Introduction

Over the last few weeks, we’ve started to work through a part of the Bible called the gospel of Mark. Mark was one of Jesus’s early followers, and he was guided by the power of the Spirit of God to write down a record of Jesus’s life. And as we’ve been introduced to Jesus, Mark has been very transparent with us from the beginning. He wants us to know that Jesus is the Son of God, and that this means we should whole-heartedly turn to him, trust him, and follow him. We’ve seen these things mentioned in previous weeks.

And of course, these are massive claims. Mark recognizes the bigness of what’s he saying, and he doesn’t want to wait until later to spring it as a surprise. But he instead wants his readers to see the life of Jesus – he wants us to know what Jesus is like, how he speaks, and what his priorities are, because he wants us to see the evidence in Jesus’s life, that he really is who he says he is.

So if you have a Bible nearby, please turn with me to Mark, Chapter 1. And we’ll see how the early days of Jesus’s ministry further confirm his identity as the Son of God. (If you’re using one of our church Bibles, you can find our text on page _785?_. This morning I’ll be reading verses 21 through 39. Before I do, though, let’s lean on the Lord together, and ask for his help as we come to his Word.

[Pray and Read Text]

Power and Corruption

There’s a rather common expression – I’m sure you’ve heard it before – that power corrupts. A historian in the UK named Lord Acton once wrote, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” And he said this, because from his perspective as a historian, he saw a pattern in people. A pattern that appeared throughout world history. People who gained great power often began to shrug off moral constraints. Kings and Emperors often used their power to benefit themselves at the expense of others. Diplomats sometimes accepted bribes, and became spies or double agents. Soldiers often oppressed the poor and pillaged their household supplies.

But we need to be clear, here, it’s not actually power that makes people more corrupt than they already were. Instead, having unrestrained power reveals the true condition of who a person is. And so this pattern that we see from history, of powerful people being powerfully corrupt – this draws attention to something disturbing about the condition of the human heart. History shows us that people are warped  and inconsistent. We see evidence of what the Bible calls sin. It’s not really that power corrupts us – but power reveals the corruption that’s already in us.

But Mark wants us to see in our text, that Jesus defies this pattern. In what we just read, concerning the start of Jesus’s ministry, it quickly becomes obvious that Jesus is a person of extraordinary power. And yet in his vast power, there’s no corruption. He remains a person of unchanging piety, who is flawless in his devotion to God and his service to others. Mark is giving evidence to us that Jesus is not simply another run-of-the-mill human being – not even a better-than-average person. But Jesus is the one and only Son of God, who is able to wield absolute power, while maintaining absolute moral purity and perfection.

So as we get into our text, here, there are three attributes of Jesus’s ministry that we’ll be investigating more closely together. First, Jesus’s Demonstration of Power. Second, Jesus’s diligence in prayer. And then third and finally, Jesus’s dedication to preaching. (Repeat)

Jesus’s Demonstration of Power

So first, we’ll consider Jesus’s demonstration of power, in verses 21 through 34. We’ll spend the majority of our time here, and my other two points will be shorter.

In verse 21, we’re told that Jesus and his disciples – they went into Capernaum. Capernaum was a small town at that time. It was located in what is now modern-day Israel, next to a body of water called the Sea of Galilee. And because most of the people who lived in that region were Jews, it’s not surprising that Capernaum had a meeting place for the Jews, called a synagogue. And every Sabbath, the Jews would gather at the synagogue, for a time of teaching and the reading of the Scriptures. And so Jesus comes to the synagogue – from what we see, he’s received as a guest speaker, and he begins to teach them from the Word of God.

Now, in one respect, Jesus isn’t doing anything unusual here. This is the same sort of thing that happened every single week. People would gather, the scriptures would be read, and there would be teaching. And that’s exactly what Jesus is doing here. It’s a very ordinary thing.

But, you see, in another respect, that day isn’t normal at all – it’s much different from every other Sabbath. Because as the people hear Jesus speaking, there’s something about it that’s extraordinary. In verse 22, we’re told that the people were “astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.”

