They Obey Him
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Introduction
Sermon Introduction
Good Morning Church.
Today’s message is called “They Obey Him.”
We will be focusing on the authority of Jesus.
We are continuing our study of the Gospel of Mark.
So, please turn your Bibles to Mark chapter 1.
We will be examining verses 23 through 28.
From these passages, we will have three key takeaways:
1) He is Acknowledged
2) He is Obeyed
3) He is Procliamed
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider the text, please join me in prayer...
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
The captain on the bridge of a large naval vessel saw a light ahead on a collision course.
He signaled, “Alter your course ten degrees south.”
The reply came back, “Alter your course ten degrees north.”
The captain then signaled, “Alter your course ten degrees south.
I am a captain.”
The reply: “Alter your course 10 degrees north.
I am a seaman third-class.”
The furious captain signaled, “Alter your course ten degrees south.
I am a battleship.”
The reply: “Alter your course ten degrees north.
I am a lighthouse.”
The captain may have a position of authority but that authority has its limits.
Jesus on the other-hand has a completely different kind of authority that surpasses our understanding.
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
23 Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
24 saying, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”
26 Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him.
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.”
28 Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.
Background
Background
Verses 23 & 24: Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us?”
“Unclean spirit” is interchangeably used with the word “demon.”
Demons have tried to stop Jesus’ ministry at every step.
Even causing Him to be crucified.
But God was in control the who time.
Remember Joseph's brothers and there evil plans.
20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.
God didn’t turn it to good, it was always part of the plan.
That is how mighty and sovereign our God is.
1) He is Acknowledged
1) He is Acknowledged
Verse 24: “I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
The demon here says “Jesus of Nazareth” and “the Holy One of God” for a reason.
Many scholars believe this may refer to the belief that speaking the name of a spiritual foe granted one mastery over it.
So the demons acknowledging Jesus was a form of spiritual attack.
And Jesus, in a no contrast, utterly destroys the demons.
So, who is the “Holy One of God?”
Lets start with the term used by the demons.
The title “the Holy One of God” brings to mind the divine Sonship of Jesus’ baptism
The title also likens Jesus to Samson, the mighty vanquisher of the Philistines.
Samson is the only other person in the Bible to be called “Holy One of God” as seen in Judges 16:17:
17 So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, “A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any other man.”
The phrase “Nazarite to God” in most English translations in the Septuagint is “Holy One of God”
So, this title brings to mind that Jesus is the one who will finally defeat sin and evil.
He is the Creator:
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
He rules over nature:
There is no mother nature or father earth.
There is only Jesus Christ.
The Name above every name.
23 When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.
24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep.
25 And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”
26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.
27 The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
He has authority over sickness:
14 When Jesus came into Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever.
15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him.
He has the authority to forgive sins:
1 Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city.
2 And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”
3 And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.”
4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?
5 “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’?
6 “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.”
7 And he got up and went home.
8 But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
He even has authority over His own death:
18 “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
He is the Judge:
26 “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;
27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.
He reveals Himself to His own:
22 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”
He gives His own eternal life:
2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.
Knowing all this is just head knowledge that even the demons have:
19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
Do you believe in your heart?
2) He is Obeyed
2) He is Obeyed
Verses 25-27: And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. 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.”
“Be quiet” or “be silent” in some translations means “be muzzled” ans is the same word Jesus used to calm the stormy sea
Jesus wanted no testimony from anything evil.
Even true testimony from satanic beings could only discredit Jesus in the eyes of most.
We should remember that too and not seek the affirmation of the world.
What is amazing is that even demon who rebelled against Him obeyed Him.
41 Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ.
All things, including demons are subject to Him.
17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
Jesus’ casting out of demons actually is used to reinforce His authoritative teaching that we discussed last week and is found in the previous verses.
“What is this?” was in the absolute amazement of how Jesus cast out the demon.
Scholar, William L. Lane said of this, “The people were utterly astonished and alarmed at Jesus’ word. The same measure of authority with which they had been confronted in his teaching was demonstrated in the word of command to the demon. There had been no technique, no spells or incantations, no symbolic act. There had been only the word. There was no category familiar to them which explained the sovereign authority with which Jesus spoke and acted.”
3) He is Proclaimed
3) He is Proclaimed
Verse 28: Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.
In reference to this news, Scholar James R. Edwards says, “The initial report about Jesus from the synagogue in Capernaum is not simply of a victory of the Holy One of God over bent and evil forces, as though two chess players were manipulating pawns on the board for their own advantage. Jesus’ defeat of the “strong man” (as seen in Mark 3:27) is not at the expense of Satan’s victims but on their behalf. Not only are unclean spirits expelled, but broken people are restored to health and wholeness and to the possibility of restoration with their Creator, in whose image they are made. The exousia of Jesus is astonishing not as a display of Jesus’ grandeur but as a power of redemption for captives.”
Once you really see Him, who He really is, it is as if you are compelled to proclaim Him.
Take a look at the Samaritan woman at the well and her reaction after meeting Jesus:
28 So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men,
29 “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?”
30 They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.
And take a look at the leper who was healed:
40 And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
41 Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
43 And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away,
44 and He said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
The story is told of the captain of a Mississippi riverboat who, as his ship passed another vessel, grabbed the first passenger he saw and said, “Look, look, over there on the other boat.
Look at its captain.”
The man was somewhat bewildered and asked, “Why do you want me to look at that captain?
What makes him so special?”
Then the captain told him the story of how he had collided one night with another boat.
His own vessel was foundering and in the process he was thrown overboard.
The captain of the other vessel saw his desperate plight and maneuvered close enough that he was able to dive into the water and save his life.
After telling the story, the once-saved captain then turned to the bystander and said, “Ever since that day, I want to point out my rescuer to others.”
Likewise, as those who have been saved, secured, and loved by Jesus, we should want to tell others of him.
We should tell other of our mighty Lord who saves.
Closing of Service
Closing of Service
Remember, Jesus has all power and authority:
19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
He is exalted y the Father and every knee will bow down to Him:
9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
A head knowledge is not enough:
22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
So, surrender to Him.
All the Glory to God.
Amen.