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Verses 21 all the way to verse 39 in Mark chapter 1 chronicles the life of Jesus in a specific 48-hour period.
And what takes place in these moments is what we might expect was the typical routine for Christ.
As he went about his ministry and about his life, what we see Mark encapsulating in this 48-hour period
is probably what Jesus' life was like about every day, especially once his public ministry had begun.
We're also reminded here in these verses that Mark's unique style as compared to the other gospel writers.
His goal was not to construct a timeline of Jesus' movements, and we've said that a lot in this study,
but his purpose was really to paint kind of a mosaic of the life and the ministry and the purpose and identity of Christ.
And so in typical Mark and fashion, he keeps the story moving along quickly.
He uses this word immediately some 18 different times in chapter 1 alone.
He's constantly moving the story along.
He's usually fairly brief and fast-paced in the way that he describes these events.
But he endeavors in doing that to keep our attention and our focus on the identity of Jesus specifically.
Now, as Mark writes these things and we learn about these events that took place around Jesus' life and ministry,
he doesn't write them to fill us with information about Jesus, but he is making his case,
he is encouraging us to make a definitive choice to follow Jesus.
So when we study about Jesus coming into a synagogue and teaching in this way,
or we study a unique event where Jesus cast out a demon in such a powerful way as this,
it's not just to give us information about him.
It's not just to increase our intellectual knowledge of who Jesus is.
Mark is writing this in order that he might persuade the reader to make a definitive choice to follow Christ.
To follow Christ in what way?
Well, in the way that he stated his purpose of the entire writing was in verse 1,
to follow him as the Messiah and the Son of God.
And so that's really what's taking place here as we continue on through the story.
And I know we'll probably say that a hundred more times as we go through this gospel,
but it's important for us to remember that's what Mark is doing.
He wants us to follow Christ, not simply know about Christ.
Our text constitutes the first part of this 48-hour period.
This is the first scene that Mark chooses to tell us about.
And the setting is in the town of Capernaum,
which is where Jesus set up his headquarters for his Galilean ministry.
Capernaum was, and as I understand still is to this day, a picturesque town.
It's on the northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee.
Even still today, you can go and visit the ancient ruins of the town of Capernaum.
And my brother and my dad and their wives went, which would be my mom,
they spent some time in Capernaum, I guess earlier this year.
Was it earlier this year?
I can't remember.
It was maybe February or January or something like that.
And every time they go on one of those trips, I haven't been able to go yet myself.
Hopefully one day we'll take a church trip.
We'll all go to Israel one day.
And they always come back and they start showing me these pictures.
And it's always amazing to me to see these places that we read about.
They've read about my whole life and I've heard about my whole life.
And they've shown pictures of Capernaum and how it's situated right there on the Sea of Galilee
and where they believe Peter's house was in Capernaum and how beautiful it is.
It really was and still is today a picturesque place.
A beautiful place on the Sea of Galilee.
And at the time, it was a relatively busy and heavily populated area of Galilee.
Now, its importance was due really primarily to its location to a major trade route known as the Via Maris
that many people would use in going back and forth from north to south in order to carry out their business.
And so this made it a strategic place for the fishing industry.
We mentioned last week when we were studying about Jesus calling Peter and Andrew and James and John to follow him.
They were fishermen by trade.
This was the major industry in that particular area.
And it's being located on this particular trade route made it advantageous for the fishing community.
In fact, archaeologists have even uncovered a promenade that's about half a mile long situated on the sea bank of the Sea of Galilee right at Capernaum.
Half a mile where you could stroll and look at the sea on one end and look at the town on the other end.
But it would have been a busy marketplace for these fishermen.
On this half mile stretch of promenade were multiple piers stretching about 100 feet out into the lake.
So Capernaum is not a fishing village.
Capernaum is the center of everything that's happening in the fishing industry here on the Sea of Galilee.
So it's a busy place.
It's a heavily populated place.
There's lots of things going on in this particular area.
It had grown so much at the time of Christ that we understand through the scripture that there was a Roman garrison who was stationed there.
You'll remember the story of the centurion who had a servant who was deathly ill.
And he comes to Jesus and he demonstrates such great faith in knowing that Jesus could heal the man without even being present in his house.
You remember that story?
That was in Capernaum.
That centurion, this leader of this Roman garrison was stationed there.
