Jesus is King

To Mark chapter 1. We've just started a new series last week, Mark chapter 1, which is found on page 1002.

Mark 1 · chapter mention Mark 1 · chapter mention

If you're using a red-covered Bible, if you haven't got a Bible, there's plenty at the back.

Page 1002, Mark chapter 1, starting at verse 14 through to verse 39.

Mark 1 · chapter mention

It's good to have Dave back. Dave was away, saving lives on the beaches of Kerry, and nobody drowned.

So that was good. Yeah. So, anyway, over to you, Dave.

After John was put into prison, Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.

The time has come, he said. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.

Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will make you fishers of men.

At once they left their nets and followed him.

When he had gone a little further, he saw James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets.

Without delay, he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

They went to the Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.

The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

Just then, a man in the 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.

Be quiet, said Jesus sternly. Come out of him.

The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

The people were all so amazed that they asked each other,

What is this? A new teaching, and with authority, he even gives others to evil spirits when they obey him.

News about him spreads quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew.

Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her.

So he went up to her, took her hand and helped her.

The fever left her, and she began to wait on them.

That evening, after sunset, the people brought to Jesus all the sick and the demon-possessed.

The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases.

He drove out many demons, but he would not let the demon speak, because they knew who he was.

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place where he prayed.

Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed,

Everyone is looking for you.

Jesus replied,

Let us go somewhere else, to the nearby villages, so that I can preach there also.

That is why I have come.

So he travelled throughout Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and driving out demons.

Thanks very much, Dave.

Well, please follow along in your Bibles.

Some of you may have got a sheet with headings, if not, on the back of the new sheet.

You can take notes.

And please do ask questions afterwards, if there's anything you want to talk through.

And also, at the back on the table, there's an introduction to the Gospel of Mark, to give you a big picture of what it's all about.

Well, before we get stuck into this very exciting and dramatic, action-packed text,

we're going to ask for God's help as we look at it together.

So let's pray.

Father, because you are King, you are the God who owns all things,

and therefore we ask that you would give us an appreciation of the wonder of who you are.

By your Holy Spirit, speak into each of our lives, individually and together as a church family.

That we would be people who are orientated around you,

that your kingdom becomes our priority,

and we would learn what it is,

that you are King.

So please encourage us all this morning.

In Jesus we pray,

and for his glory alone.

Amen.

Well, I'm sure you will all know Louis Armstrong's famous song,

What a Wonderful World.

It's a touching, optimistic look at what life is like.

I'm not going to sing, don't worry, I haven't got a great voice.

But here it goes.

I see trees of green, red roses too.

I see them bloom for you and for me,

and I think to myself,

What a wonderful world.

It's a song that celebrates life at its best,

or perhaps what we wish the world was really like.

The colours of the rainbow so pretty in the sky

are also on the faces of those going by.

I see friends shaking hands saying,

How do you do?

They're really saying,

I love you.

And I think to myself,

What a wonderful world.

But reality sings a different song.

Today, as we've been seeing on the news,

marks the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks.

And since then, over the last decade,

there have been many more terrorist attacks.

More wars and genocide.

There's not too many people shaking hands saying,

I love you.

I love you.

This week, I read an article that said,

2.5 million people are trafficked into the sex industry every year.

Half of whom are children,

to be abused and raped at will.

There's no rainbows in their sky.

And as we sit in comfort in this room,

with bellies full after our breakfast,

a billion more live with acute malnutrition,

lack of basic needs like fresh water,

and suffering curable disease like HIV.

Not too many roses are blooming there either.

You see, looking around our world,

we realise it's a disordered world,

filled with broken lives.

But imagine for a minute,

a world where the sound of laughter

replaces the cries of pain.

Where people begin to embrace one another,

and no gun can be found.

A world where suffering and sickness is no more.

Where rainbows fill the sky,

replacing hurricanes and tornadoes

and destructive earthquakes.

A world where justice rules,

where cruel dictators are banished,

where evil traffickers are removed,

where health and prosperity

is a given for all.

Look at verse 14.

After John was put in prison,

Jesus went into Galilee,

proclaiming the good news of God.

The time has come, he said.

The kingdom of God is near.

You see, the touching optimism of Louis Armstrong,

and the dream of every one of us,

becomes a reality

in the coming of Jesus Christ.

The promise of the prophets long ago,

that the Lord would be king

over the whole earth,

was about to start

with the coming of Jesus.

