Message preached Sunday, September 21, 2014 from Mark 1:21-28
Theme: Jesus teaching proves itself to have divine authority—and all are wise to heed Him!
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
I ask that you turn with me to the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark—where we find a story of something that happened at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry of teaching. It was something so shocking that the news spread about it into all the surrounding regions. People began talking about it—and about Him—everywhere!
It’s the story of what happened right after Jesus called the four fishermen to follow Him—Peter, Andrew, James and John. Right away, it seems, they got a stunning picture of who it was that they were following. In verses 21-28, Mark tells us;
Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee (Mark 1:21-28).
* * * * * * * * * *
Did you ever have a time in church when something happened that completely shocked you? Well; this was certainly no ordinary Sabbath Day at the synagogue! It’s hard to imagine the stunning effect it must have had on everyone who was there!
And I have to tell you; for years, whenever I have read that story, I have always thought of it as a story that is primarily about Jesus casting a demon out of man. It is that, of course; but I believe the point of the story is something much bigger than that. I believe that it is primarily a story about the changing viewpoint about the authority of Jesus’ teaching. At the beginning of the story, people felt a certain way about Jesus’ teaching; and when it was all over and the dust had cleared, people felt a completely higher and more profound way about His teaching.
And that’s why this story is so important. It was something that Peter—who was, by this point, a follower of Jesus—probably reported to Mark as a first-hand witness. And Mark was led by the Holy Spirit to include it in his Gospel account because it establishes for us the amazing authority with which Jesus taught in His earthly ministry. You and I can read a story about the casting out of a demon long ago; and while it might be interesting and exciting to read, it may not have much to do with how you and I live today. But if that story shows us something about Jesus in His teaching ministry, and if it is meant to impress upon us the divine authority that accompanied that teaching, then it has a great deal to do with us; because we are meant to believe on Him, submit to His teaching, allow His instruction and commands to guide and direct our lives, and declare Him and His teaching to a lost world. And that means that the message we bear has divine authority—and the people of this world absolutely must hear it!
So; let’s walk through this story in greater detail—and allow it to impact the way we think of Jesus and His teaching!
* * * * * * * * * *
It begins by telling us, in verse 21, “Then they went into Capernaum . . .” Capernaum was a city along the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Although it is scarcely more than a tourist-site along the beach now, it was—in Jesus’ day—a very busy and important city. It’s a city that figured very largely in Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. In fact, it was home-base for most of His earthly ministry. In Matthew 9:1, it is called “His own city”. And like most ancient cities in that part of the world where Jewish people were scattered, it had a synagogue.
We often think of synagogues in the Bible as official places of worship. But there was really only one “official” place for the Jewish people; and that, of course, was the temple in Jerusalem. But so that the Jewish people could devote themselves to their faith wherever they may be found, they established “synagogues” or “gatherings”. They weren’t “official” places where priests served; but simply places where devoted and pious Jewish people could gather. They enjoyed worship together, and had prayers, read the Scriptures, and received teaching.
There would be synagogue rulers; and they would be the ones who oversaw the teaching ministry and the proceedings of the synagogue. If someone had come to visit—such as a scribe or a priest or a noted Pharisee—a synagogue ruler would typically invite the guest to come forward and share a word of exhortation to the people. And so, Jesus and His growing band of disciples came to the synagogue in Capernaum. They made sure that they went to the place of worship. (By the way; there’s an important lesson for us in that, isn’t there? If Jesus and His disciples made sure that they were regularly in the house of worship, so should we!)
It must be that Jesus had been invited by the synagogue ruler to step forward and give an exhortation from the Scriptures to the people. Wouldn’t you have loved to have been there to hear that? And so, Mark tells us, “and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.” In fact, the tense of the word that Mark uses has it that Jesus “began” to teach. In other words, the events of the story that we are reading today were happening as Jesus was engaged in the act of teaching.
And the first thing that we see that happened was that the people “began”—with the same tense of the verb—to react to His teaching. As He was teaching, they were reacting. And Mark tells us what their reaction was. “And they were astonished at His teaching . . .” (v. 22). The word that Mark uses here, in the original language, is a remarkable one. It means to be ‘struck out’. It was Mark’s very strong and very vivid way of saying that they were ‘knocked out of their wits’ by the way He was teaching. He was blowing their minds!
And what was it that was striking them out of their wits so much? Mark tells us, “for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” You see, the other teachers that they heard—the scribes and Pharisees, the scholars of the day—would generally try to bring a sense of authority to their instruction by quoting other scholars. They would teach like this: “As you know, brethren, the esteemed Rabbi So-And-So has told us this . . .” Or, “If you’ll recall in the writings of the noteworthy scribe Such-And-Such . . .” It was a pretty dry and boring way to be taught. Jesus, as we know, never taught in a dry and boring way. He used illustrations and parables and word-pictures. He was the greatest Teacher who ever lived. But it wasn’t just the exciting and interesting words He used that shocked them. It was that He didn’t quote other authorities. Instead, He spoke as if He was the authority that the others ought to be quoting! He didn’t simply copy and repeat the wisdom of others. He spoke as if He was the original!
