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Scripture: Mark 4:1-20
I. The sower:
А. The sower is the Lord Jesus. The sowing is to sow the seed of life into the field so that it may grow something living. The Lord Jesus is such a sower.
B. The Lord Jesus came to the earth to sow the life of God into man so that the life of God may grow in man.
II. The seed:
А. The seed that the Lord Jesus sowed was the life of God.
B. The life of God is in the word of the Lord. The words that the Lord Jesus spoke or preached are the seed of life.
III. The field:
А. The Lord sows the seed of life into the heart of man. Therefore, man’s heart becomes the field for the seed of life.
B. There are four kinds of soil.
IV. The wayside heart:
А. The first heart is the heart of the wayside. The Lord said that some seed fell on the wayside. The wayside is the shoulder of the way where man walks. Although you may say that it is the way, and perhaps it even looks like the way, it is not really the way; it is beside the way. Although it is not the real way, because it is the soil beside the way, it is trodden by man. Therefore, it becomes hardened, and the seed cannot easily be grown in it.
B. Many hearts are like the wayside with many things passing through. The soil is continually trodden down by the traffic of all these things. Therefore, man’s heart becomes hardened toward the word of God.
C. Because of the hardness of the soil of the wayside, the seed cannot be sown into it. The birds come to eat it up. When anyone is deeply involved with the things of the world, the soil of his heart is hardened. The words of the gospel cannot penetrate deeply into his heart. The birds, which represent Satan, come to eat the seed of the gospel.
V. The stony heart:
А. The stony heart is the ground with soil on the surface and rocks underneath.
B. Some listen to the word of the Lord, but they only hear it superficially; deep inside of them are the hidden rocks. The rocks are sins, the world, friendship, fame, etc. They are not willing to give up these things.
C. Those who have believed only superficially stumble when the trials come. They are like seedlings in shallow soil that withered away by the scorching of the sun.
VI. The thorny heart:
А. Although there are no rocks in the thorny heart, there are other things growing there. The anxieties of the age, the deceitfulness of riches, and other lusts are the thorns.
B. Today there are also some who accept the words of the Lord, yet their hearts have not been freed from the anxieties of the age, the deceitfulness of riches, and other lusts.
C. After a man has heard the word, the word of God inside him does not result in much growth when it encounters the thorns.
VII. The heart with the good soil:
А. The good soil is neither the wayside soil nor the rocky soil nor the soil with thorns.
B. This soil does not have the traffic of people and worldly things. It is not shallow, does not have hidden sins and love of the world. It is not thorny, does not have the anxiety of the age, the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other lusts. This heart is good soil.
C. When anyone with such a heart with good soil accepts the word of the Lord, the result is the fruit-bearing of the Lord’s life, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and some a hundredfold.
VIII. How to have a heart with good soil:
А. Do not allow your heart to be trodden by the traffic of people and worldly things; keep your heart from being too close to these things.
B. Get rid of the hidden sins and the worldly love in your heart.
Give examples to expose their hearts.
C. Get rid of the anxiety of the age, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts for other things.
D. Receive the word of the Lord with a good heart. The word of the Lord is also the life of the Lord.
Scripture: Mark 5:1-20
I. Jesus came to the seashore:
(Same as Subject 70, point I)
А. The human life is like the seashore. The sea is the depth of sins. All that is against God is in the sea. For example, the demon-possessed herd of hogs rushed into the sea. The sea is the very nest of demons. The theaters and the dancing halls are the sea.
А. Jesus came to the place where the demon-possessed person was.
II. The demon-possessed man:
А. The people on the seashore are the demon-possessed ones. To meet a demon-possessed person, you need to go to the seashore.
B. What is a demon-possessed person? He is one who is not free, who cannot control himself, who is controlled by a force outside of himself. For example, some may be controlled by drugs, by gambling, by movies, by dancing, by smoking, by their temper, by their fashionable clothing, or by reading novels. When the demon-ruled person becomes obsessed with these things, he does not care about anything else. Give examples to show that those who are obsessed in this way are the demon-possessed ones.
C. The demon-possessed ones live among the tombs. Graveyards are the dwelling places for the dead, and they are full of darkness and death. Those who are possessed by the movies, dancing, and drinking live in the graveyard. Is it not true that the movie theaters, dancing halls, casinos, bars, and houses of prostitution are the graveyards?
D. The life of one who is demon-possessed is not subject to any other ruling and is insane. Governmental laws, school regulations, and home discipline cannot guard such a one. Even an iron chain cannot subdue him.