Jesus came into the world with a message.

He said,

the kingdom of God is near.

God had intervened into the world,

and was about to rule in a new,

and a different way.

The kingdom of God meant that

things were now going to be done God's way.

Wrongs would be put right,

justice would prevail,

peace would be established,

and suffering would come to an end.

And those, as they gathered around Jesus,

were on the verge of a new world order.

And Jesus said,

it's very near.

Of course, little did they know

that Jesus was the king,

who was going to make it a reality

before their very eyes.

For Jesus was much more than an announcer

saying to people,

the kingdom is coming.

Jesus was the king

of this promised kingdom.

Now, from our vantage point

of where we are today,

we can look back over all of history,

and we can wonder and ask the question,

has Jesus made any difference at all?

As far as I can see,

the world hasn't got any better.

It seems to have got worse.

So where is this kingdom that he's promised?

And where on earth has this king gone?

Well, we must read carefully

what Jesus has said.

Look at verse 15,

the first part.

Jesus said,

the time has come.

The coming of Jesus marked the start

or the beginning of his rule.

But it didn't stop there.

Read on.

Look what it says at the end of verse 15.

He says,

the kingdom of God is near.

It started,

but it's not yet finished.

One day it's going to be fulfilled.

He's saying the day is yet to come.

The good news is it has started.

It's near.

It's close.

The king is in place

to bring that process about.

But it one day will be fulfilled.

In fact,

part of all that good news is,

is that Jesus was inviting people

to be a part of his kingdom.

The king came with a specific call.

Let's read 15 again.

The time has come, he said.

The kingdom of God is near.

Response?

Repent and believe the good news.

Well, what does he mean,

repent and believe?

Well, let's read on.

Verse 16.

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee,

he saw Simon and his brother Andrew

casting a net into the lake

because they're fishermen.

Come follow me, Jesus said,

and I'm going to make you fishers of men.

And at once they left their nets

and they followed him.

And when he'd gone a little further,

he saw James, son of Zebedee,

and his brother John in a boat

preparing their nets.

Without delay, he called them

and they left their father Zebedee

in the boat and the hired men

and they followed Jesus.

Now, I think this gives us a picture

of what it means to repent

and believe the good news.

Here we've got two sets of brothers.

Simon, who later becomes,

we know as Peter,

Simon and Andrew,

and then we've got James and John.

They're four hardworking blokes,

down-to-earth guys,

getting on with life as best they could,

trying to make a living

and to provide for their family.

They're like the neighbour

who lives across the road from you

or the person in your office.

But like us,

and like everyone,

they're called to repent and believe.

Now, pay attention to what Jesus says to them

and how they respond, verse 17.

Jesus comes to them.

He hasn't met them before,

as far as we know.

He says to them, verse 17,

Come, follow me,

and I will make you fishers of men.

And look at verse 20.

Without delay,

he called them,

and they left,

and they followed him.

Simon and Andrew leave their nets,

implying they're leaving their work.

James and John leave their father

and the rest of their buddies in the boat,

implying they're leaving their family

and their friends behind.

It's a picture of what repentance

and belief is all about.

It's submitting to Jesus and his rule

and making Jesus and his kingdom

your priority.

It doesn't mean to say

that we all have to leave our work

and not do any work,

but making him our priority.

Jesus has announced

the good news of the kingdom,

and now he's calling people,

ordinary people,

like you and me,

to be part of it.

He's welcoming us on board.

And it calls for a radical decision

on our part.

A decisive action

that each one of us must do

to turn from our own selfish wants

and desires

and our own plans and ambitions

and making Jesus' wants and desires

the rule of your life.

Now let's settle on that for a minute

and let's probe a little bit deeper

and ask ourselves the question,

what is the priority in your life?

What's the priority in my life?

What's your main ambition?

What do you hope to achieve?

A stable job, a good salary.

What is it?

Or here's another question.

Who is your greatest desire?

Who is the one that consumes you,

that you love the most?

Your spouse, your children,

your circle of friends?

Well, Jesus says,

none of those things are bad.

But as Jesus comes to us,

he is saying,

our greatest desire in life

must be Jesus.

Jesus,

and his kingdom

must be our priority.

Above all else,

everything else must serve those ends.

In fact,

he's calling us to a completely new life altogether.

Look at verse 17.

He says,

come and follow me

and I will make you fishers of men.

