The Gospel of Mark, Pt. 8

As One Who Has Authority

A story is told involving the daughter of former president Jimmy Carter when he was still in office. His daughter Amy brought an assignment home one Friday afternoon, and stumped by a questions on the Industrial Revolution, Amy sought help from her mom, Rosalynn. But Rosalynn was also stumped by the question, and so in turn, she asked an aid to seek clarification from the Labor Department. And a "rush" was placed on the request since the assignment was due Monday.

Well, thinking the question was a serious request from the President himself, an official from the Labor Department cranked up the government computer and kept a full team of technicians and programmers working overtime all weekend, at a reported cost of several hundred thousand dollars. They eventually got the job done, and the massive computer printout on official government letterhead was finally delivered by truck to the White House on Sunday afternoon and Amy showed up to class Monday morning with the official answer. But her history teacher was less than impressed, and ended up giving Amy a "C" on her paper.

Apparently, even official government research submitted on official government letterhead lacks a certain level of authority in certain situations and in the eyes of certain individuals who may carry a certain level of authority themselves. Today we're going to examine a passage describing another event in Jesus' ministry in which Jesus yields a unique level of authority that is going to astound all in his presence.

Please turn with me to Mark 1:21–28 “And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 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.” And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.”

So in the context of where we're at in Mark's gospel, Jesus had just called Andrew, Peter, James and John to be his disciples as they were working a fishermen along the sea of Galilee, and now we're told that immediately they enter into the neighboring town of Capernaum. And its this small town of Capernaum that is going to become a place of prominence in the life and ministry of Jesus and his disciples, so much so that the town would later become known as "the city of Jesus", even though Jesus was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth.  (SLIDE)

The name "Capernaum" means (SLIDE) "town, or house, of Nahum". This town isn't mentioned in the OT, so its likely that it was built after the return of the Jewish people to the area following their captivity in Babylon. Also, there's no consensus on who this Nahum is. It may be the OT prophet, but again, there's no way for scholars and historians to establish that as fact.  Capernaum was a center of commerce where fishing and trade were prominent and the town was a Roman tax polling station. This town is mentioned 16 different times in the gospel letters, and it will be the location of many of Jesus' sermons and miracles, including the healing of Jairus' daughter, the feeding of the 5,000 in John 6, the catching of a miraculous amount of fish in John 21, the healing of Peter's mother-in-law which we'll examine next week, the healing of a paralytic recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke, the healing of the centurion's servant in both Matthew and Luke, and the healing of the woman who had the issue of blood that we'll see in later in Mark 5.

Given the fact that so many of Jesus’ miracles and teachings took place in Capernaum, I think its significant to point out that the Hebrew name “Nahum” means (SLIDE) “comfort” or “consolation”. And so in the town of comfort and consolation, Jesus of Nazareth, who is the incarnate Consolation of Israel, came to bring comfort to the masses.

And again in typical Markan fashion, we’re told that on the Sabbath, Jesus immediately entered the synagogue there in Capernaum to teach the word of God. Synagogues have been the gathering places of worship for faithful Jews ever since the return of the Jewish people from Babylonian captivity. Before then, Jews would gather around the tabernacle or the tent of meeting and then the Jewish Temple, and so synagogues are not mentioned in the OT. However, when the Jews returned to their lands after leaving Babylon, they began to build these synagogues throughout their towns and villages in order to gather regularly on the Sabbath. And so synagogues began to function much like our modern-day churches.

And if you go to Capernaum today, every tour will lead you through the ruins of a Jewish synagogue that dates back to the 4th century (SLIDE). And this synagogue, which is built from limestone, is actually sitting on a foundation of basalt, which was the material used to build synagogues in Jesus’ day. Not only that, but this synagogue contains stones with both Greek and Hebrew inscriptions, which leads many to believe that they utilized material from the original synagogue to build this later one. And so historians and scholars believe that this synagogue was built on top the original synagogue of Capernaum that Jesus himself taught in and visited.

And it was in the synagogues that the word of God would be preached and taught by qualified Jewish men, namely rabbis and scribes. And it was not uncommon for visiting rabbis to stand up in the midst of the congregation and teach from the word of God, and this was the practice of Jesus as we see here in verses 21-22. Again, we’re told that (SLIDE) “...immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.”

And this interesting detail leads us to our first point in our outlines regarding the authority of Jesus (SLIDE) Jesus alone has authority over all truth. The people rightly recognized that Jesus’ teaching was different, even compared to that of the Jewish scribes. We have to remember that the scribes were the legal experts of their day. They were the ones who meticulously copied God’s word, and it was their job to teach and interpret God’s word for the people. They were effectively the Bible scholars and theologians with the PhDs like we have today.

And so when they opened the word of God and taught from the Scriptures, it would common practice to quote famous and influential rabbis of their day or from history. This would add a certain level of credibility and authority to their teaching. Its similar to what many preachers and teachers do today. When we teach and preach from God’s word, we will often incorporate quotes and interpretations from other credible sources. And so we’ll reference the likes of past preachers and scholars like Augustine or Thomas Aquinas or Charles Spurgeon or C.S. Lewis or Billy Graham, or we’ll even call upon the teachings of many modern-day figures like John Macarthur or John Piper or Francis Chan. And when we engage in these practices, we understand that quoting such figures adds authority to our claims. People recognize those names, and so it helps to back our claims when we show that other credible teachers of God’s word have said similar things.

