Mark 1:16-34

Jesus calling, Healing, Preaching

Mark 1:16–34 ESV

Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. 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. 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.

Last week we ended with Jesus beginning to preach the gospel, “The kingdom of God is near, Repent and Believe the good news!”

It was while Jesus was going about preaching that he encountered his first disciples.

Mark 1:16–20 ESV

Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Jesus calls 4 men, 2 sets of brothers, to be his first disciples. All four are fishermen. I don’t want to spend too much time focusing on what these men were before they met Christ, but I do want to talk about what they weren’t.

These men were not religious elite.

These men were not royal leaders of the Jewish people.

These men were not wealthy

They were ordinary men, who were being taught by the Messiah himself. They were humble and they were chosen for a specific reason. We will see as the story goes on that these disciples were regular men. They had been blessed by God for a specific purpose, but they were works in progress. They had issues with jealousy, pride, ego, fear, and even doubts. Jesus did not chose these men because they were perfect, Jesus chose these men because they were His!

These four men were fishermen, but Jesus says he is going to make them fishers of men! He is going to use these men to cast out His gospel and draw people to himself.

Luke gives us the more specific details of this account. He says that Jesus was teaching a large crowd and he asks Peter to get on his boat to teach the crowd from off the shore. Peter or Simon is hearing Jesus’s teaching and recognizes that He is the messiah. Jesus then tells Peter to cast his nets to one side of the boat, Peter reluctantly agrees (because they had been fishing all night with no luck) and he pulls in a catch that is too large for their boat! So now he’s heard the message and Jesus has shown him His power. Peter and his brother follow him as his first disciples and are immediately followed by James and John.

Peter and Andrew leave their business and one of the largest catches they have probably ever had. James and John leave their father and their way of life. They don’t know where they are going, they don’t know what they are going to do, they don’t even know for how long they’re going to be gone, but they know they are going with their Savior! They know Who they are going with! Their faith has become alive and that faith, even as weak as it seems to be at times, is strong enough that they will leave it all to follow the one that called them!

I want you to hear that these men were changed when they heard Jesus’ message! Something powerful had taken place. Jesus had given them ears to hear. I want to say that when Jesus allows his truth to penetrate your heart, You can’t help but be changed! Old things Die, All things are made new! Truth is made clear and away goes the fear! You can not have that kind of encounter with Jesus and not be changed! The promise is that everything will change! That’s what I want you to know, These men could not refuse their savior, His teaching had opened their eyes to see the truth. They would leave everything and follow him! And even Today, Jesus is worth everything!

Mark wants us to know that Jesus wasn’t just speaking out in the wilderness or along the roads, he went straight to the synagogues. He wasn’t hiding from the religious people. He hadn’t given up on the people that were failing to false teaching. He was going to bring the truth even to them.

Mark 1:21–28 ESV

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.

Just like he went straight to the desert to confront satan, he goes straight to the synagogues to make sure the truth is preached there as well. He tells us that something was different with the way Jesus was teaching! Jesus spoke as though he personally had authority. As though it was his words and he commanded obedience and belief. And as we know, He did. Jesus is the Word and the Truth.

And what a surprise that he finds a man with a demon in the synagogue. How is it that this demon possessed man has been in the synagogue just mixed in with anyone and everyone else and no body did anything. Well, could it be that the synagogue was full of hypocrisy and false teaching that the demon was comfortable with!

Mark let’s us know that this is on the Sabbath, the time when the law and the prophets would be read aloud. The time when all those present would be seeking to have their sins covered and atoned for by sacrifice. But the demon knew who Jesus was, Even the demon was moved to speak up in presence of Jesus.

“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! Even the demon knew he was on borrowed time. The demon knew that if He wanted, Jesus could destroy him immediately. But Jesus wasn’t there to argue with a Demon, He wasn’t there to be announced and recognized by a Demon, He was there to honor His Father and proclaim His Gospel! Remember it said he was preaching to repent, and believe in the Gospel.

