I wonder what it was like to see Jesus rebel. To color outside the world’s lines. (1)
To stand near the One who lived in radical, Spirit-filled communion with the Father—the very agent of creation—as he stepped outside the world’s lines. In Mark 2, four friends, desperate to help their paralyzed companion, broke every convention to get him to Jesus. They defied social norms by interrupting a rabbi’s teaching. They trespassed and tore through a roof. Why? Because they believed. They believed Jesus could and would heal. But even more than that, they rebelled against the quiet resignation that says, “This is just how things are, and always will be.”
The world was created good, but when rebellion entered—first from spiritual beings, then from humanity—it fractured everything. (2) Goodness flipped. Evil became the norm. Brokenness seeped into every corner of creation, and hope began to feel distant. Still, God made a promise: a Savior would come. Through every generation, a remnant clung to hope, resisting the world’s pull and trusting that God would keep his word. And in time, he did.
When Jesus came, he rebelled—not against God (he is God), but against Satan, sin, and every force trying to unravel God’s plans. He pushed back against the world and the flesh, refusing to accept a status quo shaped by death.
I imagine he was tempted at times to wonder if his efforts were enough. Every healing must have felt like a drop in the bucket. The world was so deeply corrupted—like a body in the final stages of cancer. And yet Jesus kept going. Because his healings weren’t just acts of mercy—they were declarations. Signposts pointing to a new creation. That’s why he didn’t just heal the paralyzed man in Mark 2; he forgave his sins. He wasn’t just treating symptoms—he was dealing with the root.
Of course, he had compassion—he healed many (Mark 1:34). But he didn’t heal everyone. He walked past countless people who were still suffering. Each healing was intentional, almost like a sermon. A rebellion against despair. A defiant statement that the curse does not have the final word.
I think about this every time I’m pulling weeds in my yard. Nothing feels more futile. I can give it four hours, only for one good rain to make it look like I did nothing. I hate it. And yet, I know—it’s an act of resistance. A way of protecting what’s good, making space for beauty to flourish. Weeding trains me to push back against what seems inevitable. It’s a small rebellion, but it tells the truth.
In every generation, God calls people to testify to that truth. Jesus’ arrival put the powers of darkness on notice—their time is short. Their strategies are empty. Their weapons don’t win. So don’t get lulled to sleep. Don’t quietly collude with the world’s systems, values, and goals. That road only ends in death and separation from God (John 10:10; Eph. 2:1–3; 1 John 2:15–17).
Instead, let’s rebel—like Jesus did, like these four friends did. Let’s take our cues from him, living by the Word of God, even when it feels like futility. This is what living in the power of the Spirit does–taking God at his word and living it out in real time. Because every act of obedience, every weed pulled, every hope held—it all points to what’s coming. The full restoration of all things. And that future isn’t wishful thinking. It’s the true trajectory of creation and human history.
1.“World” has three distinct meanings in the New Testament. First, it means all creation, the universe and everything in it that God made “in the beginning.” At it’s core level, the world is good (Gen. 1-2). Second, it can refer to the inhabitants of the world, his image bearers he has come to rescue through His Son (John 3:16). Third, it can refer to a demonic, world ‘system’ that is the cumulative activity of Satan scheming, calculating, manipulating human beings to follow him and his ways over and against the Lord of all creation. It is run by a “wisdom” (1 Cor. 1:20, 2:6), is fueled by a “spirit” (Eph. 2:1-3), seeks to conform image bearers to a pattern (Romans 12:1-2) and is laced with corruption (2 Peter 1:4). Context determines which ones the biblical authors are using. Here, I am using it in the third sense.
2. Genesis 1-11 gives the account of a layered rebellion against God and his will from both spiritual beings and human beings: the snake and the people in the garden (ch. 3), the elohim (sons of God) and the daughters of man (ch. 6) and the people seeking to make a name for themselves (ch. 11)