A Day In The Life: Jesus Edition (1)

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Verses 21 all the way to verse 39 in Mark chapter 1 chronicles the life of Jesus in a specific 48-hour period.

Mark 1 · chapter mention

And what takes place in these moments is what we might expect was the typical routine for Christ.

As he went about his ministry and about his life, what we see Mark encapsulating in this 48-hour period

is probably what Jesus' life was like about every day, especially once his public ministry had begun.

We're also reminded here in these verses that Mark's unique style as compared to the other gospel writers.

His goal was not to construct a timeline of Jesus' movements, and we've said that a lot in this study,

but his purpose was really to paint kind of a mosaic of the life and the ministry and the purpose and identity of Christ.

And so in typical Mark and fashion, he keeps the story moving along quickly.

He uses this word immediately some 18 different times in chapter 1 alone.

He's constantly moving the story along.

He's usually fairly brief and fast-paced in the way that he describes these events.

But he endeavors in doing that to keep our attention and our focus on the identity of Jesus specifically.

Now, as Mark writes these things and we learn about these events that took place around Jesus' life and ministry,

he doesn't write them to fill us with information about Jesus, but he is making his case,

he is encouraging us to make a definitive choice to follow Jesus.

So when we study about Jesus coming into a synagogue and teaching in this way,

or we study a unique event where Jesus cast out a demon in such a powerful way as this,

it's not just to give us information about him.

It's not just to increase our intellectual knowledge of who Jesus is.

Mark is writing this in order that he might persuade the reader to make a definitive choice to follow Christ.

To follow Christ in what way?

Well, in the way that he stated his purpose of the entire writing was in verse 1,

to follow him as the Messiah and the Son of God.

And so that's really what's taking place here as we continue on through the story.

And I know we'll probably say that a hundred more times as we go through this gospel,

but it's important for us to remember that's what Mark is doing.

He wants us to follow Christ, not simply know about Christ.

Our text constitutes the first part of this 48-hour period.

This is the first scene that Mark chooses to tell us about.

And the setting is in the town of Capernaum,

which is where Jesus set up his headquarters for his Galilean ministry.

Capernaum was, and as I understand still is to this day, a picturesque town.

It's on the northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee.

Even still today, you can go and visit the ancient ruins of the town of Capernaum.

And my brother and my dad and their wives went, which would be my mom,

they spent some time in Capernaum, I guess earlier this year.

Was it earlier this year?

I can't remember.

It was maybe February or January or something like that.

And every time they go on one of those trips, I haven't been able to go yet myself.

Hopefully one day we'll take a church trip.

We'll all go to Israel one day.

And they always come back and they start showing me these pictures.

And it's always amazing to me to see these places that we read about.

They've read about my whole life and I've heard about my whole life.

And they've shown pictures of Capernaum and how it's situated right there on the Sea of Galilee

and where they believe Peter's house was in Capernaum and how beautiful it is.

It really was and still is today a picturesque place.

A beautiful place on the Sea of Galilee.

And at the time, it was a relatively busy and heavily populated area of Galilee.

Now, its importance was due really primarily to its location to a major trade route known as the Via Maris

that many people would use in going back and forth from north to south in order to carry out their business.

And so this made it a strategic place for the fishing industry.

We mentioned last week when we were studying about Jesus calling Peter and Andrew and James and John to follow him.

They were fishermen by trade.

This was the major industry in that particular area.

And it's being located on this particular trade route made it advantageous for the fishing community.

In fact, archaeologists have even uncovered a promenade that's about half a mile long situated on the sea bank of the Sea of Galilee right at Capernaum.

Half a mile where you could stroll and look at the sea on one end and look at the town on the other end.

But it would have been a busy marketplace for these fishermen.

On this half mile stretch of promenade were multiple piers stretching about 100 feet out into the lake.

So Capernaum is not a fishing village.

Capernaum is the center of everything that's happening in the fishing industry here on the Sea of Galilee.

So it's a busy place.

It's a heavily populated place.

There's lots of things going on in this particular area.

It had grown so much at the time of Christ that we understand through the scripture that there was a Roman garrison who was stationed there.

You'll remember the story of the centurion who had a servant who was deathly ill.

And he comes to Jesus and he demonstrates such great faith in knowing that Jesus could heal the man without even being present in his house.

You remember that story?

That was in Capernaum.

