Mark My Words Sermon Series
Notes
Transcript
Authority and Submission
Authority and Submission
Introduction
Introduction
And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Jesus has authority over demons and to heal
Jesus has authority over demons and to heal
Jesus had the authority to heal and the authority over demons to where they had to obey, however He still takes the time to commune with the Father.
Jesus’ Authority as a theme of Mark 1
Last week Pastor Lee spoke strongly about Jesus’ authority. This authority is a theme in this first chapter.
Mark is communicating that Jesus has authority over everything.
Jesus has authority in heaven (verse 11)
Jesus has authority over Satan (verses 12-13)
Jesus has authority over human beings (verses 16-20)
Jesus has authority to teach (verse 27)
Jesus has authority over demons (verses 25-26)
And now we see that Jesus has the authority to heal.
Why?
Mark’s goal is to show that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God that Isaiah spoke.
Mark wants it to be clear to His readers that Jesus of Nazareth, who they know died on a cross, was not just a man dying for a cause.
But He was God who died and then rose.
Mark wants his readers to know that Jesus death was different.
It accomplished something
I. Authority to Heal
A. Read verses 29-31
B. Here is Mark’s first example that shows that Jesus has authority over disease.
Authority
· Remember what Mark chapter 1 is all about.
· It’s about Jesus’ authority.
· Showing that He is the Son of God.
· That He is God Himself.
· Remember what Pastor Lee read last week:
“And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”
· If He was just teaching something new, then they could just write that off.
· Like ok big deal, who are you to come with this new stuff,
· We don’t have to listen to you.
· We have the Law, we have the books of Moses, why do we need what you have to say.
Illustration:
- I’ve known dumb people who looked smart, hung out in smart circles, tried to do things smart people do, only for it to be revealed that they were indeed not smart.
- So guess what? I’m not listen to them.
- They don’t get the same respect as someone who has proven to be knowlegdable.
- As a kid, I saw older dudes come on the court, get worked, and lose every game, but then try and tell me how I’m supposed to play.
- Like naw bro, why would I listen you?
- But dude who was working you, shutting you down on defense and scoring all the points, if he has something to say to me I’m going to listen to him.
· Jesus didn’t just teach something new.
· He showed that He has the authority to teach something new.
· Something that they(and we by extension), should listen to and obey.
i. God said this is My Son
ii. He overcame satan
iii. He casted out a demon
iv. This wasn’t regular everyday stuff people saw.
v. This was unique.
· Mark is setting it up that this man did things that only God could do.
· Therefore, He has the authority of God because He is God.
C. Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law.
D. They are in Capernaum at Peter’s house.
a. This ends up being sort of a home base for Jesus and the disciples.
E. Text says He grabbed her by the hand and raised her up and she was healed.
F. No thrills, no fireworks, not even any words said.
G. He grabbed her by the hand and the fever left her.
Mother-In-Law healed:
· Mark doesn’t go into a lot of detail about what else was wrong with Peter’s MIL.
· What we know however, is that if you have a fever cause by a viral infection, then that is contagious.
· We stay away from contagious people.
· I know I’m not the only one that takes a step back when someone says they are sick.
· Let it be covid.
· Like you standing right in my face talking to me and you know you have covid.
· We about ready to send all that Christian stuff out the door at point.
· She was sick.
· In that culture they would have called her unclean.
· Jesus grabs her hand.
· I believe everything Jesus did was calculated.
o He could have spoken from outside the house, “Get up you are healed”
o And because He has the authority to heal, she would have been healed without Him going near her.
o He didn’t have to go near what was considered unclean.
o But not only did He go near her, but He grabbed her by the hand.
o That’s an intimate gesture.
o That shows that I’m here.
o That shows that I care.
o That shows that despite all else I’m with you in the uncleanness.
· Did not Jesus do that for us.
· Did not Jesus say to Peter(who is Mark’s main source for this book)
· Did not Jesus say in Acts 10:15 don’t call unclean what God has made clean
· Aren’t you glad you serve a God who comes to you, grabs you by the hand and makes you clean.
· Aren’t you glad you serve a God who cleanses you from all unrighteousness?
· Aren’t you glad you serve a God who sanctifies you, having cleansed you by the washing of water with the word?
· Aren’t you glad you serve a God who can create a clean heart and renew a right spirit within you?
· Aren’t you glad that you serve a God who instead of casting you out as unclean, unrighteous, undeserving, chooses through His great mercy and love, to cleanse you from all sin by the blood of Jesus.
· You don’t have to be clean to meet Jesus.
· He’ll come to you in all your mess, and raise you up.
H. He completely healed her.
a. We know that cause otherwise they wouldn’t have let her serve.
b. I don’t care how hungry you are, you don’t want no one sick serving you food.
c. Not only did she know she was healed, everyone around knew she was healed.
d. There was no question what Jesus had done.
