How did Jesus react to negative feedback?

We have finished our walk through chapter 1 of the Gospel of Mark. Time to stop and check our map to remember where we’ve been and to look ahead to where we are going. We have seen how Jesus came proclaiming the good news that “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” or so close you can touch it! The crowds listened in awe as Jesus “spoke with authority” and then they watched amazed as Jesus cast out demons and cured sickness, proving his authority! The last comic strip clip, as Pastor Erik termed it this week, was of Jesus with a solitary leper. Gone are the crowds, gone is the fanfare. One man, an outcast with leprosy, rushes up to Jesus and acknowledges Jesus’ authority: “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” (Mark 1:40) And here we learn the last thing we have to learn about Jesus before the adventure really begins: ‘”I am willing,” he said.’ (Mark 1:41) In this act the leper is restored to society, but “Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in the lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.” (1:45)

So here’s what we learned about Jesus thus far: He is God’s son (1:11), he is bringing a new proclamation (1:14-15), he has authority (1:22), and he is willing to draw near to us to remove our suffering (1:45)