Who is Jesus? – A New Teaching With Authority

Reading Mark 1:21-34.

Introduction - Everyone wants a “better” life. It is not a question of if you want “better” it is a question of how “better” is achieved.

Introduction: The Kingdom of God is at hand….

· v. 14-15 Jesus announces the Kingdom is at hand.

· v. 16-10 Jesus shows us how he intends to spread the kingdom.

· The rest of Mark – loosely three sections

1. Who is Jesus? Mark 1-8a

2. What does it mean for Jesus to be Messiah? Mark 8b-10

3. How Jesus becomes King (Messiah)? Mark 11-16

Mark shows us who Jesus by showing us what Jesus does…. Mark 1:16-45.

Objective – you see who Jesus is and come to love him for the first time, or love him more.

Who is Jesus? – A New Teaching With Authority (v. 27). Plug for the Mark study Guide.

1. Context and Overview

2. The Old Teaching – what they expected from religion.

3. The New Teaching – what they found in Jesus. Stated goal – to show you who Jesus is by what he did. In that you would fall in love with him.

Context and Overview

1. Announcement – 1:14-15

2. Calling of Disciples 1:16-20

3. Establishing God’s kingdom Rule 1:21-45: Preaching, Casting out demons, and Healing.

4. Mark 1:21-28 Confronting Demoniac – What is this? A new teaching with authority!

The Old Teaching – Obey and live. What they expect from religion.

· Deuteronomy 30:15–26 15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lordyour God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

o Obey and live. Disobey and you will be cursed, meaning you will experience the natural consequences of rejecting God. The Law and the Prophets call God’s people to choose.

o The message is good and true but there is a certain futility to it all. No one seems to be willing or even able to actually obey. And in the event that they do they still continuously fail. Why? They fail the same reason we fail. Look at what the Psalmist says.

· Psalm 24:3–6 3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. 5He will receive blessing from the Lordand righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah. Therein lies the problem. No one has clean hands or a pure heart and the Old Teaching has no ability to change either.

· Listen to how Paul describes Jesus audience and the world we live in today. Ephesians 2:1–3 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

o This began in Genesis 3 and continues. We are born into this state of spiritual death and rebellion. Wittingly or unwittingly, we follow the prince of the power of the air. A call to repent without someone with authority to set us free from sin is simply a call to frustration. Jesus however is different.

New Teaching with Authority (Mark 1:25-28). What they found in Jesus.

· Jesus is THE AUTHORITY. The kingdom is the KING. It is about who calls the shorts and who is revered, followed, and obeyed.

Authority’ is what happens when the gardener wants to affirm the goodness of the genuine flowers and vegetables by uprooting the weeds in order to let beauty and fruitfulness triumph over chaos, thorns and thistles.

N. T. Wright

God’s authority, if we are to locate it at this point, is his sovereign power accomplishing this renewal of all creation. Specific authority over human beings, notably the church, must be seen as part of that larger whole.

N. T. Wright

· Rival Authority. The moment Jesus announces his Kingdom he encounters rival authorities, in the spiritual world (v. 21-26) and the natural world (chapter 2 and 3). IN v. 21-26 Jesus encounters a demon. Yes, I said it, and no I have not lost my mind. Think representative of the Serpent in the Garden (Genesis 3). Think representative of the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:1-3). A modern reader will immediately get uncomfortable thinking, “Wait, what, demons? Come on! This is why I can’t take you people seriously.” You are a product of a materialistic worldview that allows only for what can be seen or touched to be considered real. This materialistic worldview does not have room for a spiritual realm that lies outside our realm. Ironically that same world view allows for the existence Dark Matter. From Space.com. What is dark matter?

o By Nola Taylor Tillman. August 01, 2023. Dark matter is the mysterious stuff that fills the universe but no one has ever seen. Dark matter makes up over 80% of all matter in the universe, but scientists have never seen it. We only assume it exists because, without it, the behavior of stars, planets and galaxies simply wouldn't make sense. https://www.space.com/20930-dark-matter.html#section-what-is-dark-matter-and-why-is-it-invisible

o The Bible teaches and presupposes the existence of an unseen spiritual realm that intersects with our realm. God is the creator of all things seen or unseen. Colossians 1:15–16 (ESV)15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. For those who wish to dive into the unseen realm I would recommend a book I am reading now titled The Unseen Realm by Michael Heiser. I would also recommend the Bible Projects series on Spiritual Beings. https://bibleproject.com/explore/category/spiritual-beings-series/

Back to the text. This man is “unclean” because for whatever reason he has become mixed up literally with supernatural evil.

· The Old Teaching without authority would have just told the guy to get clean and renounce evil. The problem being he is intertwined with the evil and powerless to break the stranglehold it has on him.

· Jesus comes along with his Authority and the unclean spirits see him as a threat. Why? He has power. He has authority. This rabbi that looks like everyone else is not like everyone else. Jesus is the creator of all things invisible and visible (Colossians 1:15-16). Jesus casts out the unclean spirit and the man is clean. The crowd’s response. What is this teaching?! Authority.

o Mark 1:29-34 He heals and cast out more unclean spirits. He is undoing the fall right in front of people.

o Mark 1:40-45 Someone who is unclean comes to Jesus and he touches them, making him clean. In the Old Teaching you got yourself clean and then you came to the temple. IN the New Teaching with authority, you come to Jesus and he makes you clean. Authority! BOOM!

The Old teaching told you to obey and you would be blessed. Disobey and you would be cursed. This is good. This is right. But no one obeys fully and, in a sense, everyone is “unclean”. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The old teaching tells you what you already know: you need to stop sinning and be better. You are unclean so stop sinning. Repent. Get clean. Get sober. Get healthy. Start walking in righteousness. Great. Fine. But my hands are unclean and my heart is not pure.

Summary – be clean and walk with God.

Jesus comes along and he takes charge. He does merely tell people how to live. He touches them and makes them clean. He shows up and demons freak out. He shows up and sick people are well. He shows up and lepers are made clean. He shows up and people when are the rejects of society – the tax collectors, the prostitutes who are unclean and despised suddenly feel empowered to walk up that holy hill, not because they have clean hands and a pure heart but because they don’t – and they guy on the hill says. I will make you clean.

Who is this guy?!?!?! Exactly. Who is this guy?

He has a name, Jesus.

He has a mission. Set you free from sin and make you clean.

He has authority. He does not leave you to your own devises to venture on a moralistic self-improvement plan. No. He forgives you. And then he gives you his Spirit, and cleanses you from the inside out.

What’s your role? Go back to verse 15. Repent and believe. Trust him. This is not about you getting clean, it’s about you drawing near to the one who will clean you. That’s his job – to cleans you. Your job is to trust him (believe).