Good News

OR when John the Baptist announced, Mark 1:15 (NLT) — 15 “The time promised by God has come at last “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”

It wasn’t just some ordinary “good news” it was great news!

For many, the good news was all wrapped up in the hope that God would restore Israel’s power and sovereignty once again

In the Old Testament, God spoke glowingly about how

he was going to elevate them above the neighboring nations

how he was going to expand and fortify their borders

But Israel hadn’t seen evidence of that in almost 1000 years

They had spent the first 500 years in a power struggle with their neighbors

And then they had spent the last 500 years oppressed by superpowers like Assyria and Rome

So when John came saying, “The Kingdom of God is near!” many in Israel saw it as

the return of Israel’s’ grandeur

And after 1000 years of feeling abandoned by God, he was finally coming to their rescue.

Whoever this Messiah was, he had to be a powerful leader who can marshal Israel’s military and God’s strength to fight back those who wanted to keep Israel under their thumb.

When Jesus came on the scene, many thought he might be the Messiah they desired

Early followers eagerly followed

“at once” 1:18

“without delay” 1:20

Some dismissed Jesus because he didn’t look like a military man nor did he strive to win the approval of the power players in Israel.

Of course, we now know that God was not interested in restoring the kingdom as they knew it.

He was not focused on borders or armies

He was not concerned about superpowers or fortified walls.

But the forces Jesus came to defeat were much more of a threat than Rome ever was

And defeating them would require more power than any military leader could muster.

In the span of a week in Capernaum, in three life-changing events, Jesus proved his ability to defeat those forces

And the people who witnessed it, were amazed at his power

The Power of Satan

Mark 1:21-28

In Capernaum, by lake Galilee, Jesus went to the Synagogue and was teaching there

The crowds were amazed at the authority of his teaching

But suddenly, a man stands up and cries out

Mark 1:24 (NET) — 24 “Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us?

The man was not speaking on his own. A spirit from Satan was controlling his words and actions.

So when he said, “have you come to destroy us” it was this satanic spirit who was asking the question.

From time to time in the gospels, we have stories of people who were under the control of Satan.

We don’t know much about how that happened

But we do see that people under his control were powerless to free themselves

And others around them felt fearful and powerless in battling this spiritual power.

So when Jesus sternly called out the spirit

And ordered the spirit to be Quiet and to “Come out of this man”

The spirit threw the man into convulsions on the floor and screeched as it left him.

And the crowd was shocked at what they saw.

Mark 1:27 (NLT) — 27 They were amazed and asked “What sort of new teaching is this?” they asked excitedly. “It has such authority! Even evil spirits obey his orders!”

WE live in a world that often denies the existence and power of Satan

But we see evil all around us

And we know the chokehold he has on people

We see it in halls of power and in seedy corners of our society

We see it in evil dictators and school yard bullies

We know how powerless we feel when battling temptation

We know he is the father of lies who deceives people to

question their value

That they were made in God’s image

And that God has the power to defeat Satan

After Jesus sent out 72 ambassadors to spread the good news, they came back overjoyed, reporting that even the demons submitted to them in Jesus’ name.

And Jesus replied, “I saw Satan falling like lightening from heaven”

Revelation 20:10 (NLT) — 10 Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

We’ve grown up believing the Exorcist and its lie that God’s people have no power over Satan.

But the truth is that Jesus has the power to bring Satan to his knees with a single command.

The Power over Mortality

Mark 1:29-34

That evening, after overpowering the demon, crowds of people showed up at Peters house where Jesus was staying

Bringing with them people who have battled evil spirits

And others who were sick and dying

And Jesus healed them all

Mark 1:40-44

In fact, soon after that a man with leprosy came and fell on his knees before Jesus, begging him for healing.

If you are willing, you can free me from this chronic disease.

And Jesus was filled with compassion and said to him

I am willing

I do want you to be free of the disease and decay that haunts this physical existence

So, he said, “Be Clean”

And immediately, the disease that have controlled this man’s life and left him a social pariah was now history.