I think a great example of what might have been happening is found in the Sermon on The Mount. Do you remember the way that our Lord would repeatedly teach like this, “You have heard that it was said to those of old . . . But I say to you . . .”? I believe that was what Jesus was doing in the synagogue that morning—and it was knocking everyone out!
And I’d like to tell you something else that I believe about that. It’s my opinion that their astonishment is not meant to be taken by us in a good sense. They were not saying to themselves, “Well; isn’t this refreshing! Someone with some original ideas!” Rather, they were saying something like, “Who in the world does this Man think He is? We allow Him to come up and teach us; and He starts talking like He’s the great authority! Where does He get the nerve to speak like that?” The reason I say that is because that’s how they reacted to Him on another occasion. If we read a little ahead in Mark’s Gospel to the beginning of Chapter 6, we find what happened when He came to His home town of Nazareth:
Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him (Mark 6:1-3).
I don’t think the folks in the synagogue in Capernaum were “astonished” in a positive sense when they heard Jesus speak in a way they’d never heard before. I think they were “knocked out of their wits” in a negative way by His “You have heard it said . . . but I say to you” kind of speaking and teaching. In other words, they were offended by what they thought was the presumption of authority in His instructions to them.
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; if I’m right about that, then this makes the story before us to be very relevant today.
Think about it. Most people today don’t mind hearing what Jesus said—and in some cases, they’ll even welcome hearing some portions of His teaching—so long as He is not made to be anything more than just another great philosopher, or religious thinker, or inspirational speaker. If He can be quoted comfortably as being on the same level as the Buddha, or Gandhi, or Kahlil Gibran, or Ralph Waldo Emerson, or Maya Angelou, then people are fine with hearing Him. That’s because if He is treated as nothing more than a mere man, and if He said something that someone today doesn’t like or that doesn’t fit in with what they really want to believe, they can just reject Him in favor of someone else. In that case, He would have no real authority.
But from the very beginning of this Gospel—and throughout the Scriptures—Jesus is presented as being more than just a mere man. He is presented to us as the Son of God in human flesh. At His baptism, God the Father publicly declared, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). There was another time when God the Father said that. It was when Peter, James and John went with Jesus alone up a mountain. He was transformed before their eyes; and they saw the resplendence of His glory. Moses and Elijah even appeared and talked with Him. And when Peter saw them, he wanted to build three tabernacles for them—putting Jesus on the same level as they. And that’s when God the Father declared, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:5). People can’t put Jesus on the same level as another human teacher—or even as one of the great prophet of God. They can’t just reject what Jesus says if they don’t like it. If Jesus as the Son of God, then they absolutely must hear Him and bow to what He said.
So; that’s what I believe is so significant about the reaction that the people in the synagogue toward Him. They were offended by the implications of His authority. And if I’m correct in my interpretation of things, then it also makes a great deal of sense out of what happened next.
Mark tells us, “Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit” (v. 23). Do you notice that it says that he was in “their” synagogue? It may mean that he was not a regular part of their assembly. They may not have seen him before. It would be hard to imagine that they would have knowingly had a demon-possessed man as a part of their group. It may be that the only way they knew that something was amiss was by the fact that—as Jesus was teaching—the man suddenly cried out and said what he said.
What a shock that must have been to the folks in the synagogue!–to discover that there was a man with an unclean and evil spirit within their assembly! That has made me wonder if Satan hasn’t sometimes placed some of his ‘operatives’ in churches without the people in those churches even being aware of it! Are there churches that would be shocked to discover that an unclean spirit was in their midst? After all, we’re told that the enemy of our souls “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8)–but who also knows how to transform himself “into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).
I don’t think we have to worry much about it, though. We certainly don’t have to go on ‘evil spirit searches’. As I read on in the story, I get the impression that all we have to do is faithfully proclaim the Lord Jesus and lift Him high in our worship. Look at what we’re told that the demon in this man cried out: “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” (v. 24). Perhaps that’s why the enemy of our souls can make an easy foothold in some churches. They don’t talk much about Jesus, or declare what He taught. But if we just faithfully proclaim Jesus, that’ll be enough to send the forces of evil out of hiding in shear panic!
Look carefully at what this demon cried out. He said, “What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?” In the original language, it’s “What is there with us and with You–?”; as if this one evil spirit was speaking on behalf of many; and as if they were stressing that there was nothing in common between themselves and Jesus. They can take up comfortable residence in a poor fallen sinner; but not anywhere near the Son of God in human flesh! As it tells us in 1 John 3:8, “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” No wonder they wanted nothing to do with Him!
