The Way - Chapter 2 - Capernaum: The Healing Ministry

This lesson is on Chapter 2 in The Way: Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus by Adam Hamilton. 

Click here  if you would like to watch the sermon video that this lesson is shaped around.  It will include the video we watched in class, along with some extra footage.  This is a good substitute for actually reading the book, in case you have still not gotten around to reading. 

Jesus’ first stop after his baptism and temptation was to go home.  It didn't go well.  Jesus went to the synagogue and proclaimed his ministry begun, identifying himself as the promised Messiah.  Whether they tried to kill him or just ran him out of town, Nazareth was no longer a safe place for Jesus.  So he headed toward the Sea of Galilee, and ran into a few friends.  The city of Capernaum is where Jesus’ ministry really took off.  He called seven of his disciples here.  He spent much of him ministry within a days’ journey of here.  And he impressed and astounded the locals with his gifts of preaching and healing.  And nothing was ever the same.

Think about these questions as you remember this week’s reading.

1. Adam says that he feels close to Jesus when he walks through Capernaum.  What places in your life give you a feeling of closeness to Christ?
2. Why do you think the people of Capernaum were astounded by Jesus?  Was this a positive or negative reaction?  Why
3. One of Jesus’ first healing is of a man possessed by demons.  Why would Jesus’ reaction to him been considered so counter-cultural?  Do you think Jesus’ demand on the demon to come out destroyed demon or just left it to inflict itself on others?  Why?  
4. Adam writes a lot about the differences between how first century people would have thought about demons in comparison to how many of us think about them today.   What the demons that plague people and societies today?  Do they only infect individuals or can there be a communal infection on groups or even whole nations?
5. How do you think Jesus would react to the demons that affect us today?  Does he still say, “Come out!”?  If so, do they obey his command?  Has this played out in any ways that you can remember?
6. Luke also tells the story of a man who was brought to Jesus by four friends.  This healing was unlike the others, where Jesus heals based on the faith of the ones who came for healing.  Instead, Jesus heals the paralyzed man based on the faith of his friends, who literally tore the roof off to get him to Jesus.  What do the actions of these stretcher-bearers say about the power of faith in Jesus?  How can we live that out in our own lives?

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Some notes from our class discussion:

1.  We talked a little about the trying to envision Jesus in a thriving community when all we can see are the ruins of the city.  It's hard, but when we can get past what we ourselves have experienced and begin to think about the living of a real life, we can begin to feel a little bit of what Jesus and his disciples were feeling. Jesus left his time of baptism and temptation and went back home. It was not a stellar visit, and in each of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark & Luke), Jesus was as most almost killed, and at the least discouraged from coming home again.  So he starts out his public ministry in the company of friends.  It makes sense that Jesus would go to be with people who knew and supported him, people who would be willing to leave their chosen professions to follow this itinerant preacher/healer/Messiah.  And it would make sense that the first church there would be built on the site of the place where Jesus was first in ministry, especially given that the early church began as house ministries of worship, sharing and caring.

2.  We also talked about the passage where Jesus' reaction to being interrupted in the synagogue by the man possessed by a demon. Jesus recognized immediately what was happening and ministered to him in an authoritative way.  We tried to imagine what the reaction of the crowd would be... we talked about times when we had been in places where the flow of a meeting or worship or a concert was changed because something unexpected happened.  Jesus took it all in stride, understanding the situation, healing with authority, and using it as a teaching moment for the rest of us.  The idea of demons in today's society seems like the stuff of scary movies, but in the ancient would they were the explanation for illness, mental and physical disability, and all kinds of antisocial behavior.  Instead of rejecting the man out of hand, Jesus ministered to him.  And in doing so, he taught an important lesson about how people should be treated. 

Today, there are still demons around us, but often not in the form of evil spirits, but in those ideas and behaviors which draw us away from the path of fruitful living and life in Christ.  Food, drugs, alcohol, smoking, money, possessions, and television are some of the ones we named... and we acknowledged how easy it is to give in to their temptations.  Community draws us back onto the path of peace.  Honesty and compassion help us to be healed.  Jesus models those thing for us.  All we have to do is follow his example... which is much easier said than done.

We are surrounded by all kinds of negative reactions to these distractions and impediments to a life of faith... like Christians who live out hate and intolerance instead of love.  Throughout history we have seen whole societies that have given in to the status quo by rejecting those who were different, or didn't live up to preconceived expectations.  Many have suffered and died in the name of Christian faith.  And yet we are called to live out a gospel of love... it is really a life's work for each of us.

3.  Lastly, we discussed the story of the of the four friends whose faith in Jesus was so strong that they picked up their paralyzed friend and brought him to Jesus, literally tearing off the roof to give their friend a chance at healing and wholeness.  Who are our stretcher-bearers?  Who are the ones who are willing to go out of their way for us, causing a ruckus and making waves along the way?  And for whom are we willing to do the same?  There are some Christian (and other) traditions that believe that illness and disaster are punishment for unacknowledged or unrepentant sin.  This is reflected in the story from John 9, where the disciples ask Jesus, "This man was born blind... who sinned, the man or his parents?"  Jesus' response was this - "You're asking the wrong question.  For the healing of the man's blindness will reveal something amazing about who God is."  Illness happens, but our reaction to it reveals much about how we experience God.  

The people around Jesus were amazed at his teachings and these incidents of healing, so much so that thousands of them followed him around from place to place... (imagine being the one offering Jesus a place to stay or a meal to eat... it was probably a very chaotic experience).  But their faith in him fueled their desire to be with him as much as possible.  The religious leaders of the day did not have the same reaction... he was challenging their authority and centuries of understanding of how the world worked.  It's not a surprise that they eventually plotted to have him killed.

Jesus calls us to learn how to be disciples who live out the same compassion to those in need that he does… he calls us to be stretcher-bearers for others.  This prayer from St Francis of Assisi reminds us of the hard and rewarding work of faith in Jesus Christ.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope;Where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, Grant that I may no so much seek to be consoled as to console;To be understood as to understand; to be loved, as to love;For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.  Amen. 

What do you think about these stories of Jesus and healing?  Have you or someone you've known experienced this kind of healing?  Did the request for physical healing provide some other result?  How did impact your faith journey?  Feel free to comment below... thanks for joining us here.

Peace, Deb