He's calling us that whatever work we do,

whatever our life situation it is,

that our priority

is about doing what Jesus did,

inviting other people

to submit to Jesus

and to invite them to be part of his kingdom.

So if you find yourself tomorrow morning,

Monday morning,

at work,

with your mates

and with your buddies,

whoever you're with,

your main priority,

your main ambition

is to be seeking that they come

to be part of God's kingdom.

If you're with children,

it's about raising your kids

to know who Jesus is,

that he is the king

and that they too

would be part of his kingdom.

Now we're not different

to anybody else.

People long for a different world.

Everybody sees the same news

that we see.

Everybody wants suffering to end.

Everybody wants a ruler

who's going to bring

justice and peace to this world.

And the amazing thing is

people who are followers of Jesus

know who that king is.

They know who's going to do it.

And they know the kind of kingdom

that he has promised to bring about.

That's what makes us exciting.

And Jesus proves to us

that he is the king

to do all of this.

And he gives us a reason

of why we should be following him.

Look at his authority,

verse 21.

They went to Capernaum

and when the Sabbath came,

Jesus went into the synagogue,

their kind of local church,

and he began to teach.

And it was usual

for those who could

read and translate Hebrew

to kind of get up

and teach on a Sabbath

and explain what the passage meant.

And so Jesus stood up

and he began to talk.

Except for this time

it was different

to anybody else

who had ever stood up.

Verse 22.

The people were amazed

at his teaching

because he taught them

as one who had authority,

not as the teachers of the law.

You see,

other teachers that came along

would quote various scholars

and that was their authority.

They would say things like,

oh, Rabbi so-and-so said this

and that's why it's important.

But when Jesus came along,

Jesus would say things like,

I say to you.

Or I tell you the truth.

Or you do this

because I tell you to do it.

Jesus was claiming

to be an authority himself.

He didn't need anybody

to back him up.

He didn't need books

or scholars to agree with him.

Jesus was an authority.

Everything that he said

was authoritative.

And if any of us

are in doubt about his authority,

read on in this story.

You could imagine, okay,

a gathering just like this

as we are.

Just then,

a man in their synagogue

who was possessed

by an evil spirit

cried out in the middle

of Jesus' sermon,

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.

Be quiet,

said Jesus sternly.

Come out of him.

And the evil spirit

shook the man violently

and came out of him

with a shriek.

The people were all so amazed

that they asked each other,

What is this?

A new teaching?

And with authority?

He even gives orders

to evil spirits

and they obey him.

Now it would certainly

liven up a Sunday morning,

wouldn't it,

if that happened?

And I think we would

all be amazed.

But there's no arguments

going on here.

There's no mystical mantras.

There's no quiet playing

of music and people

waving white handkerchiefs

around.

It's just a simple word.

Be quiet.

Come out of him.

Jesus confronting

the servants of Satan

and they not only listen,

but they actually obey

and they submit

to his supreme authority.

They do what he tells them to do.

It's hardly surprising then,

look at verse 28,

that news about Jesus

spread quickly

over the whole region.

Did you hear what happened

in church last Sunday?

Man, this guy came up

did you hear about it?

And all the news

started to travel around.

But that's not all.

Look at the power

of this king.

Verse 29.

As soon as they left

the synagogue,

they went with James and John

to the home of Simon and Andrew.

And Simon's mother-in-law

was in bed with a fever.

And they told Jesus about her.

So he went to her,

took her hand,

helped her up.

The fever left her

and she began to wait on them.

Now it's really quite extraordinary,

isn't it?

There's just a simple touch,

a holding of the hand,

there's no words,

lifts her up

and immediately the fever goes.

The high temperature,

whatever sickness it was,

it's just gone.

Her strength returns

and she begins to go

and get dinner ready

for everyone.

And if that doesn't amaze us,

I mean,

it just gets more exciting.

Look at verse 32.

That evening,

after all the word

had gone around,

after sunset,

the people brought to Jesus

all the sick

and the demon-possessed.

The whole town

gathered at the door

and Jesus healed many

who had various diseases.

Now we have to step back here

from the familiarity

of these accounts

because we've probably

read this story before

and we just kind of

read over and go,

ah, yeah, yeah,

I know that.

But we've got to step back

and be amazed

at what's going on.

Today it would be like

walking through CUH.

going into every ward,

going down to accident

and emergency,

going down to the cancer treatment,

down to the children's ward,

touching them all,

speaking to them all,

and one by one

getting out of their beds

and walking out

of that hospital,

leaving all their tubes

and everything else behind.