That centurion, this leader of this Roman garrison was stationed there.

The only reason they would put a station, a Roman garrison there was because it was so busy.

There was so much happening in the market.

There were so many people there.

They felt like that needed to be controlled.

It was also the place of an official Roman tax office, which made that significant to the Galilean region.

And again, we see this come up a couple other times in the Gospels.

As Jesus is ministering, you'll remember him stopping by the tax office in Capernaum one day,

and he calls out to a man named Matthew or Levi to follow him.

And Matthew, this hated publican, this traitor of the Jews, gets saved and begins to follow Jesus Christ on that time.

All of that is happening in this region of Capernaum, where Jesus and his disciples in verse 21 have now entered into on this particular day.

Now, as he continues building his case for proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God,

Mark draws our attention here in these verses specifically to the authoritative power of Christ's word,

his authoritative word.

Jesus was no ordinary teacher.

His words possessed a power that was able to pierce the hearts of men and cause demons to flee.

That's exactly what's happening in these verses.

Jesus isn't touching anyone.

Jesus isn't doing a physical act in this moment.

Simply by the power of his word, the hearts of the people are pierced,

and they sit there in astonishment at the authority with which he teaches.

And even of their own words say,

he does not teach us like the other teachers teach us.

There is something unique about him.

That's the authoritative power of Christ's word.

And then we see this demonic man,

as he comes into the synagogue and Jesus cast out the demon,

Jesus does it through the power of his word.

So Mark is drawing our attention to that here.

And it's a reminder for us, perhaps of what God said through Isaiah.

God said,

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

and do not return there without watering the earth,

and making it bare and sprout,

and furnishing seed to the sower,

and bread to the eater.

In other words, the rain comes down,

and it does what it's supposed to do.

It feeds the earth, and things grow from it.

God says,

In the same way that the rain does that,

so will my word be which goes out of my mouth.

It will not return unto me empty,

without accomplishing what I desire,

and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

That's Isaiah 55.

So God says,

In the same way that the rain does its work on the earth,

so does my word do its work.

There is a purpose in it.

There is a power in it.

There is an authority in it.

And every time God sends out his word,

it always accomplishes the thing that he desires for it to accomplish.

It's a promise of God.

It has an authority that cannot be stopped.

It always does what God has determined for it to do.

That's an encouragement for us in our evangelism, isn't it?

That it's not up to us in our words.

It's not up to us in the things that we can contrive

to try to persuade someone to believe,

but it is actually the power of God's word.

As we send it out, as we cast that net,

like we talked about last week,

we trust that God's word as it goes out

will accomplish the thing that he desires for it to accomplish

in drawing men to salvation.

Mark highlights this divine characteristic

as existing in this man, Jesus of Nazareth.

And he does so in this passage by noting these two demonstrations of Jesus's power.

In this text, we see Jesus has power over two things,

power over systems of religion.

And then we see that he has power over satanic forces.

And the two episodes here are knit together in that authority.

In that the same authority with which Jesus cast out this demon

is the same authority with which he preaches the gospel,

which means for us, there must be a response.

We cannot take it lightly.

We cannot merely be amazed at his power.

We must heed his word.

And so let's look at these two events together.

First, let's see his power over systems of religion,

Christ power over systems of religion.

Look with me again at verse 21.

And they went into Capernaum and immediately on the Sabbath day,

he entered into the synagogue and taught.

And they were astonished at his doctrine

for he taught them as one that had authority

and not as the scribes.

We're told here that Jesus and his newly called disciples,

these four fishermen,

and perhaps there were others there as well,

but we know at least these four fishermen are there present on this day,

had found their place in the local synagogue in Capernaum.

It was the Sabbath day.

And it was always Jesus's custom to attend synagogue on the Sabbath.

Now I'm going to give you just kind of a quick side note on this.

This is important, I think.

It's an example that we see in Christ that we need to actually follow ourselves.

Now Jesus was vehemently opposed to those

who would preach that religious forms were capable of providing salvation.

His gospel was the opposite of that.

The gospel is a salvation by grace alone through faith alone,

not through the works of righteousness that men may perform on their own.

But he does set an example for believers to be faithful to the corporate gathering

where the Bible is taught and God is praised.

We're faithful to the Lord's Day worship as New Testament Christians.