E. The proof that one is demon-possessed:
1. There is shouting, crying, and disorder.
2. Such a one gashes himself with stones. All those possessed by demons have no self-control. They shout and cry in an unreasonable way, and they cannot keep silent. They torture themselves and hurt their own bodies. They damage their own reputation, their position, and their family name.
III. Meeting Jesus:
А. Jesus came to the seashore where the demon-possessed man was; therefore, it was easy for the demon-possessed one to meet Jesus.
B. When he met Jesus, he reacted by asking Jesus, “What have I to do with You?” (v. 7). Whoever says that he has nothing to do with Jesus is a demon-possessed person. Perhaps there are some of you in our midst who say that you have nothing to do with Jesus. If this is the case, this proves that you are demon-possessed.
IV. Jesus casting out the demon:
А. The demon-possessed man said that he had nothing to do with Jesus and did not want Jesus to ask him any questions, but Jesus insisted on questioning him.
B. The more you say that you have nothing to do with Jesus, the more He would like to question you.
C. The questioning of Jesus is your salvation.
D. The salvation of Jesus frees you from a force that is outside of you.
E. When the Lord Jesus cast out the demons, the demons got into a herd of hogs. The hogs represent the filthiest ones among all people. The habits that the Lord cast out of you went into the filthiest people in the society. They became more deeply possessed by the demons. Perhaps, among your colleagues and classmates there is a herd of hogs. If you should leave them, they may fall more deeply into sin than ever.
V. The result of the casting out of the demons:
А. The man was sitting down. The demon-possessed person cannot stand still. If he does not go to Las Vegas, he will find a worse place. If he is not in a theater, he will be in a bar. But now the one who used to be like that is calmed down.
B. He put on clothing. Formerly, he did not care for his shamefulness, his reputation, his personality, or his nakedness; now he is conscious of his shame, and he puts on clothing.
C. His understanding began to be restored. Formerly, he was obsessed, as one who was living foolishly; now he understands.
D. He testified for the Lord. The Lord asked him to go home to his relatives and friends to report to them what a great thing the Lord had done for him and how merciful He was with him. That man went home and proclaimed what a great thing the Lord had done for him.
Note: When you are using the stories in the Gospels as materials for gospel preaching, never try to be nice or gentle. Dr. John Sung was the wildest gospel preacher in the last two or three centuries. You cannot be nice about “hitting” a man. There are all kinds of people among the audience. The gospel causes man to be saved. The words do not have to be profound. Something like, “Do not look at others; I’m talking about you,” is good enough to save people.
The gospel must be powerful. You must pick up the stories in the Gospels. Indeed, out of the sixty-six books of the entire Bible, the first four books of the New Testament are called the Gospels. We should often exercise ourselves into the Gospel stories until we are crystal clear within. You must be able to pick up any subject, such as the thorns, weeds, or robbers, etc., and speak right away. To be powerful, you should apply the Gospels in a living way, not like telling a story. Gospel preaching will be ineffective if it is merely a telling of stories. Preach to the point with life, with facts, and in spirit, and the gospel will be effective.
Scripture: Mark 5:21-43
The outstanding feature in this passage of the Bible is that the two women who were healed were related to the number twelve. The older one had been sick for twelve years, and the younger one was twelve years old. The older woman had the sickness from the time that the young girl was born. Thus, the Holy Spirit signifies here that both had the same problem. The two were one. At first it was the father of the young girl seeking for healing, and then on the way the older woman came, also seeking healing. At the time the older one was healed, the younger one was also healed.
I. Jesus came to the seashore:
Stories such as this one, as mentioned in the Gospel of Mark, almost always occurred at the seashore. (See Subject 70, point I, regarding the seashore.)
А. Petitioned by others. The girl was in serious sickness, and her father petitioned the Lord Jesus for her.
B. Petitioned for one’s self. The older woman came to petition the Lord for herself. This point is to explain that both the older and the younger women refer to the same sinner. The reason is that the older woman began to have her sickness when the girl was born. The older woman had been sick for twelve years when the girl was twelve. So the two are actually one. The Holy Spirit put them together to show that they refer to one person: on one hand, it is others who petition for you, and on the other hand, you petition for yourself.
C. You must break through the crowd. Today in the midst of the crowd there are many Christians, as well as many who listen to the gospel. All are crowding Jesus and surrounding Him. If you want the Lord Jesus, you must break through the crowd.
D. You need to touch Jesus. Repeat the difference between crowding Jesus and touching Him. To touch is to contact. To crowd Jesus is to be close to Him without making contact with Him. Today even many pastors and Christian leaders are not contacting Jesus; they are only crowding Him.
