The Year of our Lord, Jesus Christ
Mark 1:38
And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.
Which is more vital, the healing or the preaching? In this portion of Mark the Lord is about to do both. However, when announcing that He would leave Capernaum to go into other towns He said that the reason was to preach. After all, immediately after being tempted for forty days the Word of God states clearly that He came to Galilee preaching. Nowhere does it say that “He came healing.” Yet, it seems that healings draw the attention to a greater degree than the preaching.
On a level this makes sense because healings can be seen. Preaching must be meditated upon, thought about, studied, and most importantly believed on through faith. It takes no faith to see a leper cleansed or the blind see, but it does take faith to believe the preaching.
In the New Testament the reasons that the Lord gave for His coming to earth were:
1. Matthew 10:34 - To bring a sword.
2. Mark 2:17 and Luke 5:32 – To call sinners to repentance.
3. John 6:38 – To do the will of His Father.
4. John 12:47 – To save the world.
In all of these He preached. Yes, He healed, and He performed miraculous works but in all and through all He preached. The miracles were the outward manifestation of His “all power” they testified to the truth of His preaching. The miracles are physical, the preaching is spiritual. Many only wanted His healings, to see a miracle, praise the Lord though some want His preaching. The physical healings are at best temporary lasting only in this life. The preaching’s are eternal.
Enjoy the healings, be in awe over the miracles, but take care to not put them above His preaching. For that is why He came. To die on the cross, yes, to teach more clearly how we should live and act, yes, to defeat sinfulness through perfection, yes, to establish His church, yes, to glorify the Father in Heaven, yes, to teach us to pray, yes, in all this and more He preached.
In the next few verses of Mark, a great healing took place. But more than that, Jesus preached. Today preachers may not have His ability to heal or perform miracles, but they can preach His preaching’s. Healings may or may not happen, miracles may or may not take place, but preaching…there is always preaching. The power of preaching is not so much in the preacher but in the receiver. As it was in Jesus’ day, so it is today. Many heard but few seemed to believe.
Until next time,
William T. Howe, Ph.D.
Comments