This is how the Scribes would teach God’s word.....but not Jesus. His authority was unique. He taught as though he was the sole expert who possessed the final authority on any matter. We see aspects of this in Matthew’s gospel narrative where he would record Jesus as saying things like “You have heard it said.....but I say....” What was Jesus doing here? Well, he would quote the famous Rabbis of his day or of Jewish antiquity.....he would reference the popular interpretations of God’s word, but then he would contrast those teachings with his final, authoritative rendering of God’s word. He was basically saying that all the interpretations that the people held as authoritative and binding paled in comparison to the light that He brought to the table.

Jesus spoke and taught as though he was the author of God’s word, not just one of many interpreters. And this is vital for us to remember when we’re confronted with other worldviews or other philosophies or other religious perspectives. The teachings of Jesus aren’t simply one way of many credible ways to attain truth. Jesus made this very clear in John 14:6 where he settles it once and for all when he says (SLIDE) “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is the truth....he is the creator of the truth.....and he alone has all authority when it comes to matters regarding objective, eternal truth.

Our world is replete with subjective opinions and philosophies that many attempt to offer as authoritative, and yet they all fall victim to fatal circular reasoning and contradictions when brought to any level of examination. But the words of God in Scripture stand up against any level of scrutiny, and that’s why the authority of Jesus is wholly unique. And when we hold fast to the authority of Jesus, we actually possess a powerful weapon in the fight against false ways of thinking.

Writing to a church who was in the midst of a culture of a variety of worldviews and philosophies, Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 10:4–5 “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,...” The primary warfare of our day is not a fleshly battle, but a spiritual battle of ideas and worldviews and philosophies.

The current arguments over abortion.… the right to self-identify as one pleases...…human sexuality...… the roles of men and women in society...…geo-political matters like the issues surrounding Israel and Iran and the Palestinians....all of these are a battle over worldviews by those who espouse particular levels of authority. But the basic idea accepted in the world is that the individual gets to define the truth of these matters, and so truth is derived from within....how you feel.....what your experiences are.....how and where you’ve been educated.....the final authority is the individual.

And yet the Christian worldview claims that it only makes sense that the final authority over all matters of life has to be outside of ourselves… that it must be objective..… namely, it must be God! And this has important implications within Christendom as well. The primary source of division amongst the churches of the east like all the various orthodox and Coptic groups, compared to the Roman Catholic Church, as well as all the various Protestant and Evangelical churches, like ours, is the issue of authority. Who, or what, gets the final say in all matters of life and faith?

Obviously, we as evangelical protestants believe in Sola Scriptura. That although we recognize various levels of authority given to the church and to church leaders like elders and pastors, the final and infallible rule of faith is God’s word. And Jesus, who is the incarnate Word of God, is the ultimate source of authority for the Christian. He is the head of the church, and its he who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. We all love and cherish the Great Commission as our basic marching orders as Christians - to go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to teach everyone all that Jesus taught us. But why do we go? Why do we obey those orders? Because of what Jesus says right before that in Matthew 28:18 (SLIDE) “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

He already had unique divine authority as the incarnate Son of God, and now even much more so as the resurrected Lord of lords and King of kings. And not only does Jesus have all authority over matters related to truth, but he also has all authority over all creation - specifically, as we’ll see in verses 23-26, that (SLIDE) Jesus has all authority over the enemy. Look at Mark 1:23–26 “And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.”

I love how Jesus immediately went into the synagogue to teach truth, and that truth immediately elicited a response from a demon. For one, that’s how powerful the truth of God is....that demons can’t help but respond to it. Remember who the devil is according to Jesus in John 8. When going back and forth with the Pharisees who were adamant that they were the rightful descendants of Abraham and true children of God, Jesus says this in verses 42 and following John 8:42–45 (SLIDE) “Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.”

Jesus was obviously using a metaphor to teach a spiritual truth about the stubbornness and ignorance of the Pharisees, in that there is a vast chasm that divides those who love the truth and those who live in lies. People who love the truth will eventually love Jesus, while those who hate Jesus do so because they’re of their father the devil who is the father of lies. The Pharisees may have descended from the bloodline of Abraham, and so they assumed they were in the family of God. And yet, they couldn’t understand and believe Jesus because they were blinded by the lies of the enemy. How much more would actual “children of the devil” - the demonic spirits themselves- have adverse reactions to the truth of God’s word? Jesus taught truth in their presence....and immediately they reacted.

But look what the demon-possessed man said in Mark 1:24 (SLIDE) “‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.’” Interestingly, this is the first figure in Mark’s gospel who actually knew the true identity of Jesus. Those around him, including his own disciples, but also the Jewish scribes, the crowds....everyone struggled with correctly defining the true identity of Jesus. But not the Demons .......they actually had the right beliefs - the Jesus of Nazareth was truly the Holy One of God. Peter would eventually get it right in his sermon following Pentecost in Acts 3 when he refers to Jesus as the Holy and Righteous One who the people denied....and John would see in his Revelation in Revelation 3 that Jesus is the holy and true one who has the keys of David and who opens and shuts doors that no one else can. But from the beginning, it was the demons who Jesus all along.

Which brings up an important side note......your intellectually of Jesus won’t save you. Its good to grow in theology and in the knowledge of the Son of God, but remember, even the demons believe in God, and they are terrified. And why are they terrified? - Because not only do they know who Jesus is.....they know what he’s capable of doing to them, and likely, they already know the fate that awaits them - eventual destruction by the King himself. It was on the cross of Calvary that the power of sin and death was demolished, and there will come a time when Satan and his demons are finally vanquished and done away with once and for all.

But look at how Jesus responds to the demon - he simply says “Be quiet, and come out of him!” Interestingly, when archeologists discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls in the caves around Qumran, the scrolls not only contained copies of the word of God, but they also included elaborate incantations that exorcists would use and repeat in order to cast out demons. But with Jesus, no special, elaborate incantation summoning some outside power was needed - Jesus has all power and authority to say even to a demon - be quiet and leave!

Likewise, we’re also told in James 4:7 that the devil flees when we resist him, or when we stand in opposition to him. And how can we resist him and stand in opposition to the father of lies but by standing in the truth of God’s word. And so as we’re going to see throughout Mark’s gospel, Jesus commands demons with a particular divine authority, to which they have no choice but to obey. In Mark 5, Jesus is going to heal a man possessed by a legion of demons, and then in Mark 9 Jesus is going to heal a young boy with a demon that made the boy mute. And so throughout the gospel narratives, we see Jesus exercising a certain level of divine authority over demons, thus providing us with one of many pieces of evidence that Jesus is in fact the divine Son of God, or, as the demon put it in Mark 1:24 - the Holy One of God.

And how did the people in the synagogue react to what they saw? Let’s finish up this section in Mark 1:27–28 “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.” And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.” And this leads us to our last point in our outlines (SLIDE) Jesus has all authority to comfort, captivate, command and condemn.

Jesus surely comforted those who would receive his teaching with open and willing hearts. He obviously captivated the crowds with the unique level of his inherent authority. He commanded even the unclean spirits, and they obeyed him. In other story where he walks on the Sea of Galilee and calms a storm, the disciples remark on how even the wind and the waves obey his command. But we cannot forget this last point......Jesus has all authority to condemn as well.

Look at the reaction of those in the synagogue.....they were amazed....astonished.....confounded.....confused? They said it in as many words...… “What is this? A new teaching with authority!” They couldn’t quite wrap their minds around what they were hearing and seeing. And it seems like the general reaction was positive right? It says in verse 28 that at once, Jesus’ fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee, including Capernaum. They heard the teachings....they say the miracles.....and so they were given every opportunity to formulate right beliefs about who Jesus was and to respond in faith by trusting in him alone for their salvation.

But that was hardly the case. Both Matthew and Luke record Jesus prophesying harsh futures of condemnation to the inhabitants of Capernaum as well as two other small towns right next to Capernaum. In Matthew 11:21–24, Jesus says (SLIDE) “‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.’”

The people of Capernaum and the surrounding areas were fortunate to be eye-witnesses of the life and ministry of Jesus. But for whatever reasons.....their pride.....their sin.....their blind faith in religion.....their traditions and customs......they refused to come to Jesus in repentance. Jesus said even the people of Tyre and Sidon and Sodom would have responded to the revelation of God through himself in a more appropriate manner, and these were people groups who were thoroughly corrupted by sin and opposed to God. But apparently they weren’t too far gone and too hard-hearted to be saved.

Now Jesus does say in John 3:17 (SLIDE) “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” And that’s true....Jesus first came as a suffering servant and a sacrificial savior. But he will come again, and when he comes, he’s going to come as a righteous Judge and King who will judge the world according to its sin.

And so I believe that the warning to Capernaum and Chorazin and Bethsaida can be given to all today who go to church and are around Christians and who are often witnesses to the works of God, even though they may deny it. Being captivated and astonished and bewildered by the person and work of Jesus is not enough. We must come to him in faith. We must repent and believe in the gospel. We must not only believe true things about Jesus, but we must surrender our lives to him as Lord and Savior as well.

So at the end of the day, the question for all of us is this.....

Will you know Jesus as Friend......or Foe?

as Lord........or liar and lunatic?

as Comforter.......or condemner?

as Protector.......or prosecutor?

as Redeemer......or rival?

Know this......however we choose to understand Jesus....the fact remains.....He has all authority in heaven and on earth. And as Paul puts it in Philippians 2:9–11 “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

To many throughout Capernaum and so many to this day....that is their dreaded fate.

To us......that is our hope and out longing.

So let’s not make the mistake of just being astonished and captivated by Jesus.....but let’s be thoroughly enamored of him and follow him all the days of our lives!