Jesus’ Mission | Mark 1:21-45

Before we dive into our passage for tonight, I want to share with y’all what I’ve been reading here as of late. In my personal Bible reading, I have been going through the book of Psalms. And I have loved it. I’ve been going in and highlighting all of these praises to God across the Psalms. We’ll do these devotions on Sunday mornings with the worship team and here as of late I’ve even been using parts of the Psalms I’ve been reading through to make our devotions. And I have those devotions in my Bible so every time I read through the Psalms from now on, I can see all those things God was showing me as I was reading and making those devotions.

Now the reason I’m telling y’all this is because there’s something special about having your own Bible that you read through, highlight, and make notes in. And I want to encourage y’all, bring your Bibles on Wednesday night. It would be so cool if we went to pass out Bibles on Wednesday and everyone had their own Bible with them. Because that shows us that Christianity is not just a Wednesday night and Sunday morning event. You carry this Bible with you at home and at church and maybe even at school to read daily.

So I encourage y’all, next week bring your own Bible. Read in it, highlight in it, leave some notes in there from the sermon. It’ll be so valuable to you to be able to go back to these things God has been showing you in His Word over the years. And if you don’t have one, let us know and we’ll give you one. I’ll check in with y’all next week and we’ll see who all brought one.

Alright let’s dive into our message for tonight. Turn to Mark 1 verse 21. We’re gonna read our scripture as we talk about it tonight so I’m not gonna read all of it right now, but we’ll get to it.

Now here lately I’ve been watching detective shows a lot. Who all here likes detective shows? I love them. There’s just something about there being a mystery to solve that keeps my attention.

So there’s a classic scene in a detective show where there has been a serious high profile murder, and they bring in the smug street criminal for questioning. The smug street criminal doesn’t think he’s being questioned for murder, he just thinks the cops are trying to get him to confess to his shady business dealings. And he thinks this detective is just a bottom of the totem pole detective. But in actuality the detective is FBI and he’s being questioned about a serious murder. And so they start the interrogation and the FBI detective starts asking about the victim, and the criminal is coming up with these smart remarks in response. The FBI detective is trying to find a motive for why this criminal would kill the victim, but they’re just not talking. Finally the criminal asks the FBI detective why they’re asking about this person and the detective lays down the hammer and tells the criminal this person has been murdered and they are the prime suspect.

All of the sudden the interview changes. The criminal thought the cops were just trying to figure out how he makes his money. But it turns out the FBI is asking about a high profile murder. And suddenly the criminal is willing to fess up to anything to absolve himself of the crime because he doesn’t wanna go to jail for murder. That’s life in prison. Before he wasn’t giving the detective anything to work with, but now he’s realized the gravity of the situation. He realizes the detective is not just any detective, they’re FBI. This is serious stuff.

I feel like sometimes we don’t get the gravity of the situation when it comes to sharing the gospel. We’re just like the smug criminal. We don’t think the situation is very serious. And we don’t really take God very seriously. We think of God as this fairy that blesses us with all these good things in life when in actuality, He’s the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the God of the Universe and He’s the one deserving of us blessing Him. Even if we don’t think that in our mind, we certainly treat Him that way. We only pray when we need something, we only read our Bible when it’s convenient for us, we only go to church when we feel like it.

There’s a problem with our view of God; with our view of Jesus. In our minds, Jesus has no authority, He’s just our get out of hell free card. But if we truly saw the authority of Jesus; if we saw how great He is, we’d follow Him even when it’s uncomfortable, inconvenient, and difficult.

And that’s what our passage tonight is about. It shows us the authority of Jesus and what Jesus’ mission is. And as we understand His authority, we get on board with the mission.

So let’s start tonight taking a look at the authority of Jesus.

1. Jesus’ Authority (Mark 1:21-34)

So last we left off in Mark, Jesus got baptized, was tempted in the wilderness, and he called the first disciples.

Like I said last week, Mark is super fast moving so we are instantly taken to the next major scene in Jesus’ life. He and His disciples go to the town of Capernaum; which would act almost as a home base for Jesus’ ministry. And in verses 21 through 34 we see 3 ways in which Jesus’ authority is displayed.

