Mark 1:21-28 The Authority of Jesus

Title: The Only Real Authority in the Universe (Mark 1:21-28)

Focus Keyphrase: The authority of Jesus

Excerpt: Jesus spoke and acted in ways that demonstrated his absolute authority to dictate what we think and how we live.

Talking Points:

• Jesus gets the final say on how we think. He cuts through endless debates by defining what is true or false and what is right and wrong. Mark 1:21-22
• Jesus gets the final say on how we live. By casting out an evil spirit, he proved that his authority must be obeyed. Mark 1:23-28
• For now, we choose who gets to influence our lives with authority. But the day will come when everyone will submit to the only real authority in the universe. Philippians 2:9-11

Discussion:

1. How many authority figures do you have in your life? List them from greatest to least importance.
2. Do you believe that people who influence you actually have some authority in your life?
3. Read Mark 1:21-22. What kind of teaching is authoritative to you? Why is Jesus worth listening to?
4. Read Mark 1:23-28. Why do you think this guy was possessed by a demon? Why would the evil spirit have to obey Jesus?
5. What are some consequences of not listening to and obeying Jesus’ commands?

See Also:

• Who Is Jesus and Why It Matters
• Who Did Jesus Think He Was?
• Spiritual Warfare

Shownotes:

Today we’re studying Mark 1:21-28, and it’s all about authority. Jesus spoke and acted in ways that demonstrated his absolute authority to dictate what we think and how we live.

Q. How do you respond to authority figures? Who has real authority in your life?

• Story about getting along with authority = maybe a time I blew off authority and reaped consequences. Or humorous: dumb laws that someone in authority enacted.
• Influencers: Young people don’t think of it in terms of “authority” figures with robes and gavels. But if you listen to them, you’re given them authority. 
• You choose who has authority in your life. (For now.)

Mark 1:21-28 (NLT) Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum. When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike the teachers of religious law.

Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” // But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the evil spirit screamed, threw the man into a convulsion, and then came out of him.

Amazement gripped the audience, and they began to discuss what had happened. “What sort of new teaching is this?” they asked excitedly. “It has such authority! Even evil spirits obey his orders!” The news about Jesus spread quickly throughout the entire region of Galilee.

• Mark 1:21 Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum. When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue and began to teach. 

• Describe / explain the setting. About Capernaum and Galilee. About the Sabbath day / synagogue. Why was Jesus teaching there?
• Two things happened in the synagogue that morning that established the unique person and ministry of Jesus. In both cases, the key word is “authority”.
• Greek: “exousia”
• An important theme in Mark = people recognizing Jesus’ authority. You’ll see this again in chapter 2. More importantly, coming to grips with his authority (subjective response to it vs the objective fact of his authority - someday every knee will bow). 
• Jesus spoke and acted in ways that demonstrated his absolute authority to dictate what we think and how we live.

TRANS: Let’s look at two aspects / expressions of that authority.

How We Think

• Mark 1:22 The people were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike the teachers of religious law.
• The first kind of authority Jesus possessed → he was absolutely right when others guessed. He told the truth when others waffled.
• The people were amazed at his teaching. 
• Why: he taught with real authority. How this was different from the teachers of religious law: endless debate about obscure points.
• To teach with authority → he’s not guessing
• It’s not “maybe this, maybe that”
• But: “this is the truth; this is the way it is”
• Where Jesus’ authority comes from: (not just loudness or passion)
• This authority is based on creation power.
• Before he was born into humanity, Jesus made everything that exists. 
• If I want to know how something works, the most authoritative voice is the one who created it. If I want to know what an author means, no one can speak with greater authority on that subject than the author herself.
• This authority is based on perfect knowledge.
• The more you know about a subject, the more your perspective can be trusted. You gain authority.
• This authority is based on moral perfection.
• Dealing with questions not just of knowledge, but of right and wrong, the highest authority is one who best understands & embodies right and wrong. You don’t ask a thief if it’s right or wrong to steal.
• Who influences YOU?
• Self-proclaimed authority: The teachers of the law endlessly debated what was true / right
• But many of them acted like their interpretations of God’s law were absolute
• They created all kinds of rules & regulations to apply God’s law in daily life
• Problem → elevated their own interpretations to the level of God’s word
• Likewise today a lot of teachers today speak with great authority - but it’s authority they don’t have. 
• Don’t listen just because someone speaks boldly or loudly. 
• Listen because someone speaks in conformity with the Bible.
• Jesus spoke with authority because he was the Messiah. 
• As in Matt 28: authority that he was given by God the Father
• By contrast, any authority we have today to speak about anything is ultimately derived from God’s word, the Bible. 
• Jesus deserves to have the final say about what we think.
• Jesus teaches with authority. He has the right to define what is true vs. false, right vs. wrong. 
• The question we all face personally is the same question people faced as they met him and heard him. “Will I accept his authority to define what is true and what is right? Or will I insist on maintaining that right for myself?” Will I surrender to his authority?
• Will my opinions / perspectives change because of what Jesus says?
• Illustrate this with a practical example: what you do with money; how you think about marriage; how you treat people; etc. etc.
• Influencers: Young people don’t think of it in terms of “authority” figures with robes and gavels. But if you listen to them, you’re given them authority. 

