The Best Possible News: Jesus Lived

INTRODUCTION

· Today we are beginning a new series that we will go through on our fifth Sundays this year titled THE BEST NEWS POSSIBLE. Our goal for this series of lessons will be to tell the greatest news ever told – the gospel of Jesus Christ.

o Today we will talk about His ministry on earth

o We will also talk about his death, his resurrection, his return, his reign

JESUS CAME TO THIS EARTH

· There are many in this world that believe Jesus was a mythological figure who never existed in history. They say His existence is nothing more than a legend that a group of men in the first century made up to fool the world. The evidence that Jesus as a man existed on this earth in 1st century Judea is overwhelming. Jesus DID exist.

o Many “Christian” Sources: The writers of the New Testament & the early church writers in the first couple centuries after the Apostles died…

o Many nonChristian historical sources: both Jewish and Gentile sources who were certainly not friends of Christianity

· You can look at today’s bulletin to look at many of the historical quotes from outside of the Bible… There is plenty of evidence to show that Jesus existed…

· But then we come to actually looking at what was said about Jesus… especially within the pages of the New Testament, and you see some amazing things about this Jesus… things that are great news for us, the greatest news ever told, if we believe them.

o Jesus, as God, has always existed. He came to dwell among His creation… to show his glory, authority, love, and compassion to man. He came so He could reveal God to us and so we could know what God’s will was so we could be part of God’s kingdom.

HE TAUGHT WITH AUTHORITY ()

· Jesus had countless opportunities to teach in the Jewish synagogues and also outside of the synagogues, and He taught about the kingdom of God

· Verse 21. Jesus enters the synagogue on the Sabbath day, which we see in the Gospels was a common occurrence in the life of an Israelite, and since Jesus was an Israelite, it was a custom for Himself and His disciples also. A great way to start the day: focusing on the law of God with God’s people. It was normally the case that a rabbi or scribe would open up the scriptures on this day, read from them, and then sit and teach. They would tell those assembled about what the passage teaches and how it should be applied to their lives. In doing so, they would refer to many of the teachings of rabbis and what they say about the passages that were read.

o But this Sabbath day would be different. There was a visiting rabbi: Jesus. Whenever another teacher would visit, it would often be the case that he would be encouraged or invited to read and teach from the scriptures. So it seems that in this case the rabbi invites Jesus to speak. He surely didn’t know what he was getting himself into on this day by allowing Jesus to teach!

· We learn in verse 22 that as Jesus taught, the people were amazed at his teaching. They had never heard someone teach like this before. Whenever we consider this passage, it may be tempting to think that this was like what we experience. We often hear the same men preach over and over, but then, a preacher comes from out of town, and wow! His teaching is refreshing. His teaching is different. While those who we normally hear preach are teaching, we struggle to stay focused and get heavy eyes, but when someone new comes for a special series of lessons, those struggles disappear. No! This is nowhere near what they were experiencing when they heard Jesus teach for the first time. It was nothing like what we experience. The teaching of Jesus, compared to what they were used to hearing from the scribes and rabbis, was on a completely different level. It was so different that it just struck them with awe and astonishment. This was not like anything they have ever heard before.

· Mark says that the reason why they were so amazed was because “He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” The authority of Jesus is what Mark focuses on here. When Jesus taught, He did not appeal to an authority outside of Himself as the scribes did. He did not reference or quote other rabbis of years past. We aren’t even told in this instance that Jesus opened up scripture. It may be the case that He did not. He was speaking in such a way that it seemed like He believed that the words that were coming out of His mouth were the very words of God. Sitting there in the synagogue, they would never hear a teacher say the things that Jesus was saying.

o Jesus would say things like this, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” This was from , part of the Sermon on the Mount. By the end of this sermon, those listening were reacting the same way as those here in .

· They were amazed at the authority of Jesus’ teachings. Jesus spoke in such a way that not only shows that he had authority, but that he was the authority. He spoke as though he set the standard. He said, “You do this, and you will be deserving of judgment. You do this, you are a fool and will deserving of hell-fire.” Wow!

HE DID GOOD - HEALING

· Jesus showed such love and compassion to people. Peter, in his sermon to Cornelius and his household in , sums up the ministry of Jesus in this way: “37you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”

· He had great power and performed many miracles… Healing the sick, the blind, the deaf and mute, the paralyzed, feeding multitudes of people from just a few loafs of bread and a couple fish. The Gospels give us just a glimpse of the things that Jesus did to help people suffering physically…

· Purpose of many of Jesus/ miracles – They do indeed show the love and compassion of Jesus, but they also show that the Father was with Jesus… and they were signs of Jesus’ authority and our need to submit to Him…

· Back to for a moment…

o Speaking with authority as Jesus is one thing, but proving you have such authority is another! In this passage, we see that he does have great authority.

o 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.”

o Just try to put yourself in the crowd witnessing this! This is amazing… Jesus is teaching and someone cries 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.” Whoa, that doesn’t happen every Sabbath day! As this demon talks, you hear him speak in such a way that showed that he understood that the presence of Jesus meant judgment for himself and other unclean spirits. Jesus had come to undo the works of Satan, and this unclean spirit understood this. He was afraid of the one who stood before him.

o Then this demon was also rendered powerless at the command of Jesus. In verse 25, Jesus rebukes Him, saying “Be silent and come out of him.” With just a few words of Jesus, the spirit leaves this man. Jesus shows his authority even over demons, powerful spiritual beings. His first clash with the demonic realm here is a ‘no-contest’ event. And the response of the people: similar to their response to Jesus’ teaching… All they can do is ask questions… They say, “What is this?” There was nothing in their experiences that they could compare this event to. They had no category for what was taking place. This is new! “With such great authority,” he commands this spirit to leave this man and it obeys Jesus. Jesus’ authority is proven with great power.

· Jesus’ teaching and His miracles should amaze us as we see them in the New Testament. They should challenge us to consider who this man was and still is…

CONCLUSION

· The results of Jesus’ authority being revealed to this group is seen in verse 28. The news spread all throughout the region about what He was doing… Those who are amazed by the authority of Jesus speak up and tell others about what He has done… A good example for us…

· This passage of scripture along with what follows gives us many great examples of why Jesus is the authority that we all must submit our lives to. No other authority or man can do what He did. He must be the one we devote everything to and tell others about…

· And if, as we read about the things that Jesus said and did, we come to believe in what we read… if we trust it and obey… then there is great news for us… Those who confess Jesus as Lord and become Christians have great hope… They can have their sins against God forgiven… and they will have great blessing and life beyond the grave…

o 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. -

· Are you willing to give your life to this Jesus today so you can have eternal life and so you can know God and serve Him?