E. Here there is something quite hard to explain, and that is the matter of touching Jesus’ garment. Strictly speaking, she did not contact Jesus Himself directly; she only touched Jesus’ garment.
1. A garment is something to hide a person within. Today when you touch a person who is clothed, you can touch only his clothing.
2. The spiritual meaning of the garment refers to man’s work. So when the woman touched the Lord, although you might say that she touched the Lord, strictly speaking she was touching the Lord’s garment. To touch the Lord’s garment is to touch the Lord’s work. The stories in the Gospels can be considered as the Lord’s work, because all these stories contain what the Lord has done. When you touch these stories, you touch Jesus. It is enough to touch the Lord’s garment; you do not need to touch the Lord Himself directly. Just touch what the Lord has done, and you will be healed. Just touch these stories, and you will be saved.
II. The two women symbolize one person:
А. Man’s position before God is a woman’s position.
B. The two women here actually symbolize one person. The reasons:
1. Their problems involved twelve years.
2. The Scripture put them together in the same passage.
C. The young girl was sick, at the point of death. The Scriptures do not mention what kind of sickness she had. If the two women refer to one person, then the sickness is the issuing of blood. This is to tell us that man has the problem of issuing blood. Blood issuing is something leaking from within a person. Whatever comes out of a man is no good. Blood issuing is a deadly sickness. One who is recovered from the issuing of blood is one who is brought back to life from the point of death.
III. The saving power:
А. Point out that the saving power is the Lord’s saving, not man’s improvement in behavior. The teaching and the help of men are altogether useless. The physicians symbolize men’s help and teaching. The fact that she “spent everything she had” means that she paid the full price to improve her behavior, but the end result was “suffered much,” and nothing helped her a bit (Mark 5:26). The philosophers are physicians. Your parents and teachers are physicians, but they are of no help to you.
B. The saving power is supernatural. When the woman touched the Lord, right away a supernatural power came out of the Lord’s body. To receive the Lord and be saved is not that you just receive some message but that a supernatural power, which is the power of God, comes upon you and causes you to be saved.
C. The saving power depends upon your touching Jesus. You do not have to see Jesus with your own eyes; neither do you have to touch Him with your own hands. Just touch what He has done, and you will be healed. To touch how He was incarnated in the flesh, how He was crucified on the cross for you, and how He resurrected from the dead is to touch what He has done and is to touch His garment. Just touch His garment, and you will be saved.
IV. The result of salvation:
А. Delivered from sin. The two women symbolize one person healed from the issuing of blood, which means being delivered from sin. The issuing of blood means that man is born in sin, and what comes out of a man is nothing but sins. Now because of touching Christ, a power comes out of Christ and causes us to be delivered from sin.
B. Made alive. The young girl was made alive after the older woman was healed. This symbolizes that after we are delivered from sin, we are made alive.
Note: You may insert people’s “laughing scornfully” into this message (v. 40), depending upon the time allowable, to say that when you believe in the Lord Jesus, the people will come and laugh at you.
Scripture: Mark 6:32-44
I. The wilderness of human living:
А. This passage records that Jesus came to a deserted place, the wilderness. The wilderness signifies the desolation of human living. The wilderness is the place for the lost and wandering sheep. It is also the place for the hungry ones who cannot find satisfaction. The wilderness is not related to sin but is related to desolation.
B. Describe how the desolation of human living is like the wilderness. All things of human living are tasteless. Solomon says, “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity” (Eccl. 1:2). He also says that all things under the sun are like chasing the wind and grasping a shadow. Here you need to make all the things of the world sound so desolate, and make home, school, and business sound meaningless and empty.
II. The wandering of human living:
А. Point out that in the eyes of God men are His sheep. Man did not come into being by himself, but he came from God and belongs to God. All of man’s living comes out of God. So men are God’s flock, and God is a God who created men and who cares for men.
B. When man lost God, he became a “sheep not having a shepherd” (Mark 6:34) just like a sheep who lost its shepherd.
C. Because man lost God, man’s living became a wandering, without a master. There is a saying, “Everything has its own master.” Where is your master? You cannot tell. You have no master. When you are sick, there is no one to comfort you. When a tragedy overtakes you, there is no one to rescue you. All this is true because you are a sheep without a shepherd and without a master. This section is to speak about the situation of the wandering of human living.
D. Because you are a person without a master, your living has no purpose, and you are just wandering around in the wilderness.
III. The vanity of human living:
А. Those who were with Jesus in that day were like sheep not having a shepherd on one hand, and they were hungry on the other hand. They were not only wandering in the wilderness but also empty and dissatisfied.