The only reason they would put a station, a Roman garrison there was because it was so busy.
There was so much happening in the market.
There were so many people there.
They felt like that needed to be controlled.
It was also the place of an official Roman tax office, which made that significant to the Galilean region.
And again, we see this come up a couple other times in the Gospels.
As Jesus is ministering, you'll remember him stopping by the tax office in Capernaum one day,
and he calls out to a man named Matthew or Levi to follow him.
And Matthew, this hated publican, this traitor of the Jews, gets saved and begins to follow Jesus Christ on that time.
All of that is happening in this region of Capernaum, where Jesus and his disciples in verse 21 have now entered into on this particular day.
Now, as he continues building his case for proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God,
Mark draws our attention here in these verses specifically to the authoritative power of Christ's word,
his authoritative word.
Jesus was no ordinary teacher.
His words possessed a power that was able to pierce the hearts of men and cause demons to flee.
That's exactly what's happening in these verses.
Jesus isn't touching anyone.
Jesus isn't doing a physical act in this moment.
Simply by the power of his word, the hearts of the people are pierced,
and they sit there in astonishment at the authority with which he teaches.
And even of their own words say,
he does not teach us like the other teachers teach us.
There is something unique about him.
That's the authoritative power of Christ's word.
And then we see this demonic man,
as he comes into the synagogue and Jesus cast out the demon,
Jesus does it through the power of his word.
So Mark is drawing our attention to that here.
And it's a reminder for us, perhaps of what God said through Isaiah.
God said,
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there without watering the earth,
and making it bare and sprout,
and furnishing seed to the sower,
and bread to the eater.
In other words, the rain comes down,
and it does what it's supposed to do.
It feeds the earth, and things grow from it.
God says,
In the same way that the rain does that,
so will my word be which goes out of my mouth.
It will not return unto me empty,
without accomplishing what I desire,
and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
That's Isaiah 55.
So God says,
In the same way that the rain does its work on the earth,
so does my word do its work.
There is a purpose in it.
There is a power in it.
There is an authority in it.
And every time God sends out his word,
it always accomplishes the thing that he desires for it to accomplish.
It's a promise of God.
It has an authority that cannot be stopped.
It always does what God has determined for it to do.
That's an encouragement for us in our evangelism, isn't it?
That it's not up to us in our words.
It's not up to us in the things that we can contrive
to try to persuade someone to believe,
but it is actually the power of God's word.
As we send it out, as we cast that net,
like we talked about last week,
we trust that God's word as it goes out
will accomplish the thing that he desires for it to accomplish
in drawing men to salvation.
Mark highlights this divine characteristic
as existing in this man, Jesus of Nazareth.
And he does so in this passage by noting these two demonstrations of Jesus's power.
In this text, we see Jesus has power over two things,
power over systems of religion.
And then we see that he has power over satanic forces.
And the two episodes here are knit together in that authority.
In that the same authority with which Jesus cast out this demon
is the same authority with which he preaches the gospel,
which means for us, there must be a response.
We cannot take it lightly.
We cannot merely be amazed at his power.
We must heed his word.
And so let's look at these two events together.
First, let's see his power over systems of religion,
Christ power over systems of religion.
Look with me again at verse 21.
And they went into Capernaum and immediately on the Sabbath day,
he entered into the synagogue and taught.
And they were astonished at his doctrine
for he taught them as one that had authority
and not as the scribes.
We're told here that Jesus and his newly called disciples,
these four fishermen,
and perhaps there were others there as well,
but we know at least these four fishermen are there present on this day,
had found their place in the local synagogue in Capernaum.
It was the Sabbath day.
And it was always Jesus's custom to attend synagogue on the Sabbath.
Now I'm going to give you just kind of a quick side note on this.
This is important, I think.
It's an example that we see in Christ that we need to actually follow ourselves.
Now Jesus was vehemently opposed to those
who would preach that religious forms were capable of providing salvation.
His gospel was the opposite of that.
The gospel is a salvation by grace alone through faith alone,
not through the works of righteousness that men may perform on their own.
But he does set an example for believers to be faithful to the corporate gathering
where the Bible is taught and God is praised.
We're faithful to the Lord's Day worship as New Testament Christians.
We're faithful to the church and the corporate gathering on Sunday mornings
to worship the Lord and to hear the Bible teach.
