Introduction
So far, in this series on the Gospel of Mark, we learned about the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mark explained Jesus is the Son of God and set forth to show this truth by His actions and words. Mark explained by retelling Peter’s teaching and preaching. He made people know about Jesus’ power and authority because He is the Son of God. This Jesus, Mark said, is the fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah and Malachi. Mark explained the messenger, who was to come before the Messiah to prepare the way of the Lord, had come and that man was John the Baptist.
With this introduction of John the Baptist, Mark taught about him. He was the cousin of Jesus. John the Baptist preached baptism for repentance and pointed to Jesus as the Son of God. John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River and, from then, as he said, his ministry decreased while Jesus’ increased. Mark told more about John the Baptist to introduce him to his readers/hearers. At Jesus’ baptism, the people surrounding the river heard the Father’s voice. They saw the Spirit descend upon Jesus like a dove. Both confirmed Jesus as the Son of God, as did Jesus’ opening heaven for the dove to descend upon Himself. This opening of the heavens was the first time it had ever happened. It will not occur again until Jesus returns from heaven in the last days.
Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. While there, Satan tempted Him three times during His forty days stay in the wilderness. Jesus prevailed over Satan by not sinning. He proved He had power greater than the prince of darkness. This power He gives to each person who believes in Him. When His time was complete in the wilderness, Jesus traveled to Galilee. The time of His arrival in Galilee was after Herod imprisoned John the Baptist for speaking against his marriage to his brother’s wife and divorcing his own wife to do it. While in Galilee, Jesus walked around the sea and called four fishermen to come and follow Him. He told them He would make them fishers of people.
In each part of Mark 1:1-20, God’s hand was clear in the circumstances. He had said when the time was right, He would send a Savior. The right time came, and Jesus entered humanity’s timeline. He came to earth to live as a man, be tempted, stay sinless, and die a sinner’s death. He was the perfect sacrifice for humanity when they trusted in Him as their Savior. When they believed, they would receive salvation from their sins and from eternal separation from God. In God’s timing, all things are manifested and done. Jesus fulfilled the plan God made from before the world’s foundation. With His entrance as a man, He brought God’s gospel (good news) that the Savior had come. Jesus fulfilled the prophecies then and would fulfill them completely/perfectly when He returns to earth the second time. This “now and not yet” scenario of salvation occurs many times in the Bible. Let’s continue our study to see even more how Jesus is God’s Son through His authority and power.
Amazed
They went into Capernaum; and immediately, on the Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and began to teach. And they were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Mark 1:21-22 [NASB]
Teaching
When Jesus returned to Galilee after His wilderness experience, He began His ministry. He did this in two ways. The first part of His ministry began with calling men to follow Him. Mark said Jesus and the four fishermen then walked to Capernaum. Added to His authority to call men to be His disciples, Jesus would show His divine authority to more people.
Mark 1:21 tells the readers/hearers, Jesus immediately entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. When the Sabbath began, He walked to the synagogue as all devout Jews would. Notice Mark used one of His favorite adverbs again. With no delay, Jesus walked to where most Jews would be. He hastily trod to the synagogue to tell them the prophecies are fulfilled. Mark said this when he wrote Jesus began to teach.
Why was it important for Jesus to go to Capernaum? Let’s understand what Capernaum was. It was a town/village on the northwestern side of the Sea of Galilee. Capernaum had good soil for agriculture and the large sea for fishing. That made them economically secure. A well-traveled highway connected Damascus and Galilee. Because of this, many cultures influenced the people of Capernaum. A lot of Gentiles lived within the town/village. Capernaum housed the Roman client-king, Herod, and the customs house. Several scholars believe it contained a Roman garrison for the soldiers. Capernaum became a second home for Jesus, his home-away-from-home. Within this town/village, people worshiped various gods/idols. This influenced the Jews to appease idols instead of Yahweh.
To these Jews, Jesus immediately traveled to tell them the prophecies foretold about the Messiah are fulfilled. He told them the good news of God’s gift of salvation given through the Messiah. Did Jesus wait for the scribes of that synagogue to nod to Him to tell Him it was His turn to speak? Did they even know Jesus? Only the people at the time know. Mark did not record this. What he recorded was “Jesus began to teach.” This sentence is past continuous tense, a past action that has no definite ending. That exactly illustrates the “now and not yet” scenario. Jesus came then but did not die. He still lives and still fulfills the prophecies about Him, providing salvation for all people who believe in Him. The necessity for salvation remains until God sets up the new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem after Jesus resurrects His believers. Jesus taught, and the people responded.
Mark wrote that the people “were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (vs. 22). The Greek word Mark used we translate as amazed means to be astonished, dumbfounded, and gladly amazed with wonder. Jesus’ teaching, coming from one who had not been trained in religious laws and traditions beyond what every male Jew received, came with clarity and power. He did not teach as the scribes did, who copied the books of Moses, the traditions, and laws repeatedly. These same scribes also taught the people in the synagogues what rabbis had taught. Their knowledge came from a man. These scribes merely passed down tradition. Jesus, on the other hand, spoke with power, authority, and conviction because He is the Son of God. At this, the people in the synagogue were amazed. Jesus, a Nazarene from a carpenter’s family, told them profound things about and from God. Their spirits quickened when they recognized this man to whom they were listening and caused them to act upon what He said. From His divine being, He gave power to the Scriptures. His teaching differed from the rabbis and scribes. His teaching did not depend on any other teaching. He taught them with authority-power and influence.