We're faithful to the church and the corporate gathering on Sunday mornings

to worship the Lord and to hear the Bible teach.

We are not doing so because we just feel like doing it.

We're not doing it because the pastor said this is what we have to do.

We're doing it because we're following the example of Christ.

Now as we study through this particular passage,

we're going to see that Jesus was opposed to these systematic forms of religion,

that what the Jews were preaching and teaching was not the gospel,

and he was coming and bringing the gospel of grace.

But even in the midst of that, he was faithful toward the corporate gathering,

the corporate worship of God's people.

And so should we be.

And when we come together on Sundays,

we do so following the example of our Lord and of our Savior.

And we ought to think of it that way.

On those Sunday mornings when we wake up and we just don't feel like going,

which happens with all of us, I know.

We remember this is the example Christ gave us.

This was his custom.

And it didn't matter if he was traveling.

Every place that Jesus went, he found a synagogue,

and he worshiped the Lord on the Sabbath day.

He worshiped the Father.

Let's talk about these examples of religion that are listed here.

Visiting rabbis were often invited to speak at Sabbath gatherings,

and it should come as no surprise to us that Jesus is invited to do just that here in Capernaum.

Now, verse 22 tells us that the people were astonished by his teaching.

And their reaction clearly sets Jesus apart from the Judaism that they were accustomed to.

He possessed, again, the authority like they had never experienced before.

And we immediately see his power, his authority over systems of religion.

And there's two elements here that I think are at least worth noting in a historical way,

and that is synagogues and scribes.

Synagogues and scribes.

Let's first talk about synagogues.

These gathering places seem to have found their roots in the Babylonian captivity.

Now, you'll remember in the Old Testament, the temple was the center of worship.

That was the focus of everything in corporate worship in the Old Testament.

Now, there were priests that were scattered throughout the entire nation of Israel,

and they would help the people.

But really, the primary place for the transmission of God's truth was the home.

Which, by the way, that's still true today.

The primary place for passing down the truth of God is supposed to be on the home.

God intended it that way from the beginning of creation,

and he intends for it to be that way now.

But that's really how truth was passed on in the Old Testament and in the New Testament alike.

But the center of worship was the temple.

When King Nebuchadnezzar comes in around 600 BC,

and he decimates the city of Jerusalem,

he destroys the temple,

and the people then are carried away into captivity.

As they're in captivity,

we understand that they began to meet in these local communities,

and this concept of synagogues is born,

and that's how they would gather together for teaching and for worship,

and other community events.

Whenever, after 70 years,

they were allowed to come back to Jerusalem,

the people rebuilt the temple,

but they continued on in this tradition that had been started

with these local synagogues.

They were really similar to local churches are now.

There were various synagogues throughout larger communities,

and that's where they would live out their lives

in corporate gatherings as God's people.

Now, as time went on,

these synagogues became very important to Jewish life.

On the Sabbath day,

they were used for worship and teaching of the law.

During the week, they functioned as schools.

They functioned as courthouses.

They were even event centers in some cases.

Each synagogue had a ruler

who was responsible for organizing events,

but they also had elders who taught the Bible.

They taught the scriptures,

and they taught the people,

and they governed the people.

All of this taking place in the synagogues.

Now, it took 10 Jewish men to constitute a synagogue,

and over time, many of these places developed.

History suggests that at the time of Jesus,

there were nearly 500 synagogues in Jerusalem alone.

Now, the historian, ancient historian Josephus,

says that in Galilee,

there were some 240 towns and villages,

and all of them had synagogues.

A place like Capernaum would have had multiple synagogues.

Now, I want you to think about this for a second.

Perhaps this system of synagogue worship,

this system of communities being built around these synagogues,

perhaps the whole reason for their existence in God's plan

was specifically to build up to the ministry of Jesus Christ,

because that's what he did.

He went from town to town and village to village in Galilee,

and the first stop that he made was the synagogue,

and the synagogue is where he would teach the people,

and he would preach the gospel,

and it immediately reminds me of Galatians chapter four,

that when the fullness of time had come,

God sent forth his son to do what?

To be born of a woman, born under the law,

so that he might redeem those who were under the law,

that we might receive the adoption as sons.

When the fullness of time had come,

you say, why did Jesus come when he did?

