January 28, 2018 4 th Sunday After Epiphany Mark 1:21-28 COJLBC Jesus Is In The House Mark Jarvinen 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. 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. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him. 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. (Mark 1:21-28 - ESV) INTRODUCTION This morning, we find ourselves just 20 verses into Mark s Gospel and already he has taken us, at breakneck speed, through the ministry of John the Baptist, Jesus Baptism at the River Jordan, the Wilderness Temptation of Jesus, and the calling of Jesus first few disciples. Mark s Gospel wastes no time in getting us to the heart of the story about Jesus, who, as God in the flesh, and as the God of the Covenant and Creation, has shown up on the Sabbath, in a Jewish place of worship to exercise great spiritual authority. Jesus is in the house! Israel s long awaited Messiah has come to rescue, redeem, and restore the hearts of people everywhere. JESUS IN THE SYNAGOGUE Verse 21 tells us that They, meaning Jesus and His first disciples, Simon, who later became Peter, his brother, Andrew, and 1
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, went to Capernaum, a good sized and prosperous city, located on the NW shore of the Sea of Galilee, along a major E-W trade route in Northern Israel, some 40 miles from Jesus hometown of Nazareth. When the Sabbath came, we are told that Jesus, and presumably the others, immediately entered the synagogue. No doubt Jesus had grown up in Nazareth attending synagogue on the Sabbath with his family. The synagogue system of Jewish worship dated back some 500 + years earlier, during the time of their Babylonian captivity. Since the Jews were in exile and could no longer worship in the Temple, they started gathering in meeting places called synagogues with groupings of 10 families or more. It s fair to say that spending time in community with other Jews, praying, worshipping, and learning, had become part of Jesus spiritual DNA. Since Jesus was teaching, in that particular synagogue that day, and there would have been numerous other synagogues to choose from in Capernaum, based on the city s size, it s likely that He was already known there through some previous connection, and had been invited to teach. Mark doesn t tell us if the synagogue was packed in anticipation of this guest speaker from Nazareth, nor are we told which text from which Jesus was teaching. Mark s succinct literary style conveys only what is most important for his readers to know, which is that Jesus was in the house, and therefore things were going to be changing. Jesus of Nazareth was going to be stirring things up spiritually in ways that no one had witnessed in hundreds of years. 2
THE SPIRITUAL IMPACT OF JESUS Spiritual impact is hard to measure. All we can do is assess the reactions of those who heard Jesus speak in the synagogue meeting that day, based on our text. I. People Were Astonished. Check out v. 22: teaching,. And they were astonished at his The word astonished means to be at a loss for words, or dumbfounded. Today, we might say, their minds were blown away by his teaching. Throughout Mark s Gospel this was a common reaction when people encountered Christ. Mark 6:2 many who heard him were astonished Mark 7:37 And they were astonished beyond measure Mark 10:26 And they were exceedingly astonished We can see why people were astonished by Jesus teaching in the synagogue that day. Verse 22 goes on to say, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. In other words, Jesus spoke as if He intimately knew the Lord God Almighty, which by the way, as the Son of God, He did! He spoke with such conviction and passion that the people s hearts and minds were stirred. Jesus spoke like one of the prophets Moses speaks of in our OT lesson from Dt. 18:15-20 as ones who had been given the very Spirit of the Living God. This manner of speaking was in sharp contrast to the scribes, whom the people in the synagogue had also heard speak before. The scribes had no inherent authority from God so they ended up just reciting canned speeches and quoting other rabbis and their opinions about what the OT Scriptures meant. The word authority means, the power or right to enforce 3
obedience, and this is what the people heard from the lips of Jesus that day. Jesus often used the expression, You have heard it said, but I say to you, indicating His authority. II. Demons Were Afraid. The religious people were blown away by Jesus authority, but now we see that a demon has his cover blown when Christ shows up: And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit (v. 23). Right in the middle of Jesus teaching, with everyone resonating with what He was saying, a demonpossessed man stood up and loudly interrupted. The suddenness of his interruption, the content of His words, and the tone of voice he likely used, had to have sent chills up and down the spines of those present. The text says: And he cried out, `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 (vv. 23c-24). Wow! The air has just been sucked out of the building. What was at first just a more interesting synagogue service than usual, has suddenly moved to DEFCON 1. The man who stood up, likely someone known to the community, was a spokesman for multiple demons. The unclean spirit is actually saying, on behalf of all the demons present, You have no business with us yet. This is very much like Matthew 8:29, which says: And behold, they cried out, `What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come to torment us before the time? This of course, refers to the time of Jesus death and resurrection, His ultimate victory over Satan. 4
