Authority to Free the Enslaved
The Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Communion:
Communion:
The authority of Christ is because He is truly the Son of God. Through His death, burial, and resurrection Christians have been given life and life everlasting. And that is one of the reason we partake of communion together. To remember His body that was hurt for us, and His blood that cleanses us from all sin.
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
[Bread]
[Cup]
Introduction:
Introduction:
The captain of the ship looked into the dark night and saw faint lights in the distance. Immediately he told his signalman to send a message: “Alter your course 10 degrees south.”
Promptly a return message was received: “Alter your course 10 degrees north.”
The captain was angered; his command had been ignored. So he sent a second message: “Alter your course 10 degrees south—I am the captain!”
Soon another message was received: “Alter your course 10 degrees north—I am seaman third class jones.”
Immediately the captain sent a third message, knowing, the fear it would evoke: “Alter your course 10 degrees south—I am a battleship!”
Then the reply came: “Alter your course 10 degrees north—I am a lighthouse.”
—Leadership magazine, Spring 1983
vv. 21-22) Jesus teaches with Authority:
vv. 21-22) Jesus teaches with Authority:
Before we dive in to talk about Christ’s authority there are a couple points I want to draw your attention too.
First is that the synagogue was incredibly important and central institution for the Jews in Israel during the time of Christ. One scholar recently proposed that Jerusalem alone had somewhere close to 365 synagogues during the late second temple period.
[pictures of what ancient synagogues looked like]
Synagogue means “to bring together” and what was being brought together was the “house of prayer,” the “house of assembly,” and the “house of study.” That is how it came to be know as finally “place of assembly.”
We do not have a exact time and date of when they were created. We do have an educated guess, that sometime during the exile of Israel either by the Assyrians or the Babylonians, synagogues were created. They were established to help foster the Israelites spirituality, and to teach their communities God’s Word
[Picture of Jesus’ synagogue]
There was a synagogue that was discovered by archeologist in Capernaum, perhaps the very one Jesus is visited in our text.
Secondly, Jesus was faithful to weekly worship in the synagogue.
The synagogue, with its leaders and its attendees, were far from perfect; yet Christ on the Sabbath, entered and worshipped faithfully (Mat 12, Mark 1, Luke 4). His example leaves all without excuse.
25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
This isn’t the only example set for by Christ for us to follow either. He demonstrates quite a few things we as believers should follow our Lord in doing as well.
Christ sets the example for us to follow, pertaining to one’s spiritual foundations:
Gathering together// Studying the Word of God (cf. Luke 2:41-47)
16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
Serving
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Prayer
9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Alone time
16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.
Fasting
16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
[21] After the call of the first four disciples, Mark’s Gospel continues plugging away. We find Jesus teaching in the synagogue. Although we are told repeatedly in this passage that Jesus taught with authority, there isn’t must to go on here, to help us understand what he said apart from:
14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Just like in verses 16-20, the narrative is abbreviated so that the reader receives only a single impression—that Jesus taught with authority.
For a synagogue they wouldn’t have had a pastor/teacher. An apparent custom of the synagogue was to allow learned guests to speak on the Scripture reading for that day. This would have allowed Jesus to teach in the synagogues and after His death and resurrection Paul to do the same.
Again we are not told what exactly Jesus taught on or what passage of Scripture they were reading. Again Mark’s is honing in on the authority Jesus has.
The scribes of the day, that is the bible teachers, rarely taught boldly. They would often quote a variety of teachers (rabbis); where as Jesus taught with boldness!
Jesus taught with authority because He had authority. He brought a divine message and was confident that it was from God. He didn’t need to quote men, He knew what God wanted to bring across to those listening.
Jesus taught with authority because He knew what He was talking about. It is so difficult to teach with this type of boldness if you don’t know the material your teaching. One of the biggest critiques of a Sunday school teacher would be to prepare for your lesson the day of…
Jesus taught with authority because He believed what He taught. When you believe what you are teaching, it comes across to your audience with authority.
So far in this Gospel we have seen Christ submit to His Father—in going to be baptized by John, in going out into the wilderness. Now we see the authority of Christ. Authority flows from submission. We are not safe with real authority from God unless we are also submitted to God.
[Calvary Chapel’s view of leaders: looking for those who are willing to serve without a title]
Jesus showed authority when He was with the wild beasts, when angels served Him, when pronouncing the gospel, calling disciples to Himself, and there will be so many more incredible displays as we go through this Gospel.
Family, We might be tempted to look at this authority and only associate it here with his style of teaching… that would be a mistake, because that is only part of what is happening, as the story unfolds, though, it is not the way he spoke that is important; it is what happens when he teaches.
In the next couple verses we are going to see that his presences would provoke a confrontation with the demoniac.
vv. 23-24) The Enslaved:
vv. 23-24) The Enslaved:
Where Peter, Andrew, James, and John were confronted with the gospel message of Christ, and submitted to it, the result is quite different. What we would except is for there to be harmony, yet division and strife is found. Christ would later warn of this reaction to the gospel:
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
This strife lied concealed in the minds of the congregation, but it was made plain in the outcry of the demoniac.
In describing this man who who was demon possessed, Mark used the same grammar Paul used to describe the Christian’s being “in Christ:”
30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—
This unclean spirit was the evil lord of this man’s life. The similarity in the wording between the Christian having Jesus and this man having a demon demonstrates that He is in us, and we are in Him. We are “Jesus possessed” in the right sense, because His filling and influence is only for good.