Look at all of these things that God had set in place,

God the Father, it's all building up,

all rushing towards this moment when Jesus would come,

and just a simple nod to that gesture reminds us that,

yeah, Jesus truly is the Messiah,

look at how his ministry was formatted.

This was all being built up for him.

Well, then we see the scribes mentioned in this verse as well.

In fact, in verse 22,

the people actually compared the teaching of Jesus

to the teaching of the scribes.

This is another nod to Jewish religion,

and how Jesus was clearly separate from that,

had authority over that,

and was bringing a gospel that was different.

Now, in the times of the kings,

scribes were recorders of the law,

and of history, and various decrees,

but eventually, they became known as experts

in the Old Testament scriptures.

At the time of Jesus,

they were very highly esteemed people,

and they grew to love that recognition.

In fact, it was their love and their pride

and that recognition that they received from the people

that drove them to be so antagonistic against Christ.

They were threatened by his popularity.

It's interesting, actually,

as you study through the gospels,

you'll see that these people

that should have been recognizing Christ

and his ministry before even the people did,

completely rejected it,

even though they knew he had to be the son of God.

They rejected it.

Why?

Because he was a threat to their own pride.

He was a threat to their own positions that they held.

They didn't want to give up their own place

in order to submit to Jesus.

And over time, their teaching devolved

into these enigmatic expressions

where they would share

all of these various interpretations of the law

from all of these various rabbis,

and that somehow gave them some kind of credibility.

They possessed a measure of authority in this way.

It was the Old Testament law that governed Jewish life,

but the people didn't have copies of the scripture.

They mostly were illiterate in these days.

So it was up to the scribes

to actually read and teach the Bible.

So the people would come together on the Sabbath day.

They would gather in the synagogue

in order that a scribe would read the Old Testament

and then explain it to them.

Well, as you might expect,

these scribes took advantage of that.

They realized that they actually had great power

because the people didn't know

whether or not they were giving them truth or not.

So over time, their teaching devolved into personal gain.

We see that this is who the people

are comparing Jesus' teaching to.

They were astonished at Jesus

because what he was teaching in the Old Testament

was not his interpretation of the law.

It was his very word.

Can you imagine?

It's one thing to come to church on a Sunday

and hear me get the best explanation that I can

of what we read of in the scriptures,

but can you imagine sitting in church on a Sunday morning

and the Lord himself is speaking this word?

Of course there's gonna be an authority with that.

They were used to the scribes

quoting all of these different people.

Jesus didn't have to quote anybody.

It was his word.

It had power.

Now I want you to think about this for a moment.

Just this scenario.

Throughout history, we've seen this play out.

Satan often uses scenarios like this

in order to corrupt the church

and spread his lies.

Think about the Roman Catholic Church through history,

refusing to allow people to have a copy of the scriptures

in the common language.

Why?

Because they could manipulate the people.

They could teach them that through the buying of indulgences,

they could inherit eternal life

or that they could earn salvation for themselves

or for another.

And they did it all for personal gain.

It was a controlling thing.

And how did they do it?

They kept the word of God out of the people's hands.

But this isn't absent in evangelical Christianity either.

People may have a copy of God's word,

but they've been taught that the sole authority

is not in the word of God,

but it's in the man that leads their church.

So whether or not what they read in the scripture

agrees with what they hear from the pulpit,

they always lean into what's being told from the pulpit

because their authority in their mind

has been given over to the pastor,

not to the word of God.

Now look, we've been blessed,

maybe more than any other Christians

in the history of Christianity,

to be able to have copies of God's word,

to be able to study for ourselves what the Bible says.

And we need to do that.

I am not the sole authority of your life.

The church is not the sole authority of your life.

Christ is the head.

And his word is what we study.

It is what we use as the foundation

for every matter of faith and practice in our lives.

So study the word.

Study the word.

You're sensible, people.

I want to help you.

I want to help you understand on Sundays.

I want to preach the word faithfully

as the Lord has called me to do it.

But you can study the Bible.

You can learn these things.

Study faithfully.

In Mark's gospel, synagogues and scribes

play oppositional roles to Jesus.

James Edwards said it this way,

synagogues will appear another half dozen times in Mark

as places where demons are present,

where there is antagonism from religious leaders,

where there is hardness of heart,

and where there is persecution.

Every time in Mark's gospel,

the synagogue is always a place of these things.

And likewise, he says,

there is but one positive reference

to a scribe in the gospel of Mark.

