What Is This?

I. Jesus’ Ministry Begins

A. Beginning of Mark’s Story

1. Doesn’t begin with the birth narrative

2. Begins with prophesy of John the Baptists and his ministry

3. First appearance of Jesus is when He was baptized by John the Baptist

4. Jesus was lead by the Spirit into the wilderness where He lived with the wild animals, was tempted by Satan and carried for by angels

5. After John was arrested, Jesus began teaching and preaching God’s Good News in Galilee

6. Here He picked up his first four followers, Peter, Andrew, James and John

B. Jesus teaches in the Capernaum synagogue

1. Capernaum

a.city on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee

b. Commerce center, fishing village

c. center of Jesus teaching ministry

2. On the Sabbath day Jesus went to the synagogue

a. literally means a bringing together

b. a gathering, congregation, a place for assembly and worship

3. On the Sabbath, Jesus went to church

a. not something uncommon for Him

b. Luke 4 tells us it was His custom to go

c. If Jesus saw a need to gather with others and worship, shouldn’t we

4. On this Sabbath, Jesus began to teach

a. not every synagogue had a priest or rabbi

b. often just someone in charge, who would ask somebody to read Scripture and comment

c. Jesus read, and began to comment, teach and the people were amazed

5. People amazed because Jesus spoke with real authority

a. Rabbis spoke from legal precedents, quoting earlier rabbis, offering no personal exposition of the text

b. their authority was simply what some dead and gone rabbi had said

c. Jesus taught through the power of the Holy Spirit

d. Mark doesn’t tell us what Jesus said, but Matthew gives us a good idea

e. The Sermon on the Mount is the teaching of Jesus

1)you have heard it said (here’s what the rabbis taught you) but I say

2) Jesus spoke to the point

3) He went the heart of the matter, speaking from the heart of God

d. Hearing things they had never heard before, in a way they had never heard before

6. Deuteronomy 18 tells us the people were afraid to hear God’s voice

a. Deuteronomy 18:15–18 (NLT) — 15 Moses continued, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you yourselves requested of the Lord your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai. You said, ‘Don’t let us hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore or see this blazing fire, for we will die.’ 17 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘What they have said is right. 18 I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him.

Deuteronomy 18:15–18 NLT

15 Moses continued, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you yourselves requested of the Lord your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai. You said, ‘Don’t let us hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore or see this blazing fire, for we will die.’ 17 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘What they have said is right. 18 I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him.

b. people were afraid if they heard the voice of God they would die

c. God said that’s right and promised to raise up a new prophet after Moses was gone - Joshua

d. I suggest this was also a prophesy about Jesus

1) read in the gospels many considered Jesus a prophet from Nazareth who performed powerful miracles

2) In Matthew 13:;57 Jesus called himself a prophet

e. as the prophets spoke for God Jesus came speaking for God

f. Jesus came teaching with authority newness the Word of God

7. His words were self-authenticating for He is the Word that came to bring life

a. Jesus came to change the world

b. By the authority of His Word the world does change

c. Remember in Hebrew thought word is action, when God speaks things happen

d. Psalm 111:1–4, 7 (NLT) — 1 Praise the Lord! I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with his godly people. 2 How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them. 3 Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails. 4 He causes us to remember his wonderful works. How gracious and merciful is our Lord! 7 All he does is just and good, and all his commandments are trustworthy.

Psalm 111:1–4 NLT

1 Praise the Lord! I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with his godly people. 2 How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them. 3 Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails. 4 He causes us to remember his wonderful works. How gracious and merciful is our Lord!

Psalm 111:7 NLT

7 All he does is just and good, and all his commandments are trustworthy.

e. Think about it! The Lord’s words, deeds are awesome revealing his glory, majesty, trustworthiness, mercy and graciousness

C. Jesus confronted by evil

1. While the people were marveling at Jesus’ words a man with an unclean, evil spirit cried out

2. Mark 1:24 (NLT) — 24 “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

3. The people didn’t know who Jesus was, they were just in awe and amazed but the unclean spirit did

a. Jesus of Nazareth - acknowledged Jesus was a man, human, someone from the city of Nazareth

b. “The Holy One of God” - Jewish talk for God, the God of gods, the real God, the holy creator God

c. This unclean spirit acknowledge Jesus as both God and man the God/man

4. In our intellectual, western culture we don’t know what to do with evil, unclean spirits

a. many don’t believe they exist, a psychological thing or some kind

b. Doesn’t matter if you believe they exist or not, the Jews of Jesus time did and the Gospel record Jesus casting them out