I. Read verses 32-34
J. Remember it was still the Sabbath.
a. Same day where Pastor Lee left off last.
b. In Jewish culture the day started in the evening.
c. So when comparing to our calendar now, the Sabbath was sun down Friday to sun down Saturday.
d. Once the sun went down on Saturday it was no longer the Sabbath but the start of first day of the week.
e. So they were no longer bound by the laws of the Sabbath.
K. And word spread about Jesus
a. What He did at the synagogue, and what he did for Peter’s MIL
b. The whole town came to where He was.
L. And Jesus healed people with various diseases and drove out many demons.
2 Categories
There are 2 categories of people Jesus healed.
1. Those who were sick with various diseases
2. Those who were demon possessed.
There are some misleading teachings out there on this so I want to make sure I address this and I’m clear about it.
· There is a difference between having an illness and demonic possession.
· Not all sick people have demons.
o It’s not always the demon of cancer
o Or the demon of the flu
o Or the demon of diabetes
o Or whatever
· Sometimes sickness is just that.
o You ate something bad
o You caught a virus
o Hereditary disease
o Something along those lines
· Sometimes, though, Jesus encountered people who were demonically possessed, and it manifested in sickness.
· Not always, but we do see in the Bible that some demon possession led to physical ailment. (Luke 13)
M. Jesus wouldn’t let the demons who possessed these people to speak because they knew who Jesus really was.
a. There’s that authority again.
b. They needed His permission to speak and He did not give it so they were silent.
c. If only we had that type of obedience.
N. It says they knew Him.
O. What did they know?
a. They knew what we now know.
b. They knew what Mark said in verse 1, that this isn’t a regular Jew.
c. This is the Son of God.
d. They knew that this was the Word.
o The Word that was, in the beginning.
o The Word that was with God, and the Word who was God.
o They knew this Jesus was Him.
e. John 1 goes on to say:
All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
f. They knew that when Jesus spoke, they had to obey because He was their maker.
g. He had authority over them, He created them.
h. I’m really trying not to tie the application to these demons but man.
P. Our lives should demonstrate His authority as our creator.
II. Prayer and Why Jesus Came
A. Read verse 35
B. Jesus has all the authority.
C. He is proving that.
D. Yet He still takes time out of His day to pray to the Father.
E. This is the first of 3 times that Mark writes about Jesus at prayer.
a. Each time it was dark and He was alone.
F. I think we can take some practical applications from Jesus’ life about prayer.
Prayer
What we know from the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life is that He prioritized prayer.
o This Jesus,
o Who had all the authority
o Who was perfect and holy
o Thought it necessary to prioritize prayer.
If He prioritized prayer in His life, then so should we.
o It doesn’t have to look exactly like this.
o Don’t get caught up in the details and miss the point.
o I don’t believe the application point here is that we should only pray when it’s dark.
o Or that we should pray at the same hour that Jesus did.
The point isn’t about when you pray, but that prayer is a priority in your life.
o If that means you pray in the morning then fine,
o If you pray around lunch time or in the evening or right before you go to bed, then that’s also fine.
I believe the type of prayer here is important.
o The text says He departed and went to a desolate place.
o That means He was alone.
§ Away from the disciples
§ Away from the crowds
§ Away from anything that would seek to distract Him
o It was just Him and the Father.
How often do we seek to be alone with God?
o Not just to be alone and on our phones
o Not just to get away from kids/spouse/family/friends/neighbors
o But to get away for the purpose of spending that time with God.
This is what ought to be a regular occurrence in our lives.
o Prioritizing alone time with God.
Illustrations:
Some might say "I’m already so busy I just don’t have the time to do that.”
o And honestly, I believe you.
o Some of us have schedules that are so busy that it is hard to carve out time to just be alone with God.
o To you I would say that its time to make some changes in your life.
o Even if that means shaking up your whole schedule and flow on how you live day to day.
I can’t put a value on time spent alone with God.
o I can say that you should do it, because Jesus did it.
o And Jesus, in Matthew 6 both assumes you will do it and teaches you how.
o I can’t put a value on it because it is in valuable.
o If you are not already prioritizing prayer in your life, I can’t say exactly how praying to God will impact your life,
o But I can tell you that it will.
o Just give it a try.
o And try it expectation free.
o Get rid of what you think you know about what should or should not happen and just let God work on your empty canvas.
o Be completely open and see what God does in you and through you.
How to pray
o Maybe you don’t know how to pray.
o Just praise Him then.
o Tell Him how good He is and how good He has been to you.
o Give Him thanks for things He has done.
o Start there.
o Or start with Matthew 6:9-13
o Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name
§ Who is God?
§ Is He holy? Tell Him
§ Is He good? Tell Him
§ Let Him know that you recognized that He is unlike any other being.
§ There is no One like you.
§ Even though I don’t see you I know you are real, I believe in You.
§ And because You are who You are, I recognize that all the glory all the honor, all of my worship, belongs to you.
o Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven
§ God as I take on this day I pray that your will be done in my life.