The hospital

completely empty.

Now isn't that amazing?

He healed the whole town.

There's no special meeting,

no gimmicks,

no men in white suits

with their gold rings

with big flashing things,

donate here

and you'll be healed.

Just a man

with supreme power,

touching

and healing.

before their very eyes,

the kingdom

that Jesus announced,

the kingdom

that he said

was near,

Jesus was now

beginning to

demonstrate it

amongst them.

By his authority

and by his power,

he was proving

that he is

God's king

who's come to

restore broken lives

and to renew

this disordered world.

The evil spirit

that he came across,

the servant of Satan

knows that Jesus

had come to restore

broken lives.

Look at what he says

back in verse 24.

He says,

have you come

to destroy us?

Jesus was demonstrating

that he has authority

over evil,

over Satan,

over darkness,

over his servants.

He's come to destroy

Satan's rule

to free people

and to release them

from his grasp.

and all the sick

who had come

to his door,

who had come

to the house,

most of whom

would have been poor

and ostracised

from society,

they recognised

that in Jesus

there was something

different.

He has one

who has power

to renew

their broken world.

Where they would

have been ostracised,

left outside

by the rest

of society,

now made well

and brought back in.

Jesus is demonstrating

that he has power

over all the brokenness,

that he has come

to fix the suffering

and the pain

that the world

has been plagued with.

He's giving them

a picture.

He's undoing

everything that's

gone wrong.

Now as awesome

as all this is,

and it truly is,

Mark, the writer,

does not want us

to miss

the crucial points,

the priorities

of the king.

Look at the end

of verse 34.

We didn't finish that off.

Let's read the end

of verse 34.

Jesus also

drove out demons,

but he would not

let the demons speak

because they knew

who he was.

Now doesn't that

sound rather strange?

Surely the whole purpose

of Jesus coming

is that people

would know who he is.

You would think

he would want

as much advertisement

as possible.

So why is he telling

him not to speak?

Why is he wanting

to keep it all

a big secret?

Well the answer

I think comes

as we read on,

verse 35.

Very early in the morning

when it was still dark,

Jesus got up,

left his house

and went off

to a place

on his own

where he could pray.

Simon and his companions

went to look for him

and when they found him

they exclaimed,

everyone is looking

for you.

Now it's not surprising

that everybody

is looking for Jesus.

He's just healed

a whole town.

And like us,

they want a miracle worker

who's going to end

all present suffering

and end all the disease

that's around the place.

Ironically, however,

it's the demons

who know

that Jesus is much more

than just a miracle worker.

Look back at chapter 1,

verse 24.

They know who he is.

Look at what it says

at the end.

He says,

I know who you are.

You're the Holy One of God.

But,

the demons know

that Jesus is

the chosen one

from God.

The king.

And Jesus then

does a strange thing.

He silences them.

And the reason

I think is,

and you can come back

to me on this afterwards

if you want,

is because

he doesn't want

his identity

to be misunderstood

as just a miracle worker.

Yes,

Jesus is the Son of God.

Yes,

he is God's king.

Yes,

he is a miracle worker.

But the Son of God

is so much more

than just that.

That's just the tip

of the iceberg.

He's far greater

than all of that.

Jesus is supremely

concerned

about present suffering.

But Jesus

is especially

concerned

about eternal suffering.

You see,

our priority in life

is always physical

and temporary.

If you ask people,

what's the problem?

It's what's immediate

and what's now.

What can we do

to fix it now?

For Jesus,

his priority

was spiritual

and eternal.

What can we do

to make life

eternally right?

and I think

the answer

comes for us

as we read on

verse 38.

They say,

everyone's looking

for you.

What does Jesus say?

Let us go

somewhere

else.

Away from

these crowds

to nearby villages

so that I can

preach there also.

That is why

I have come.

His priority

was to preach

the good news

of the kingdom,

to announce it.

That the kingdom

of God is near.

That people

need to repent

and that they

need to believe

and they need

to get right

with God.

And I think

it's important

for us to

understand

the king's

priority.

The healing

and the casting

out of demons,

it was wonderful.

And it demonstrates

what the kingdom

would be like.

A world

without suffering

and a world

without evil.

But you know

what?

Being physically

healed,

being freed

from demons,

wouldn't actually

get you

into the kingdom.

