Teaching with Authority

Recall

Mark 1:21-31

Shape of Kingdom

Last week, we finished describing the shape of the Kingdom of God by looking at the people of God and the commission of God.

The Kingdom of God has a King, a People, and a Law/Commission. We can operate in that model to help gain clarity on what we are to do and how we ought to live.

Immediately Left Nets

We also focused on the disciples leaving their nets to follow Jesus, and Mark uses the word “immediately.” Even if this word in Mark is a leading word, its impact is unmistakable. Jesus called his disciples to follow Him, and they left their nets immediately.

Responding to the Voice of Jesus

While it will be clear from today’s text that Simon Peter did not actually abandon his post as husband and family person in following Jesus, one of the critical ideas that comes from this passage is in responding to the voice of Jesus.

Questions for Keying up the Passage

We might ask: were the disciples afraid when they first put down their nets to follow Jesus? Was Jesus’s calling so compelling that they were able to follow without fear?

These questions are important as we dive into our text today which focuses on the major components of Jesus’s ministry: teaching, exorcism, and healing.

Principle for Today’s Message - Jesus wills what He commands. For all people there is a call to follow Him. However, Jesus provides the means to follow through healing and deliverance that is powerful and important.

V. 21

They went into Capernaum

Jesus and his disciples went into Capernaum. Hebrew is Caper - Nahum or “Village of Nahum” — Likely associated with the OT prophet.

Judging by verse 30, this location was probably the home area of Simon Peter. Capernaum was a familiar spot for the fishermen. Jesus did not call them and take them off to some distant land; he began doing ministry right in their own back yard.

Corrects our vision of Jesus’s calling

Jesus might be calling you to go to the nations and be a missionary to lost tribes and people groups.

JESUS is definitely calling you to do the work of evangelism and discipleship in your own home and community.

Clean your room (riff on the Jordan Peterson principle for young thinkers)

Immediately on the Sabbath

Often a note explaining scandal (see 2:23-28) or John 9:14

Here, it is probably a straightforward point which is tethered to the occasion of Jesus’s teaching (which is the center of the passage)

He entered the synagogue

Meeting and assembly on the sabbath is something which was envisioned in the Law of Moses.

Lev. 23:3 - Describes a holy convocation (or assembly) on the Sabbath day

Numbers 28:9-10 - Describes the requirement for Sabbath offerings

In the NT

Acts 13:15 - describes the reading of the Law and Prophets in public assembly along with the invitation for a word of encouragement.

The picture formed is that Jesus has begun his ministry preaching in religious assemblies of His day.

and began to teach

While we do not possess the content of Jesus’s teaching, we do know that 1:15 serves as the basis for Jesus’s ministry and message.

Preaching on a New Kingdom Reality

Commanding Repentance and Belief in the Gospel

V. 22

They were amazed at His teaching;

What was the response of the people of Capernaum to the teaching of Jesus?

A. Amazement

for He was teaching them as one having authority

Reasoning: He was teaching them as one having authority.

and not as the scribes

Contrast: Jesus’s teaching was above that of the scribes.

The scribes were a class of Jewish men who had intimate knowledge of the Law and Prophets because they copied the Holy writings.

These are people with line by line knowledge of the text

They have been trained to read and write which make them an important part of the civil function of society

Practical Application Moment

The situation described here is one that has strong relevance for today. We live in a world full of people who claim to be experts, but aren’t able to produce the kind of life change that the world desperately needs.

What kind of situation are you in when your experts are not able to deal with your most serious problems?

Nicodemus - John 3:9

More than the voices of so many supposed “experts,” you need to hear the words of Jesus.

NOTE - This is something that I need to be careful of because, in my own strength, I am no better than these scribes. Actually, what I labor to do is to make Jesus’s words clear so that you can receive healing and deliverance from him. I do not view myself as particularly special in this equation.

What are the voices that you listen to?

V. 23

Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out

Where is the man with the unclean spirit when this showdown begins to happen?

A. In the synagogue.

What does this verse communicate?

A. We don’t know whether this was the first time back in years or what the deal is. There seems to be an implication here that this man was under no threat of being cured in the synagogue before Jesus arrived.

What would prompt this reaction?

A. It is Jesus preaching the Kingdom of God, freedom, deliverance, repentance, faith, healing, etc. It is Jesus preaching about Himself.

V. 24

Note the translational issues present in verse 24

Hebraism - What to us and to you, Jesus of Nazareth?

The second clause can be read as a statement of fact or as a question: “You have come to destroy us!” OR “Have you come to destroy us?”

What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth?

Each of the questions in this series have some sort of negative twist. The demon is fighting against Jesus and does not want the man to be delivered of this problem.

The phrase that the demon leads with is a Hebraism which anticipates conflict or combat.

“Them’s fighting words”

Judges 11:12, 2 Sam. 16:10

You have come to destroy us

One of the most basic aspects of evil is its rejection of what is good. Oftentimes, evil tries to paint what is good and right and true as bad and evil as good. This is what Satan did in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. Gen. 3:4-5

We can think along lines of order and freedom.

Marriage is a prison.

God’s law is just there to keep you a slave.

Absolute individual autonomy is what is best.

Beauty and Discipline

We live in a culture that forgets that order and structure is what provides the framework for beauty.

Returning to “You have come to destroy us”

Even if this statement is a question, the point still remains: the unclean spirit sees Jesus as an enemy.

I know who you are, the Holy One of God

William Lane has pointed out that in Jesus’s ministry, one peculiar aspect of Jesus’s encounters with people is that people who need healing tend to call Jesus Teacher, Master, Lord, or Son of David; demoniacs call him “the Holy One of God,” “Son of God,” or “Son of the Most High God.”

Note that this is not confession but rebellion.

What does it mean for you to know who Jesus is but reject Him anyway?

Note the similarity between Satan and the Scribes

Q. Why do we see the slaughter of babies in Egypt and in Bethlehem?

Q. Why do we see evil continually rise up in the Scriptures against God’s anointed people?

A. It is because Satan believes God when He says He will do something, but fights with everything to destroy God’s Kingdom, His People, and His Law.

Postulation about the attempt to control Jesus.

Reminder for Practical Application

This demon-possessed man is still an image bearer of God.

He is still valuable to God.

As long as he has breath in his lungs there is hope for this man.

Principle - Sometimes, when we are in the process of witnessing or ministering to others, we need to take a step back and realize that we are doing kingdom work to see people delivered.

DON’T allow an issue, a behavior, etc. to become how you classify a person.

What is going to allow you to minister in situations that are scary, combative, and risky?

Having a vision of the worth of the person that is behind the Sardinian grin of the enemy.

V. 25

Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”

Jesus doesn’t desire to have a protracted conversation with the demon.

Demons are not conversation partners but are worthy of rebuke and silencing.

“Quiet” is an important word describing the command at hand.

NOTE

The enemy operates on compulsion and noise. This also might serve as an important intersection for thinking about slavery to sin.

Sin and evil; Satan and his demons pester and try to compel obedience. This stands in utter contrast to God whose fruit of the Spirit are according to Gal. 5:22-23 are

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control

God’s very activity — whether you’ve acknowledged this or not — is picking you up out of the dirt, and giving you control of your own life.

This is what is so disgusting about Satan is that He will use language like “love” and “freedom,” but he never means it.

God — through Jesus alone — offers you deliverance to experience the fruits of the spirit that are so beautiful.

NOTE

It is no accident that Mark 5:15 and Luke 8:35 describe Legion as sitting down, clothed, and in his right mind.

V. 26

Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him.

V. 27

They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”

If you take verse 22 and 27 together, the way that this works out is that Jesus teaches, he delivers, and his teaching is validated.

Jesus’s deliverance of the demon-possessed man is proof of his authority.

A Note on the Power of Jesus

One of the things that I am aware of in this message is that this passage invites a number of challenges to:

Worldview

Courage

To these things we can say a couple of things.

It is important that you worship God and God alone who is known through Jesus Christ.

Why? Because God is the only uncreated creator and is sovereign and knowledgeable of all things.

Satan and his demons are created beings. They are not equal power with God.

Etc.

Conclusion

Jesus wills what He commands. Accept Him and begin building a prayer language to say: “I know that you are calling me to ___________. I see that call and I ask for your provision, healing, and deliverance to do what you’ve called me to.”