In other words, in the spiritual realm, demons know exactly who Christ is, the Holy One of God, the One who has power over them, the One whose authority they are under. Demons have no choice but to obey Christ. Jesus simply said in v. 25, Be silent, and come out of him! Satan and his evil demons are powerless before Him. Verse 26 of our text says, And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. The NIV says, The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. Allow me to ask, Do you find it unnerving that an unclean spirit or demon, was present in a synagogue service? Don t be. Mere religion and ritualism are no threats to evil spirits. For the most part the synagogue functioned to preserve Jewish traditions. The services were largely ritualistic without the gospel. They had rules without relationship. They had teaching without the Holy Spirit. They sang music without a true sense of God s majesty. Demons wouldn t be bothered by dusty, dry religious services, but by contrast, when Jesus shows up, they go crazy. They recognized and obeyed His spiritual authority over them. A third reaction is much like the first. III. People Were Amazed Verse 27 says, And they were all amazed, causing them to question among themselves about his teaching authority and His authority over demons. I feel like amazement is at least one step up the reaction scale from their earlier astonishment. To be amazed means to wonder with great admiration. However, 5
comingled with their admiration was likely a type of awe that bordered on dread. This was clearly not a typical synagogue service. This was their moment of truth. Jesus preaching was anointed. It possessed spiritual power. A man had been set free from Satan right before their eyes. Jesus was in the house. It was no longer possible to remain neutral about Him. What He did in the synagogue that day had never happened before. The expression, He may work for you, but not for me, a comment we often hear in our culture today concerning Jesus, was no longer an option for the people in that synagogue service. They must have been faced with this question, If Jesus can quiet down and cast out a demon, what can He do in my life? For those of us listening here today, take a moment to personalize this for yourself. What can Jesus do for you today? Each of us knows what our own issues are today. I hope you wouldn t be shocked to hear that present among the people gathered in the average church, on a typical Sunday morning, are a panoply of issues that people are dealing with all on their own. Things like, lying, anger, depression, pride, fear, lack of forgiveness, doubt, lust, marital unfaithfulness, greed, pornography, addictions. Over the course of my ministry in 4 congregations, I have offered pastoral care and counsel to people touching all of these issues and more. To admit to any of these issues does not mean that a person has committed the unpardonable sin, or that there is no hope for healing and freedom. It simply means that like all humans, you and I are by nature broken and unclean. However, we are not so broken 6
that we re beyond the grace of forgiveness. We re not so broken that the Holy Spirit cannot cleanse us, purify us, and lead us on the path of healing and restoration. Stop pretending. Stop covering up. Step out of the darkness and into the light. Confess and repent of your sins. Let Jesus set you free. He can calm you and free you from any bondage you are under today. Nothing is too hard for Him. Jesus didn t come just to help you manage your sin, but to master it and set you free. This encounter is included in Mark s Gospel to show us that no matter what spirit attacks us, or attempts to enslave us, Jesus is the way to freedom, healing, and wholeness. Jesus came to bring new and abundant life to all who will receive it. Finally, we see that IV. The Gospel Was Advanced. Notice v. 28, which concludes today s text: And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. Just think, the fame of Jesus spread without texting or the internet. No one had to google Jesus, because people were telling their neighbors and those neighbors told others about Him. In their daily trips to the market, or the well, those who had been at that Synagogue in Capernaum couldn t stop talking about Jesus. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the well-known 19 th century preacher of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, once said: If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for. (Sermon Central) 7
The truth of the matter is that when we are open to Jesus being in the house, in terms of our worship, fellowship, and learning, we will experience more insights, discernment and wisdom from God s Word, which in turn will create a love for others and sensitize us to the needs of people all around us for whom a relationship with Jesus is the very thing they need. May the Lord work in our hearts to that end. A-men. 8