Sermon Tone Analysis

Cosmic Authority

Mark 1:21–28 (ESV)

Capernaum

Capernaum was a small town on the upper northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, about two miles from where the Jordan flowed into the lake.

This is at the northwest edge of the Sea of Galilee, at the top of the Sea of Galilee.

It is a city that became the largest city on the lake because it was the crossroads.

People went through this city going north and south and east and west.

It had a Roman garrison because it was a potential area of crime because there was so much action, so much trade, so much travel traffic.

It had a customs tax office as well.

Capernaum was a beautiful place, still is, but a very, very sinful place, far away from Jerusalem, far away from the quote/unquote “Holy Influences” of core Judaism on the fringes of a Gentile world.

It was a very evil place.

In fact, in Matthew 11 Jesus actually said that it would be better for Sodom in the day of judgment than Capernaum.

The sins of Capernaum, vile sins, and the opportunity for Capernaum to be exposed to Christ gave them a greater responsibility.

And that’s why it would be more tolerable for Sodom than Capernaum in the day of judgment, Matthew 11:23 and 24.

Capernaum became Jesus’ headquarters apparently during His Galilean ministry.

It wasn’t Nazareth where He came from because you remember the first time He went to Nazareth, according to Luke 4, and preached in the synagogue, they tried to throw Him off a cliff.

The Synagogue

Those who visit Capernaum today can view the remains of a second-century synagogue which may well have been built on the sight of the original synagogue in which Jesus preached.

Whatever the case, the congregation in Jesus’ day was made up of humble townsfolk: fishermen, merchants, craftsmen, laborers and their wives.

They participated in the praisings, the blessings, the prayers, and the reading of the Law and Prophets while they eagerly awaited the expected sermon from the Nazarene who had been causing such a stir in the countryside.

And they were not to be disappointed.

The text says in verse 22 that they “were amazed at his teaching.”

Literally the word means “to strike with panic or shock.”2

It means that his preaching struck them like a blow.

Barclay renders it that they were left “thunderstruck.”3

Jesus’ preaching carried a powerful punch.[1]

The Preliminaries are Done

As we come to Mark 1 again, we come to verses 21–28, preliminaries are now done and Mark begins his actual account of the events of the ministry of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Mark begins with an amazing account of how Jesus overpowered a demon, This is one of many, many times and one of many statements about Jesus’ power to do that, that are made through the rest of the first chapter, on into the third chapter, on into the fifth chapter.

All of this because

It is essential that if Christ is to come and establish His Kingdom, He must overpower the current ruler who is none other than Satan.

He must have cosmic authority, authority that is beyond human authority, that is beyond this temporal world.

He must have power that extends into the universe.

He must have power over all the evil forces that exist in the universe.

This is necessary if He is to rescue sinners from bondage to this evil power.

And so, we find Mark telling us that Jesus has that power.[2]

“They went into Capernaum.”

“And immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach.

CHRIST’S AUTHORITY: HIS EXTRAORDINARY PREACHING

Mark 1:21–22 (ESV) 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.

Jesus was the most truly passionate man in history because he believed more than any other in his message.

He knew what was in the heart of man, and he knew the eternal issues that rest in moral choices.

He was sublimely passionate, and this is why he was so supremely successful in his preaching of the gospel of repentance and belief.

This is also why the four fishermen (Peter, Andrew, James, and John) followed him to become fishers of men and so transcended their provincial world and became apostolic in heart and life.

He was so real, so true, so utterly, passionately sincere.

But as important as these factors were, the text places the responsibility for his success on his logos, his word: “because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.”

The scribes, who were largely Pharisees, were in bondage to quotation marks—they loved to quote the authorities.

“Rabbi Hillel says … But on the other hand Gamaliel says.…

Then there is Rabbi Eleazar’s testimony.…

” It was secondhand theology!

Their labyrinthine, petty, legalistic distinctions were boring, with no spontaneity, no joy!

When Jesus spoke, it was just the opposite.

There were few quotation marks.

His style was, “You have heard that it was said.…

But I tell you” (cf.

Matthew 5:21, 22, 27, 28; 7:28, 29).

He preached God’s Word, not about God’s Word.

He explained the Law and the Prophets.

He was clear and simple, as all great preachers of the Word have been (and are).

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.

What a lesson to the four new fishers of men!

To be sure, they did not sit down and analyze the situation in classical categories.

But they learned by his example.

They knew he was genuine.

They knew he passionately cared.

They saw how he handled God’s Word, preaching it clearly.

As they ministered in the name and example of Christ they would experience miraculous power, for the Holy Spirit is pleased to use such messengers.

If we want to communicate in our walk and talk, God’s authority must be part of our life.

We need not so much to possess the message, but rather to let the message possess us.

If we want people to see that it is real, we need to be passionate about it and speak the Word clearly.

Then there will be power, authority, and life in the communication between son and daughter, between parent and child, between teacher and student, between employer and employee.

[3]

CHRIST’S AUTHORITY: HIS MIRACULOUS POWER

Mark 1:23–26 (ESV) 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.

We do not know when the opposition came or who the opposer was, but as the people sat thunderstruck by Jesus’ teaching, “a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?

Have you come to destroy us?

I know who you are—the Holy One of God!’” (vv.

23, 24).

The light of Jesus’ teaching was too much for the evil of a demonized life.

Just as foul things scurry from the light when you lift a stone, evil spirits who love darkness recoil from the light.

It is very possible to recognize Jesus for who he is and hate him all the more.

This is what was happening here.

This man wanted nothing to do with Christ.

The demon’s shriek was full of malevolent aggression.

His opening burst, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?,” was a common Old Testament formula which was roughly equivalent to, “You have no business with us yet!”5The evil spirit wanted Jesus to go away.

A demonized man completely under the sway of evil

I especially want us to see that this demonized man was completely under the sway of evil.

His personality had been damaged to the point that the demonic spirit usurped the core of his self and even utilized his voice.

Satan always tries to imitate God.

Christ came to earth in human flesh and now dwells within us by the Spirit.

Aping God, Satan fabricates incarnations through his spirits.

This man was lost, a kennel for the malevolent spirits of fallen angels.

He was literally “in an unclean spirit” (v.

23, Greek).

The moral nature of the unclean spirit fused with his, so that he was coarse, filthy, and base within.

So fully was he under the command of evil that he renounced all interest in Christ, saying, “You have no business with me yet!

Go away!”