B. Today’s human living is in wandering and dissatisfaction, lacking food for satisfying the hunger. Human living is dissatisfied because of the lack of food. There is nothing that can substitute for food. You might have fame, position, etc., but you are still empty and dissatisfied.
C. In the wilderness you cannot find food. You have no food, and you have nowhere to buy food. You should stress the point that in the wilderness of human living, you have no way to satisfy yourself. Even if you paid a great price, you would still be dissatisfied. People — like the monks, nuns, and those who strive to cultivate their morality — all end up dissatisfied, empty, and having nothing to fill themselves up with.
IV. Then Jesus came:
А. That day the Lord Jesus came to the wilderness, the place of the desolation of human living. You need to portray how into such a big wilderness there came the Savior.
B. Seeing the multitude of the hungry ones, Jesus was moved and had compassion for them.
C. Jesus fed them. This feeding was miraculous, because the bread was not purchased and had not been brought along with them, but it was supplied by the Lord. This supplying was done through a supernatural power; only Jesus can supply the bread. In the wilderness of human living there is nothing to satisfy man; only Jesus can supply the bread.
D. Jesus became the good Shepherd. Inasmuch as He has satisfied men and made them His sheep, He is responsible for all their lives. Formerly, you had no one to lead you. Now that you are saved, Jesus will lead you, and He will become the good Shepherd of all your life.
V. How to be saved:
А. Receive Jesus. To receive is to eat. The fact that they received the bread into them means that they received Jesus by faith.
B. Jesus is the bread of life and needs to be received by us. Jesus is also the good Shepherd and needs us to follow Him. To receive the bread solves the problem of the vanity and emptiness of human living; to follow the Shepherd solves the problem of the wandering of human living. As soon as our vanity, emptiness, and wandering are over, the wilderness is past.
VI. The result of receiving:
А. Fed: Jesus is the bread of life, causing us to be fed and satisfied.
B. Led: Jesus is the good Shepherd who can lead us. Feeding solves the problem of emptiness, and leading solves the problem of wandering.
Scripture: Mark 7:1-23
This is a very good gospel subject, but it is one that is not so easy to begin, because you cannot start with the filthiness of the heart. The Bible first presents a story to illustrate the point; then it goes on to say that such filthiness is not from without but from within.
I. The filthiness of human living:
А. The whole world is filthy. It is filthy materially and morally. Go and take a walk in the street, and your whole being will be filthy.
B. The filthiness of the world symbolizes the fact that the whole human living is filthy. Any activity in the human living causes you to be defiled. The Jews followed the tradition of washing their hands and feet, because both the hands and the feet are the members related to man’s activities, the points of contacting things. This is to say that whenever you move and touch something, you are liable to be defiled. Not only is doing evil things filthy, but even honoring your parents is also filthy, because man also has pride and self-glory growing within him when he is honoring his parents. When you are not doing anything, the filthiness does not show. Once you do something, the filthiness shows right away. There is no need to mention that it is filthy to do evil things with your hands and feet; even doing good things is filthy. Of course it is filthy to pick up dung with your hands, but even if you are holding some clean things, it is still filthy. A man lying in bed for three days, doing nothing, will smell bad if he does not take a bath. Move, and you are filthy; be still, and you are filthy just the same. You need to speak to such an extent that you leave no escape for them.
II. Man’s effort to be cleansed:
А. In that day the Jews had to wash their hands and feet whenever they did something, because they were defiled by their doing.
B. Today people are just like the Jews, only paying attention to the outward washing and trying to make themselves clean by human effort. The washing of the hands signifies innocence, that you will no longer do evil things. Some who used to dance, watch movies, and gamble have now washed their hands and have quit doing these things. Man’s way is to wash his hands.
C. All of man’s effort is outward. You need to speak in a serious way that all of man’s efforts are merely washing the outward things.
III. The source of man’s filthiness:
А. Man’s filthiness shows on the outside, but the source of his filthiness is not outside of him.
B. The source of man’s filthiness is in the heart. You need to quote the words of the Lord Jesus, “There is nothing outside of a man, which entering into him can defile him, but the things coming out of the man are the things which defile a man” (Mark 7:15).
C. So just to cleanse the outside is useless. You must deal from within.
IV. The content of man’s filthiness:
Pick three or four items out of the thirteen mentioned in this passage of the Scriptures and hit them. It would take a special conference to cover all thirteen items in detail: evil reasonings, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, and foolishness. Before you speak, you should prepare yourself thoroughly on these items. You should speak to such an extent that people dare not lift up their heads. For instance, when you are talking about the evil reasonings, you should say that you may seem to honor your parents outwardly, but within your heart you wish that they would die soon. Allow the heavenly x-ray to manifest the real situation of man.