Casting out Demons
Just then, there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, “what business do you have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who You are: the Holy One of God!” Mark 1:23-24 (NASB)
Notice Mark began this next section with “just then.” He used another phrase that meant “immediately.” After Jesus taught with authority and power, a man in the synagogue confronted Him. An unclean spirit, a demon, cried out (screamed) from this man. It recognized Jesus as everyone else did, Jesus of Nazareth. With greater understanding and acknowledgement, the demon proclaimed about Jesus. It confirmed Jesus is the Son of God. Even spirits know who Jesus is and this one proclaimed it aloud. This voice crying out to Jesus from the man spoke for many demons living in him. Mark used a second person plural tense pronoun in his sentence, “Have you come to destroy us?” These demons recognized Jesus as coming from Nazareth; He was a man. They recognized Jesus is the Holy One of God, too. These evil spirits disclosed Jesus as more than a carpenter’s son. They acknowledged and proclaimed He is the One God promised. They were the second to tell people about the Son of God. Recognizing Jesus is divine, the demons asked Him why He was disturbing them. The demons felt threatened, though Jesus had not spoken to them first. Light threatens and casts out darkness. The demons feared they must find another home. Yet, He came to release the captives. This man was captive to these demons. Jesus came to release all people from captivity—to sins, to evil beings, etc. These demons realized what would happen.
And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of Him!” After throwing him into convulsions and crying out with a loud voice, the unclean spirit came out of him. And they were all amazed, so they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding region of Galilee. Mark 1:25-28 (NASB)
What was Jesus’ reaction to the demons? As he continued recording, Mark wrote Jesus rebuked them. Jesus commanded them, “Be quiet and come out of him!” These demons feared Jesus and recognized His authority and power. Jesus exhorted them not to speak about Him to people. Remember, God had said in the right time He would send a Savior (Isaiah 49:8 & Romans 5:6). Jesus said in the synagogue, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15). He had not yet announced He is the Son of God. In the right time (at just the right time), Jesus would tell He is God’s Son, the One who came to save humanity from their sins. That time was not then in the synagogue.
Next, Jesus commanded the demons, “Come out of him!” The demons recognized who He was addressing. With no surprise, they expected this to happen. Did the demons remove themselves peacefully from the man? Would you obey Jesus’ commands without an excuse for not doing as He says? These demons threw the man down on the ground in convulsions and shrieked loudly. People realized this man was demon-possessed before this day. They had not yet experienced the control and power these demons exerted over him. When Jesus commanded them to leave the man, they loudly and visually left. They recognized, if they did not leave, Jesus would use His great power to expel them. These demons recognized without being told how powerful Jesus is. Jesus did not have to expel them by force. The demons recognized Jesus’ authority and vacated, but they exited like a child’s tantrum.
The demons recognized Jesus’ authority and power. People heard Jesus teach and recognized His authority and power. With the demons’ expulsion, Mark recorded the people “were all amazed.” The people wondered who Jesus was since He could expel demons and teach with authority and power. Questioningly, the people asked among themselves, “Who is this? A new teacher with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits to obey Him” (vs. 27). Jesus captured the people’s attention. The people who took note of Him were Jews-rabbis and scribes. How would you react if you saw someone cast out a demon? This occurrence was spectacular. People took note, but no one recognized Jesus as the Son of God. The time was not right. But it soon would be.
In verse twenty-eight, Mark wrote, “Immediately the news about Him (Jesus) spread everywhere into all the surrounding region of Galilee.” Amazed and astonished, the people immediately began telling others about Jesus. Jesus’ fame spread from there. Soon He would fill houses and mountainsides with people.
Application and Conclusion
The four men were commanded to come and follow Jesus. Amazing in itself. To the people, Jesus was known as a carpenter’s son. But they heard Him teach with authority in the synagogue on the Sabbath. They knew Jesus had not been trained to be a priest. He did not tell what another person taught. Jesus knew what God said and meant for Himself because He is part of the Triune Godhead of Father, Son, and Spirit. The demons recognized Jesus and His power and authority. In three ways, Jesus showed His authority — calling disciples, teaching, and casting out demons.
Mark does not tell of immediate believers in Jesus as the Son of God. As Jesus ministers, people followed Jesus. One day, though, Peter declared He is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16.) People did eventually believe. Even Jewish leaders like Nicodemus trusted in Jesus. The disciples believed in Jesus. With great trust, both the blind man, who received his sight, and the Roman centurion, whose daughter laid deathly ill, believed in Jesus because He healed. him and the Roman’s daughter. Many people trusted in Jesus for their salvation. Many millions did not and have not believed in Him, too.
What will it take to convince you of Jesus’ authority? Would you recognize Him if He commanded you to come and follow Him? What if you saw Jesus casting out a demon? What would it take for you to be amazed at Jesus and believe in Him as your Savior? What would you do to follow Jesus? Would you leave everything? Would you help the leper or blind man? Would you feed the beggar or let him bathe at your home? Once we trust in Jesus as the Son of God and as our Savior, our faith must grow and cause a change in our lives. Being a disciple of Jesus costs. Mark wrote about this in his gospel, too. Are you willing to pay the cost to be Jesus’ disciple? Jesus gives us that example. He gave up everything to be born as a human and die on the cross. His death separated Him from the Father momentarily, but it provided a way for believers to be cleansed from their sins and have victory over death.
Will you continue to turn away from Jesus?
He gave His all for us.
Accept His gift of salvation and be willing to give your all for Him. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. (Romans 6:23, [NASB])
For by grace, you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8 [NASB])