c. Whether you believe in evil spirits or not, this verse tells us evil exist

5. Evil exist in our world

a. look around, you see it everywhere

b. murder is a common news story, everyday

c. lawlessness, riots, (witnessed more than we care to think about in the last year)

d. theft, embezzlement, cheating

e. racist, rapist, bigots, haters, etc

6. Evil, uncleanness is in the church

a. this man with the evil spirit was in the synagogue

b. evil in the church? you bet there is

c. every time something happens and feelings get hurt and hard feelings result - evil

d. every time something happens and grace and forgiveness are not offered or received - evil

e. every time a church splits for ungodly reasons - evil

f. every time selfishness, self-centeredness raises its head - evil

g. anything that results in not loving God with our total being and loving your neighbor as yourself - evil

II. Jesus destroys Evil

A. Jesus came to destroy evil

1. Bad news - evil exist; Good News - Jesus came to destroy evil

a. unclean spirit, “Why are you interfering with us”

1) What do we have in common?

2) What are you doing here, Jesus?

3) What business do you have with us?

b. “Have you come to destroy us ?

1)short answer - yes

2) The unclean spirit recognized the deity of Jesus and the superiority of Jesus

2. Jesus cast the evil spirit out

a. “Be quiet! Come out of the man”

b. Jesus exorcised, silenced and ordered out the unclean spirit

c. He is the only one who can overcome Satan and his rule

B. God can be at work in our culture in overcoming evil

1. We can’t stop evil

2. Pass all the laws we want to but can’t stop evil

a. laws have been passed since there have been governments and evil still exist

b. you can’t legislate morality

c. even pass “hate crimes” making punishment more severe, but that doesn’t stop evil

3. Build bigger armies, hire more law enforcement and it will not help

4. We can’t but God can

5. The way God works to overcome evil in culture is to overcome evil in man

C. God can overcome evil in humans

1. Psalm 111:9 (NLT) — He has paid a full ransom for his people. He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever. What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!

2. He has paid a full ransom for his people

3. Jesus came to overthrow evil in the heart of each and every person He has formed

4. Elvina Hall penned it well “Jesus paid it all; All to Him I owe, Sin had left a crimson stain;He washed it white as snow.”

5. Jesus came lived, shed his blood, died, and arose to live forever that we might call on his name, believe and have eternal life

6. We are saved from our sins by the blood of Jesus, but there is that unclean, evil part in us that still must be overcome

7. T. A. Noble in latest edition of HT (Holiness Today) But the Holy Spirit is not finished with us. God still works within us preveniently to do more. The “gradual work of sanctification” follows. The Spirit begins to reveal to us that there is “indwelling sin” (Romans 7:17, 20). Only by setting out to follow the Lord Jesus as justified, regenerated disciples can we make that discovery. Only then can we discover that deep inner tension between our new love for God and the old desire to put ourselves first. That is “the mind set on the flesh” (Romans 8: 6-8). . . . interpreted as “the mind set on human goals and values.”

8. What he is writing about is our need to be entirely sanctified from a self-centered self

9. Once saved, as we begin living for Jesus, it will not be long before we realize I want what I want (baby - me, mine myself)

a. this desire is a self-centered nature, an evil

b. from this evil comes all the evil we see in the world

c. from this self-centered nature we kill, steal, riot, practice lawlessness, covet, commit adultery, disobey, demand my way and every other evil you can think of

10. We know what God wants, be holy as He is holy, but we want what we want

11. You can’t have it both ways

12. If I am lord of my life, Christ can not be Lord

13. As one surrenders their self-will to the will of God, God cleanses our sinful, evil nature and fills us with His love making it possible for us to love God and others

15. the holiness of God is a threat to sin and evil

16. God overcomes evil

D. Jesus cast out the evil spirit and the people wondered “What is this?”

1.They’d never seen anything like it before

2. They had never seen such authority that evil could be defeated

3. Do we realize today that evil can be defeated, it can be overcome, but for it to happen it will have to start in our hearts

4. We are going to have to give up what we want and desire what God wants

5. What is it? It’s God overcoming evil, reclaiming His creation and making it holy, where He is Lord

6. Jesus wants to say to the unclean, evil self-centered nature, “Shut up! Come out” that we will be the holy people of God who do what God wants; spread love and not evil

7. Who is Lord of your life you or God?