A New Teaching

Mark 1:21-28

Key Verse 1:27

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.” 

Today we would like to think about the power of Jesus’ word. Jesus’ word can give the people of this generation complete relief from all sorts of problems, particularly the problem of evil spirits. Evil spirits contaminate man’s inner world and then also his outer world. For the last two weeks we went through wildfires, raging through Southern California, particularly in the San Diego and Malibu areas. Due to the wild fires, clouds of smoke went up into the sky, making the air quality really bad. But our living environments can be contaminated more spiritually than physically; man is both spirit and body; what is physical exists on a lower level than what is spiritual, as Jesus said, “The Spirit gives life to men; flesh counts for nothing.”  Now evil spirits contaminate man’s inner being. Smoke from a wild fires fanned by the Santa Anna winds contaminated the atmospheric environment of So-cal; but more damage is done to man’s life by evil spirits contaminating man’s inner world. Today then we have great news: Jesus, the Spiritual Firefighter, came to put out all the wild fires raging inside of a soul. He came to clean up the spiritual environment we are living in, so we can live in ease and comfort.  How did Jesus do this?   

First, Jesus taught them as one who had authority (21-22)

Look at verse 21. “They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.” 

Here “they” refers to Jesus and his first batch of disciples. In the previous passage Jesus went out to the Sea of Galilee and called Simon Peter, his brother Andrew, and John and James as his disciples. Jesus went together with them to Capernaum. 

Capernaum of Israel in Jesus’ day is like Los Angeles of the U.S. in our day. Like Los Angeles, Capernaum was the most populous town. During the flight from Guatemala to Los Angeles, I read from the in-flight magazine published by United Airlines. According to one article, as of the year 2006, the Los Angeles Customs District became the largest in the U.S. In the past, the New York Customs District ranked No.1 in the nation. But that is no longer the case. All the imports and exports being processed through the seaports or airports in the LA area, such as in Long Beach or LAX, rank the nation’s top; the larger area of Los Angeles processes the largest volume of international commerce. Naturally, despite so many problems, such as brush fires, riots, or even earthquakes, the LA area still comes out as one of the most populous places, if not the most populous metropolitan area, in the world, and it is going to be increasingly so in the days to come. For this reason when the wildfires hit California, Mr. George Bush made a visit. The governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, also made a visit. Had Jesus been physically alive in our generation, certainly Jesus must have visited and paid special attention to LA; he would have established his headquarters here in LA. It is not unlikely that Jesus would have established his head office here in Downey. 

Indeed, in Jesus’ day, while Galilee was the most populous county among all the counties of Israel of Jesus’ day, Capernaum rose above other villages as the busiest place in Galilee. No wonder that Jesus established his head quarters in Capernaum for his messianic ministry. 

Now when the Sabbath came Jesus went into the synagogue. In Jesus’ day, and even today, wherever there is a community of people numbering about 70, the Jews built a synagogue where they studied the Bible, worshiped God and had fellowship together. 

Jesus went there to teach. According to the Jewish custom, any guest speakers can be invited, take the podium, and preach. We do not know how many people were gathered on that particular Sabbath. Perhaps the number was not that many, maybe about 50 to 70. We do not know how long Jesus’ message lasted. Ten minutes? Twenty minutes? Half an hour? One hour? We do not know. 

How did people respond to Jesus’ teaching? Look at 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.” The peoples’ response indicates that Jesus’ teaching was powerful, for all were amazed at his teaching. In what respect was Jesus’ teaching so marvelous? Was it because of Jesus’ voice, or his demeanor, or his gestures such as hand motions, or because of the contents of the message? No. What then made the difference? The difference was this: Jesus taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. I do not think the contents were the point of difference. Most likely Jesus spoke based on the Scriptures. Likewise the teachers of the law must have based their messages on the Scriptures, although some might have relied on something else like traditions. But the point of difference was that Jesus taught as one who had authority whereas the teachers of the law did not. 

So let us think about the expression, “as one who had authority.” This expression tells us that Jesus had authority. Here the word "authority" has to do with "authorship." In Acts 3:15, in his first public speech, the Apostle Peter describes Jesus as the author of life. Similarly, in John 1:1-4, the Apostle John testifies that Jesus is the maker of all things: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Most strikingly, in John 1:14, the Apostle John says that Jesus himself is the Word of God who became flesh and made his dwelling among us. This statement indicates that Jesus is the author of the 66 books of the Bible. Jesus is the author of the Bible. He is the Bible which became flesh! No wonder that when Jesus taught the Bible he taught as one who had authority. 

No one has greater authority over one subject or another than the authority of the one who caused that subject to come into being. Suppose you paint a nice painting on canvas. However, you do not like it, so you scratch it out, and throw the painting into the trash. No one can say to you, “Why did you do that? Who gave you the authority to do this?” Why not? It is because you are the author of that particular painting, so you can do whatever you want to do with it, for you are the one who has the authority. The same is true with Jesus in handling the word of God. 

As the author of the Word, Jesus knows best how to handle the Word of God. And Jesus uses God’s word in such a way that it would go out and produce a result.  As we know, Jesus created the universe and everything in it all according to the power of his word. In Genesis 1 we see that each time God uttered his Word something came into being. This indicates that God’s word has the power to create; it has the power to produce a result. “The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.” Now we know why the people were amazed at Jesus’ teaching. Now we know what it means to say, “Jesus taught as one who had authority.” 

This then teaches us one important truth: that is, in teaching the Bible to our Bible students, we must remember that Jesus is the source of authority. He is the source of power which is infinitely great – great in power, great in producing a result. Jesus’ word is powerful enough to defeat all of our enemies. Jesus gave us the authority to save people from the corruption of this evil generation, through His Word. 