The remaining 18 references portray scribes

as antagonists of Jesus and his mission.

And the general antagonism of synagogues and scribes thus

foreshadows the coming rejection of Jesus

from both temple and religious leaders in Jerusalem.

Why do we bring all this up?

Why are the people astonished?

Because Jesus didn't come to teach Judaism.

Jesus didn't come to conform to this system

that the scribes and the Pharisees

and the Sadducees had contrived in their own minds

and in their own corruption.

That's not what he had come to do.

He had more authority than that.

He came with the authority of the word,

with the authority of the gospel,

which meant that Judaism,

what the people had grown into,

what they believed was true and what was right,

was actually set in opposition against the truth.

And Jesus is the truth.

Well, Mark doesn't tell us exactly what it was

that Jesus preached this day,

what exactly he taught.

And I think that's for a reason.

He only says that the people were astonished by it.

And again, Edwards is helpful here.

He said,

in the gospel of Mark,

the person of Jesus is more important

than the subject of his teaching.

If we want to know what the gospel

or teaching of Jesus consists of,

in Mark's gospel,

we are directed to its embodiment

in Jesus, the teacher.

That's what Mark keeps doing.

Now then we're going to have a couple of chapters

where we look specifically at the teaching

that Mark tells us about.

But in this passage,

Mark's not showing us what Jesus taught

because he wants us to see Jesus.

He wants us to see Jesus's power,

his authoritative word.

His purpose was not to expound

on how Jesus's teaching was good news,

but he was proclaiming that Jesus himself

is the good news.

And he constantly directs us to set our gaze

on the person of Christ.

The truth is it does us no good

to be familiar with the content

of Jesus's message

if we're not intimately acquainted

with the person of Jesus himself.

Many a people have become students

of Jesus's teaching,

but they don't know Jesus.

So Mark is getting us to look at Jesus

so that we see he has power

over systems of religion.

Secondly,

and there's only two points today,

fortunately.

Secondly,

we see that he has power

over satanic forces.

The interesting thing takes place

on this Sabbath day.

Look at verse 23.

And there was in their synagogue

a man with an unclean spirit

and he cried out,

saying,

let us alone.

What have we to do with thee,

thou Jesus of Nazareth?

Are you come to destroy us?

I know who you are,

the Holy One of God.

Jesus rebuked him,

saying,

hold thy peace

and come out of him.

And when the unclean spirit

had torn him

and cried with a loud voice,

he came out of him.

Have you ever been around somebody

that was just completely

out of their mind

and completely out of control?

It's a terrifying experience,

isn't it?

I don't think that I've ever been

in a situation

where I've encountered someone

who was clearly possessed

by a demon.

But I have been in a few situations

where people have been

out of control

and it scared me.

During Jesus' sermon

in Capernaum,

the people experienced something

that I think

was more terrifying

than anything

I've ever encountered.

A man possessed

with a demon

confronted the Lord

in a dramatic fashion.

Now look at it with me again.

Verse 23.

There was in the synagogue

a man with an unclean spirit

and he cried out.

He explodes

out of nowhere.

Now Mark's already told us

about Jesus' temptation

against Satan.

We know that there are

spiritual powers

that are in opposition

to Christ

because Mark has already

told us about that

in chapter 1.

But this is where

he introduces us

to the spiritual opponents

that we have difficulty

understanding

and we don't really like

to think about much at all.

In fact,

most of us probably

when the topic of demons

come up

probably try to

change the subject

as quickly as we can.

The truth is

there really does exist

a spiritual army

of demons

that are tirelessly

working

in opposition

against God's work

and against God's word.

And it may seem silly to you

but these beings,

they're not characters

in a fairy tale.

They're as real

as you and I are

and they're as active today

as they have ever been

active.

But the point of Mark

telling us this

is not to frighten us,

it's not to scare us

about these evil beings

that we can't see

and that we don't really

even quite understand.

His purpose in writing this

is to show that Jesus

has power over them.

That these evil forces

that are working against you

and working against your family

and working against our church

and working against the gospel

and God's word.

Christ has power over them.

And Mark records this event

as proof.

Let me make note of three things

before we wrap it up.

Number one,

let's look at the demon exposed.

The demon exposed.

Look at verse 23 again.

And there was in the synagogue

a man with an unclean spirit

and he cried out.

