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