Now, the scribes mentioned here – these were scholars who studied and made copies of historical Jewish literature. So they were considered the experts of Jewish Rabbinical Teachings and the Old Testament Scriptures. They were often looked to as the experts. Yet the people noticed that there was a difference between Jesus and the scribes. Because when the scribes taught, they would try to figure out the right interpretation of certain parts of the Bible, and then they would argue for their preferred interpretation by appealing to the teachings or traditions of Jewish rabbis from the past.

But, you see, when Jesus taught, there was no question in his mind what the correct interpretation of Scripture was. And when he taught how the people should understand Scripture, he didn’t try to defend his claims by referring to what Rabbi so-and-so said. Instead, Jesus simply told them what was right. He spoke by his own authority – without depending on the testimony of Rabbis or other so-called experts.

And this was different. Our text says that it astonished people. It raised the question, who is this man? Why does he speak as though he has the right to declare and define divine truth to us? No one else has spoken like this person, Jesus. People are amazed over the authority of his teaching.

But while the people are still pondering this, something else happens. Mark tells us in verse 23 that immediately there was in the synagogue a man with an unclean spirit – who was possessed by a demon. And this man began to heckle Jesus.

Now it might seem strange – remember where Jesus encounters this man. It’s in the synagogue. It’s in the place where the Jews from that city gathered to worship God. I think it’s common for people to have the idea that places of worship – church buildings – that these places are somehow demon-proof. But that’s a superstitious idea, and if we’re putting our trust in the protection of manmade buildings, then our trust isn’t in the right place.

The demon-possessed man has no problem entering the synagogue. In fact, it’s quite possible that Mark is foreshadowing here, that as Jesus comes to synagogues – and as he comes into contact with the scribes, the Pharisees and the Jewish traditions of that day – he’s going to be faced with evil and opposition. Certainly, that’s what we see here, on Day 1.

But the main thing that Mark wants us to see, of course, is the outcome of this conflict between Jesus, and the unclean spirit. It’s understood here, that the demon in this man has a great deal of power. People can’t just pinch themselves or snap their fingers to make the demon go away. He has a hold on this man, and the possessed man isn’t able to send the evil spirit away, even if he wanted to.

That being said, for centuries leading up to this, the Jews recognized the realness of demonic activity and demon possession – there’s evidence of this throughout the Old Testament. And a number of Jewish religious figures had tried to develop some elaborate techniques for casting these evil spirits out. Usually, the exorcists would try to learn about the demon, especially its name, and then they’d burn herbs or incense and repeat some incantations. And by learning the name of the demon, many Jews believed that this gave you power over it, to control it or call it out.

This belief, I think, has become popular again in certain types of churches, that have been influenced by the Word of Faith movement. Essentially, the claim made by these churches is that if you just have enough faith, and if you just use the right words, then you can control the events and outcome of your life – you can bring yourself prosperity and physical health – and you can control demons.

But you’ll notice, Jesus doesn’t follow this sort of pattern. He doesn’t follow the pattern of the Jewish exorcists. There are no rituals and incantations here. He doesn’t ask for the demon’s name. In fact, you’ll see that the demon speaks from the man, and identifies who Jesus is. In verse 24, he says, “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.” The demon is actually the one who knows Jesus’s name, and who invokes it. And yet, the demon has no control over Jesus. Instead, in verse 25, Jesus rebukes the evil spirit and says, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And sure enough, Mark again shows us evidence of Jesus’s great authority. The unclean spirit convulses the man, and cries out with a loud voice, and this demon is forced out – simply because Jesus commanded him to leave.

And Mark wants to make it clear here, Jesus’s ability to cast out demons doesn’t have anything to do with Jewish traditions, superstitious rituals, magic words, or naming and claiming power over demons. But Jesus’s ability to command the evil spirits – it comes from his own authority as the divine Son. And the people respond, again, with astonishment. And they ask, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him!” And Jesus’s fame begins to spread rapidly. Someone great has arrived. The Son of God – the Holy One of God, as the demon mentioned.

And as we consider Jesus’s identity, this is a bit of a side note, but it’s an important comment to make. I think that many of us here know that Jesus is the Holy One of God. We can rightly identify who he is. And we might think that this is all that it means to be a Christian, to be right with God. We simply need to know who Jesus is.