The first is…

1. Jesus has authority in His teaching

Mark 1:21–22 NLT

21 Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum. When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike the teachers of religious law.

So Jesus starts teaching the Jews of Capernaum in the synagogue and they were amazed at His authority in teaching. Mark even makes a note that the teachers of the religious law in their day did not teach with real authority, but Jesus did.

The religious teachers back in the day were teaching based on the Old Testament. Which was fine, but there were a lot of question marks in the air as to what many of the Old Testament teachings were pointing to. The teachings were not incorrect, but incomplete. The Messiah hadn’t come yet. So their teachings were just interpretations of the old covenant religious law.

However Jesus taught as one who had real authority. Jesus was the one that the Old Testament teachings were pointing towards. So He was showing them the fulfillment of these teachings; the complete story. He was giving new revelation to the Jews in Capernaum. And because of Jesus, we can teach out of the Old Testament today with the complete picture in mind.

And many would likely respond just thinking Jesus was some fanatic that wanted to stir the pot, but then something happens that adds to the credibility, or authority, of Jesus.

Which leads us to the next way Jesus shows His authority in this passage, which is…

2. Jesus has authority over demons

Mark 1:23–26 NLT

23 Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24 “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 25 But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. 26 At that, the evil spirit screamed, threw the man into a convulsion, and then came out of him.

So you’re telling me this wasn’t just some crazy dude spouting nonsense? He just casted out a demon! And the demon knew who He was. He calls Jesus “the Holy One of God.”

This is a demonstration from Jesus that His authoritative teaching is not baseless. It’s real. And we see by the reaction of the people that they responded well.

Mark 1:27–28 NLT

27 Amazement gripped the audience, and they began to discuss what had happened. “What sort of new teaching is this?” they asked excitedly. “It has such authority! Even evil spirits obey his orders!” 28 The news about Jesus spread quickly throughout the entire region of Galilee.

The word is spreading that Jesus is here. And His authority is being made known throughout the entire region.

But Jesus isn’t done showing His authority, it keeps going. We also see that…

3. Jesus has authority over sickness

After they leave the synagogue Jesus and His disciples go to Peter’s house. And we find out that Peter’s mother-in-law was sick. So they tell Jesus about this and Jesus heals her.

This was a big deal. This woman was very sick and as soon as Jesus took her by the hand the fever left her. And we know that soon everyone heard about it because many sick and demon possessed people were brought to Jesus to be healed. And He healed many people and cast out many demons.

Jesus shows the people of Capernaum and us that He has authority. That He is in control. Now you might be thinking, “We get it. Jesus has authority, what’s new?”

You might know in your mind that Jesus has authority. But does your life show that you truly believe it?

Imagine with me for a moment that you’re in an infinite maze. You know how most mazes have dead ends that show you that this way is the wrong way? This maze doesn’t have any dead ends. So if you make one wrong turn, you’ll just be wondering in the wrong direction for eternity. It would be impossible to solve the maze by yourself.

Now imagine that you’re on speakerphone with the guy who designed the maze and he can see from above where you are; guiding you through the maze. Well what was impossible is now very possible because the guy in control is guiding you through it.

We know that God is in control, yet we so often don’t listen to Him. We completely ignore the guy in control of the maze. And we just aimlessly wonder through life hoping we make the right decisions. We know the right decisions! It’s here in the Word of God! Don’t ignore the Guy in control. Read His Word and follow it.

Now it’s important for us to understand that the people were still blind to the full picture of who Jesus really was at this point. They just saw Him as a miracle-worker. Which shows that He had authority, but that wasn’t the purpose for Jesus coming to Earth. He didn’t come to heal people or cast out demons. He was here for a much larger reason than that.

Which is why we see verses 35 through 45 come after this. We just saw the authority that Jesus has, but now we’re gonna gain some insight into why He came to Earth.

2. Jesus’ Mission (Mark 1:35-45)

And Just like in our first point, we’re gonna see three things Jesus seeks in the next 11 verses that show us His mission.

Mark 1:35 NLT

35 Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.

So the first thing Jesus seeks is…

1. Jesus seeks personal time with God

Jesus made a deliberate effort to make time to spend with God. And keep in mind the previous day was no cakewalk. He spent the entire day teaching, casting out demons, and healing sick people. Yet he was up before the sun even rose the next morning praying to the Father.

Listen I know Jesus is spiritual superman and it looks impossible to be Him, but it’s our mission to be more like Him every day. So that means we’re never too busy for God. Even when we spend the entire day doing stuff, we still make an effort to spend time with God because Jesus did it.

Finally the disciples are able to find Jesus in verse 37 and they ask Jesus, “Hey bud, watcha doin? We got more people to heal.”

Mark 1:38 NLT

38 But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.”

Which leads to our next thing Jesus sought to do on Earth which was…

2. Jesus seeks to take the gospel to everyone

Jesus didn’t just want to preach to the people in Capernaum. He sought to take the gospel to everyone. So He wanted to go to other towns and preach to them as well.

How often do we get comfortable in our little friend circle and we forget about those outside the circle? We may even share the gospel with our friends which is great, but there are others who need to hear the gospel who are outside of your friend group.

Jesus didn’t limit who He shared the gospel with. He sought to take the gospel to everyone. So that should be our mission as well.

And so Jesus and His disciples traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching and casting out demons.

Then just before we hit chapter 2, we see this random story of Jesus healing a man with leprosy. This man kneels before Jesus and begs Jesus to heal Him.

Mark 1:41–42 NLT

41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” 42 Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.

So we see another demonstration that Jesus has authority even over leprosy.

Now by this time, Jesus’ ministry has caught some eyes and a lot of people know about this miracle-worker that has the power to heal and cast out demons. But like we said earlier, Jesus didn’t just come to this Earth to be a miracle-worker. It’s awesome that He did those things and He changed many people’s lives on this Earth having done those miracles, but Jesus didn’t just want to save people’s physical bodies from demons and disease, He wanted to save their souls from their sin. I’m gonna repeat that because that’s important. Jesus didn’t just want to save people’s physical bodies from demons and disease, He wanted to save their souls from their sin.

Which brings us to the 3rd thing Jesus sought to do which was…

3. Jesus seeks to cleanse the heart

Like I said, Jesus at this point was very well-known as a miracle-worker, but He wanted to be able to preach the gospel without being overrun by sick and demon possessed people in need of healing. So He tells this man, Don’t tell anyone about this. Go do the proper rituals and sacrifices to be declared clean from your leprosy, but don’t tell people that I did this.” Jesus didn’t want to just be known as a miracle-worker, He wanted to save people from their sins.

And there’s actually some really cool symbolism in this passage that further displays this. Back in the Old Testament, if someone had leprosy, they might as well have been dead. If you had leprosy, you were declared unclean. There wasn’t a cure for it; in fact it was common knowledge to the Jews that only God could cure it. And so if someone had it, they were banished from the camp or the town while they got over the leprosy so they wouldn’t spread it to others. And if they survived and spend a certain amount of time in the wilderness and did the proper washings, they could return to the camp or town.

So leprosy eventually became a picture of what sin does to the hearts of the Israelites. Leprosy rotted away at the physical body just as sin rots away at their souls. So Jesus was showing that yes He is a miracle-worker who can heal disease, but He came ultimately to heal hearts from sin.

And now Jesus has entrusted us to be on the frontlines in His mission to fight sin. We studied Matthew 28:18-20 at the end of last semester which was the Great Commission where Jesus commissioned us to be part of His mission. So we now seek personal time with God, seek to take the gospel to everyone, and seek to cleanse hearts.

Jesus has proven Himself to have authority. We know that Jesus’ authority isn’t limited to teaching, casting out demons, and sickness, He eventually would take on the sin of the world on the cross and would defeat death by rising from the grave in His ultimate display of His authority. So if Jesus has all the authority, why are we ignoring Him? Why are we running away from Him? The authority of Jesus should move us to draw closer to Him and to share with everyone how awesome He is.

So how will you respond to Jesus’ authority?