§ That the decisions I make, the things that I do, how I treat my family, my coworkers, all who I come around today,
§ I pray that it models after Jesus.
§ Because that is your will that I live my life as one conformed to the image of the Son.
§ God in the heavens they obey you.
§ Both angels and demons alike.
§ Let that obedience also be in me today.
o Give us this day our daily bread
§ God I pray that you continue to provide for me and my family.
§ That we have all we need to make it through the day
§ God thank you cause I have more than I need for the day.
§ And I praise you because I know it’s not because of me, but Your favor on my life that I have more than what I need.
o And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
§ God I know I consistently fall short of Your standards.
§ But I ask You for, and I thank You for, forgiveness at the same time because I know you have given it to me.
§ Help me God has I go throughout the day to forgive others as you have forgiven me.
§ To not live with grudges or hatred in my heart towards other people
o And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
§ God I know the enemy is out there going against all that is good.
§ Seeking to steal, kill, and destroy.
§ But I pray that he does not have his way in my life.
§ I pray that you protect me from his attacks, on my life, on my marriage, on my health, on my relationships.
§ I pray for your protection knowing that you have the authority and power to protect me.
§ That nothing happens outside of your control.
§ And also protect me from my own sinful desires that can lead me astray and cause me to ruin my own life.
o That’s the model prayer Jesus laid out in Matthew 6:9-13
o You can do that with just you, God, and your bible.
G. Do I promise that this will change your situation in life and all your problems will go away?
a. No.
b. Praying everyday might not cause your outward struggles to go away, but it will change you.
c. Paul pleaded with God to remove a thorn in His Flesh
d. Instead of removing the thorn from His flesh, God gave Paul what he needed to live with it.
e. Paul’s prayer wasn’t answered but he was changed on the inside.
f. His perspective of the situation, how he handled the situation changed.
H. If you are not already spending alone time with God, if you start, you will see a difference.
I. Those around you will see a difference.
J. Maybe it will result in prayers being answered that have gone unanswered for years.
K. Maybe it won’t.
L. You however, you won’t be the same.
M. It is impossible to consistently spend time in the presence of God and not change.
a. Change for the better.
b. A change that happens first on the inside of you and then manifests itself outwardly in your actions.
c. Some people will love it some people, who like the old you, will hate it.
d. But stay consistent out of your love for the One saved you.
N. Read verses 36-37
O. After the events of Saturday, people wake up Sunday morning looking for Jesus.
a. The Greek verb here used for “followed after Him” is used of a hunt or chase.
b. Meaning they were aggressive in trying to find Him.
c. They weren’t waiting to see if He was coming back.
d. They went after Him and weren’t going to stop until they found Him.
P. Eventually they did hunt Him out or track Him down and Mark tells us why.
Q. Everyone is looking for you.
a. Their goal was to bring Him back to Capernaum.
b. What’s implied here is that they were looking to bring Jesus back to take advantage of his popularity, and maybe even to perform some more miracles.
c. Not to different from today when something goes viral
d. If you go viral, you have a window of opportunity where so many eyes are now on you that weren’t before.
e. People use that to grow their social media platform.
R. While Peter and the crew had their plans of what they wanted from Jesus, He had His own plan.
S. Jesus is never going to do anything that goes against His plans.
a. A lot of people seek out Jesus wanting something from Him.
b. But what they want from Him doesn’t always line up with what He is giving.
c. It doesn’t always line up with why He came.
d. And Jesus always stuck to the original plan and the original timing.
e. That’s why He didn’t let the demons talk.
f. They would have messed up the timing and the plan.
T. Read verse 38
U. This is why I came.
a. Yes I am healing people and performing miracles.
b. But that isn’t why I came.
c. I came to preach.
d. To preach the gospel.
e. And He did that in Capernaum.
f. He preached, He healed and casted out demons to prove His authority to teach,
g. And now He is about to go and do the same somewhere else.
h. People need to hear the gospel message today same as they did with Jesus is here.
i. What good does it do you for God to heal all your sicknesses, perform miracles in your life, and then you die and go to Hell.
j. Jesus offers a relationship with God that forgives your sins and gives you eternal life in paradise.
V. Read verse 39
W. Point here is that Jesus had a pattern of behavior that he reproduced in our towns in Israel.
X. Why does Mark focus on synagogues?
a. Likely because this is where the word of God was preached.
b. For Jews this is where you went to hear the word of God.
c. So it makes sense for the Word who became flesh to be in the place that was meant for the Word, that was meant for Him.
d. We don’t have synagogues, but we have local bodies of believers (called churches) who assemble together to proclaim the Word, to teach the Word.
e. Being taught the Word ought to be a priority in your life as well.
Y. If being in places where the Word of God was proclaimed and taught was important to Jesus, then it’s important to me.
III. Conclusion
A. Main take aways:
1. Jesus has authority over everything.
2. Jesus prioritized prayer and alone time with God.
3. Jesus came to preach the gospel
B. fd