We are not doing so because we just feel like doing it.
We're not doing it because the pastor said this is what we have to do.
We're doing it because we're following the example of Christ.
Now as we study through this particular passage,
we're going to see that Jesus was opposed to these systematic forms of religion,
that what the Jews were preaching and teaching was not the gospel,
and he was coming and bringing the gospel of grace.
But even in the midst of that, he was faithful toward the corporate gathering,
the corporate worship of God's people.
And so should we be.
And when we come together on Sundays,
we do so following the example of our Lord and of our Savior.
And we ought to think of it that way.
On those Sunday mornings when we wake up and we just don't feel like going,
which happens with all of us, I know.
We remember this is the example Christ gave us.
This was his custom.
And it didn't matter if he was traveling.
Every place that Jesus went, he found a synagogue,
and he worshiped the Lord on the Sabbath day.
He worshiped the Father.
Let's talk about these examples of religion that are listed here.
Visiting rabbis were often invited to speak at Sabbath gatherings,
and it should come as no surprise to us that Jesus is invited to do just that here in Capernaum.
Now, verse 22 tells us that the people were astonished by his teaching.
And their reaction clearly sets Jesus apart from the Judaism that they were accustomed to.
He possessed, again, the authority like they had never experienced before.
And we immediately see his power, his authority over systems of religion.
And there's two elements here that I think are at least worth noting in a historical way,
and that is synagogues and scribes.
Synagogues and scribes.
Let's first talk about synagogues.
These gathering places seem to have found their roots in the Babylonian captivity.
Now, you'll remember in the Old Testament, the temple was the center of worship.
That was the focus of everything in corporate worship in the Old Testament.
Now, there were priests that were scattered throughout the entire nation of Israel,
and they would help the people.
But really, the primary place for the transmission of God's truth was the home.
Which, by the way, that's still true today.
The primary place for passing down the truth of God is supposed to be on the home.
God intended it that way from the beginning of creation,
and he intends for it to be that way now.
But that's really how truth was passed on in the Old Testament and in the New Testament alike.
But the center of worship was the temple.
When King Nebuchadnezzar comes in around 600 BC,
and he decimates the city of Jerusalem,
he destroys the temple,
and the people then are carried away into captivity.
As they're in captivity,
we understand that they began to meet in these local communities,
and this concept of synagogues is born,
and that's how they would gather together for teaching and for worship,
and other community events.
Whenever, after 70 years,
they were allowed to come back to Jerusalem,
the people rebuilt the temple,
but they continued on in this tradition that had been started
with these local synagogues.
They were really similar to local churches are now.
There were various synagogues throughout larger communities,
and that's where they would live out their lives
in corporate gatherings as God's people.
Now, as time went on,
these synagogues became very important to Jewish life.
On the Sabbath day,
they were used for worship and teaching of the law.
During the week, they functioned as schools.
They functioned as courthouses.
They were even event centers in some cases.
Each synagogue had a ruler
who was responsible for organizing events,
but they also had elders who taught the Bible.
They taught the scriptures,
and they taught the people,
and they governed the people.
All of this taking place in the synagogues.
Now, it took 10 Jewish men to constitute a synagogue,
and over time, many of these places developed.
History suggests that at the time of Jesus,
there were nearly 500 synagogues in Jerusalem alone.
Now, the historian, ancient historian Josephus,
says that in Galilee,
there were some 240 towns and villages,
and all of them had synagogues.
A place like Capernaum would have had multiple synagogues.
Now, I want you to think about this for a second.
Perhaps this system of synagogue worship,
this system of communities being built around these synagogues,
perhaps the whole reason for their existence in God's plan
was specifically to build up to the ministry of Jesus Christ,
because that's what he did.
He went from town to town and village to village in Galilee,
and the first stop that he made was the synagogue,
and the synagogue is where he would teach the people,
and he would preach the gospel,
and it immediately reminds me of Galatians chapter four,
that when the fullness of time had come,
God sent forth his son to do what?
To be born of a woman, born under the law,
so that he might redeem those who were under the law,
that we might receive the adoption as sons.
When the fullness of time had come,
you say, why did Jesus come when he did?
Look at all of these things that God had set in place,
God the Father, it's all building up,
all rushing towards this moment when Jesus would come,
and just a simple nod to that gesture reminds us that,
yeah, Jesus truly is the Messiah,
look at how his ministry was formatted.