So Jesus is teaching on this day.

Maybe this happened

in the middle of his sermon.

Maybe it happened at the end.

We really have no idea

when this took place

and as far as the service is concerned.

But Jesus is teaching.

And all of a sudden,

someone who,

just a moment before,

was calmly sitting there

enjoying the service,

explodes in a tirade

and cries out,

what have you to do with us?

Why are you here?

Are you here to destroy us?

He's exposed in this moment.

Can you imagine that?

I text Andy yesterday

or maybe it was Friday

and I said,

maybe we should do

an object illustration.

Maybe you should just

stand up and go nuts

right in the middle

of our service.

That's exactly what happens

in the synagogue.

The demons expose.

It's interesting.

There's something worth noting here.

Prior to Jesus' teaching,

no one in the synagogue

seemed to be aware

of the fact that this man

was under the control

of a demon.

Did you think about that

as we read through?

This doesn't happen

at the beginning of the service.

Jesus has already taught

and the people

have already been astonished

before this demon

exposes himself.

Before that,

nobody knew probably.

He's just sitting there

like everybody else.

That's not really how we think

about demonic work, is it?

We often have this idea

that demonic control

is always manifested

in psychotic behavior

and often it is.

But we think of the demon-possessed man

that was naked

and cutting himself

and living in the tombs

that Jesus confronted.

We always think of him

as kind of the standard

for demon possession,

but really I think

he's probably more

the exception

of demon possession.

Demonic forces

do not desire

to be exposed

as such.

It wouldn't work for them.

They're more destructive

when no one is aware

of who they are

and what they're up to

and they often do their work

under the guise

of religion.

Perhaps this man

was a scribe.

Maybe he was the ruler

of the synagogue.

Maybe he was one

of the elders.

We have no idea

who he was.

But demons often work

in the realm

of religion.

The episode

of the demon-possessed man

is something

of an illustration

even

to the connection

between systematic

forms of religion

and satanic forces.

History itself

teaches us

that people

often think

that their religious

systems are just fine

until they're exposed

by the truth.

And when they are

exposed by the truth,

quite literally,

all hell will break loose

in those moments.

And that's exactly

what took place

on this day.

When Jesus comes

into the synagogue,

a man that maybe

had been a member

of that synagogue

for years and years

and years

is all of a sudden

exposed as a demon.

Demon-controlled man.

Well, what exactly

exposed the demon?

It was truth.

More specifically,

it was the embodiment

of truth

in the person

of Christ.

Now think about it.

In all of the Old Testament,

we never see

an example

of demon possession,

at least not like this.

Never.

We know that demons

are active.

We know that they've

always been active

and that they always

will be active

until Christ

cast them into

the lake of fire

for all of eternity.

But we never see

an example like this.

In the New Testament,

outside of the Gospels,

there's only a couple

of examples

that are of

similar occurrence

to this

with the apostles

specifically.

It was during

the ministry of Jesus

that these forces

of evil

were constantly

exposed.

All of these examples

we see in the Scripture,

they're all

in the Gospel books.

They're all

where Jesus was.

They're all

in the movements

of Jesus

throughout His ministry

and connected

to the power

of Jesus.

Why?

Because Jesus Himself

is the truth.

They could not help

but expose themselves.

They're not worried

about me and you.

They're not worried

about,

there's nothing

that you and I

can do

to make a demon

expose itself

and do anything

that we bid.

But they know

who Christ is.

They cannot help

but expose themselves

to Him.

So the demon

is exposed.

Secondly,

the demon explained.

Look at verse 24.

The demon explained.

This is what He said.

Let us alone.

Plural there.

One demon

speaking on behalf

of all the demons.

What have we

to do with thee,

thou Jesus of Nazareth?

Art thou come

to destroy us?

I know who you are.

You're the Holy One

of God.

This verse gives us

a little bit of insight

into the relationship

between Jesus

and these fallen angels.

John MacArthur said

that the most striking

thing to him

in this particular passage

is the difference

between the reaction

of the people

and the reaction

of the demons.

The people sat

in astonishment

because they didn't

know who Jesus was.

The demon trembled

in fear

and cried out

because he knew

exactly

who Jesus was.

It was Jesus

who created him.

It was Jesus

whom he had served

in heaven

before his fall.

It was Jesus

who had cast him out

and expelled him

from heaven.

