The Authority of Christ Over Men and Demons
Truth Taught- Jesus speaks with authority. People and demons are struck with great fear.
Mark’s purpose for including this section is to strengthen our faith in the person and power of Jesus Christ.
Mark 1:1 (ESV)
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
The proof that Jesus is the Messiah (Christ) and the Son of God (Deity, 2nd Person of the Trinity) came from Mark’s initial declaration in his first verse. Then, the second proof came as John the Baptist began fulfilling his ministry as the prophetic fulfillment of Isaiah’s prediction that a forerunner will come to announce the Messiah’s appearance. Then, we saw the announcement and further proof when God, the Father declared Jesus to be His Son in whom He is well pleased.
Jesus showed Himself as the 2nd Adam as He was tempted by Satan, in the wilderness. He defeated the serpent unlike the first Adam who fell into sin. Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God brought us out of the realm of sin and judgement by His great victory over Satan.
All these sources saying the same thing about Jesus, namely, that He is the Christ (the Messiah) and He is the Son of God are for the purpose that we would believe. In believing this, we would have eternal life. That is the same purpose for John writing his Gospel. John tells us this so clearly…
John 20:30–31 (ESV)
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Today, Mark shows us from a very unlikely source who Jesus is. Mark, himself declared who Jesus is and we can see that. John the Baptist and we can understand him telling us. Then, God the Father tells us and we completely get it, it makes sense. Now, someone else is about to tell us. This is an unexpected source.
Please Stand…
Mark 1:21–28 (ESV)
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.
1. The Authority of Christ in His Teaching (1:21-22)
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.
As we begin with the first two verses of our text, today, notice that it is Jesus and the four fishermen…Simon, Andrew, James and John. The fishermen left their nets and are following Jesus. Their first stop, at least in recorded history is a synagogue in Capernaum.
It is there that the fishermen sit down and listen to Jesus teach.
At this early stage, we are not told what our Lord spoke about. No doubt had to do with repentance and the Kingdom of God, but whatever the subject matter was, the people were astonished at Him, His teaching and His authority.
That is Mark’s purpose here. He wants us to be introduced to and see the response others have when they heard Jesus teach.
When the worshippers entered a synagogue and sat down, they were used to hearing a scribe teach from God’s Word. As the scribe taught, he would need authority so he would cite other older scribes and their opinions because he really had no authority. It is much like those writing a scholarly paper will cite other experts in the footnotes.
When Jesus taught, He did not teach as one who needed outside sources to aid in His credibility. He spoke more as an OT prophet whom God had called to speak boldly to the people. The prophets had no source but God. They didn’t say, as so and so wrote, no they said thus says the Lord and then would begin to speak. Jesus did not even do that. He spoke as God…the second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God.
As soon as Jesus began to teach something happened to the people.
exeplēssonto– Translated as astonished…Passive tense. They were struck with fear and greatly disturbed.
When Jesus taught them about their sin, God’s requirements and the fact that the Kingdom of God was upon them because God’s Son stood in their midst, they were struck with fear and greatly disturbed.
No longer did they care about the latest building project or what the youth group was doing next week or the color of the carpet. No more did trivial things in their lives matter like who offended them at work or got their parking spot.
God was commanding their allegiance and calling them to repent with great authority and this disturbed them. That’s what astonished here means. In Jesus’ presence, people are disturbed.
In some circles, even to mention Jesus’ name disturbs people. You can talk about Buddha, Mohamed, Confucius, or others but when you begin speaking about Jesus then people get disturbed.
We saw the great authority with which Jesus called His first disciples and how they immediately followed Him. Now, Mark is showing us his authority again. He speaks and people are disturbed. Their safe spaces and comfort zones and things they had convinced themselves of over the years, like I’m a nice person or God loves me just as I am had been blown out of the water. Now, there’s nowhere to hide, God stands before them and calls them to repent and this struck fear into their hearts.
Through His Word, God calls people to repent today. He shows us we are sinners by giving us the OT moral Law. We see it laid out very clearly before us…here are God’s basic requirements and we don’t even come close to the minimum. Oh, like they did that day, I’m sure we have come up with self-made convincing mental assessments of ourselves that have us coming out pretty good after we are finished. However, God has a much different view.
Romans 3:21–26 (ESV)
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
2. The Authority of Christ Over the Demonic Realm (1:23-26)
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.
Within that synagogue that day there was a man who was possessed by an unclean spirit/demon. He was possessed to the point that his personality had been damaged to the point that the demon now controlled this man’s inner self. So powerful was this demon over him that he spoke through the man. The man’s mouth moved but the demon’s voice was heard speaking.
The great disturbance that was beginning to form among the people because of Jesus’ teaching also had a disturbing effect upon the demonic spirits. The demon was also struck with great fear and deeply disturbed.
This demon knew things. He knows that if Jesus is present then the Kingdom of God is in their midst. It is at the fulness of God’s Kingdom at Jesus’ second advent that the demons will be thrown into the Lake of Fire.
Just like the entire synagogue knows that Jesus is speaking words of grace repent but also words of judgement for those who will not repent. Here, the demon is not offered that. Demons have not and will never be offered salvation. For the demon, he too is afraid because the very presence of Jesus sends chills down his spine even if it’s not time yet.
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.”
Other Gospels say, Have You come to destroy us before the appointed time?
The emphasis here for Mark is two-fold…The demon who has great power over this man has no power when Jesus speaks. So, we see the authority Jesus commands. Second, Mark wants us to see that in his fear, the demon tells the synagogue who Jesus is…The Holy One of God.
The demon used to be an angel created with the original creation back in eternity past. The fallen angel and the Son of God go way back.
Demons address Jesus as…Lord, Teacher, Son of David, Master, the Holy One of God, The Son of God, or Jesus, Son of the Most High God. The point is, they know Jesus’ identity. That plays right into what Mark is out to show us. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Our Lord does not engage in conversation with the demon, except to say, be silent and leave this man.
Does the demon argue? Jesus has authority. He obeys exactly what Jesus commands him.
The demon who had ruined this man’s life, had overcome him, possessed him, changed him into something else and who had deep control over the man had no defense when Jesus came. Jesus has authority over Satan and his realm.
3. The Synagogue’s Breathtaking Conclusion (1:27-28)
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.
The same authority that spoke the Word to the people spoke the Word to the demon and the demon being exorcized from the man greatly disturbed everyone. Jesus used only the Word and nothing else.
This event did not fit their prescribed logic and escaped all their analogies.
So began God disturbing mankind. Repent, believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ or perish with all the other unclean things.
Words of Blessing
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