V. God’s saving way of cleansing:
А. Man washes the outside, but God deals with the heart.
B. The way God deals with the heart is by regeneration:
1. He makes our deadened spirit alive. The dead people are the most filthy ones. If you really want to escape the filthiness and want to be made alive, you must have life.
2. He renews our heart.
3. He makes us partakers of God’s divine life and nature.
C. God’s saving way of cleansing includes two aspects: outwardly, God uses the blood to cleanse the filthiness of our outward behavior; and inwardly, God regenerates us to resolve the filthiness within us.
VI. How to be cleansed:
А. Confess that you are filthy within and without.
B. Receive the Lord as your Savior. As soon as you receive the Lord as your Savior, the Lord’s blood cleanses the filthiness of your outward behavior, and at the same time the Lord’s Spirit regenerates you and resolves the filthy thoughts within you.
Scripture: Matt. 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30
(The record in Mark is not as detailed as that in Matthew.)
I. Jesus came to the Gentiles:
А. Tyre and Sidon are cities of the Gentiles. When Jesus came to these places, He came to the Gentiles.
B. Today the gospel of Jesus is being preached here. This is Jesus coming to this place.
II. Man possessed by demons:
А. When Jesus came to Tyre and Sidon, there came a woman crying to Him, “My daughter suffers terribly from demon possession” (Matt. 15:22). The asking one was a woman, and the demon-possessed one was also a woman.
B. Woman represents the position of man before God. Man before God is a woman.
C. The fact that the daughter of a woman was possessed by a demon symbolizes the fact that all the ones born of women are possessed by demons.
D. Use some examples to show the meaning of being demon-possessed: some are possessed by the demons of movies, some of dancing, fornication, gambling, drinking, etc. Speak about the situation of man being possessed by demons.
III. Man’s position before God:
А. After the woman’s request the Lord said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs” (Mark 7:27). Do not interpret this portion of the Scriptures to say that the Jews are the children and that the Gentiles are the dogs, or say that Jesus came as the bread to the Jews and that we are the dogs, having no part in the bread. Do not talk about these things, or else it will be complicated.
B. Today the condition of men before God is like that of the little dogs.
C. Why in the eyes of God are we like the dogs? Little dogs is a descriptive term, speaking of the filthiness of our condition. Dogs like to feed on dirty things, such as dung. The condition of man before God is just like that of the dogs. Man will not come to the meeting hall where there are plenty of empty seats; instead, he would rather sell the shirt off his back to buy a ticket to some evil event, even waiting in a long line where people are standing shoulder to shoulder. Let me ask you: are you a sheep or a dog? Are you dirty, or are you clean?
IV. God’s portion for man:
А. Although man is like a dog before God, God still gives man a portion, which is the crumbs fallen from the table.
B. Although you cannot quite see Jesus today, the gospel, nevertheless, is put before you. When you receive this gospel, which is like the crumbs, it is good enough to cause you to be saved. You do not have to see Jesus completely. You do not have to climb up to the table, because you have already fallen under the table. Yes, the bread is on the table, but there are also the crumbs underneath. Man in his fallen condition is not worthy to come up to the table as the children; nevertheless, you can be saved just by receiving the crumbs under the table.
V. How to be saved:
А. Confess your condition. When that woman heard the Lord calling her a dog, she did not deny it. She acknowledged that her position was that of a dog.
B. Lay hold on the Lord according to the Lord’s word. The word dog came out of the mouth of the Lord, and the woman laid hold of that word, dog, and she was saved. Today out of the mouth of the Lord comes not the word dog, but, “He who believes...has eternal life” (John 3:36). If you would only lay hold of the word of the Lord, you will be saved.
C. The faith that saves comes from laying hold of the word of the Lord. To believe is not only to agree or to understand but to lay hold of the words spoken by the Lord. If you lay hold of a check for a thousand dollars, you get a thousand dollars. Today the Lord is spreading the gospel before you by means of His words, and these words are the check. Lay hold of His words, and you will be saved.
Scripture: Mark 8:22-26; 10:46-52
Put the two blind men in chapters 8 and 10 together.
I. Man’s loss of sight:
А. In both Bethsaida and Jericho, Jesus met blind men. This proves that there are blind ones everywhere.
B. Men are born blind because they do not know the meaning of human living, and they are not clear about God and the things of God. So spiritually speaking, man is blind. Stress the point of spiritual blindness.
