When Jesus Comes to Church (Mark 1:21-28)

A sermon preached on January 24, 2010 at Hebron Baptist Church, Denham Springs, Louisiana by Pastor Joe Alain.

Scripture Reading: Mark 1:21-28 (29-34)
Rismond Exantus is one of the lucky ones. He works as a cashier in a grocery hotel in Port Au Prince. Yesterday, he was rescued from the rubble of that hotel eleven days after a 7.0 earthquake devastated the island nation. We have been moved by the incredible devastation but also by the inspiring stories of miraculous rescues like Rismond’s. Many of the Haitians although devastated have even been gathering in groups to pray, to sing, and to praise God. Prayer, songs of praise, hope in the midst of tragedy, how could that be? Jesus changes everything.

In our text today, Jesus came to the synagogue in Capernaum. It was there that he confronted evil head-on. He took authority over the demonic spirit and the man who was once possessed, was made well. When Jesus comes everything changes.

I. Introduction (v.21) The Setting
* “To Capernaum” (the village of Nahum or Consolation) the center or headquarters of Jesus’ ministry. Located on the N.W. shore of the Sea (a lake) of Galilee. It is fitting that Jesus’ ministry of consolation would he head-quartered in the “Village of Consolation.”

* This event occurred on the Sabbath, the Jewish holy day.

* The Synagogue was the local gathering place for the Jewish people. Wherever there were ten families, there was a synagogue.
About the Synagogue:
1. A teaching institution. The temple was for worship and sacrifice, the synagogue was for teaching and instruction.
2. The synagogue provided an opportunity to deliver a message.

There were three offices in the Jewish synagogue.
– The ruler of the synagogue – In charge of administration, arrangements.
– The distributors of alms to the poor, the widows and those
in need.
– The minister – He handled scrolls and educated the community.
There was no permanent preacher. Instead, competent persons would share.

II. Jesus’ Ministry Priorities (vv.22-26)
From the outset, we see what Jesus’ ministry priorities were.
1. Jesus taught with authority in contrast to the teachers of the law, scribes (vv.21-22).
About the Scribes:
– To the scribes, the most sacred thing in the world was the Torah, the law. Because it is divine, it must first be studied carefully. Second, it must be expressed to the people for guidance in all of life.
– The scribes were the experts in the law. Ezra was the first scribe (Ez. 7:6, 11, 12, 21). The scribes duties were three-fold:
(1) They extracted rules and regulations for every possible situation in life. This led to an infinity of legalistic laws.

(2) They taught the law. Their interpretations and applications became the oral law which became more binding than the written.

(3) They gave judgements in individual cases. However, no scribe would ever give a decision on their own. They would cite numerous sources.

Amazement characterized the response to Jesus’ teaching. It wasn’t so much a new teaching as in the sense of brand new, never before seen. It was new (kainos) in the sense of quality. It was previously unknown, unprecedented. In Jesus’ day the people had lost a sense of the direct authority and the dynamic power of God. That is why they taught with no authority, no power. But Jesus came teaching with authority. He declared that God was alive and active and still working. He stated and applied God’s Word.

2. Jesus demonstrated authority over evil spirits.
Jesus’ first healing encounter involved the removal of
evil (vv.23-26).
* This miracle is obviously a sign of the advent of the kingdom (see John 12:31; 1 John 3:8). You and I are living in the aftershocks of what took place on Calvary on the cross (see Matt. 27:50-53). The fact that Jesus has power over demons is proof that the king of the kingdom is here!
* I’m intrigued by the fact that the demon recognized him before anyone else. A demon is sometimes referred to as an “unclean spirit (ritual impurity), evil spirit, or demon (satanic power).” They are used interchangeably. All references refer to an invisible spiritual being that is alienated from and hostile to God. It’s also significant that Jesus first confronted and defeated the powers of evil in the place of worship.

Evil knows when it is in the presence of that which is pure and holy. Here we have Jesus who is pure light coming into the synagogue that day. The darkness that is there in the presence of this evil spirit cannot take the light. Light always reveals darkness, but more importantly, light destroys the darkness! Christ in us is able to destroy the darkness in our lives. The light in us is able to shine and change a world that is too often structured upon patterns of darkness.

Even in his disturbed state, the man was obviously reaching out to Jesus. He was possessed and troubled. Reverend Samuel Candler calls people like this man, “The Crazies.” Jesus first attracted crazy people and He still does today. Of course, there’s a little bit of crazy in all of us. We may not be possessed by demons but we may be possessed by loneliness, bitterness and anger, addictions, attitudes and sinful habits. All of us come to Jesus with needs because we believe that Jesus is the one who can change us. We confess that Jesus changes everything and that is our hope.

* The question that the demon asked was never verbally answered by Jesus, but it was answered by Jesus commanding the demon spirit to leave the man. The truth is, Jesus did come to destroy the demonic evil in this man and in the world (v.24). Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. His work is to conquer evil in us and in our world.

* Jesus commanded the spirit to “Come out of him!” (v.25). When Jesus comes in, evil has to go. When Jesus comes into a life, He casts out, He drives out, He deals with evil and sin in our lives. When Jesus comes to church, we begin to deal with the corporate sins that grieve God and keep us in the darkness. When Jesus comes to society, He confronts injustice, greed, sin. Wherever Jesus comes there is change, change from darkness to light.

* Jesus commanded that the demon be quiet (v.25). Notice what characterizes the demon possessed man? He’s confrontational, calls attention to himself, he’s disruptive and controlling, he’s stirred up. He’s crazy! But when Jesus deals with him, calm is restored. When Jesus deals with the stuff in our lives, He brings His peace, His calm. He casts out the confusion, the craziness in our lives.

* This process of Jesus bringing His healing of evil in us and tranquility to our lives is sometimes messy. The demon possessed man was shaken violently (v.26). Evil does not give up without a fight. Some of you are fighting addictions, sins that have plagued you for years. They are deep rooted in you. In the healing of evil, there is often a shaking as there was here. Evil does not go quietly in us or in society, but it has to go and it will when Jesus comes in. The demon spoke, shook, and he shrieked. But he came out!

III. Conclusion (vv.27-28)
The people were amazed and news of Jesus obviously spread. Mark summarizes the account in verses 32-34 where he tells us that the people “kept on bringing” others to Jesus. Len Grengel is on a mission. His daughter Britany is still unaccounted for. She was staying at the Hotel Montana in Port Au Prince when the earthquake hit. She was there on a humanitarian mission from Lynn University in South Florida. Len has made it his mission to not give up finding his daughter. He is insisting that the United States Government account for every lost person. The search for those lost must continue, says Grengel.

Jesus Himself came to this world on a search and rescue mission. And if you were the only one under the rubble of sin, Jesus would not cease searching until He found you. Call out to Jesus from the midst of your life in the rubble, Jesus cares and He hears and He will rescue you!

For His Glory!
Pastor Joe