TRANS: Authority starts w ideas, but it ends w action. how you think leads to how you live. Jesus has the final word on that, too. Not just who you listen to; it’s what you act upon.

How We Live

(Jesus gets the final say on how we live. By casting out an evil spirit, he proved that his authority must be obeyed.)

• Mark 1:23-24 Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 
• (“I’m not demon possessed. I can tune out here.)
• There is an unseen spiritual world. 
• Not always recognized in our culture today. For many, all that exists is what we can see and measure. 
• But popular culture understands (see the popularity of horror movies) there are things that can’t be understood / explained by science / technology. 
• I’ve traveled in other countries around the world: there’s no question in other societies that malevolent spiritual forces exist.
• In the Bible, they are called: evil spirits; unclean spirits; demonic spirits; just demons.
• Demons know who Jesus is = the Holy One of God
• They know his mission is to defeat them.
• Biblical perspective is that demonic spirits can take some measure of control of human beings. 
• In English, the most common way to talk about this is to say that this man “was possessed by an evil spirit.” 
• Verse 23 simply (literally) says: “there was a man in the synagogue WITH an unclean spirit.” 
• The English translation is an attempt to unpack what “with an unclean spirit” means. 
• You can see in verse 25: In some sense the demon was “in” the man. 
• In verse 26: the demon exerted a crude sort of power over the man’s voice and body. 
• That’s why the word “possessed” has become commonly used. 
• The Bible also uses the word “demonized” to describe the same thing.  
• Again, this may be very hard for modern, secular people to accept.
• But these kind of phenomenon are not unknown in secular America
• Certainly not uncommon in the two-thirds world
• Plenty of documented examples from around the world of people demonized in this way
• We don’t know how or why a person becomes possessed by an evil spirit. 
• The Bible doesn’t say. That’s an area where a lot of teachers speak with great authority (see point 1) but go way beyond what the Bible actually says. 
• When we look at how Bible describes demonic activity, it can resemble some expressions of mental illness
• I don’t know the boundary between the two
• I do think - just my opinion - that evil spiritual beings can take advantage of mental illness to increase human suffering
• But I don’t think you can look at mental illness and simple assume it’s demonic and can be fixed by spiritual solutions
• I think that’s an oversimplification
• The brain / mind is complex → there’s so much we don’t understand
• But demonization is a real thing just as mental illness is a real thing

• Mark 1:25-26 But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the evil spirit screamed, threw the man into a convulsion, and then came out of him.
• The Point: Jesus gets the final say on how we live. By casting out an evil spirit, he proved that his authority must be obeyed.
• Apparently the demon didn’t want to leave this man. 
• It fought against Jesus’ command. But I didn't have a choice. 
• The struggle was intense but brief. The spirit screamed (through the man’s voice / vocal cords). It threw the man into a convulsion. 
• But he wasn’t going to win this one.
• If you’re worried about the power of evil spirits → they do have power
• Based on what we see in NT
• But you can see here that Jesus is more powerful
• Time and time again in Mark’s gospel → Jesus proves his power over evil forces
• Here’s what the Bible promises to followers of Jesus:
• 1 John 4:10 …the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
• Application: Don’t live in fear!
• Mark 1:27-28 Amazement gripped the audience, and they began to discuss what had happened. “What sort of new teaching is this?” they asked excitedly. “It has such authority! Even evil spirits obey his orders!” The news about Jesus spread quickly throughout the entire region of Galilee.
• Look how the people in the synagogue that day responded to what Jesus just did
• Amazement gripped them! WOW!
• Illustration: a big-time WOW moment for you
• Perhaps this man had been coming to that synagogue for years, seeking help
• No one could do anything to set him free
• The teachers of the Jewish law couldn’t do anything to give him relief
• The religious leaders and experts couldn’t release him from this terrible condition
• But Jesus could! And did!
• That got people talking! Not just there in the synagogue that day, but throughout the whole area.
• Capernaum was the leading city of Galilee.
• When something happened there, word of mouth took it outward to all the surrounding area.
• The point: Jesus casts a demon out of a demonized man. Visibly demonstrated his authority over all spiritual forces and powers. 
• This is closely related to the first kind of authority: Jesus has authority to tell us what is true and what is right. 
• You can see: the people recognized the connection: “Jesus’ teaching has so much authority that even evil spirits obey his orders.”
• This is authority to command. To be in charge. 
• It’s the power of a person whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed.

The Final Word

So who gets the final word in your life? (Not subjective ultimately.)