This was all being built up for him.
Well, then we see the scribes mentioned in this verse as well.
In fact, in verse 22,
the people actually compared the teaching of Jesus
to the teaching of the scribes.
This is another nod to Jewish religion,
and how Jesus was clearly separate from that,
had authority over that,
and was bringing a gospel that was different.
Now, in the times of the kings,
scribes were recorders of the law,
and of history, and various decrees,
but eventually, they became known as experts
in the Old Testament scriptures.
At the time of Jesus,
they were very highly esteemed people,
and they grew to love that recognition.
In fact, it was their love and their pride
and that recognition that they received from the people
that drove them to be so antagonistic against Christ.
They were threatened by his popularity.
It's interesting, actually,
as you study through the gospels,
you'll see that these people
that should have been recognizing Christ
and his ministry before even the people did,
completely rejected it,
even though they knew he had to be the son of God.
They rejected it.
Why?
Because he was a threat to their own pride.
He was a threat to their own positions that they held.
They didn't want to give up their own place
in order to submit to Jesus.
And over time, their teaching devolved
into these enigmatic expressions
where they would share
all of these various interpretations of the law
from all of these various rabbis,
and that somehow gave them some kind of credibility.
They possessed a measure of authority in this way.
It was the Old Testament law that governed Jewish life,
but the people didn't have copies of the scripture.
They mostly were illiterate in these days.
So it was up to the scribes
to actually read and teach the Bible.
So the people would come together on the Sabbath day.
They would gather in the synagogue
in order that a scribe would read the Old Testament
and then explain it to them.
Well, as you might expect,
these scribes took advantage of that.
They realized that they actually had great power
because the people didn't know
whether or not they were giving them truth or not.
So over time, their teaching devolved into personal gain.
We see that this is who the people
are comparing Jesus' teaching to.
They were astonished at Jesus
because what he was teaching in the Old Testament
was not his interpretation of the law.
It was his very word.
Can you imagine?
It's one thing to come to church on a Sunday
and hear me get the best explanation that I can
of what we read of in the scriptures,
but can you imagine sitting in church on a Sunday morning
and the Lord himself is speaking this word?
Of course there's gonna be an authority with that.
They were used to the scribes
quoting all of these different people.
Jesus didn't have to quote anybody.
It was his word.
It had power.
Now I want you to think about this for a moment.
Just this scenario.
Throughout history, we've seen this play out.
Satan often uses scenarios like this
in order to corrupt the church
and spread his lies.
Think about the Roman Catholic Church through history,
refusing to allow people to have a copy of the scriptures
in the common language.
Why?
Because they could manipulate the people.
They could teach them that through the buying of indulgences,
they could inherit eternal life
or that they could earn salvation for themselves
or for another.
And they did it all for personal gain.
It was a controlling thing.
And how did they do it?
They kept the word of God out of the people's hands.
But this isn't absent in evangelical Christianity either.
People may have a copy of God's word,
but they've been taught that the sole authority
is not in the word of God,
but it's in the man that leads their church.
So whether or not what they read in the scripture
agrees with what they hear from the pulpit,
they always lean into what's being told from the pulpit
because their authority in their mind
has been given over to the pastor,
not to the word of God.
Now look, we've been blessed,
maybe more than any other Christians
in the history of Christianity,
to be able to have copies of God's word,
to be able to study for ourselves what the Bible says.
And we need to do that.
I am not the sole authority of your life.
The church is not the sole authority of your life.
Christ is the head.
And his word is what we study.
It is what we use as the foundation
for every matter of faith and practice in our lives.
So study the word.
Study the word.
You're sensible, people.
I want to help you.
I want to help you understand on Sundays.
I want to preach the word faithfully
as the Lord has called me to do it.
But you can study the Bible.
You can learn these things.
Study faithfully.
In Mark's gospel, synagogues and scribes
play oppositional roles to Jesus.
James Edwards said it this way,
synagogues will appear another half dozen times in Mark
as places where demons are present,
where there is antagonism from religious leaders,
where there is hardness of heart,
and where there is persecution.
Every time in Mark's gospel,
the synagogue is always a place of these things.
And likewise, he says,
there is but one positive reference
to a scribe in the gospel of Mark.
