The gospel of John begins with these words; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:1-4).
It was in the beginning that God through the Divine Son, Jesus, spoke creation into existence. It was Jesus the Divine Son, who walked in the fire with the 3 from Daniel. It was the Divine Son, who set on the Eternal Throne that Isaiah saw when King Uzziah died in Isaiah 6. It is Jesus who is the authority to command demons to be silent and to come out of the possessed man. As we dive into this text of scripture, we are going to see the authority of Jesus at work as He silences the demons and cast them out. We will also see the authority of Jesus teaching in the synagogue. It is Jesus the Divine Son of God, that we Encounter this in the gospel of Mark and all of scripture.
As we unpack this text, we are going to look at three things that we can dig out of the text of Mark 1:21-28. First, Jesus’ preaching was different because of His Divine Authority. Secondly, Jesus’ power was dynamic because of His Divine Authority. Thirdly, His prominence was deep, because of His Divine Authority. You probably notice a pattern in those three things, and all of it was connected to His Divine Authority.
Jesus preaches with Divine Authority!
As Jesus comes into Capernaum, He goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath. Mark makes mention that He immediately went to the synagogue on the sabbath. Immediately here is not referring to the moment He entered the city, but he is referring to the quickness unto which Jesus began to teach when arriving at the synagogue. “It was common practice for visiting teachers to be invited to read the Scripture and/or speak, a custom from which Paul as well as Jesus benefited. That Jesus was invited to speak indicates he had already established a reputation as a teacher and that this was not one of the first events in his ministry.” (The New American Commentary Series). Being the custom of synagogues, Jesus was probably invited to speak and with that immediately began to teach.
Jesus’ ability to teach and to communicate brought about an astonishment to the people who were listening in the synagogue. “Mark’s focus is the One who is teaching, His Authority, and the astonishing response of the hearers. The listeners were amazed and alarmed. His teachings were disturbing in their very nature. Today we might say, they were blown away!” (Christ-Centered Exposition).
The authority that He taught with did not come from earthly training as He spent His growing up years helping His father as a carpenter. Most of the Rabbi’s had spent time training or following in the footsteps of other Rabbi’s as Saul (Paul) had in his youth. Jesus’ authority and ability came from His Divine Authority, which brought about a wisdom and knowledge that humanity did not have even in the best of training and education. Jesus’ time spent with the Father was His earthly time of training and education. Even at the age of 12, He amazed those who heard Him speak.
We as followers of Christ must be in the Word of God, to understand the authority we have in communicating the Word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is through personal study, prayer, and meditation that you and I have ability to communicate the Word of God with authority that comes from the power of the Holy Spirit.
Application Question: Are you spending quality time in the Word of God daily? Praying the Word and studying the Word?
Jesus’ power was dynamic because of His Divine Authority.
Spiritual warfare is real and the work of demonic forces are real. Jesus was not just dealing with someone who had a multiple personality disorder (and those can be real). He was dealing with a man who was demon possessed. Matter fact it is so real that the Apostle Paul warned us about it and told us to put on the armor of God daily in Ephesian 6.
Several years ago, I was in Jamica, serving on mission trip with Pastor Tony and others from our church. Jamica is a place of real spiritual warfare (as Tony mentioned in his sermon yesterday with his encounter with a possessed man). It was my first trip to the Island, and I was preaching at a little church outside of Morant Bay. We had been there for a couple of days preaching and working with the kids. One night before the service began, we were outside playing with the kids, when a lady came up and started yelling at us and telling us to get out, this was her territory. I wasn’t sure what she was talking about, so one of deacons told me that she is a demon possessed woman and that it was the demon speaking through her. The demon did not like the ministry that was happening and it wanted us gone. I didn’t really know how to respond to that information, other than continuing to preach the Word. The spiritual warfare was real that night and the nights following.
The term demon or unclean spirit is used 63 times in the New Testament. The demon knew exactly who Jesus was and is. He knew that He was the Divine Son, and that He had authority. The demon knew that with the simple word of Jesus that he could be destroyed or even worse, tossed into the eternal fire for all eternity at that very moment. The demon knew that Jesus is the creator and Sovereign God of the Eternity and it had no power against Jesus.
“So, here is a demon-possessed man in, of all places, a house of worship! If this demon made his way into the first-century synagogue we should not assume that our own churches are beyond their reach.” (Christ-Centered Commentary) The work of the enemy is real, and we need to be aware of demonic influences and work that are around us. We need to be on guard by placing the Word of God in our hearts and minds and by applying it to our daily lives.
Application Question: Are you daily placing the Word of God in your mind and heart by studying it and applying it?
His prominence was deep, because of His Divine Authority.
Jesus’ teaching brought about amazement as mentioned earlier in this commentary. It came with power and authority that was unseen by the other teachers of the law. Something was different about Jesus! The word “amazed” in the Greek is (θαμβέομαι – ethamberthesan) means to fear or alarm. So, the amazement was not one of happiness but one of fear and alarm because they had never seen anything like this!
His teaching was authoritative and His control of the unclean spirits was authoritative. The Greek work for “rebuke” is (ἐπιτιμάω – epitimaō), which means to set a value upon; to assess a penalty; to allege as a crimination; hence, to reprove, chide, censure, rebuke, reprimand. “A modern alternative would be ‘Shut up!’ – a colloquial translation that also gives Jesus’ attitude toward Satan. The demon was like a boxer, dancing and jabbing to find a weakness; Jesus was the champion who knocked him our with one punch: Be Silent!” (Life Application Bible Commentary). Jesus’ prominence is seen in His teaching and authoritative power of the demon.
It is this power and authority brought new attention to Jesus and His ministry. The word began to spread throughout the region of Galilee. Jesus was becoming well known, which would bring about a new set of opportunities for Jesus’ ministry in Galilee.
Application Question: Is your faith and obedience to the Word seen by others as you live out your daily life?
Conclusion:
“The disturbance of men and demons by the Servant King of God has begun. Life will never be the same! Demons are expelled, and broken people are made whole. This is God’s Kingdom. This is what the great King can do. This is why He should have absolute authority in your life, my life, and every life.” (Christ-Centered Commentary).
If Christ is at work in your life and my life, then the impact on our community and in our church will be felt. We will live with authority and power to speak hope into the lives of the hopeless. We will have the power and authority to bring peace to a peaceless community. All of this simply because of the power and authority of the Holy Spirit that indwells every believer in Christ.
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