Jesus tells the Demon to keep quiet and be gone from the man! Right there in front of everyong, Jesus shows His authority over the spiritual realm. His voice and His words command obedience from a demon and it leaves the man! it says the man convulsed and cried out with a loud voice, and that tells me that the demon had not planned on obeying Christ, but he could not refuse the command.

It says hat all who were there were amazed,and questioned, what is this? A teaching with authority. He commands the unclean spirits and they obey him. See, Jesus wasn’t done up with all the religious garb or the fancy over coats and hats and bells and whistles. He was a common, Normal man that spoke with unquestionable authority. What an example. When I sit up here and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to you, I do so under the full conviction that it is the singular and only answer to any problem you have in this world. That the Gospel is the power of God to Save. That at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord! That is the Word of God. Jesus knew the very word of God! There is an unmatched authority and confidence that comes with know the word of God!

You better believe that his fame spread like wild fire through those little towns and communities. Jesus of Nazareth told an unclean spirit to leave a man and it immediately did!

Mark has told us that Jesus began to call his crew, and now he’s busted up in the synagogue and displayed his command of God’s word and displayed his authority over the spiritual realm, Now he’s going to introduce us to Jesus the healer over physical sickness!

Mark 1:29–34 ESV

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.

Jesus left the synagogue and he wasn’t done yet! No, really, Mark isn’t necessarily giving us an exact play by play of the chronological order of these events, but he is giving us the amazing work that Jesus began in his early Galilean Ministry. He goes to Simon (Peter) and Andrews house. That’s the house of their family and He has James and John there as well. And he finds that Simon’s mother-in-law is sick. Well that won’t do, when the Holy One of God is on the guest list, so he heals her so that she has an opportunity to serve them. I want you to see that Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law and she begins to serve them! It is an honor and a blessing to serve the Living God! He isn’t making a distinction here like this woman needs to be serving the men, but he is allowing her the honor to be a good host and provide an honorable service to the guests of her home! Jesus saves and equips and heals so that we can serve him better!!

I am sober today by the grace of God and that has allowed me this opportunity to serve! I can come here and preach his gospel and be a living example to those that would call on his name and I have that opportunity because He saved me! He healed me! I serve him gladly and happily and receive the greatest honor on this earth to be equipped and blessed to serve Him!

Jesus shows that his voice, his power, his touch heals the body and the soul! Simon’s mother-in-law is restored and relieved. She is made well. Her body isn’t just non-feverish, she is GOOD! That goes back to the encounter with Jesus, When you encounter Jesus, You will be changed! You will be made whole!

It says that night, even at the end of the day, People from all over were bringing there sick and oppressed family members and friends to the only one they knew that had the power to save! The word was getting out! Jesus was here and He had the power to save and to heal! Finally there was an answer! Finally those that had been oppressed by demons had a hope! Those with sickness and had been shut away from all other society could come out and be healed! And we don’t hear about Jesus giving them an application, or a contract to sign or making fox hole deals! Jesus was healing and making people whole! Later we will hear him say that people that are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick! Jesus is showing the people that He alone is worthy of their faith. He alone has the power to make them whole!

One final thing it says, Jesus would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew Him! Why would he want to keep the demons silent. Well what was the mission of John the Baptist? What was the mission of the Angels? What was the mission of the prophets of old? They all foretold the coming of the messiah. They had been proclaiming the promise of God since all the way back over 1,000 years before Jesus came! God’s promises and His word are for His people! There would be no demon’s introducing Jesus to the world! There would be no announcement coming from demons to the people of God. And that is important, because later we will see that the pharisees and scribes attempt to tell Jesus that he has a demon and that is how he performs the signs and wonders that he does. Jesus would leave no room for that ignorance to have validity. If the demons are announcing Jesus, then the people could try to associate Jesus with the demons and Jesus and his revelation to man would be on his terms, not based on the word of a demon!