II. Jesus came into the midst of men:
А. These two portions record that Jesus came to the places of the blind men. This proves that where the blind men are, there Jesus comes. Bethsaida means “the house of fishing.” It was a place of fish. This means that Bethsaida is close to the seashore. The seashore is a place of sins. Jericho was a cursed city. This means that wherever the blind men are is a cursed place. From the meaning of these two places, it can be seen that man is born blind because man has sinned and is under a curse.
B. Jesus comes to the place where we are, the cursed place. Today the gospel is being preached to this place, which means that Jesus is coming to this place. Jesus comes to the sinful and cursed place.
III. Come to Jesus:
А. Some who came to Jesus were brought by others. The blind man of Bethsaida was brought to Jesus by others. This means that the one who came to Jesus was brought in by his relatives and friends. He needed others to bring him in because he could not see the way. Maybe some among you have been brought in by your relatives and friends.
B. Some heard of His fame and came by themselves; they heard the name of Jesus of Nazareth and came. The blind man of Jericho heard the name of Jesus of Nazareth and came by himself. Some among you came by yourselves because you had heard the gospel before.
C. Whether you are brought in by others or you come by yourself, the principle is the same. You need to touch Jesus.
IV. The Lord’s saving way:
А. The blind man of Bethsaida was brought out of the village by the Lord. This means that he was brought out of the sinful environment. The village was the place where the sinful ones were concentrated. Maybe the movie theater, the dancing hall, or the gambling table is your village. You are living in the village of sins. Now that you have come to the Lord, the first step that the Lord takes is to lead you out of the village. You cannot stay in the movie theater, or the Lord will not save you.
B. Jesus spat on his eyes. The spittle came out of the mouth of the Lord, which signifies: (1) the word of the Lord, and (2) the Spirit of the Lord. On the evening of the Lord’s resurrection the Lord breathed into the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). To recover your eyesight, you must receive the words of the Lord, which are the Lord’s life and Spirit. The Lord’s life and His Spirit are all in the Lord’s words. When the words of the Lord get into you, your eyes are opened, and you can see again.
C. The Lord laid hands on the blind man of Bethsaida. The laying on of hands means uniting as one. This means that the Lord comes to you and becomes one with you. The Lord must come into you and be mingled as one with you before your eyesight can be recovered.
D. When the Lord laid hands on the blind man of Bethsaida the first time, the blind man’s eyes were half-opened. He could see, but things were not too clear, so he beheld men as trees. So the Lord laid His hands on him the second time. This is to give more room to the Lord and to have a further union with the Lord. Hence, his vision became clear.
E. The Lord commanded him to go home but not to go back into the village. This village is your movie theater, dancing hall, or the gambling table, etc. If you go back there, you will be blind again.
These five points are related to the blind man of Bethsaida, concerning the aspect of sin. He was blind because of his sin, so when his sight was recovered, it was necessary for him to leave Bethsaida, the place of sins.
F. The way the Lord healed the blind man of Jericho was by calling him. When the blind man of Jericho heard the name of Jesus and came, he did not expect the Lord to know him, neither did he know that the Lord would save him. He considered himself a pitiful blind man and thought that the Lord would never notice him or care for him. Yet unexpectedly the Lord Jesus came and called him cordially. Jericho was a cursed place. Man under a curse thought that he had been forsaken by God, yet the Lord came. This demonstrates that God does not forsake the cursed ones.
G. When the blind man of Jericho heard the calling of the Lord, he threw his garment aside. This garment was a garment of begging, which means that the work of the cursed ones cannot make men alive; man must rely on someone’s mercy. Now that this one has come to Jesus and has heard Jesus’ calling, he no longer needs his own torn garment. So he throws the garment of Jericho aside — the effort of man to achieve righteousness — which was cursed. The blind man of Bethsaida had to go out of the village, out of the place of sin and evil doings. The blind man of Jericho had to throw his garment aside, throw aside his tattered behavior.
H. The one who throws his garment aside is the one who gives up his own work. As soon as he threw his garment aside and asked the Lord, he was healed. In this respect there is no need for the laying on of hands. Simply by giving up his own work and asking the Lord for sight, he proved his faith. Hence the Lord said, “Your faith has healed you” (Mark 10:52).
V. After being saved:
А. After the blind man of Bethsaida was saved, he no longer went back to the village, the place of sins.
B. After the blind man of Jericho was saved, he followed Jesus.
C. Once man’s spiritual eyes have been opened, right away he knows that he is in a sinful place, that the former living was sinful, and therefore, he would not go back any more. Meanwhile, he also sees that only Jesus can be his guide, so he follows Jesus.