They asked, “Did You come to destroy us?” I believe they were terrified at the thought that Jesus might be about to cast them into the place of their ultimate destiny. We’re not told very much in the Bible about God’s plan for the demons. We’re given the impression in Scripture that they are evil angelic beings who were involved with Satan in his fall; and Jude 6 tells us, “And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day.” But it is clear that the demon who was speaking was terrified at the prospect of ultimate judgment. This demon is fearful that the Son of God had come to cast him into ultimate judgment before the time! It’s interesting to consider that the unclean spirits—who are more aware of spiritual realities than we are—are far more fearful of the lake of fire than people are who have rejected God’s grace! They know, with the greatest possible clarity, what is in store for them—and how Jesus is able to send them there!
Finally, notice how this demon cries out, “I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” When he says, “the Holy One of God”, we have to take those words in the context of what we’ve already read in this chapter—and of how God has already declared that Jesus is His beloved Son. This evil spirit clearly knows more about Jesus than many unbelieving theologians and philosophers and scholars seem to know!
Jesus rebuked this evil spirit. And notice what He tells him. He first says, “Be quiet . . .” Why would Jesus tell the evil spirit to be quiet? It was because he was daring to declare Jesus’ identity; and the holy Son of God will not have Himself preached in this world by demons. Do you remember the story in the book of Acts?–how a demon-possessed slave girl was walking around behind Paul and the other missionaries, and was declaring, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation”? Paul turned around and—in the power of Christ—cast the demon out. It was because the devil is a clever deceiver; and having one of his demons appear to proclaim the gospel would end up associating the gospel, in the minds of the people, with the works of Satan. Jesus has not given it to demons to preach Him—but has instead entrusted that responsibility to redeemed people!
Then, after telling the demon to be quite, He said for the demon to come out of the man. And what a fuss the demon had put on about it! We’re told, “And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him” (v. 26). He came out—but not, first, without putting the poor man in horrible convulsions. The word that Mark used means to “tear at”–suggesting that the pathetic man was made to thrash around violently. And then, he came out only after making the poor man cry out in a blood-curdling, horrifying shriek!
* * * * * * * * * *
I want to remind you where this was all happening. It was happening in a nice, stately, dignified synagogue in the cultured city of Capernaum—with pious Jewish people sitting all around to see it. Try to imagine the sound of such a horrible, demonic shriek ripping through the sanctuary in a beautiful church building—right in the middle of a dignified time of worship! And though we’re not told, I am imagining that—after the demon had left in such a violent way—the poor man was suddenly quiet, and sitting in his right mind on the floor, and perhaps looking up at Jesus with tears of gratitude in his eyes. The shock of it all must have been unspeakably tremendous!
And do you remember their attitude toward Jesus before then? We’re told that they were astonished at His teaching. I suggested to you earlier that their astonishment was accompanied with a deep sense of offense at the way He was presenting Himself as if He was some kind of ‘great authority’. But I believe their attitude had been changed by all that they had just seen.
We’re told that they were now “amazed”; and the word that is used here is a different one than what was used in verse 22. Back then, they were “astonished” in the sense of being “struck”. But now, they are “amazed” with a kind of amazement that comes from having encountered something awesome and holy. Mark tells us, “Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him” (v. 27).
And do you see my previous point? The focus wasn’t on the event that just happened. It wasn’t a story about the casting out of a demon. Rather, it was a story about a transformation of attitudes toward the authority of Jesus! They had been hearing Him speak and teach in such a way as to present Himself as an authority greater than all others—and they were offended at it. But now they saw—with their own eyes—that this man Jesus truly did have such authority! He had the authority to command unclean spirits, and those spirits obey Him in terror! He had manifestly divine authority! What ‘new doctrine’ then was this He was declaring to them–?!! Clearly, it was from God!!
We’re told, “And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee” (v. 28). This remarkable event set the tone for the teaching and preaching and healing ministry of Jesus that we then go on to read about in the rest of this chapter—and in the whole of this gospel.
* * * * * * * * * *
So then; what do we do with the thing that this passage is teaching us?–that this man Jesus taught on earth with manifestly divine authority? Let me suggest a few things.
First—and this is a very serious thing to say—I would suggest that it means we’d better heed what Jesus, this divinely authoritative Teacher, has said! To hear the teaching of the Son of God—clearly having been demonstrated to have great authority—and to then sinfully reject it and rebel against it, is a dreadful thing to do. As the writer of Hebrews tells us;
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:26-31).
My hope is that such words would never apply to any of us here today; but that we will all—each one of us—gladly receive Jesus, and whole-heartedly believe the things He taught us.
Second, I would suggest that it means that, when we proclaim Jesus and the things He taught, we should expect to be opposed by the forces of evil—perhaps fiercely so. Certainly, Jesus Himself met the opposition of the enemy. But He was victorious; and so will we be if we cling tightly to Him. As Paul put it;
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:10-12).
We have nothing to fear from the enemy—or from his human instruments—so long as we remain close to Jesus and put on the full armor of His provision.
And finally, I would suggest that because we have been commanded to declare a message that has been manifestly marked with such divine authority, we must fearlessly and confidently do so—no matter who may tell us to stop. Let’s remember what our Lord commanded us;
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).