The remaining 18 references portray scribes
as antagonists of Jesus and his mission.
And the general antagonism of synagogues and scribes thus
foreshadows the coming rejection of Jesus
from both temple and religious leaders in Jerusalem.
Why do we bring all this up?
Why are the people astonished?
Because Jesus didn't come to teach Judaism.
Jesus didn't come to conform to this system
that the scribes and the Pharisees
and the Sadducees had contrived in their own minds
and in their own corruption.
That's not what he had come to do.
He had more authority than that.
He came with the authority of the word,
with the authority of the gospel,
which meant that Judaism,
what the people had grown into,
what they believed was true and what was right,
was actually set in opposition against the truth.
And Jesus is the truth.
Well, Mark doesn't tell us exactly what it was
that Jesus preached this day,
what exactly he taught.
And I think that's for a reason.
He only says that the people were astonished by it.
And again, Edwards is helpful here.
He said,
in the gospel of Mark,
the person of Jesus is more important
than the subject of his teaching.
If we want to know what the gospel
or teaching of Jesus consists of,
in Mark's gospel,
we are directed to its embodiment
in Jesus, the teacher.
That's what Mark keeps doing.
Now then we're going to have a couple of chapters
where we look specifically at the teaching
that Mark tells us about.
But in this passage,
Mark's not showing us what Jesus taught
because he wants us to see Jesus.
He wants us to see Jesus's power,
his authoritative word.
His purpose was not to expound
on how Jesus's teaching was good news,
but he was proclaiming that Jesus himself
is the good news.
And he constantly directs us to set our gaze
on the person of Christ.
The truth is it does us no good
to be familiar with the content
of Jesus's message
if we're not intimately acquainted
with the person of Jesus himself.
Many a people have become students
of Jesus's teaching,
but they don't know Jesus.
So Mark is getting us to look at Jesus
so that we see he has power
over systems of religion.
Secondly,
and there's only two points today,
fortunately.
Secondly,
we see that he has power
over satanic forces.
The interesting thing takes place
on this Sabbath day.
Look at verse 23.
And there was in their synagogue
a man with an unclean spirit
and he cried out,
saying,
let us alone.
What have we to do with thee,
thou Jesus of Nazareth?
Are you come to destroy us?
I know who you are,
the Holy One of God.
Jesus rebuked him,
saying,
hold thy peace
and come out of him.
And when the unclean spirit
had torn him
and cried with a loud voice,
he came out of him.
Have you ever been around somebody
that was just completely
out of their mind
and completely out of control?
It's a terrifying experience,
isn't it?
I don't think that I've ever been
in a situation
where I've encountered someone
who was clearly possessed
by a demon.
But I have been in a few situations
where people have been
out of control
and it scared me.
During Jesus' sermon
in Capernaum,
the people experienced something
that I think
was more terrifying
than anything
I've ever encountered.
A man possessed
with a demon
confronted the Lord
in a dramatic fashion.
Now look at it with me again.
Verse 23.
There was in the synagogue
a man with an unclean spirit
and he cried out.
He explodes
out of nowhere.
Now Mark's already told us
about Jesus' temptation
against Satan.
We know that there are
spiritual powers
that are in opposition
to Christ
because Mark has already
told us about that
in chapter 1.
But this is where
he introduces us
to the spiritual opponents
that we have difficulty
understanding
and we don't really like
to think about much at all.
In fact,
most of us probably
when the topic of demons
come up
probably try to
change the subject
as quickly as we can.
The truth is
there really does exist
a spiritual army
of demons
that are tirelessly
working
in opposition
against God's work
and against God's word.
And it may seem silly to you
but these beings,
they're not characters
in a fairy tale.
They're as real
as you and I are
and they're as active today
as they have ever been
active.
But the point of Mark
telling us this
is not to frighten us,
it's not to scare us
about these evil beings
that we can't see
and that we don't really
even quite understand.
His purpose in writing this
is to show that Jesus
has power over them.
That these evil forces
that are working against you
and working against your family
and working against our church
and working against the gospel
and God's word.
Christ has power over them.
And Mark records this event
as proof.
Let me make note of three things
before we wrap it up.
Number one,
let's look at the demon exposed.
The demon exposed.
Look at verse 23 again.
And there was in the synagogue
a man with an unclean spirit
and he cried out.
So Jesus is teaching on this day.