Scripture: Mark 15:22-39
I. Jesus was crucified on the cross:
А. First, describe how men brought the Lord Jesus to Golgotha and crucified Him on the cross.
B. When Jesus was crucified on the cross, He was treated like a prisoner, because He was crucified with two others who were robbers. He was placed among the transgressors.
C. According to the mocking cries of men, He should never have been crucified, and being on the cross, He should have been able to save Himself.
II. The reasons for the crucifixion of Jesus:
А. Before Jesus was crucified on the cross, He was examined three times by the Jews according to God’s law and then examined again three times by the Romans according to men’s law, yet they could find no fault at all with Jesus. So the Lord Jesus was not crucified because He had sin.
B. The Lord Jesus was sinless and did not deserve the death penalty, yet for the sake of jealousy, people still used an excuse to sentence Him to death. Such jealousy can be considered the reason for the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus on man’s side. Men were jealous of Him; therefore, they crucified Him on the cross.
C. The reason for the Lord’s crucifixion on man’s side is very light compared to the reason on God’s side. On God’s side, it was because God put all our sins upon the Lord Jesus and caused Him to bear those sins for us. Thus, the main reason for the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus was to bear the burden of sins for us.
III. The setting of Jesus’ crucifixion:
А. The setting of Jesus’ crucifixion included both the natural and the supernatural aspects:
1. The natural aspect was an act of men. Men set up a wooden cross, nailed the hands and feet of Jesus to the cross, and then parted His garments, which meant that they stripped Him naked. They put Him to shame publicly, shook their heads, and mocked Him.
2. The supernatural aspect was an act of God. God caused the whole earth to be darkened, which was not an act of men but of God. When the Lord Jesus gave up His breath, the veil of the temple was split in two from the top to the bottom. This was also an act of God.
B. The setting of men’s act occupied the first half of the Lord’s crucifixion, which covered the period from nine in the morning until noon.
C. The setting of God’s act occupied the second half of the Lord’s crucifixion, which covered the period from noon until three in the afternoon, when the whole earth was darkened.
D. The setting of men’s act depicts the killing of Jesus by human hands; the setting of God’s act depicts the judgment upon Jesus by God. During the second half of the Lord’s crucifixion, the whole earth was darkened. Darkness is the symbol of sin. When Jesus died, the veil of the temple was split from the top to the bottom. The veil represents the barrier between man and God because of sin. The fact that the earth was darkened and the veil split was a proof that God was judging the Lord Jesus, because at that time the Lord Jesus became man’s sin-bearer.
IV. Jesus could not save Himself:
А. If Jesus had been killed only by men, He could have saved Himself. He was capable of saving Himself. For thirty-three years on earth many had attempted to kill Him, but He escaped them. It was very easy for Him to save Himself.
B. He did not save Himself, but rather on the cross He was mocked and killed by men. Furthermore, He was forsaken and judged by God because He was bearing man’s sins. If He had saved Himself, our sin problem would never have been resolved.
C. Because He would not save Himself, we are saved.
D. By not saving Himself, He became our Substitute and became our Savior.
V. The attitude we should have toward Jesus:
А. We should appreciate the fact that He suffered persecution and endured crucifixion for us.
B. But just to appreciate His sufferings could not save us. That is not enough to cause us to be saved.
C. We must thank Him for not saving Himself. We must thank Him for becoming our Substitute to bear our sins, thus being judged by God’s righteousness.
D. Whoever thanks Him and treats Him in this way is a believer, one saved by Him.
Scripture: Luke 1:76-79
I. Human living is in darkness:
А. In the Bible darkness symbolizes sins. So man living in darkness is living in sins.
B. Sin brings in the shadow of death. Although sin is not death, it is at least the shadow of death. So men living in sins are living under the shadow of death. This is why Luke says, “Those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death” (1:79).
II. God’s mercy toward men:
А. According to the condition of men living in sins, God should deal with men according to His righteousness. But God’s heart causes Him to be merciful toward men. Mercy is something within God’s heart. According to God’s procedure and His laws, God should deal with us in righteousness. But not only does God have His procedure and His laws; He also has a heart, and it is His heart that causes Him to deal with us in mercy.
B. Mercy reaches further than grace; mercy reaches even to the unworthy ones. Grace is freely given, but it is given only to those who are worthy. If God had only grace and not mercy, all of us who are living in sins would be unworthy of His grace. But thank God, He is also merciful. Our position before God today is like that of a beggar needing God’s mercy. To give something freely to someone who deserves it is grace; to give something to a beggar is mercy.