But make sure you see in our text, this demon knows who Jesus is, too. And yet the demon isn’t right with God at all. And, of course, that’s because this demon knows who Jesus is, but he’s handling that knowledge wrongly, wickedly. This demon knows that Jesus’s great authority requires respect, trust, and love. And yet this demon stubbornly refuses to submit to the greatness and goodness of King Jesus.

And so this is relevant for all of us, but I especially want to speak to you who are kids here at our church in Mount Pleasant – Kids, I realize that many of you know a lot about Jesus. It’s likely that many of you know that he’s the Master of the World. He’s the Savior who died on the cross for sinners. And it’s great that you know these things. But it’s important for you, not only to know about Jesus, but to respond to him in the right way – to receive him as your Master – to trust him, not just as a nice savior, but to trust him as the one you need to save you. And as we see Jesus demonstrate his power here, you and I should be all the more confident in Jesus. He’s the One who can us free from the power of evil. Only him.

But, you’ll see that Jesus’s power is highlighted in our text, here, not just in his teaching and his casting out of demons, but also in his ability to heal people from their injuries and diseases. In verse 29, Mark tells us that Jesus immediately leaves the synagogue, and he enters the house of Simon and Andrew. It’s understood by this that this is where Jesus is going to be staying for the night. And Simon mentions to Jesus that his mother-in-law is sick – she’s in bed with a fever. There’s no obvious sign from the text that Simon expected his mother-in-law to be healed. He was probably just telling Jesus about her as an act of common courtesy, to let Jesus know that he was coming to spend the night in a house where there was a sick family member.

But Jesus goes to see Simon’s mother-in-law, and without any special prayers to God, or medicines, or incantations, Jesus simply takes this woman by the hand, raises her out of bed, and we’re told in verse 31, “the fever left her.” And again, we’re supposed to see in this that Jesus wields divine authority. He is an authoritative person, as the divine Son of God, who has taken on human flesh to serve and save his people. And he is, at the same time, empowered by the authoritative Spirit of God. And the Holy Spirit testifies to Jesus’s identity, and his majesty, through these miraculous signs.

And by the end of the day, the word about Jesus’s power has gotten out. And when the sun sets, and there are no longer any Sabbath restrictions on how far people can walk, or what they can do – immediately, a great crowd of people begins to gather around Simon’s house, and the people are calling for Jesus to heal their rashes, to cure their migraines, to fix their bad backs, to cast demons out of their neighbors or children. Mark tells us that the whole city camps out at the door, because they want Jesus.

But there’s something here we should stop and consider. Why do the people want Jesus? Mark doesn’t tell us the motives of people, exactly. But you’ll notice, as these people come, they aren’t coming to ask if they can be Jesus’s disciples. They aren’t coming, asking for Jesus to teach them more about the Scriptures. Instead, they’re bringing their life problems to Jesus – their illnesses, injuries, and people who are afflicted with demons. And their main priority seems to be that they simply want Jesus to solve their problems. They want to see what Jesus can do. They want to see the miracle worker.

And I think that many people have a perspective about Jesus just like this. They aren’t really interested in Jesus himself. They just have pain or problems in life that they want Jesus to take away. And so they come to Jesus – they go to church, or they say a prayer, and they try to do what Jesus says for a time, because they want some sort of quick fix for their health, or their marriage, or their financial situation. But you see, then, many people, if Jesus doesn’t fix the problem soon enough, or if Jesus does fix the problem, and it’s no longer bothering them, then the people move on. And Jesus is no longer important to them – no longer precious. Does that sound like you? Are you just interested in getting some sort of pick-me-up from Jesus, some sort of worldly advantage from him, without having any desire for Jesus himself?

It would seem that many people in the crowd that night were just like this. They didn’t care about the man, Jesus. They just cared about the miracles. And I’m sure Jesus could see it.

And yet notice how Jesus deals with them, even though they’re depriving him of sleep and making their demands of him – notice what Jesus does in verse 34. We’re told that “he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.” Jesus was busy that night. He was busy giving his time, and his energy to caring for these people in their afflictions. Even though the motives of these people may have been insincere – even though some of these people may have been objectifying Jesus and treating him more like a machine rather than a human being – still, Jesus willingly loved these people, and served them.