Maybe this happened
in the middle of his sermon.
Maybe it happened at the end.
We really have no idea
when this took place
and as far as the service is concerned.
But Jesus is teaching.
And all of a sudden,
someone who,
just a moment before,
was calmly sitting there
enjoying the service,
explodes in a tirade
and cries out,
what have you to do with us?
Why are you here?
Are you here to destroy us?
He's exposed in this moment.
Can you imagine that?
I text Andy yesterday
or maybe it was Friday
and I said,
maybe we should do
an object illustration.
Maybe you should just
stand up and go nuts
right in the middle
of our service.
That's exactly what happens
in the synagogue.
The demons expose.
It's interesting.
There's something worth noting here.
Prior to Jesus' teaching,
no one in the synagogue
seemed to be aware
of the fact that this man
was under the control
of a demon.
Did you think about that
as we read through?
This doesn't happen
at the beginning of the service.
Jesus has already taught
and the people
have already been astonished
before this demon
exposes himself.
Before that,
nobody knew probably.
He's just sitting there
like everybody else.
That's not really how we think
about demonic work, is it?
We often have this idea
that demonic control
is always manifested
in psychotic behavior
and often it is.
But we think of the demon-possessed man
that was naked
and cutting himself
and living in the tombs
that Jesus confronted.
We always think of him
as kind of the standard
for demon possession,
but really I think
he's probably more
the exception
of demon possession.
Demonic forces
do not desire
to be exposed
as such.
It wouldn't work for them.
They're more destructive
when no one is aware
of who they are
and what they're up to
and they often do their work
under the guise
of religion.
Perhaps this man
was a scribe.
Maybe he was the ruler
of the synagogue.
Maybe he was one
of the elders.
We have no idea
who he was.
But demons often work
in the realm
of religion.
The episode
of the demon-possessed man
is something
of an illustration
even
to the connection
between systematic
forms of religion
and satanic forces.
History itself
teaches us
that people
often think
that their religious
systems are just fine
until they're exposed
by the truth.
And when they are
exposed by the truth,
quite literally,
all hell will break loose
in those moments.
And that's exactly
what took place
on this day.
When Jesus comes
into the synagogue,
a man that maybe
had been a member
of that synagogue
for years and years
and years
is all of a sudden
exposed as a demon.
Demon-controlled man.
Well, what exactly
exposed the demon?
It was truth.
More specifically,
it was the embodiment
of truth
in the person
of Christ.
Now think about it.
In all of the Old Testament,
we never see
an example
of demon possession,
at least not like this.
Never.
We know that demons
are active.
We know that they've
always been active
and that they always
will be active
until Christ
cast them into
the lake of fire
for all of eternity.
But we never see
an example like this.
In the New Testament,
outside of the Gospels,
there's only a couple
of examples
that are of
similar occurrence
to this
with the apostles
specifically.
It was during
the ministry of Jesus
that these forces
of evil
were constantly
exposed.
All of these examples
we see in the Scripture,
they're all
in the Gospel books.
They're all
where Jesus was.
They're all
in the movements
of Jesus
throughout His ministry
and connected
to the power
of Jesus.
Why?
Because Jesus Himself
is the truth.
They could not help
but expose themselves.
They're not worried
about me and you.
They're not worried
about,
there's nothing
that you and I
can do
to make a demon
expose itself
and do anything
that we bid.
But they know
who Christ is.
They cannot help
but expose themselves
to Him.
So the demon
is exposed.
Secondly,
the demon explained.
Look at verse 24.
The demon explained.
This is what He said.
Let us alone.
Plural there.
One demon
speaking on behalf
of all the demons.
What have we
to do with thee,
thou Jesus of Nazareth?
Art thou come
to destroy us?
I know who you are.
You're the Holy One
of God.
This verse gives us
a little bit of insight
into the relationship
between Jesus
and these fallen angels.
John MacArthur said
that the most striking
thing to him
in this particular passage
is the difference
between the reaction
of the people
and the reaction
of the demons.
The people sat
in astonishment
because they didn't
know who Jesus was.
The demon trembled
in fear
and cried out
because he knew
exactly
who Jesus was.
It was Jesus
who created him.
It was Jesus
whom he had served
in heaven
before his fall.
It was Jesus
who had cast him out
and expelled him
from heaven.