And it is Jesus

that this demon knows

as well as all

the other demons.

It is Jesus

whom he knows

will one day

cast him

into the eternal

lake of fire.

That's why he says

have you come

to destroy us?

He's in fear.

He's exposing himself

because he knows

exactly who Jesus is.

The demon knew

who he was

and he exposed

himself out of fear.

And this is always

the response of demons

when they're confronted

by Jesus in the scripture.

I noted just a moment ago

the episode

where Jesus is in

the country

of the Gadarenes.

And you remember

the demonic

possessed men

that were there

running in the tombs.

Here's what that

legion of demons

said to Jesus.

Matthew 8 29.

And they cried out

saying

what business

do we have

with each other

son of God?

Have you come here

to torment us

before the time?

They knew

what was awaiting them.

When they saw Jesus

they knew who he was

and they trembled

in fear.

And James

reminds us of that.

James chapter 2

James 2 · chapter mention

in verse 19.

You believe

that there is one God

or that God is one?

Great

James says

even the devils

believe that

but they tremble

before the Lord.

If unbelievers

knew Jesus

the way that demons

know Jesus

they would tremble too.

Their fate's

exactly the same.

And the difference

for you

as an unbeliever

is that you can

escape that judgment

if you will

but believe

and follow

Christ.

again MacArthur

helps us here.

He said

the demons

recognized

who Jesus was

but have no

possibility of salvation.

The crowds

were offered

divine forgiveness

but they refused

to recognize

the one

who alone

can provide it.

Put another way

the demons

were terrified

and could not

be saved.

The people

were amazed

and would not

be saved.

consequently

the amazed

people

and the terrified

demons

will ultimately

end up

in the same

lake of fire.

Why is it

that he cries out?

Why is he exposed?

Because he knows

who Jesus is

and he knows

as a worker

of evil

what his fate

is.

Oh if

unbelievers

would just see

as workers

of evil

what their fate

is

they wouldn't

be amazed

at Jesus

they would

be terrified

but they

can run

to him

for salvation.

Thirdly

we see

the demon

expelled

the demon

expelled

look with me

at verse 25

and Jesus

rebuked him

saying

hold thy

peace

come out

of him

be quiet

Jesus says

and when

the unclean

spirit

had torn

him

and cried

with a loud

voice

he came

out of it.

This was

the astonishing

display

of power.

Jesus's

authority

reigned

so supreme

that even

the demons

have no way

to escape

his commanding

word.

What power

is this?

Jesus

rebuked

the evil

spirit

by commanding

his silence

and departure

out of the

man

and immediately

the demon

made the man

to convulse

in like a

seizure

type fashion

and then

fled the

synagogue.

There was

no fight.

There's no

fight in this

demon when

it comes

to Christ.

Why?

He knows

his power.

He has

power over

these forces

of evil

and this

is the

emphasis

of Mark's

writing

I believe.

There's

only one

being

that can

command

demons

in this

way

and that

is God.

So what

does that

say about

Jesus?

That he

really is

the Messiah

and son

of God.

Why is

Mark

writing

and telling

us about

this?

Not just

so that we

would be

amazed by

the event

but so that

we would

see Christ

for who

he really

is and

his identity

is the

son of

God,

the Messiah,

the only

one who

can provide

salvation.

But what

about the

man?

Man that

was possessed.

We don't

know anything

about him

and the

scripture doesn't

tell us what

happens next

but I think

we can be

certain

that he

was met

by the

comforting

affection

of his

compassionate

savior.

Jesus

was not

only proving

his power

over demons

he was

acting in

compassion

for the

man that

was possessed.

Do you

see the

heart of

Jesus in

that?

this is

not just

about

displaying

power.

This was

much deeper

than that

for Jesus.

If he

was only

concerned about

power over

the demon

he could

have just

made him

be quiet

and been

done with

it.

That wasn't

what he

was trying

to do.

Jesus

saw that

man.

He saw

a person

in captivity

and only

Jesus could

set him

free.

Get

compassion

on him.

ultimately

he would

do this

by laying

down his

life for

the sins

of man.

That's

what he

came to

earth to

do.

He came

to set

right

everything

that sin

and Satan

has

corrupted

and destroyed.

Again

Edwards

writes this

the initial

report about

Jesus from

the synagogue

in Capernaum

is not

simply a

victory for

the Holy

One of

God over

evil forces

as though

two chess

players were

manipulating

pawns on

the board

for their

own advantage.