And I want to make sure you appreciate how remarkable this is. Because even though Jesus has incredible power over evil spirits and diseases – even though Jesus is a person of great power, there’s zero corruption in him. He doesn’t act as though he’s too high and mighty to get his hands dirty with the problems of these Jewish peasants. He doesn’t demand them to pay him to be healed. He doesn’t act manipulatively. He doesn’t threaten. But he serves. He shows mercy to undeserving people.

And this isn’t like us. Because, remember, power exposes what the condition of our heart is. And for people like us, when we gain more power, often we see more clear evidence of our selfishness and arrogance and sin. But for Jesus, when we see more and more of his power, it increasingly reveals the vast reaches of his true goodness. Jesus isn’t just another man. He’s the Son of God. Perfect in power. And powerful in his perfections.

Jesus’s Diligence in Prayer

And so, you see, Mark isn’t just pointing to Jesus’s great power in this passage. But he’s also helping us to see Jesus’s good character and spiritual vitality in the way he cares for people. But in my remaining two points, this morning, Mark draws attention to two other aspects of Jesus’s spiritual vitality. And the first of these is Jesus’s diligence in prayer. (This is my second main point).

Look with me to verse 35. “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he (Jesus) departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”

Now you’ll notice, Mark doesn’t tell us what Jesus is praying about. No specific purpose or need is mentioned. Mark doesn’t fill in any details here, and I think that’s intentional. What he simply wants to show us, by Jesus’s own example, is that Jesus is committed to spending time with God the Father in prayer.

And it must have been quite a commitment because, remember, Jesus has just had a late night, healing all kinds of people in the city of Capernaum. And after a night like that, with the attention from the crowd, and his great power to banish diseases and demons – you might think that Jesus would feel quite strong and sufficient. It might be tempting for him to think that prayer isn’t so important right now. So if there’s any morning where you might expect Jesus to hit the snooze button, and to skip his prayer time with the Father to get more sleep, this would be the morning, right?

But this isn’t Jesus’s perspective at all. Though he is powerful, this doesn’t make prayer any less important, or less precious. Because, you see, when Jesus prays, the whole point of it isn’t just to extract something from God – but the point is to enjoy God himself. And so Jesus rises early. No one is coercing him. And there are no crowds to impress here – he’s going off into an unpopulated place, before daybreak. And Jesus is doing this simply because he wants to. Because being with his Father is a priority. Is it a priority to you?

I think for many of us, we’re really only motivated to pray when there’s something we think we need. And I think, if we’re honest, this is because the most precious thing in our heart isn’t the one we’re praying to, but it’s whatever that thing is that we’re praying for. But notice, as Jesus is going to prayer, here, we have no idea what he was praying about. That’s not supremely important – that’s not the point. Instead, the point emphasized here is the preciousness of prayer time itself. From the beginning of his ministry, we see that Jesus was committed to spending time with his father like this.

And so we shouldn’t think of prayer as a burden, or as a distraction from other, more important things God wants us to be doing. But Jesus shows us that prayer, it itself, a valuable and vital part of his life – it’s a necessary part of what it means to walk with God. And certainly, if any of us are going to be true followers of Jesus, we need to follow him into prayer. We have every reason to do it. God has given prayer to us as a gift. Through prayer, God gives us himself, and the grace and strength for a faith-filled life.

Jesus isn’t too high and mighty for prayer. And we aren’t, either. When we feel powerful and in-control, we might be tempted to dismiss God and to become obsessed with admiring ourselves. But Jesus isn’t like that. And Jesus doesn’t leave us like that. But instead he takes us by the hand, and leads us to our knees, and teaches us to pray to the One who is truly great. The spiritual integrity of Jesus shines through in his commitment to prayer.

Jesus’s Dedication to Preaching

But in addition to being committed to prayer, we also see here that Jesus is committed to the preaching of God’s Word. This is my third and final point: Jesus’s Dedication to Preaching.