And it is Jesus
that this demon knows
as well as all
the other demons.
It is Jesus
whom he knows
will one day
cast him
into the eternal
lake of fire.
That's why he says
have you come
to destroy us?
He's in fear.
He's exposing himself
because he knows
exactly who Jesus is.
The demon knew
who he was
and he exposed
himself out of fear.
And this is always
the response of demons
when they're confronted
by Jesus in the scripture.
I noted just a moment ago
the episode
where Jesus is in
the country
of the Gadarenes.
And you remember
the demonic
possessed men
that were there
running in the tombs.
Here's what that
legion of demons
said to Jesus.
Matthew 8 29.
And they cried out
saying
what business
do we have
with each other
son of God?
Have you come here
to torment us
before the time?
They knew
what was awaiting them.
When they saw Jesus
they knew who he was
and they trembled
in fear.
And James
reminds us of that.
James chapter 2
in verse 19.
You believe
that there is one God
or that God is one?
Great
James says
even the devils
believe that
but they tremble
before the Lord.
If unbelievers
knew Jesus
the way that demons
know Jesus
they would tremble too.
Their fate's
exactly the same.
And the difference
for you
as an unbeliever
is that you can
escape that judgment
if you will
but believe
and follow
Christ.
again MacArthur
helps us here.
He said
the demons
recognized
who Jesus was
but have no
possibility of salvation.
The crowds
were offered
divine forgiveness
but they refused
to recognize
the one
who alone
can provide it.
Put another way
the demons
were terrified
and could not
be saved.
The people
were amazed
and would not
be saved.
consequently
the amazed
people
and the terrified
demons
will ultimately
end up
in the same
lake of fire.
Why is it
that he cries out?
Why is he exposed?
Because he knows
who Jesus is
and he knows
as a worker
of evil
what his fate
is.
Oh if
unbelievers
would just see
as workers
of evil
what their fate
is
they wouldn't
be amazed
at Jesus
they would
be terrified
but they
can run
to him
for salvation.
Thirdly
we see
the demon
expelled
the demon
expelled
look with me
at verse 25
and Jesus
rebuked him
saying
hold thy
peace
come out
of him
be quiet
Jesus says
and when
the unclean
spirit
had torn
him
and cried
with a loud
voice
he came
out of it.
This was
the astonishing
display
of power.
Jesus's
authority
reigned
so supreme
that even
the demons
have no way
to escape
his commanding
word.
What power
is this?
Jesus
rebuked
the evil
spirit
by commanding
his silence
and departure
out of the
man
and immediately
the demon
made the man
to convulse
in like a
seizure
type fashion
and then
fled the
synagogue.
There was
no fight.
There's no
fight in this
demon when
it comes
to Christ.
Why?
He knows
his power.
He has
power over
these forces
of evil
and this
is the
emphasis
of Mark's
writing
I believe.
There's
only one
being
that can
command
demons
in this
way
and that
is God.
So what
does that
say about
Jesus?
That he
really is
the Messiah
and son
of God.
Why is
Mark
writing
and telling
us about
this?
Not just
so that we
would be
amazed by
the event
but so that
we would
see Christ
for who
he really
is and
his identity
is the
son of
God,
the Messiah,
the only
one who
can provide
salvation.
But what
about the
man?
Man that
was possessed.
We don't
know anything
about him
and the
scripture doesn't
tell us what
happens next
but I think
we can be
certain
that he
was met
by the
comforting
affection
of his
compassionate
savior.
Jesus
was not
only proving
his power
over demons
he was
acting in
compassion
for the
man that
was possessed.
Do you
see the
heart of
Jesus in
that?
this is
not just
about
displaying
power.
This was
much deeper
than that
for Jesus.
If he
was only
concerned about
power over
the demon
he could
have just
made him
be quiet
and been
done with
it.
That wasn't
what he
was trying
to do.
Jesus
saw that
man.
He saw
a person
in captivity
and only
Jesus could
set him
free.
Get
compassion
on him.
ultimately
he would
do this
by laying
down his
life for
the sins
of man.
That's
what he
came to
earth to
do.
He came
to set
right
everything
that sin
and Satan
has
corrupted
and destroyed.
Again
Edwards
writes this
the initial
report about
Jesus from
the synagogue
in Capernaum
is not
simply a
victory for
the Holy
One of
God over
evil forces
as though
two chess
players were
manipulating
pawns on
the board
for their
own advantage.