C. God’s mercy causes the rising sun to shine upon us. The rising sun signifies the end of darkness and the dawn of the day. This is to say that whoever has God’s mercy upon him has his darkness ended. So God’s mercy is not only the light but also the sunshine of the dawn. Friends, maybe today God’s rising sun is shining upon you to end your darkness and to bring light into your life.
III. Christ is the sunshine of the rising sun:
А. God’s mercy is to send Christ as our Savior.
B. We are living in darkness and under the shadow of death. Christ comes to meet our need, to cause our darkness to vanish, and to chase away the shadow of death. It is the business of the sunshine to cause darkness to vanish. Christ is the sunshine of the rising sun to us.
C. When Christ comes upon someone, the most obvious work is to make that one bright inside. Everyone who meets Christ right away feels that he sees light. Everyone who hears the gospel of Christ instantly feels that he is bright inside. Everyone who meets Christ instantly feels that his life has come to the daylight and that he has come out of darkness.
D. Darkness is sins; sunshine is Christ. When a man meets Christ, he is sure to be delivered from sins, that is, from the shadow of death. The shining of Christ causes man to be delivered from sin and death.
IV. The result of being enlightened by Christ:
А. The Bible says that evildoers have no rest in them. When a man sins, his conscience is troubled, and there is no peace between man and God; even there is no peace with the environment. Furthermore, there will be the eternal unrest in hell. Here you need to give some examples to illustrate how, after a person committed a certain sin, there was the unrest in his conscience and in his family.
B. Since Christ’s enlightenment causes us to see light, it also causes us to be delivered from the causes of unrest and the elements of unrest. All the unrest comes from sins, darkness, and the shadow of death. Since Christ’s shining causes us to be delivered from these things, we are delivered from the causes of unrest and its elements.
C. So Christ’s shining guides our feet into the way of peace. Those who are in darkness are walking in the way of sins and living a life of unrest. As soon as we receive Christ’s salvation and Christ shines upon us, we have peace in our conscience, peace with our environment, harmony with God, and are at peace constantly.
V. What should we do with Christ?
А. Do not reject His shining. It is God’s mercy reaching to you that you are hearing this gospel message today. So friends, do not reject the shining of Christ.
B. Humble yourself and receive Christ as your Savior.
Scripture: Luke 2:8-14
I. The birth of the Savior:
А. Do not just tell the story, or you will lose the power of the Holy Spirit.
B. The Savior was born in Bethlehem. When He was born, there were shepherds in the field keeping watch over their flock by night. Suddenly an angel came to announce to them the glad tidings that a Savior was born to men. This section covers the scene of His birth.
C. Those who heard the glad tidings were in the field, and it was at night. The place was out in the field, the time was at night, and the work was shepherding. All these are meaningful as symbols. The field symbolizes the wilderness of human living; the night symbolizes the darkness of human living; the shepherding symbolizes the need of the men in the dark field for shepherding. These three points need to be described emphatically. The announcement of the Savior’s birth to the shepherds by an angel symbolizes the fact that a Savior was born for the people in the dark field.
D. The birth of the Savior was for all nations. The Savior was born in Bethlehem of Judea, but He was not only for the Jews but for all the nations as well.
II. The meaning of the Savior’s birth:
А. The angel said that He was born to be the Savior of all nations. So His birth is for the salvation of all nations.
B. The angel said that His birth was to give peace on earth among men, that is to say that He came as the Savior of men, that men may have peace.
C. The angel also said, “Glory in the highest places to God” (Luke 2:14), that is to say that the Savior was born not only that men may have peace but also that God may be glorified.
D. Peace and glory explain the meaning of the salvation of the Savior. Peace is toward men, and glory is toward God. Peace is to get rid of sins, sufferings, and death. Glory is to manifest God’s life, nature, and work. The Savior comes to save men so that, on one hand, men may be delivered from sins, and on the other hand, men may have the life of God. To be delivered from sins is a matter of peace for men; to have God’s life is a matter of glory to God.
III. The good news of great joy:
А. Man is born in sin, without peace.
B. Man is waiting for death. Death belongs to Satan. Man waiting for death means that man is waiting for the destiny of Satan. In this there is no glory, because glory belongs to God.
C. The Savior comes to give peace to men so that men may be delivered from sins. Also, He comes that God may be glorified, by man having God’s life and thus being delivered from the death of Satan. So His birth is good news of great joy to us, the sinners.
IV. How we should receive the Savior:
А. Confess that we are in sin, waiting for death, without peace, and deserving eternal shame.
B. Receive this Savior as our Savior who came to save us from sins and to give us God’s life. He delivers us from sins that we may have peace, and He gives us life that God may be glorified.
