Authority and Compassion

Joshua Erdtsieck

The Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

Mark 1:21–45

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Scripture Reading:

Mark 1:21–45 (CSB)

They went into Capernaum, and right away he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach. They were astonished at his teaching because he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not like the scribes.

Just then a man with an unclean spirit was in their synagogue. He cried out, “What do you have to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

Jesus rebuked him saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit threw him into convulsions, shouted with a loud voice, and came out of him.

They were all amazed, and so they began to ask each other, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” At once the news about him spread throughout the entire vicinity of Galilee.

As soon as they left the synagogue, they went into Simon and Andrew’s house with James and John. Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. So he went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them.

When evening came, after the sun had set, they brought to him all those who were sick and demon-possessed. The whole town was assembled at the door, and he healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place; and there he was praying. Simon and his companions searched for him, and when they found him they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

And he said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come.”

He went into all of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. Then a man with leprosy came to him and, on his knees, begged him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he told him. “Be made clean.” Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. Then he sternly warned him and sent him away at once, telling him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” Yet he went out and began to proclaim it widely and to spread the news, with the result that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. But he was out in deserted places, and they came to him from everywhere.

The Kingdom of Heaven Breaking In

Now we see Jesus in action

We saw his preparation: his baptism and time in the wilderness

We saw that he began to preach that the kingdom of Heaven is near

We saw Jesus call some fishermen to follow him in the mission he was about to start

But now we see Jesus moving

We see what it looks like for the Kingdom of Heaven to be breaking into the world

And it is life changing

It is powerful

It is new and unexpected

Here we have one very long day of Ministry

Jesus teaches and exorcises a demon in a synagogue

Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law

In the evening everyone was coming to their door bringing the sick and demon possessed

Early in the morning Jesus sneaks of to pray (we’ll talk about this more next week)

And he leaves Capernaum throughout the region of Galilee continuing this ministry

And this chapter ends with Jesus cleansing a leper from his disease

We see that Jesus is in the business of miracles

He takes impossibilities and makes them possible

I know there are a lot of verses we are covering today, but in these stories I want us to see two things about Jesus

Jesus has Authority

Jesus has Compassion

(SLIDES)

Authority (Power) and Compassion often don’t overlap in this world

And we tend to separate them in our mind

People with authority hardly ever care about us

In this world, people with power tend to use it to serve themselves

And the people who care deeply about us usually don’t have a lot of power

They usually can’t fix our problems or make change

We tend to have these two concepts very separate

Imagine if Jeff Bezos (250B) wanted to buy you a house

because he heard your story and cares

We would be astounded

The more power people have—the less they seem to care about you as an individual

But we see in Jesus that authority and compassion overlap

(Animating SLIDES)

That Jesus is all powerful, God in flesh

More powerful than any king, ruler, business leader

He can make things change—We see here that He speaks, and things obey

But he doesn’t use this power to serve himself

We see that Jesus deeply cares for people

He is filled with compassion, and moves towards those in need

He uses his power for the sake of the needy

And this is what the kingdom of God looks like

It is an authoritative and powerful kingdom that brings change and miracles, but its focus is on people, drawing people into God’s kingdom

It’s not about miracles for the sake of displaying power

It’s about serving others in compassion and humility

And I would say that often we don’t truly meditate on how powerful Jesus is

And we just as equally forget how much Jesus actually cares about us

So I want to take time today to talk about these two aspects of Jesus we see

The Authority of Jesus

In these verses, the power of Jesus is obvious

Authority in teaching

Authority to drive out demons

Authority to heal many who were sick

Authority to heal a leper

(SLIDES)

Mark 1:32–34 (CSB)

Waited after the sabbath to seek miraculous healing

I think we often hear of these miracles and there is a disconnect almost immediately

We might believe these stories are true

But this is far from the Jesus we think of today

~When was the last time you have ever seen a miracle?~

When was the last time you prayed for healing—and someone was healed?

When was the last time you even encountered someone who was demon possessed?

It seems that we live in a whole different world than what Mark is talking about

I would say yes, we do live in a very different world than 1st century Israel

But also no, we live in the same world

And we follow the same Jesus who is miraculous

When we distance ourselves from the Jesus of the Bible, we distance ourselves from the living and powerful God who created the universe by speaking it into existence

I can attest that miracles do happen today

2 years ago — Homeless man

Miracles all over the world

But why does it seem like so many miracles were happening during Jesus’s ministry?

Because there were!

Because, you see, it was more than just miracles

It was about the message that Jesus had

(SLIDES)

"At strategic moments, God manifested Himself to men by miracles so they had outward, confirming evidence that the words they heard from God's servants were true".

—Billy Graham

You can trust what I have to say

We can see that the people were more than amazing at the miracles that were happening

They were captivated by Jesus’s message

(SLIDES)

Mark 1:21–22 (CSB)

Truly I tell you vs So and so says

Authority—Author

(SLIDES)

Mark 1:25–27 (CSB)

Jesus rebuked him saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit threw him into convulsions, shouted with a loud voice, and came out of him.

They were all amazed, and so they began to ask each other, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

They got the point!

Jesus’s miracles were verifying that he was trustworthy

You see Jesus’s mission was bigger than miracles

As amazing as they are, they wouldn’t solve the real issue

Someone is sick—great! Jesus healed them—but they will still die someday

Jesus’s message was that The Kingdom of God was here, and that people should enter

That people should repent and trust God

And a couple of verses later, Jesus makes it even more clear:

(SLIDES)

Mark 1:35–38 (CSB)

And he said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come.”

Jesus has power—all power and all authority.

We see this in the Gospel of Mark

But He didn’t come to make our lives easier

He’s not a genie that will submit to us and our wishes

He has come to free us from a prison cell

A maximum-security prison with no hope of escape

Not provide us with 5-star luxury service while we still remain imprisoned

Jesus’s power is strong—and he is still in the business of miracles and working in this world

He is in the business of transforming people—and he is powerful and effective in doing so

Saul—Paul

My own life and so many other Christians

And I’m here to tell you that even though it might seem impossible, God is powerful

You can change; you can be set free

You can be healed, not just physically, but spiritually

If only we remember the authority and power of God

In Jesus’s words:

(SLIDES)

Matthew 19:26 (CSB)

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

What is the impossible thing in your life?

An impossible situation that feels like it is just going to destroy you

An impossible choice to make

It is impossible to keep from sinning and stumbling in the same area

God works in the impossible—He is powerful

But not only does Jesus have authority and power

Jesus is full of compassion—Jesus cares

The Compassion of Jesus

We see this throughout these verses but it is on full display with Jesus’s encounter with the Leper

(SLIDES)

Mark 1:40–42 (CSB)

Then a man with leprosy came to him and, on his knees, begged him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he told him. “Be made clean.”

Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

I wish we had time for just this story because it is one of my favorites

We see here Jesus’s care for the hurting and needy

Lepers were outcasts

How many of you know what leprosy is?

In Leviticus they are commanded to keep themselves away from the rest of society

Torn clothes and unkempt hair so people could tell

The had to live in isolation outside of the cities

If people got near to them they had to cry out “unclean! unclean!”

This man had a disease that separated him from his family, his community, corporate worship of God

Now I want you to imagine how this man must have felt

Close your eyes

Leprosy is not genetic—so this man wasn’t born with it

At one point life was normal for him

Then one day he got sick

Maybe it started off small

But it wouldn’t go away

And then a nightmare becomes reality

Your flesh starts falling off

You are kicked out of your community

You are forced to live in isolation

And we don’t know how long this man lived this way

It could have been years—of isolation

And one day, you hear about this man named Jesus from the small town of Nazareth

You hear that he is teaching with authority

That people who are possessed with demons are being set free

That people who are sick are being made healthy!

But surely he can’t do anything to help with leprosy

But then you hear that this Jesus made it to your town

It becomes evident, this is your only opportunity to be healed

You are filled with faith and assurance that this Jesus can heal you

So you approach him and say, “If you are willing, you can make me clean”

Not if you can, but if you want to, if you are willing.

You see the compassion in his eyes

He reaches out and touches you

This is the first time another human has touched you in years

Everyone else is deathly afraid of being near to you

But you feel the love this man has for you

And he says “I am willing, Be made clean.”

Immediately, you see your leprosy being cleansed

You see in real-time, your skin being repaired

Your life has been changed forever by this man Jesus

Open your eyes

Jesus cares.

Jesus is moved with compassion towards us

And it’s interesting

Compassion—Indignation

Jesus’s heart breaks for the state of this world

Jesus’s heart breaks at our brokenness

But in compassion he wants to do something about it

We tend to think that because of our sin, God angry at us, frustrated with us

But first and foremost, his heart is breaking—He’s not angry at you

But just like the leper we see that when God touches us, we don’t make him dirty

He makes us clean

But we have to trust

The leper approached Jesus in faith and was met with compassion

Are we willing to encounter Jesus for ourselves

Most quoted verse in the Bible by the Bible:

(SLIDES)

Exodus 34:6–7 (CSB)

The Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed:

The Lord—the Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin.

God is compassionate

It’s the first thing mentioned in this list

And we see that its a true statement about God in Exodus

But here in Mark we see this compassion firsthand in the life of Jesus

Conclusion

So in the verses we looked at today, we see two irrefutable aspects of Jesus:

He has unquestionable authority

He has deep compassion for others

This is our God

He is the Lion

And the Lamb

He is the creator of the Universe

But we call him Father

This is what the kingdom of heaven looks like

It looks like people using their power and authority to serve others

It looks like compassionate care even for the outcast and those who are different than you

My prayer as we leave here today is that we would press into these truths

It is the prayer of Paul in Ephesians 3

(SLIDES)

Ephesians 3:16–21 (CSB)

I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Without taking time to let these truth’s settle they will only be cliches

“God is powerful” “God loves me”

But let them not just be a T/F statement

Let them be something you believe

I know God is in control

I know that God deeply loves me

And this comes through spending time with him

Prayer, meditation, scripture reading

Read these stories and connect them to your life

This is the same Jesus we follow today