Jesus'
defeat of
the demon
is not
at the
expense of
Satan's
victims
but on
their
behalf.
Not
only are
unclean
spirits
expelled
but broken
people are
restored to
health
and wholeness
and to the
possibility of
restoration with
their creator
in whose
image they
were made.
The authority
of Jesus
is astonishing
not as a
display of
Jesus'
grandeur
but as a
power of
redemption
for captives.
That's why
this passage
matters.
It's not about
knowing that
Jesus can do
that.
It's about
knowing that
Jesus can
free us as
well.
He has
power over
evil.
So what
kind of
evil is
controlling
your life?
might not
be possessed
in the way
that this
man was
but if
you're an
unbeliever
I can assure
you that
you're under
the same
influence
and bondage
but the
same
Jesus
that
freed
this
man
from
the
demon
has
power
over
the
wickedness
in your
life
too
and you
don't
have to
stay
in
bondage
to
sin
and
Satan
Jesus
will
free
you
today
if
you
will
just
believe
and
follow
him
Jesus
said this
in John
chapter 8
he was
speaking to
some Jews
who had
not
quite
fully
believed
in him
and he
said
if you
continue
in my
word
then you
are
truly
my
disciples
and you
will
know
the
truth
and the
truth
will
make
you
free
and
here's
how
they
answered
him
but
we
are
Abraham's
descendants
and
have
never
been
enslaved
to
anyone
how
is
it
that
you
say
you
will
become
free
and
here's
what
Jesus
said
truly
I
say
to
you
everyone
who
commits
sin
is
a
slave
to
sin
they
were
in
bondage
and
didn't
even
know
it
everyone
who
commits
sin
is
a
slave
to
sin
and
the
slave
does
not
remain
in
the
house
forever
but
the
son
does
remain
in
the
house
forever
what's
he
saying
that
your
religion
doesn't
have
the
power
to
free
you
from
sin
and
death
but
the
son
has
the
power
to
give
you
life
and
the
son
has
the
power
to
free
you
from
evil
and
to
free
you
from
death
and
if
you
will
but
follow
Christ
he
will
set
you
free
because
he
is
the
truth
let's
finish
with
verses
27
and
28
after
all
of
this
takes
place
they
were
all
amazed
in
so
much
that
they
questioned
among
themselves
they
debated
saying
what
thing
is
this
what
did
we
just
see
what
new
doctrine
is
this
for
with
authority
he
commands
even
the
demons
and
they
obey
him
who
would
ever
thought
that
demons
would
obey
anybody
but
they
obey
this
man
and
immediately
his
fame
spread
abroad
throughout
all
the
region
of
Galilee
now
I told
you
a few
weeks
ago
that
Mark
seems
to
always
be
trying
to
answer
the
question
of
Jesus
identity
but
this
is
the
first
time
that
we
see
the
question
actually
expressed
by
the
people
and
it's
going
to
be
expressed
!
by
a lot
of
people
throughout
this
gospel
this
is
the
first
time
we
see
it
specifically
after
this
Sabbath
morning
Jesus
quite
literally
became
the
talk
of
the
town
everyone
was
trying
to
figure
out
what
was
going
on
with
this
guy
who
is
this
everyone
was
interested
in
seeing
him
everyone
was
interested
in
hearing
him
but
relatively
few
would
actually
believe
and
follow
them
why
is
Mark
writing
this
he's
trying
to
answer
that
question
for
us
who
is
this
he's
the
Christ
the
son
of
God
it's
not
enough
to be
amazed
by
Jesus
his
teaching
and
intrigued
by
his
power
every
person
must
make
a
definitive
choice
about
Jesus
of
Nazareth
and
what
Mark
leads
us
to
do
and
ask
ourselves
today
is
what
is
your
choice
this
is
who
Jesus
is
will
you
merely
be
intrigued
by
what
he
says
and
hope
to
see
a
demonstration
of
his
power
or
will
you
really
believe
him
will
you
really
abandon
all
to
follow
him
and
we're
all
confronted
with
that
choice
today
what
will
you
choose
Christ
as
Lord
and
Savior
or
Jesus
as
a
historical
figure
in
good
teacher
miracle
work
thank you
for listening
to this
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