And even though Jesus told him to keep this quiet,

The man was so overjoyed and excited that he told everyone he met

This man has done who no one else could do.

He set me free.

The gospels is full of stories about Jesus healing people

Walking through Capernaum was a remind of the frailty of human existence

Blindness, deafness, paralysis, disease

Our hospitals are testimonies of that same existence

Our funeral homes remind us that even with the advances of science, our bodies have their limits

But it was Jesus who said

To a stranger who suffered chronic bleeding, “Go in peace and be freed from your sufferings”

To his friends grieving the death of their bother, “I am the resurrection and the life.” And then he brought him out of the grave.

And when we think that

Cancer is more powerful that God

Or our frail bodies or failing minds means that we’re going to lose this battle

Then we need to be amazed at Jesus who cured leprosy and conquered death

Revelation 21:4–5 (NIV) — 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

The Power of Sin

Mark 2:3-12

A few days later, Jesus was teaching in Capernaum, and the whole town showed up to hear him

And some people brough their paralyzed friend to be healed by Jesus

They couldn’t get in the doorway, so they wen to the roof and lowered the man into the middle of the living room

Mark says that when Jesus saw their faith, he spoke to the man and what he said changed everything – for this man and for Jesus too.

What they anticipated him saying was

Get up and walk

Or I free you from paralysis

But what he said was something more profound

Your sins are forgiven

If you thought healing a paralyzed man was difficult, you don’t know how impossible it was to gain forgiveness of one’s sins

Jews knew how deadly sin was

It was what caused Adam and Even to be cast out of the garden and banned form the tree of life

It was what demanded a lifetime of sacrifices at the temple

And the yearly ceremony of sending out the scape goat into the wilderness

And even then, the weight of sin would continue to grow

The people knew they were powerless to do anything about it.

unable to stop sinning and

and they couldn’t remove the stain of its guilt

But now this simple rabbi has the audacity to stand there and tell this crippled man that he could forever remove sin

This is blasphemy, the religious leaders said Only Gold can forgive sins

Mark 2:9–11 (NLT) — 9 Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? 10 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, 11 “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

And the man jumps up on his feet

The crowd looks on shocked

This man had been lame for ages, and now he is walking right in front of them.

And the crowd began praising God saying, “We’ve never seen anything like this!”

Nothing cripples people like the weight of failure and guilt and the sense of helplessness to avoid crashing their lives

But to all who have shared those feelings, Jesus says, Take heart, Your sings are forgiven.

1 John 2:1–2 (NLT) — 1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

Conclusion

The Jews were looking for a Messiah who could free them from Rome

But God sent his son to free us from forces more powerful than any military or superpower

Satan battles daily for our destruction, but in the presence of Jesus he cowers like frightened child

The certainty of death pulls us like a draining sink. Every time our body fails us is a reminder that ultimately it has an expiration date.

But Jesus says, I am the great physician that gives life and life to the full.

Where O Death is your victory! Where O Death is your sting.

Thanks be to God who give us victory over death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

And to the hopeless of our sinful failures. Jesus affirms the words of David

Psalm 103:12 (NET) — 12 As far as the eastern horizon is from the west, so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions from us.

And we have two ways of responding

One is to deny

To deny the reality of Satan and death and sin

or to deny God’s ability to do anything about them.

Or the other is to be amazed at Jesus

At his power to shackle Satan

At his power to restore life

At his power to erase our past failures

and say with the crowds in Capernaum

We have never seen anything like this

If what Jesus did for them and can do for you is amazing, then join all who have followed after him

Relinquish the little control you have and make Jesus your Lord

Be washed in baptism to receive his cleansing and

And then, like the demon possessed man and the leper and the paralyzed man, live a life of new possibilities under the protection of God’s own son.

Sources

https://www.ttschmidt.com/blog/exorcism-in-the-first-century-jewish-mind

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