Second, Jesus set a man possessed by an evil spirit free (23-26)

Verses 21-22 are an explanation on the power of Jesus’ word. Verses 23-26 give us an illustration of the power of Jesus’ word. 

Look at verses 23-24. “Just then a man in their 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!'" This passage tells us that this man was not a good Bible student. He behaved like a goat making noise which is extremely unpleasant. He disrupted Jesus’ teaching ministry. Imagine that you have a congregation before you. Imagine that you just started your sermon. Everyone is listening to you quietly. But all of sudden someone in the congregation turns on a radio playing rock music really loud. Or imagine that a smoke detector goes off, letting off a high pitch noise. How would you feel? Certainly this guy disrupted Jesus’ teaching. Certainly he was a bad Bible student. Why did he render himself to be such a bad Bible student? Why did he behave like a goat?

We already know the answer. It was not because he was a particularly bad person, or even a man who is worse than others morally or otherwise, but mainly because of the “evil spirit” working in him. 

What did the evil spirit do to the man? How did it affect him? Notice what the man said. “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” This question is as good as saying, “Leave us alone.” Or “Don’t bother us.” It’s as good as saying, “Jesus, you mind your own business, I’ll mind mine.” 

“What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” This statement tells us that the evil spirit did not want to have anything to do with Jesus. Jesus came to establish a personal relationship with us. But the evil spirit did not want to get into a relationship with Jesus. This is the case w with anyone affected by the evil one. 

In talking with one of the Korean staff shepherds who traveled with me, I realized that this is the common response of many students in Korea, particularly those of the emerging generation. Our shepherds work hard to invite college students to Bible studies. Some respond positively to Bible study. They then stay in the ministry for a while. As they study more they come to realize that following Jesus is not an easy proposition. They sense that they cannot enjoy both what the world offers and what God offers through Jesus. They recognize that following Jesus requires full commitment: it requires a decision to put both feet in Jesus, not one foot in this world and another in Jesus. So soon they sense that in order to follow Jesus meaning business, they need to deny themselves, take up their crosses, and follow Jesus. This causes them to be scared to death. So they run away. We know that the situation is no different here in the U.S. A lot of students are eager to go to religious events, such as conferences or Christian crusades or summer camps. While mingling themselves with the crowds, they praise God shedding tears, even jumping up and down or falling prostrate to the ground. But when it comes down to making a firm commitment to following Jesus they are torn and eventually end up going back to the world. 

Why do they live like this? Look at verse 24b. “Have you come to destroy us?” This question greatly misrepresents the purpose of Jesus’ coming. Jesus came to save all peoples on earth. Jesus came to save “the man” possessed by an evil spirit. Jesus came to liberate the man from the iron grip of the devil. But since the evil spirit took control of the man, the man ended up saying, “Have you come to destroy us?” We know that indeed Jesus came to destroy the work of the devil. But we also must know that Jesus came to save us by destroying the work of the devil whose only purpose is to steal and kill and destroy us. Speaking of this truth, in John 10:10, Jesus declared: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  

Look at verse 24c. “I know who you are – the Holy One of God.” This shows us another characteristic of those who are under the influence or control of an evil spirit. They know Jesus real well, and yet they do not want to commit themselves to Jesus. Their knowledge is perfect, but their hearts and actual lifestyles are far away from Jesus. 

What did Jesus do for the man? Look at verses 25-26. “'Be quiet!' said Jesus sternly. 'Come out of him!' The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.” 

Jesus’ example shows us that when we teach God’s word as it is, believing in its life-saving power, God’s word goes out and drives out evil spirits. God’s word is God-breathed. Ephesians 6:17 says that we put on the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God are one. Just as Jesus was powerful enough to cast out the evil spirit, so also Jesus’ word launched through the Holy Spirit is powerful enough to drive out all evil spirits working inside of the people of this generation. 

This is very important because evil spirits are responsible for all sorts of problems, even of the people of our generation. Here the word “evil” has the meaning of “unclean” or “impure.” In Bible history, it was an evil spirit that made the mind, heart, soul, and spirit of the first woman, Eve, adulterated, and she eventually ended up disobeying God. As the woman fell, Adam fell. It was this evil or adulterous spirit which caused great men, even as great as King David, to commit adultery with another man’s wife, and thereby plunge an otherwise holy nation into an idol worshiping nation. It was this adulterous spirit that caused the wise king Solomon to flirt with unbelieving women of all different races, and thereby turned his royal palace into a public brothel. It is this evil spirit or unclean spirit which caused a pastor operating in the Colorado area to speak against homosexuality ever so vehemently, but in private turned around and went hanky panky with his male prostitutes while doing drugs. There are tons of articles and authorities which commonly testify that it is this evil spirit or unclean spirit which is responsible for all sorts of disorderliness, such as lust, fornication, adultery (harlotry), prostitution, homosexuality, lewdness and many other problems. 

But we thank God for Jesus and his living word. When we serve Jesus’ word as it is, believing in his power to save, God’s word will go out, drive out all sorts of evil spirits and set people, especially young men, free from the corruption of this wicked and adulterous generation. With this faith in the power of God’s word, let us pray to engage ourselves in great one to one Bible studies. 

In conclusion, people were amazed at Jesus’ teaching and said, “A new teaching – and with authority!” They described Jesus’ teaching as “new” not just because the contents of Jesus’ message were “contemporary” but because Jesus spoke the Word of God as it is! We know God’s word is living and active. Another way to put it is, “God’s word is always new.” Say, “God is new.” Say also “God’s word is new all the time.” This mandates us to serve his Word with his love and power to the newly emerging generations. Then God will do a new thing among the new generations. 

One word: a new teaching 

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