our faith? We cannot, as was said before, focus our faith on faith. Looking at the disciples in the boat, where do you think they were putting their faith? Initially, I think that they put their trust in their ability as fishermen. This was not their first storm. They had had many experiences with storms, but this one was beyond their abilities and experience to endure. We all seem to do this. We rely on our own abilities up to that point where it becomes evident that we cannot help ourselves. We are stuck with what we can do and are in danger of drowning, until we see the end of ourselves and look to another. Some frustrated with their lack of ability to face the storms look to drugs, alcohol, entertainment, pornography, or other ways to escape reality. The problem is that the boat is sinking. Where are we to look to find our help? In other words, “Where should we direct our faith?”


Jesus asked the question, “Where is your faith?” The question is asked after Jesus had stilled the storm and implied in the question was the answer. Focus your faith on the One Who commands the winds and the storms. Look to Jesus. And we should always be looking to Jesus. We notice that the disciples looked to Jesus in fear of dying after they had done all they could. But Jesus wanted them to look to Him first and always. Our salvation is not in Christ after all that we can do, but our salvation is in Christ alone. Salvation is to them that “...believeth in him... (John 3:16).” Each and every person is a sinner that is drowning in their sins. The sinner is drowning all the while striving to help himself. The sinner's help is to be found in the same place that the disciples found help – in Jesus alone. Where is your faith?


After Jesus calmed the storm, the disciples said this of Jesus: “What manner of man is this!” We have all had people that have disappointed us. A “trusted friend” that wasn't so trustworthy. Parents, teachers, and pastors may disappoint us, but in Jesus we find One that is worthy of our trust. He is worthy of your trust, because Jesus is the Son of God. He is the promised Savior that God has sent to save you. That was Christ's purpose in coming. That is His job. “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).” Where is your faith? I hope that you will put your faith fully in Jesus.

The King and the Untouchables

“And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean (Mark 1:40).” Leprosy was the AIDS of the first century. A person with leprosy was driven from society and became an outcast. Strict rules were given to them to live by (Leviticus 13:45-46) and anyone that touched them was made ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 15). No one had anything to do with lepers.

No one, that is, but Jesus. “And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him... (Mark 1:41a).” The touch of Jesus was not a touch of revulsion, but one of compassion. The priests had no ability to cleanse a leper, but our great High Priest and King is moved with compassion cleansed him. Leprosy has always been associated with sin and corruption, so the scripture says that leprosy must be cleansed. Though the sinner is corrupted by sin, Jesus is willing and able to make the sinner clean by the His gracious touch.

The leper's prayer was: “If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” The prayer of faith is at heart submissive prayer: “If thou wilt...” Once the petitioner comes in humble submission to Jesus he can be confident that the answer to his petition will be“I will... (Mark 1:41b).” So many that have lived a life of sin feel that they are untouchables. They have believed the devil's lie that they are forever abandoned by the Lord. That is not the teaching of scripture (Isaiah 55:7), nor the experience of we who have come to Christ. We have found that Jesus is willing to receive all who come by faith to Him.

Hear the wonderful words of release to both the leper and sinner alike: “...be thou clean (Mark 1:41c). Are you corrupted by sin? Kneel before the Savior by faith, humbly make known your petition, and you will experience the touch of Jesus that makes you whole. None can come to Jesus but those that have the great burden of their sin. All those that come to Jesus have had their burden lifted and the stain of their sin cleansed. Paul said, after listing those excluded from the kingdom of God, “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:11).”

Notice how quickly and completely the leper is cleansed. “And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed (Mark 1:42).” The same is true of every sinner that comes to Jesus. They kneel down as sinners bound for hell and rise up a saint made fit for heaven through faith in Jesus Christ. Just like the leper, the sinner did nothing but come to Jesus in faith. So it is “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us... (Titus 3:5).”

After the leper was cleansed, Jesus commanded him, “...See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them (Mark 1:43-44).” Few of the priests had ever seen leprosy cleansed. What a blessing Christ wanted to bestow on them. What a testimony every saint of God has that can bless others. Someone has said that witnessing is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. So those saved by Jesus should bless others with the good news.

It is both a blessing and distressing what the former leper did: “But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter (Mark 1:45).” The former leper was forbidden by Christ to tell anyone and he told everyone he met. We are commanded to proclaim the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15), and remain silent. Get to a private place and meditate on what Jesus has done for you. Repent and open your mouth to proclaim Jesus Christ. Go now and serve your King.

The King's Ministry

As Jesus prepared to leave Capernaum to continue His ministry elsewhere, He was confronted by those that wanted Him to remain there. “And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee (Luke 4:42-44).” The itinerant ministry of Christ on earth was not confined to one location. Jesus was always on the move, because He had a limited time of three years to complete His mission. Jesus ministry on earth seemed to follow certain patterns. We can learn from these and pattern ourselves after Jesus' example. There are three things that were characteristic of Jesus ministry on earth. “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people (Matthew 4:23).”

The first of these is teaching. Jesus was in the synagogue every sabbath day teaching those that attended those services. When Jesus returned to the Father He handed off that teaching ministry to His disciples. If you are a Christian then you are a disciple and you have this commission as well. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations... (Matthew 28:19).” For every person that has a Christian background and understand the fundamentals of the gospel there are scores more that have never heard. Others think they know what it means to be a Christian need it to be explained step by step. Each Christians should follow Christ in teaching others His gospel of the kingdom.

The next thing that characterized the King's ministry is preaching. Preaching is simply proclamation. This differs from teaching in that it is not interactive. Some people need to be told what they need and challenged to commit to Christ. Others need to be warned that “...the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23).” For the individual Christian it is telling your story – witnessing to what Jesus has done for you. There are some that God has specifically called to proclaim the gospel: evangelists and missionaries. But you don't have to be called to preach in order to proclaim the good news of Christ. You can simply tell those that need to hear the gospel the good news of Jesus. “And (Jesus) said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).”

The third characteristic of the ministry of Jesus that we observe is His ministry of healing. Everywhere that Jesus went He met people in need. One of the most critical needs of people is caused by physical infirmity. Jesus saw the needs of those that approached Him and, in every case recorded in the gospels, He healed them. In the early church the Holy Spirit equipped men with the gifts of healing (1 Corinthians 12:28). Some believe that there are some that have this gift today. I do not believe in faith healers, but I do believe that God answers the prayers of His people by healing those that have been bound by disease or illness (James 5:14-16). Throughout the history of Christianity believers have taken the responsibility to build hospitals, leper colonies, and medical missions. These are still needed today. If you are a Christian in the medical field use your training as a means of reaching both the physical and spiritual needs of people. As for the rest of us, we should support those that serve through medical missions.

If you are a Christian you must yield your life to Christ to be used by Him to spread the gospel of His kingdom. Your King would have you follow His example by teaching and preaching the gospel, and by aiding others in expanding the gospel around the world through the use of medical missions. Go serve your King.