Even as Jesus can live in us, so one uninhabited by Jesus can be inhabited by a demon if the invitation is extended, either consciously or unconsciously. Exposure to things such as spiritism, astrology, occult practices and drugs are very dangerous. They open doors to the demonic world that are better left closed.
What does this demon proclaim? “I know who You are; the Holy One of God!”
The demoniac man bears unwilling witness to the person and work of Jesus, though he recoils instinctively from his purity, realizing that here is a preacher with whom he had nothing in common, crying “what have you to do with us?”
Capernaum, the scene of the miracle, was a proud city of unbelief, compared with which Tyre and Sidon would fare better in the day of judgment.
23 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”
These two verses paint for us a rather strange order of events. What sort of place is Capernaum to find themselves in this particular spiritual situation. That a demon-possessed man could worship in the synagogue with no sense of incongruity, until being confronted by Jesus. For me there are a lot of questions, about what is going on:
What was he doing there?
Was he a regular?
Did he only come just to hear Jesus teach?
Unfortunately we are not told. But if he were a regular attender, then the synagogue was spiritually dead. “Pastor, how do we know that?” Because the man could attend services time after time and never be helped spiritually.
Application:
How many services throughout America are dead, so lifeless that men with evil spirits can sit in them and never be convicted or helped spiritual?
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
13 Therefore the Lord said:
“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
Family, rather than looking outward only, how many of us sit in this place and hear the Word of God week after week or live among believers and never make a decision to turn from our evil ways? Sitting in service after service living life with other Christians week after week, and yet never decisively turning to God.
22 So Samuel said:
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
1 Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.
51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.
This man cried out, “I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” This is an indictment against so many that deny, while demons confess:
19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
The world cries out, “what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth?” Why? Because He is the Son of God who demands belief and purity of life, self-denial and a life of sacrifice.
Wealth cries, “Leave us alone. Let us secure ourselves, build up, and bank more and more.”
Power cries, “Leave us alone. Let us take over, exercise authority, rule and reign, dominate, maneuver and manipulate”
Ego cries, “leave us along. Let us seek recognition, attention, esteem, honor, and praise.
The flesh cries out, “Leave us alone. Let us excite, indulge, stimulate, relax, release, escape, party, revel, and fornicate as we desire…”
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
vv. 25-26) Submission leads to freedom:
vv. 25-26) Submission leads to freedom:
Jesus didn’t need to rely on ceremonies or superstition or some mumbo-jumbo to cast out the demon… He simply demonstrated the authority of God, by telling the demon-possessed man to shut up.
There were other exorcists in Jesus’ day. He was not the only one who tried to cast out demons. But there was a huge difference between Jesus and other exorcists. They used long, fancy, elaborate, superstitious ceremonies and often failed. Jesus never failed to cast out a demon, and He never used elaborate ceremony.
Josephus about the work of an ancient exorcist named Eleazar, around the time of Jesus: “He put to the nose of the possessed man a ring which had under its seal one of the roots prescribed by Solomon, and then, as the man smelled it, drew out the demon through his nostrils, and, when the man at once fell down, adjured the demon never to come back into him, speaking Solomon’s name and reciting the incantations which he had composed. Then, wishing to convince the bystanders and prove to them that he had this power, Eleazar placed a cup or foot-basin full of water a little way off and commanded the demon, as it went out of the man, to overturn it and make known to the spectators that he had left the man.
Today there are many so called “deliverers” that encourage the demons to speak, or worse, believe what the demons say. Jesus avoided such theatrics and merely delivered people. You might be tempted to argue with me that, “Well, if Jesus could ask for the demons name shouldn’t we?” NO!
You are not Jesus Christ the Son of God. He was asking the name for the benefit of understanding what had taken place.
What are your priorities? The well being of the person or the chance to speak to a demon?
Look at the incredible power Christ displays: How did he cast the unclean spirit out? By His Word.
Application:
Family how we need to not only learn to depend upon His Word, but we need to submit to it as well!
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
I promise you that submission to Christ leads to freedom. If you are struggling today with habitual sin and cannot break free, might I suggest that it is because we have not submitted ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That we are trying in our power to overcome, when we truly need to let go and let God have full control over our lives.
[Dog analogy]
vv. 27-28) The response to Christ:
vv. 27-28) The response to Christ:
Jesus’ authority in teaching and over the possessed had an impact upon the people there. They reacted in three ways:
They were amazed and astonished. What the people had witness was unbelievable. Using no charms, no invocations, no exorcising devices, Jesus simply said, “Come out of him;” and the unclean spirit was dramatically cast out of the man.
They questioned among themselves, “What thing is this?” What new power or revelation/doctrine is this? What is God showing us? Is this even of God?
They spread His fame everywhere. Imagine the conversation throughout Israel.
Application:
The impact of Christ’s authority should have the same impact on us. All three of those responses should characterize us as we witness the power of God in changing and healing lives. Yet, how hard-hearted (gospel-hardened) so many of us have become.
We should ask ourselves these two question:
What affect/effect does God’s word (His authority) have on you?
Can others see that Christ has authority in your life?
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
Benediction:
Benediction:
24 “The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.” ’