In verse 37, the disciples come to Jesus saying, “Everyone is looking for you.” And this isn’t just an observation that the disciples are making. But there’s a sense in which they’re finding fault with Jesus here. “Jesus, how could you just go away like that?” It’s interesting, a couple days earlier, no one really cared where Jesus went. But now everyone in Capernaum feels like Jesus owes it to them to tell them where he is, and where he’s going.

And of course, the reason why the crowds suddenly feel this way is because of what Jesus did the night before. He performed healings and exorcisms. They value Jesus because of his miracles. And so they want to keep him around.

And as you can imagine, there would be a quite a bit of social pressure on Jesus, to give the crowds what they want. They want to see more miracles. They want Jesus to flex his muscles again, and to give them health, wealth, and power.

But Jesus isn’t concerned about pleasing the crowds. He isn’t a performer, who lives for the applause of the audience. Instead, he’s a man on a mission – on a mission from God. And Jesus’s main mission from His Father in heaven isn’t about doing flashy things to attract crowds. His main mission wasn’t just to give people a better earthly life by curing diseases and casting out demons. Instead, Jesus is very clear here – his mission is to preach – to proclaim God’s Word.

Look at verse 38 with me. Jesus tells his disciples, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” So you see, Jesus tells us what his ministry is about. He has come out so that he may preach the good news of God. That’s the purpose of his ministry. And that’s really what people need – we don’t need all kinds of miracles. We don’t need to have our earthly problems taken away supernaturally. What we really need, is the good news of how to have life with God.

And it’s helpful to point out what Jesus’s mission is about, because it helps us to rightly understand what all the miracles are for. Since preaching is primary, the healings and exorcisms must all be secondary. The purpose of the miracles is simply to let us know that Jesus and his message are legitimate. And we can know that this is the purpose of Jesus’s miracles, because back in verse 27, Mark shows us that this was the understanding of Jesus’s original audience, after the unclean spirit was cast out. The people in the synagogue see the demon cast out, and they say, “What is this? A new teaching with authority!” Notice, they understand that Jesus’s teaching is the centerpiece of his ministry. They understand that the point of the miracle was to confirm the authority of Jesus and his new message.

So if Jesus’s main purpose in his three years of earthly ministry was this – to preach God’s Word, to proclaim the gospel – then it should be no surprise to us that this is still the mission of Jesus’s followers today – that this is what he sends his people out to do in Acts 1, verse 7, and Matthew 28, verses 19 and 20. The mission of God’s people is given to us in terms of bearing witness – teaching – proclaiming the Word of God.

Telling people about God’s good news may not seem all that amazing. Words are a rather ordinary thing. But you must remember, that we have an extraordinary message, that comes from an extraordinary being. If God has said that this is game plan – that he intends to work through His Word, then we should expect that great things will happen as his truth is proclaimed.

And this has practical implications us. When you’re gathering with God’s people on a Sunday morning – don’t ever go into a sermon with the assumption that the speaker is too dull, or assuming that the content is too simple to be of benefit to you. Because God works through the preaching of His Word. We should be eager to listen, and to receive the good things God has for us.

Practically, for me, as a preacher, I need to be careful that I don’t rely on my own cleverness. Because what you need most, isn’t my creativity, or my funny stories. But what you need is simply for me to proclaim God’s Word. As someone set apart as an elder, to teach God’s people – that’s my mission. That’s what Christ wants his people to be about.

And when you have a family member, or a friend at work, who’s far away from God – do you know what that person needs? They don’t need you to be clever, either. They don’t a miraculous healing. Their great need isn’t for you to be powerful and persuasive. What they ultimately need is the saving power of Jesus Christ, and the proclamation of His Word.

So let’s make sure we don’t miss this good news from God. He has sent us a king – a king who has the authority to cast the devil into the lake of fire, and to raise us from the sickbed of our sin. He has come to give his life, to serve, and to suffer the penalty for our wrongdoing. And when we receive this king, to save us, and to rule over us, he gives us the gift of eternal fellowship and life with God forever. And this King is Jesus. Mark demonstrates that his authority is legitimate. His spiritual vitality and integrity are unmatched. The Holy One of God Has come. Will you listen to His Word? Will you receive His authority? Let’s pray: