The Greater David
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English Standard Version Chapter 1
21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “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.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 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.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.
The Gospel of Mark 3. A New Teaching—With Authority. Ch. 1:21–28
His primary emphasis is on the authority of Jesus’ teaching and the response of the people, whose astonishment conveys the impression of real alarm. Jesus’ word, presented with a sovereign authority which permitted neither debate nor theoretical reflection, confronted the congregation with the absolute claim of God upon their whole person. Jesus’ teaching recalled the categorical demand of the prophets rather than scribal tradition.
The King’s Authority
The King’s Authority
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.
Mark 1:21-
What is a Synagogue
a meeting house and prayer hall for the Jews
Teachings, worship, debate
different Rabbi’s or scribes would read portions of the law or the prophets and they would discuss as a group.
They were astonished at his teaching
They were astonished
This word does not mean to be impressed, or even to think highly of on its own
To be astonished was to be shocked, taken back, overwhelmed.
In the presence of Jesus men are disturbed, and this disturbance is the precise act of fishing to which Jesus had called the four fishermen.
If this was the book of Matthew we would know what Jesus taught. Matthew is a blessing to the church because he gives us five long sermons of Jesus. He informs us about the sort of things Jesus would say in when he taught.
Mark on the other hand gives us nothing of the content. He only records the action of Jesus teaching.
But when we hear that the people were astonished at his teaching we really want to know what he said.
This is one of those passages where I wish I could go back in time and with a voice recorder and a laptop and take copious notes on what he said, and how he said it.
How was he teaching?
Mark does tell us that Jesus taught with authority, not like a scribe.
His primary emphasis is on the authority of Jesus’ teaching and the response of the people, whose astonishment conveys the impression of real alarm. Jesus’ word, presented with a sovereign authority which permitted neither debate nor theoretical reflection, confronted the congregation with the absolute claim of God upon their whole person. Jesus’ teaching recalled the categorical demand of the prophets rather than scribal tradition.
His primary emphasis is on the authority of Jesus’ teaching and the response of the people, whose astonishment conveys the impression of real alarm. Jesus’ word, presented with a sovereign authority which permitted neither debate nor theoretical reflection, confronted the congregation with the absolute claim of God upon their whole person. Jesus’ teaching recalled the categorical demand of the prophets rather than scribal tradition.
He taught as one who had authority
Jesus taught as a king.
Mark just reported Jesus announcing that the kingdom of God was at hand (v.15). It was in their presence. It was in their face. Jesus is the king.
When we think about Jesus being king we need to make sure we think about it in light of the whole bible.
There is beautiful reality that Jesus is king over all creation
Jesus calms the storms
Jesus walks on water
Jesus is king over sickness
He heals the blind, deaf and mute
He heals the man with the crippled legs
He heals the woman with the issue of blood
Jesus is king over life and death
He raised Jairus’s daughter from the dead
Jesus is the king of glory
We see this in the transfiguration.
All of this is true. But Jesus is also the king of the covenant, he is the king of Israel, he is the king of God’s people.
He is the true Son of David. God made a covenant with David saying that his kingdom would be an everlasting kingdom. And that David’s throne is an everlasting throne.
David is the king par excellence in the OT
David is the one who God calls a man after his own heart
David is the model king who fights for his people
David is the king who slays Goliath - a satan like figure in the OT
David is the king who wrote the psalms, the song book for Jesus during his life
David is the one who was loved by the people and ruled with justice
David is the greatest king in the OT, the humble warrior who feared God
And the promise to David was that his offspring would rule forever.
This is the king Jewish people were waiting for. They were waiting for another David like figure to come and deliver them from the Romans in the same way David delivered them from the Philistines.
So when Jesus spoke with the authority of the king, after announcing his kingdom in verse 15, people were taken back, people were overwhelmed, people astonished.
Prophets spoke with the authority of God
Jesus is God thus spoke with this same authority.
What was he teaching?
If this was the book of Matthew we would know what Jesus taught. Matthew is a blessing to the church because he gives us five long sermons of Jesus. He informs us about the sort of things Jesus would say in when he taught.
Mark on the other hand gives us nothing of the content. He only records the action of Jesus teaching.
But when we hear that the people were astonished at his teaching we really want to know what he said.
This is one of those passages where I wish I could go back in time and with a voice recorder and a laptop and take copious notes on what he said, and how he said it.
However Mark purposefully leaves out the content of Jesus’ message.
Its not that Mark forgot, or was uninterested, rather what mark is doing is showing us something rather than telling us something.
So what is Mark trying to show us that he is not wanting to tell us?
Mark wants to show us how this king Jesus is truly king. So instead of telling us what he said, he shows us the kings power
The King’s Power
The King’s Power
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.
The King’s Power
The King’s Power
So here Mark shows us what it looks like for Jesus to have the kings authority.
Jesus teaching in the synagogue a man with an unclean spirit calls out to him.
The demon speaks through the voice of the man he is possessing and says to 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.”
Mark says that Jesus taught with authority - now when the demon says, “what have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” the demon is speaking to Jesus realizing that Jesus is the true king and that Jesus has authority over the demonic realm.
The demons next question really brings his knowledge of Jesus’ authority
Have you come to destroy us?
Here the demon is speaking in the plural though there is only a singular unclean spirit. He is asking on behalf of the entire demonic realm, “have you come to destroy us?”
He realizes that his current reality is going to change. The demon knows right away that he and Jesus are not on the same side - Mark describes this demon as an “unclean spirit” and the demon describes Jesus as the Holy One of God. - the contrast couldn’t be more evident.
So was the demon right in his fears? was Jesus coming to destroy them? In large part, yes.
We know that Jesus’ kingdom is spreading and there is no room for both Jesus and his followers and Satan and his followers.
As king, Jesus is coming to disinherit and plunder the demonic realm of all its authority on earth.
Jesus talks about this in
And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.
Jesus is coming to bind the strong man, Satan. So he can plunder his kingdom.
The demonic realm will no longer have authority over the nations, they will no longer be able to stop the spread of the gospel, they will not be able to contain the kingdom of God from advancing.
So yes, Jesus has come with authority to destroy the demonic evil realm.
And this is illustrated by what Jesus does next
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.
Mark 1:25
By the words of the king the demon was cast out.
There was not wrestle, there was not struggle, there was not real battle, Jesus spoke and the evil was destroyed.
These are the words of authority the people in the synagogue were astonished by.
Mark says again how the people were amazed by his teaching and authority
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.”
Do you remember when Jesus calms the storm in and the disciples say, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey 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.
The king over creation speaks and creation falls into submission
Like wise the people in the synagogue say, “he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”
The king over the spiritual realm speaks and the demons fall into submission
Application
Its amazing how when we look at who God is and what he has done
From our very first core team meeting, to our very first sermon, Exodus Church believes that God has spoken to us through his word. And we
In creation he spoke and the sun came into existence
God speaks and tells the stars to orbit and the galaxies to move about and they obey him
God tells the sun to rise in the east and to set in the west and it obeys
God tells the oceans to come only this far, and they obey him
God tells the wind to blow and the clouds to gather for rain and they obey him
God tells the bear to hibernate and the geese to fly south and they obey
God tells the winds and the seas to be quite and they listen
God tells the unclean spirits to depart and they flee
Yet, when God calls us into submission, we tell him no.
We tell God by our actions that he is not king, I am.
We tell God by our actions that my convenience is more important than his commands
We tell God that our comfort is not be disturbed
God tells us advance his kingdom, to be fishers of men and cast the net over our families, relationships, jobs, and city and we say no.
God tells us to be quick to repent, be quick to forgive, be quick to reconcile, and we tell God we will do these things on our own timeline.
May we be a people who faithfully follow our king, we listen to our king, we do what our King calls us to do. Like Davids mighty men who were faithful to David unto death, may we be faithful to our king both in our lives and in our deaths.
We are called to be a people who follow and obey our king. To do this we must listen to what God’s word says we are called to:
We love one another, we fight for one another, we stand for what is right, we do justice, we repent, we forgive, we encourage, we laugh together and we cry together, we pray, we baptize, we take communion, we study his word, we meet together, we sing together
May we be a church who is known for our allegiance to our king.
The last verse we are going to look at this morning is verse 28
And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.
When reading the story it would flow much better into the next story if this verse was not there.
Its placement feels odd, clunky, and out of place. (read again without verse 28)
So when we come to a verse like this we should take notice, and ask why would Mark put this here?
Some say Mark is an unskilled writer and kind of sporadic with his narrative
However, As we have mentioned in the past, Mark is a brilliant writer who knows how to create and weave different themes, concepts, words, actions, and scenes together drawing from the Old Testament to magnify who Jesus is and what he is doing.
So why this verse? why now? why tell us that Jesus’s fame spread everywhere?
Mark has been creating a scene for us since Jesus baptism that links Jesus to David in some very powerful and creative ways. So I want to lay out this scene that Mark has been putting together for us to see why this verse is not clunky at all, but it absolutely beautiful.
Mark has been creating a scene for us since Jesus baptism that links Jesus to David in some very powerful and creative ways. So I want to lay out this scene that Mark has been putting together for us before we look at our last
In bible study we look at words, phrases, paragraphs, context and so on. Another thing that ancient writers will do is create scenes.
to create a scene in the text the writer will put together different stories or different themes to resemble another scene the reader would be familiar with.
Mark see Jesus as the promised dividic king - the one who is coming after David who will rule on the everlasting throne. Who’s kingdom will be an eternal kingdom.
The reason this sermon and the past few sermons have focused so much on Jesus’ kingship is because this is the message Mark is wanting us to grasp as we read his gospel
Matthew wants you to see Jesus as the the great priest, a new moses bringing a new law
I’ve me
Luke wants you to see Jesus as the great prophet ministering to those in Excile
Mark wants you to see Jesus as the great King, the new David who is establishing his eternal throne.
So as we read Mark lets keep David in mind and know that Mark see’s Jesus as the new and better David.
So from Mark is recreating a scene from David’s life. Mark is doing this to who us again, that Jesus is the new David the new king. The clue for us comes in verse 15 when Jesus says the kingdom of God is at hand”
This scene
So Mark is recreating the scene from when David was first anointed in until Saul seeks to kill David in .
David was anointed by Samuel to be king and the spirit of God rushed upon him
Jesus was anointed by John the Baptist as his baptism to be King and the Spirit of God descended upon him
David first healing miracle after his anointing was when he was called to go into Saul’s throne room to cast out an evil spirit.
Jesus’ first healing miracle was when he went into the synagogue and cast out the evil spirit
In we see David going to battle with Goliath, who is a satan like figure in the bible
Mark has been creating a scene for us since Jesus baptism that links Jesus to David in some very powerful and creative ways. So I want to lay out this scene that Mark has been putting together for us before we look at our last
David goes out as a solo champion to battle Goliath (solo champ is one who fights on behalf of the people)
Goliath has a coat of mail (Chain mail = Hebrew: coat of scales)
This word is only used to describe fish, and it is used to describe the dragon in which revelation picks up as the title for Satan (12x)
This dragon is the same serpent in the garden who tempted Adam and Eve - the promise in the garden is that the serpents head would be crushed.
As Jesus the second David crushed the head of the serpent, so David crushed the head of Goliath by cutting his head off.
So we see David fighting as a solo champion and beating Goliath a satan figure in the bible
So we see Jesus after his baptism going out into the wilderness to battle Satan as the solo champion.
He defeated satan in the wilderness on behalf us his people.
After the fight with Goliath David continues to fight and ends up become very popular. In fact says,
As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they celebrated,
“Saul has struck down his thousands,
and David his ten thousands.”
Davids fame had traveled to all the cities of Israel
And here we come back to Jesus in verse 28
And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.
As David’s fame traveled for his mighty works so Jesus’ fame spread everywhere from his mighty works
By translating his armor as "a coat of mail"
But the Hebrew clearly says that he's "clothed in scales"!
You'll appreciate this:
That the word "qasqasim" is only found a few other places
It's used to describe fish, so this should stretch your mind:
It's used of Pharaoh, the dragon.
And "drakon"'s used 12 times in Revelation
In the text for Satan. Now listen to the rest of David:
Verse 36, he's comparing this giant;
He'll be just as a struck down bear or a lion!
His primary emphasis is on the authority of Jesus’ teaching and the response of the people, whose astonishment conveys the impression of real alarm. Jesus’ word, presented with a sovereign authority which permitted neither debate nor theoretical reflection, confronted the congregation with the absolute claim of God upon their whole person. Jesus’ teaching recalled the categorical demand of the prophets rather than scribal tradition.
The Gospel of Mark 3. A New Teaching—With Authority. Ch. 1:21–28
In the presence of Jesus men are disturbed, and this disturbance is the precise act of fishing to which Jesus had called the four fishermen.
The Gospel of Mark 3. A New Teaching—With Authority. Ch. 1:21–28
In the presence of Jesus men are disturbed, and this disturbance is the precise act of fishing to which Jesus had called the four fishermen.
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David and Jesus anointed for ministry with the spirit
David and Jesus’ first healing miracle was casting out an evil spirit
David and Jesus fought satan on behalf of the people
David and Jesus’ fame spread throughout the regions
So who are we in the story? Are we David who slays giants? no, Jesus is the giant slayer, we are the Israelites on the sidelines he is fighting for!
Is it our fame that we should seek to spread throughout wichita? no, Jesus is king. We are the ones who are to spread the word, we are the witnesses, we are the ones who testify about the king. We are the fishermen who cast our nets over life and culture helping them to see the true king.