Mark 6:53-56 Delivered From the Land of the Dead

Mark 6:53-56  When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there.  As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus.  They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.  And wherever he went — into villages, towns or countryside — they placed the sick in the marketplaces.  They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed. 

Jesus, through his healing ministry, reveals to the Jews that He is from the land of the supernatural, a place where God resides.  In Matthew's account we read, Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.  News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.  (Matthew 4:23-25)  Jesus restores people's lives by healing them of illnesses, casting out demons, and cleansing them of all types of afflictions.  He attacks sin and death directly, causing people to understand He is no ordinary man.  He displays his divinity and special abilities clearly in his interactions with the people.  Life is given back to them; death is placed on hold.  All humans will experience death someday, for we have inherited death from our ancestor Adam.  Because of Adam's sin, the DNA of death resides in us.  Our bodies will wear out either by sicknesses or old age.  Death will eventually have its victory over our human bodies.  Aging is a visible sign of sin's vestige in our lives.  We are destined for death in this world.  Now, in the land of Judea in Gennesaret and into the world at large, comes Jesus.  He walks into this life of sickness and death with a message of eternal life.  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  (John 3:16)  He backs up his teaching of LIFE by healing ALL OF THOSE WHO ASKED HIM TO HEAL THEM OR WHO GOT CLOSE ENOUGH TO TOUCH HIS CLOAK.  He brought ETERNAL LIFE to those who lived in the land of the dead.  He healed to validate his teaching, the message of love from his Father God.  He healed so the people might put their total trust in him as the Son of God and find true life in him: transiting from their death-bound life to eternal life; no longer known as Adam's children, but as Christ's eternal brothers and sisters.   

Who is this Christ and who are we?  He is the Creator of all things.  Paul wrote he wanted the church to understand the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.  (Ephesians 3:9)  Jesus is life; He is the light of the world; He is the bright and morning star; He brings delight to God's heart.  And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is My Son, My Beloved, in Whom I delight!  (Matthew 3:17, Amp)  Christ alone totally pleases his Father; He sits at the right hand of God.  Everything opposed to his absolute authority, to his will, is death.  But, Jesus came not to condemn but to deliver life to the lost.  He came to transform the carnal, self-oriented, self-willed person to God's will of love, peace, and servanthood.  He came to  break the self-serving, destructive, and hedonistic lifestyle of fallen mankind.  Hedonism is living your life for yourself with little or no regard for others, seeking as much pleasure and ease from life that you can get for your own purposes.  A hedonistic person desires a good life that revolves around his or her needs.  This person wants as much pleasure and wealth as possible because life is short and why not try to live abundantly.  Obviously, we don't see this kind of lifestyle viewed positively in the New Testament.  Instead, we see servanthood, self-sacrifice, and following in the footsteps of Jesus.  We see the apostles and the early church literally giving up their lives for the sake of God's will.  They were transformed from hedonism which leads to death, to servanthood, which leads to life eternal.  Jesus said, For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.  (Matthew 16:25)  We see this kind of selfless life illustrated everywhere in the early church.  We see James beheaded, Stephen stoned to death, and Paul always living his life on the edge of being killed.  We see the early Christians chased from town to town by those like Paul before he was saved who want them to either recant or be killed. The Gospel is not a better life for yourself, but it is doing the will of God.

The world and some Christians would like to fit the gospel into their hedonistic lifestyle centered on themselves.  Give me Christ if He will make me live longer; give me Christ if He heal all my sicknesses; give me Christ if He will give me a more secure life; give me Christ if He will make me more wealthy.  Give me Christ IF HE WILL MAKE MY SHORT TIME OF EXISTENCE ON THIS EARTH BETTER.  How many of us want all these things in addition to our faith?  The writers of this breakfast would find all these desires very attractive, but is that really the gospel of life for those called to show forth Christ in the land of sin and  death?  We all pray for better things in our lives, and we seek Jesus to meet our needs, but Jesus Christ still remains our LORD.  He knows what will put the oxygen of real life into our family and in our children's children.  To pray, "Not my will but yours be done," sometimes, almost takes away our breath.  This is too hard, we sometimes say.  It is not always the desire of the flesh.  Two kinds of people walk this earth: those dead in sin and those alive in Christ.  The dead live their lives for themselves, for what they can get now.  In the story of Lazarus we see Abraham recounting the rich man's life.  Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’  But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your GOOD THINGS, while Lazarus received bad things.  (Luke 16:24-25)  Notice, the story does not give an account of the life of rich man as sinful.  In fact, we can surmise because Lazarus was brought to the gate of the rich man every morning that the rich man must have given food to Lazarus often.  If not, Lazarus would probably been placed at another rich man's gate.  No, all this says is that if you are as the rich man, you lived your life for yourself, you received the good things of life, Lazarus did not.  

Christianity is an all-out commitment to God.  No other life is worthy of God.  In fact, in Revelation we read, I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.  (Revelation 3:15-18)  Our lovely breakfast companions, this meal is not to cause you to fear, but to rejoice that your life is all in for Christ.  Remember constantly to readjust yourself towards loving the lost world and serving others, rather than seeking to be served.  Jesus said, For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.  (Mark 10:45)  IN CHRIST, we are the light of the world; IN HIM, we reflect the love of God; and because of him, we love our neighbors as ourselves.  We are willing to go the extra mile at all times, for our desire is to display the image of God to a dying people that live in the land of the dead.