Jesus'

defeat of

the demon

is not

at the

expense of

Satan's

victims

but on

their

behalf.

Not

only are

unclean

spirits

expelled

but broken

people are

restored to

health

and wholeness

and to the

possibility of

restoration with

their creator

in whose

image they

were made.

The authority

of Jesus

is astonishing

not as a

display of

Jesus'

grandeur

but as a

power of

redemption

for captives.

That's why

this passage

matters.

It's not about

knowing that

Jesus can do

that.

It's about

knowing that

Jesus can

free us as

well.

He has

power over

evil.

So what

kind of

evil is

controlling

your life?

might not

be possessed

in the way

that this

man was

but if

you're an

unbeliever

I can assure

you that

you're under

the same

influence

and bondage

but the

same

Jesus

that

freed

this

man

from

the

demon

has

power

over

the

wickedness

in your

life

too

and you

don't

have to

stay

in

bondage

to

sin

and

Satan

Jesus

will

free

you

today

if

you

will

just

believe

and

follow

him

Jesus

said this

in John

John 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8

he was

speaking to

some Jews

who had

not

quite

fully

believed

in him

and he

said

if you

continue

in my

word

then you

are

truly

my

disciples

and you

will

know

the

truth

and the

truth

will

make

you

free

and

here's

how

they

answered

him

but

we

are

Abraham's

descendants

and

have

never

been

enslaved

to

anyone

how

is

it

that

you

say

you

will

become

free

and

here's

what

Jesus

said

truly

truly

I

say

to

you

everyone

who

commits

sin

is

a

slave

to

sin

they

were

in

bondage

and

didn't

even

know

it

everyone

who

commits

sin

is

a

slave

to

sin

and

the

slave

does

not

remain

in

the

house

forever

but

the

son

does

remain

in

the

house

forever

what's

he

saying

that

your

religion

doesn't

have

the

power

to

free

you

from

sin

and

death

but

the

son

has

the

power

to

give

you

life

and

the

son

has

the

power

to

free

you

from

evil

and

to

free

you

from

death

and

if

you

will

but

follow

Christ

he

will

set

you

free

because

he

is

the

truth

let's

finish

with

verses

27

and

28

after

all

of

this

takes

place

they

were

all

amazed

in

so

much

that

they

questioned

among

themselves

they

debated

saying

what

thing

is

this

what

did

we

just

see

what

new

doctrine

is

this

for

with

authority

he

commands

even

the

demons

and

they

obey

him

who

would

ever

thought

that

demons

would

obey

anybody

but

they

obey

this

man

and

immediately

his

fame

spread

abroad

throughout

all

the

region

of

Galilee

now

I told

you

a few

weeks

ago

that

Mark

seems

to

always

be

trying

to

answer

the

question

of

Jesus

identity

but

this

is

the

first

time

that

we

see

the

question

actually

expressed

by

the

people

and

it's

going

to

be

expressed

!

by

a lot

of

people

throughout

this

gospel

this

is

the

first

time

we

see

it

specifically

after

this

Sabbath

morning

Jesus

quite

literally

became

the

talk

of

the

town

everyone

was

trying

to

figure

out

what

was

going

on

with

this

guy

who

is

this

everyone

was

interested

in

seeing

him

everyone

was

interested

in

hearing

him

but

relatively

few

would

actually

believe

and

follow

them

why

is

Mark

writing

this

he's

trying

to

answer

that

question

for

us

who

is

this

he's

the

Christ

the

son

of

God

it's

not

enough

to be

amazed

by

Jesus

his

teaching

and

intrigued

by

his

power

every

person

must

make

a

definitive

choice

about

Jesus

of

Nazareth

and

what

Mark

leads

us

to

do

and

ask

ourselves

today

is

what

is

your

choice

this

is

who

Jesus

is

will

you

merely

be

intrigued

by

what

he

says

and

hope

to

see

a

demonstration

of

his

power

or

will

you

really

believe

him

will

you

really

abandon

all

to

follow

him

and

we're

all

confronted

with

that

choice

today

what

will

you

choose

Christ

as

Lord

and

Savior

or

Jesus

as

a

historical

figure

in

good

teacher

miracle

work

thank you

for listening

to this

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