The only way

to qualify

for God's

eternal kingdom

was by doing

what Simon

and Andrew

and James

and John

did.

They repented

and they believed

and they made

him their priority.

Jesus

didn't come

to relieve

as many people

as possible

from physical

suffering.

He came

to rescue

as many people

as possible

from eternal

suffering.

Let me just

give you two

references

for this.

Chapter 2

verse 17.

Chapter 2

verse 17.

Jesus said

to them,

it's not the

healthy who

need a doctor

but the sick.

I have not

come to call

the righteous

or I haven't

come for people

who think

they're well

and that they're

alright.

Jesus says,

I've come

for sinners.

A spiritual

problem,

a heart

problem,

not a physical

problem.

look at

chapter 10

verse 45.

Mark

Mark 10:45

chapter 10

verse 45.

For even

the Son

of Man,

that's

Jesus,

did not

come to

be served.

He was

king,

alright,

but he

didn't come

for everybody

to serve

him.

But as

the king

he came

to serve.

and to

give his

life as

a ransom

for many.

He's

talking there

about his

coming death.

His death

on the cross

where he

was crucified,

nailed,

was about

dealing with

the wrath

of God,

the judgment

that we all

deserve

for not

treating Jesus

as king.

and Jesus

says,

I'll deal

with that

so that

I can

bring you

safely

to my

eternal

kingdom

where there

is no

suffering

and no

pain

and where

all evil

is banished.

Back to

Mark

Mark 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

Now as

much as

that is

Jesus'

priority,

it does

not mean

Jesus

stops

doing

his

miracles.

Verse 39

of chapter

1.

So we

travel

throughout

Galilee,

preaching

in their

synagogues,

announcing

the good

news,

and driving

out demons.

Jesus

was filled

with compassion

and love

for the

people that

he came

to.

And he

healed

them.

Not

everybody

got healed

that was

living at

the time

of Jesus.

And in

effect he

was saying,

look,

I have

come to

restore

broken

lives

and to

renew

this

disordered

world,

but if

you want

to be

part of

my

eternal

kingdom,

you've

got to

repent

and you've

got to

believe.

And here

is a

crucial

lesson

for us

as a

church.

As we

examine and

watch the

life of

Jesus,

we must

never

separate

what we

might say

demonstration

and

proclamation.

We must

never

separate

just word

and deed

and kind

of split

them apart.

Jesus

did both

and so

should we.

We should

be concerned

about the

suffering in

the world.

We should

be ministering

to the

sick and

to the

dying.

We should

practically

take steps

to rid

the world

of evils

like human

trafficking.

We should

stand for

those things.

We should

desire peace

and justice

and an end

to all

terrorism.

We should

be at the

forefront of

these things

and shouting

about it.

And we

should do

all of this

because this

is the kind

of world

that God

has promised

to bring

about.

He longs

that things

would be

put right.

But let's

get this

clear.

None of

those things

will bring

any individual

into the

kingdom of

God.

They might

point people

into the

direction,

but I won't

get them

there.

Therefore,

like Jesus,

we must be

especially

concerned about

eternal

suffering and

the priority

to announce

the good

news that

the kingdom

has come.

It's near

and we

long for the

day of

its fulfillment.

Let's pray

together.

our

Father God,

we are

truly amazed

at these

accounts

recorded for

us of

when Jesus,

the King,

walked on

this earth.

The people

that he

met,

the suffering

that he

encountered,

the changes

that he

brought

about.

It's

truly

amazing.

Lord,

impact us

afresh at

the authority

and the

power that

you have.

But help

us to

grasp and

to hear

clearly what

you are

saying.

That while

you are

concerned about

physical and

present

suffering,

you are

especially

concerned with

spiritual and

eternal

suffering,

your desire

is that none

would perish,

that none

would go

to hell,

but that

all would

turn to

you,

repent and

believe,

and find

their hope

in Jesus

Christ,

the King

over all.

Lord,

help us

if we

have not

yet done

that,

to make

Jesus our

King right

now,

to understand

the urgency

and the

priority.

And if

we have,

may we be

people who

demonstrate

your kingdom,

that we

would live

it,

that we

would proclaim

it,

point people

to Jesus,

invite them

and encourage

them and

show them

that Jesus

is the only

hope for

our broken

world and

for disordered

lives.

We ask

this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

we're going

to sing

a song

that I've

chosen to

try and

pick up

on some

of the

themes

of the

song.