• The evil spirit didn’t have a choice. Jesus spoke, it obeyed. Period. 
• What about us? What happens if you blow off what Jesus says?
• #1. You introduce chaos and loss into your life.
• Ever use a product in a way it wasn’t designed to be used? (Example: pair of scissors for a hammer; etc.) 
• Didn’t really work very well, did it? 
• You might have actually done some harm. 
• Same in life. Jesus knows how the world is supposed to work because he created it. Disregard what he says: it’s just not going to work that well. 
• (Choose an example, such as: sexual revolution threw off God’s boundaries on sexual activity. How much hurt has been introduced into people’s lives as a result: young women used and rejected; fatherless homes; millions of unplanned pregnancies, abortions, single moms struggling; sexually transmitted diseases; heartache; etc.) 
• #2. You put your eternal destiny in jeopardy.
• You don’t become right with God by doing all the right things. But by trusting in what Jesus did to pay for your sins on the cross. 
• Yet a key part of accepting his provision for our sin = we turn from directing our own life to let him take charge. 
• Can’t really have a relationship with him without giving him that central place in your heart & life. 
• No one gets to say: I want what Jesus will do for me, but I don’t want what he says to me.

You choose who has authority in your life. For now. But the day will come when everyone will submit to the only real authority in the universe. 

Philippians 2:9-11 (NLT) Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

• Jesus deserves to have the final say about how we live.
• Not just over demons. Matt 28: “all authority in heaven and on earth,”
• Matthew 28:18 I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
• This is why he is called “Lord”
• The question we all face personally is the same question people faced as they met him and heard him. 
• “Will I accept his authority to define what I should do or not do? Or will I insist on maintaining that right for myself?” 
• Will I surrender to his authority and obey him? Or will I passively ignore or actively rebel against what Jesus commands?

bryan:

hey everybody welcome to the pursue God podcast on brian joined in the studio by pastor eric eric today we are in what is it week number five as we're going through the gospel of mark that brings us today to mark chapter one versus twenty one to twenty eight and before we read all that before we read those verses and jump into it let's let's go talk about the theme for today which is authority what we're going to learn is that Jesus spoke and acted in ways that demonstrated his absolute authority to dictate what we think and how we live and i think a good question to start with before we look at any of this and allow God to speak to us through it is how do you respond to authority figure so if you're a listener out there i want you to really think about that question how do you respond to authority figures and really i guess the associated question eric is who has real authority in your life now eric how do you think a young person would answer a question like that because young people are the ones that kind of have an issue with authority a lot of times right

eric_sitterud:

yeah and i'm not sure that i qualify as young anymore because i'm thirty eight but i can certainly as you know at the higher end of the spectrum of a millennial

bryan:

yeah

eric_sitterud:

relate to

bryan:

yeah

eric_sitterud:

not really having a great desire to respect or or even have a great concept of how to follow authority i think that the younger people and are and this generation that we live in definitely don't like to submit to authority that they want to be the authorities of their own lives and there's so much information out there so many influences out there's so many creators out there in the world now that uh people want to be so independent and they think that they're just learning as they go letting these influence speak into their lives but even though a young person or a person in general doesn't think they're really submitting to or putting themselves under the authority of someone the more influence a person or a creator or a star or an influence or has in your life really that authority starts playing out and in a person's life people are really submitting to the teachings of people that they follow whether they want to admit it or not

bryan:

yeah i want to i want

eric_sitterud:

oh

bryan:

a young person to think about who do you listen to who do you follow you know who's that hip you know artists or influencer that that you love to hear from you probably don't think of that person as an authority figure in your life when you think of an authority figure eric i'm thinking about my kids when they think of an authority figure they we think about their teacher or or a judge or a cop or you know someone with a robe and a gavel but that's not the only kind of authority figure i think when you broad it out and say

eric_sitterud:

ah

bryan:

the person who has authority in my life is the person that i listen to that's that's who has authority i get to choose who has authority in my life i get to decide who i want to listen to we live in a free country so we all get to decide who to listen to thank God for that that we get to choose and so young people as you listen to this i want you to consider that i want you to close your

eric_sitterud:

yeah

bryan:

eyes not if you're driving but i want you to close your eyes and

eric_sitterud:

m

bryan:

i want you to think about who who is it that you really give that authority to who is it that you pay attention to that's your authority figure now eric we shouldn't just talk to young people because i think there's a whole different group of people and old when that when they think of authority they might be thinking about a religious authority we should address that because there is we're going to see some of that in this passage obviously because Jesus is going to doing some stuff in the synagogue

eric_sitterud:

ye

bryan:

which was the place of worship for jewish people back in his day so so what about what about someone who may be grew up in a cult or someone who grew up in a church that was that maybe had some unhealthy spiritual authority which there's a lot of that out there like what i guess

eric_sitterud:

ah

bryan:

what what should those people get ready for today as we get into the lesson

eric_sitterud:

yeah you're right we're not completely in a post faith post God world i think the majority we could probably still say that the majority of the world believes in and a God or Gods or or some kind of supernatural being which they would automatically make an authority in their life and so there are so many religions in the world and in so many you know quote on quote spiritual leaders and authorities um and there's a lot of false teaching and authority that's more like a self proclaimed or a passed down authority that's that really shouldn't be given any um time and attention in people's lives anyway but what's happened is this people have grown up in certain phase or ways of believing and so they just naturally ook out the people that get up in their church on sundays or or you know if they're watching t vs or life streams and and believe because of a position that they have inside of church or a faith organization that they have authority but really authority we're going to see is given by God and no one else and that's really the authority that we are looking at today is the authority of Jesus

bryan:

all right so let's jump into the text for to day and and then let's spend a little bit more time applying it to our lives it comes from mark chapter one versus twenty one to twenty eight i'm going to give it a read it says Jesus and his companions went to the town of copernium and when the sabbath day came he went into the synagogue and began to teach people were amazed at his teaching for he taught with real authority quite unlike the religious teachers of the law and suddenly a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out why are you interfering with us Jesus of nazareth have you come to destroy us i know who you are the holy one of God but Jesus reprimanded him be quiet come out of the man he ordered and at that the evil spirit screamed threw the man into a convulsion and then came out of him amazement gripped the audience and they began to discuss what had happened what sort of new teaching is this they asked it has such authority even evil spire it's obey his orders and the news about Jesus spread quickly throughout the entire region of galilee so eric we're goin o talk today about a little bit about evil spirits we're going to talk a little bit about the synagogue in the jewish culture but really what we're talking about is the authority that Jesus has in two main areas of our lives and i want everyone to think about this number one Jesus has authority in terms of how we think he has authority over us because of his teaching verse twenty two it says the people were amazed at his teaching for he taught with real authority quite unlike the teachers of religious law so Jesus we should probably catch people up who are maybe new to this Jesus wasn't seminary trained Jesus wasn't trained like the pharisees were Jesus was a guy for the first third or so years of his life he was just a carpenter's son right probably a carpenter making chairs and tables and well maybe not chairs i on't know if they had chairs back then but tables and

eric_sitterud:

yeah

bryan:

wood work and then all of a sudden at thirty years old he starts his ministry we looked at this last week and now all of a sudden he's in a synagogue this uneducated guy from the vantage point of the pharisees this uneducated i but his teaching has real authority

How We Think

eric_sitterud:

yeah it's interesting that he's able to go around and speak in synagogues in the first place because

bryan:

oh

eric_sitterud:

you had to be seen or known as someone who knew something or was an authority on God's word the old testament at the time and so we don't know the scripture don't really actually share with us why or how Jesus had a connection to go and speak

bryan:

yeah

eric_sitterud:

at their church right like at our church we don't just let anybody jump up peak and so

bryan:

ah

eric_sitterud:

so talk must have been happening and and as he had started his ministry especially around his own home town things are going on and he's already actually performed a miracle or two and so i think people are wanting to hear his message the they're like they're skeptical yet willing and so Jesus gets this opera tunity to get up and and speak and he speaks in such a way that's different from

bryan:

yeah

eric_sitterud:

what these people are used to and so maybe you go to a church where you've been you know part of a faith organization where you know it's been just going through the motions the same old route and that's what's going on in the synagogue at the time you know for hundreds of years you know it's just a guy getting up maybe reading from a scroll monotone voice Jesus gets up and he's this power in this this passion about the message that they feel his power through his teachings somehow no i don't want us to get

bryan:

oh

eric_sitterud:

m confused about that because there are many people in the world that are great speakers and maybe even great teachers and it's not just loudness and passion alone that should give a person authority later we'll see that Jesus authority is proved by you know his power and his actions but yet he has the authority um that's given to him um and he alludes to that that we've already seen that he's the messiah the son of God mark has been trying to show us that Jesus it's believed that you know when Jesus jumps up he says he quotes isaiah and says you know the spirit of the lord is upon me i've been sent to bring good news to the poor to set people free set captives free and restore the site to the blind and so he's kind of getting up and just declaring his authority and his authority isn't some self proclaimed authority that many religious teachers have today or people have today but it really comes from God himself right

bryan:

yeah i think it comes from at least three things when you think about Jesus and we've got more resources on this if you want to learn about Jesus who he was and what he was all about just scroll down on line at pursue dot oregon and you can find more on him but but at least for now let's talk about these three things where his authority comes from because like you said it doesn't just come from his passion or his skill speaking in fact we don't even have in mark we don't even know what he said it just says here that he that the people said he taught with real authority but it didn't even this section doesn't even tell us what he taught now mentioned this early or in the series that the gospel of mark is the action gospel it has the fewest teachings of Jesus out of all four gospels so we don't even get to the teaching because i don't think that's mark's point mark's point isn't what Jesus

eric_sitterud:

hm

bryan:

is teaching mark's point is that Jesus taught authority and that authority comes from at least three places number one his authority comes from his creation power right that Jesus actually before he was even born into humanity that the second person of the trinity that's who Jesus is that he made everything that existed that Jesus was was p we exist exists outside of time and he

eric_sitterud:

ah

bryan:

it was by his power that the world was created so i mean if you want to know how something works the most authoritative voice is the creator of that thing on so as Jesus gets up in the synagogue and starts speaking probably i mean i would gas speaking about life and maybe family who knows what he's what topic he's speaking on whatever it is it doesn't even matter because Jesus is the creator of people just the world but people so he knows how it works so therefore he's the he's the most authoritative voice on any subject when he stands up

eric_sitterud:

yeah

bryan:

and speaks

eric_sitterud:

john you know the apostle john calls him the word he's the word of God who existed with God in eternity past and if we think about creation how did God create the world he spoke it into existence with his word and so the word himself who's made flesh um ought to be listened to him being the word of God alone cary's authority oh

bryan:

so so that's one source of his authority the other another source of the authority of Jesus is his the fancy word for this is omniscience his perfect knowledge that Jesus know is all things and think about it you know if you're gonna if you want to go figure out how to fix a fix your bathroom fix your toilet it what are o gin you're gonna go on to you tube and you're on watch a you're going to watch a video on youtube probably i know what i would do eric ase i would want to watch one from a plumber who's done this

eric_sitterud:

uh

bryan:

a thousand times because i know he he knows what he's doing i were to make a video on how to fix or install a toilet i wouldn't recommend that you would watch that video because i'm still trying to work the thing out i'm still trying to figure it out Jesus has perfect knowledge he's omniscient and so again his authority is so much better than the authority of the pharisees and the teachers of the law because they've been studying stuff in school sure but they don't know all things the way Jesus does so his authority comes from i mean that's obvious it comes from his perfect knowledge

eric_sitterud:

hm yeah and then maybe

bryan:

yeah

eric_sitterud:

one other one than is his moral perfection he is the decider of what's right and wrong he is holy God himself and so for someone to get up and speak truth later we hear that Jesus calls him i am himself he says i am the truth the way truth and life Jesus is the truth what he says is right and wrong you don't ask a thief if it's it's right or wrong steele because he's not morally perfect he is immoral right but if God is all perfect and in moral and holy and we're coming to find out what is the truth then to get it straight from the truth teller the one who knows right and wrong Jesus is the one who's come to stand in the synagogue and say okay maybe you guys have some things right maybe you guys have some things wrong and here i am to tell you because i am the author of morality and truth

bryan:

okay so Jesus so what we're learning here is that Jesus has authority it Jesus Jesus really gets the i don't know if we could say the final say on how we think

eric_sitterud:

hm

bryan:

right what we see him doing here in versus twenty one and twenty two is he's cutting through endless debates by defining what is true or false by defining what is right and wrong Jesus is the one ultimately who gets to do that he gets to define what's true or false he gets to define what's right or wrong you know one of our values at church it's our first core value right eric is that we look to God and his word in everything we do that's a important that's so important as we made that first because we want to declare to ourselves to our kids to our small groups to our attendors to the visitors who come to our church we want to say to them look more than my opinion more than your opinion because we're all going to have different opinions on stuff more than any of that we believe we're saying we're declaring that Jesus gets the final word that God's word gets to tell us how we should think because how do you think is important so Jesus gets the final word on how we think Jesus has let's call that teaching authority Jesus gets teaching authority in our life so let's go back to what we talked about at the beginning here as you as people are listening to this i don't you to think who has that kind of authority in your life who has teaching authority in your life remember it might not be you might say on the surface of it you might say well i go to church so my pastor has teaching authority or i read the bible so the bible has authority in my life you might say that stuff but is that really true who are you really listening to who are you really allowing to have that influence in your life because eric i think we've seen it feels like it's getting worse and worse with every passing year but it's just so many people so many people are so easily fooled into believing stuff that this culture is telling us and then and so now they're weighing what this culture is telling us because of a politician or or a musician or an actor or someone

eric_sitterud:

m

bryan:

who has no authority they didn't create the world they don't have perfect knowledge they don't have moral perfection and yet they're the ones that really are influencing people young and old

eric_sitterud:

the problem is that our world has now you know put people on a pedestal or or given success to people that that seem to be powerful or passionate or seem to know what they're talking about people that have a little bit of money or have have you know hit the lottery or worked hard even and and in their own way had success in their life and we seem to prop people up on a pedestal and we give them authority because we think that they've done the right things that you know but that doesn't necessarily make them make them an authority on spiritual truth morality all that type of stuff i mean there are people out there that could call authorities of things right like you would say you know if you want to figure out how to how to diet you know and how to get back into health you know you would you would look at certain people certain influencers that are that are you know fitness

bryan:

oh

eric_sitterud:

professionals and you'd say they're the authority on how to work out they're the authority on you know dieting and exercise but they're not but sometimes you know all that stuff gets melted together and then these people will tell us their opinions about morality and life and faith and because they have influence in a certain area we think there because they have some such in a certain area of their life we tend to think that they have all authority or some kind of great insight into things that they're not qualified to even be talking bout we see this all the time you know we look at hall he would movie stars and you know when they get up and make speeches and say things about what they believe or we try to find out what they believe and for some odd reason you know i think our culture takes cues from those types of people versus really trying to find out real truth you know from from Jesus through his word

bryan:

yeah

eric_sitterud:

and i also think that i also think that

bryan:

yeah

eric_sitterud:

it's great you know when it comes to religious um influence and authority and there's so much lie so many lies out there it's great that we do have the word of God to compare and to test people because there's so many people that are self proclaimed authorities but yet like you said aren't number one value is that we we look to God in his word and all that we do and so for the christian church the ultimate authority is God himself but through his word has he communicated

bryan:

yeah

eric_sitterud:

you know what's right and wrong and what what's truth and what is t and so we can use that to way against you know the worldly influences in our lives and certainly the spiritual authorities in our lives as well

bryan:

okay so but we need to move on to a second thing because it's not just who you listen to it's not just the teaching you listen to and again you might not think of it as teaching when your favorite actor or musician

eric_sitterud:

m

bryan:

or athlete speaks up but it is teaching whatever they're saying if they're trying to say something about i don't know abortion or gender fluidity or whatever you name it something in today's culture trying to make sense of it it's not just who you listen to it's also what you act upon authorities it might start with ideas teaching but it ends with action it ends with how we live so just like Jesus shows his authority

eric_sitterud:

oh

How We Live

bryan:

over our thinking in this passage he also shows his authority over over how we live our living verse twenty three and twenty four okay so for versus twenty one and twenty two talk about that he taught with real authority and then it moves in and it says that's suddenly a man in the synagogue so now we're going to apply this who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out why are you interfering with us Jesus of nazareth have you come to destroy us i know who you are the holy one of God and then the passage goes on to say that Jesus reprimanded him he said be quiet come out of the man and at that the evil spirit screamed threw the man into a convulsion and then came out of him it's interesting let's talk for a little bit about demon possession let's get into the weeds on this for a little bit but eric let's not forget that what we're talking about here isn't just something that is applied to someone possessed by demons because our listeners might say okay i can tune this part out because i'm not possessed by a

eric_sitterud:

yeah

bryan:

demon and my answer to that is no don't tune out because what we're in the broadest terms what we're talking about here is ben obedient Jesus with our actions and the demon this is crazy the demon had to obey that's the kind of authority that Jesus has in the universe

eric_sitterud:

this is interesting in the story why why mark includes this and i think part of it again is to reveal the type of authority that Jesus has because there is an unseen spiritual world apart from the physical world there is there is something you know a place where where God created and dwelt before he created the heavens and the earth God dwelt and and God spirit and therefore we know that God created angels um and some of them fell and those fallen angels who followed satan were cast out of heaven they're still spiritual beings that have influence over the world and at this time when Jesus is stepping on the scene and starting his ministry the world has really been um controlled by satan and the influence of these demonic beings and they're oppressing God's people and it's really there their playground you've heard it called the devil's playground right and it's really they're they're the ones that are in influence and they're the ones that are tricking people and deceiving people and that's satan satan's plan this entire time and so don't think that you know you have nothing to do with the spiritual realm the very existence of the world in humanity um is not just a physical one but a spiritual one and so we see in this story that there's a man who is being and has oppressed by a demon for however long we don't know you know why this is we don't know if this guy um you know allowed some influences in his life that opened the door to demonic possession or demonization but i think that's something that we should we should talk about for a second is how we live affects our spirits condition and so human beings can open the door by what kinds of influences they allow into their lives we've talked about this before in in another series

bryan:

ah

eric_sitterud:

on spiritual worth on pursue God but but this is what's really going on this is a spiritual warfare of a man somehow is allowed or has been oppressed by demonic possession and Jesus steps on the scene and as he's starting his ministry um he gets up he preaches a powerful message and then not only just through his preaching but through his actions he demonstrates his power by by casting out this demon out of this guy and what's interesting about this is as he said the demon has to obey why because demons were

bryan:

oh

eric_sitterud:

angels who were in the very presence of God they knew who this was they said you are the son of the most high are you coming to to stop us are you coming destroy us they knew exactly who Jesus was and so they had to obey and that's really you know the application for us is you know one is you know what are we lowing into our lives and what kind of influence or awe allowing and what kind of evil can come out of that in our own lives and the second thing is we take an example from the man himself itself and say wow this this guy know who who Jesus is and even though he doesn't want to obey because he is an evil spirit he does he has to because he knows the authority of Jesus he's God himself walking on earth

bryan:

and it's interesting you say that i didn't think about this until just now but the demon really represents influent in this guy's life

eric_sitterud:

m

bryan:

so again go back to young people thinking about this who influences you who are you listening to i don't know how this started for this guy but i do know this that that that we talk about this in that spiritual warfare series we'll put a link to that in the show notes but you know that that when we give the enemy a foothold in our lives that eventually it leads to a stronghold and and i think some young people listwell young and old i keep talking to young people but it's really all of us i think we can all give the enemy a foothold by who we listen to and the more we listen to them eventually it turns that foothold turns into a stronghold and now they have they're exercising real controlling authority over us like like

eric_sitterud:

m

bryan:

what say what's called possess can demon possession demon possession just simply means like this guy didn't really have control any more because he had let this demon influence him for so long but it didn't start off with demon possession but it turned into that so see what happens is again if you let someone have teaching authority in your life again that sounds like a real churchy word i'm just saying if you listen to someone the longer you listen to someone who has no real truth or authority the longer you listen to that person the more you're letting that that falsehood get its hooks in you and pretty soon you are possessed maybe not by a demon

eric_sitterud:

hm

bryan:

but you're possessed by that influence that is that you wouldn't call it demonic but it's not Godly so really this

eric_sitterud:

hm

bryan:

this guy possessed by a demon is an example it's an example of all of us when we allow something to really control us some kind of thinking our world view control us and the second thing eric this is so interesting

eric_sitterud:

oh

bryan:

you you had pointed this out before we started recording this that this guy

eric_sitterud:

m

bryan:

this guy how long had this guy been going to the synagogue this demon possessed guy had been going to the synagogue but

eric_sitterud:

yeah

bryan:

the demon never never called out any of the pharisees or teachers of the law because those

eric_sitterud:

m

bryan:

pharisees and teachers of the law weren't probably presume they weren't number one even speaking truth but number two they weren't speaking it with real authority because they had so jumbled up the truth that Jesus a lot of times had to call them out on the stuff that they were and so look here's what happens is when when someone starts speaking the truth the real truth in your life Jesus does it here but we can do it today in the name of Jesus when someone starts speaking the real truth then what ends up happening is the lies get exposed the demons are called out and

eric_sitterud:

my

bryan:

we see what happens here in the story

eric_sitterud:

yeah that's exactly right and you know what you were saying was was definitely true that that you know demon possession or demon demonization or evil influence comes in all kinds of different ways and and the preaching at the synagogue wasn't powerful enough to to even exercise this demon or to cause anything again they were just going through the motions at the time Jesus steps on the scene and says i've come to take over the earth i'm establishing my kingdom this was the devil's playground but here i am coming to take authority you know Jesus steps up preaches there's an episode that happens because of the power of his preaching and and so Jesus says no you got to be gone get out of this man right and and so that really brings us back to our point is that that Jesus is authority really has the final say in how we ought to live we we ought to be you know maybe take take example from this this demon um and say well he had a truth that a lot of us don't have which is and i keep saying he but it's really in it

bryan:

m

eric_sitterud:

it didn't it had this knowledge of the real authority of Jesus you know james actually says you know the demons believe that God is one and they shudder and so so demons actually had faith they they know have a knowledge a confidence of who God is but but just knowing who God is and knowing his authority isn't enough it's will we submit to his authority will we obey will we live our lives in such a way that he is the authority in our lives and it plays out by you know what we say is we we live a life that honors God as christians and so really Jesus's authority in our lives ought to affect how we live how we

bryan:

oh

eric_sitterud:

submit to Jesus's commands and his teachings

bryan:

let's

eric_sitterud:

and

bryan:

finish

eric_sitterud:

so a yeah

The Final Word

bryan:

yeah let's finish here versus twenty seven and twenty eight it says amazement gripped the audience and they began to discuss what had happened what here it is again what sort of new teaching is this remember it started with teaching but the teaching impacted what actually happened right what new sort of teaching is this they asked it has such authority that even evil spirits obey his orders so right we see these two kinds of authority number one his authority to teach number two his authority to command and they're connected right his authority to teach or or his say on how we think is another way to say that and then his authority command another way to say that is his say on how we live so Jesus has this kind he should for anyone who's out there who's listening this who's a christian and this is kind of what we're trying to say is who gets the final word in your life like really ask that question really evaluate who are you allowing to influence you who is the teacher who is the real teaching that you're listening to because so many christians today say that they are christians and they don't at all follow the teachings of the bible they don't at all submit themselves to the authority of Jesus paul said it to timothy says God's word should have this kind of authority to change to influence a way the way we think you know to cure act us when we're wrong all kinds of stuff but so many christians today have just thrown that out they'll pick and choose what they like from God's teaching but so Jesus doesn't get really get that final say in so many people's lives in turn of teaching and then what that does is it influences naturally how they live and that's why so many christians don't look any different so many quote unquote christians don't look any different the world because they're actually listening to everyone that the world listens to so who gets the final word

eric_sitterud:

oh

bryan:

in your life is it Jesus or is it really the athlete the musician the actor whatever the politician that has the loudest voice for whatever reason the one that you like for what a reason the evil spirits didn't have a choice Jesus spoke it obeyed and

eric_sitterud:

hm

bryan:

when we blow off what Jesus said what Jesus says so ironic isn't it eric that the evil spirit begrudgingly had to obey but at least for right now we don't have to obey we have free will like the demon didn't and

eric_sitterud:

yah

bryan:

we can say no i'm going to blow off what you say Jesus i'm not going to obey your command i'm not like going a let you tell me how to live i want to tell myself how to live and that just introduces s that does two things first

eric_sitterud:

yeah

bryan:

it introduces chaos and loss into your life

eric_sitterud:

yeah even though we don't necessarily have to obey Jesus in the moment that doesn't mean that there aren't consequences that happen as a result of us not listening and

bryan:

oh

eric_sitterud:

not following Jesus commands not looking into the bible and trying to live live out the commands that he left for us the way that christians ought to live and so i always say it like this you know with people and God's

bryan:

yeah

eric_sitterud:

word you know with God's word and Jesus you know being being you know God himself

bryan:

yeah

eric_sitterud:

it's not it's not just Jesus's teachings that are Jesus word but it's the whole bible that is Jesus's word and so if if God created us if Jesus spoke everything to existence and through him everything that was made was made through him then he knows how we ought to live and how how to live in such a way that that we can experience

bryan:

yeah

eric_sitterud:

joy and and an abundant life and so when we don't follow his word there's all these consequences right like if something if we want to figure out to use something properly we go back to the manual to work it right we go back to the manual of the creator of the maker of whatever piece of equipment we're going to use to see how to use it how to maintain it properly and how to fix if it's broken and that's really the same thing if we're going to just live our lives however we want shrug off the teachings of Jesus shrug off the word of God and say i'm going to live however i feel like living i'm going to do what feels best to me and whatever makes me happy and disregard Jesus's words then then there are consequences to that you know example is as you know maybe you know having having sex outside of marriage right and and then we end up having having children outside of marriage and then it creates all this complicate tion of of problems not just for you or the person you re involved with but now the child's life is going to be affected and i'm not saying that in a judge mental way saying that if that's you that that God can't change that or fix that certainly God

bryan:

right

eric_sitterud:

you know can work through all of our sinful mistakes because really the it is as all humanity has sinned and falling short of God's glory we we can't on our own obey God and

bryan:

oh

eric_sitterud:

follow his teachings but yet christians have been given the power to the spirit to have conviction in their life and to follow Jesus and so we do have a choice in the matter whether we'll go his way or whether we'll go our way and if we go our way there will be consequences that that don't just hurt us but hurt us people as well

bryan:

i want to make that really clear for listeners because they might be surprised to hear this you have a choice in this life you can blow off Jesus is teaching you can reject his authority you have that choice it's crazy the demon didn't but you have that choice you have the ability to reject Jesus in this life but as we say in our family resources you you can make your choices but you can't choose your consequences you can

eric_sitterud:

m

bryan:

make your choices you have the freedom to make that's i think the biggest the biggest misconception that young people have they just feel like they just do what you want you do whatever you want and that's true but that's only half of the truth you can do whatever you want you free will but you do not have you don't have authority over the consequences of your choices Jesus has authority over that so you're

eric_sitterud:

hm

bryan:

going to enter chaos and love lost in your life now but that's only half of it the other half of it as you put your eternal destiny in jeopardy you you you

eric_sitterud:

oh

bryan:

when you reject christ's authority in your life if you if you ultimately reject christ's authority in your life it's not just the temporary consequences in on this in this world that you have to deal with its internal consequences you choose who has authority for now now

eric_sitterud:

m

bryan:

but the day will come when everyone is going to submit to the only real authority in the universe kind of like what we saw in this picture with the demon he had to submit and come out of that man because Jesus said so there's going to come a day when every single one of us is going to realize that all along there's only been one real authority in the universe even though in this life we can make our decisions about who we're going to listen to and who we're going to obey flippins two nine nine through eleven says this therefore God has elevated Jesus to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names so think about the names on your list of influencers athletes

eric_sitterud:

oh

bryan:

musicians politicians writers great thinkers whatever there's

eric_sitterud:

my

bryan:

a name that should be above all of those names of influences and that name is Jesus and it says there that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue declare that Jesus christ is lord to the glory of God the father so what this verse is saying is there coming a day when everyone is going to realize that Jesus is the ultimate authority there's coming a day when everyone is going to be forced to submit to his author it and our challenge to you today is to say don't wait until it's too late if you submit to the authority of Jesus now here on earth then that verse is not scary to you you know eric you and i have submitted to the authority that doesn't mean we've perfectly submitted that doesn't mean we don't make mistakes or we don't sometimes disobey but what it es mean is that we have in our hearts and in our minds we have said Jesus you are the authority you are my influence you're the one that gets to say how i should think and how i should live

eric_sitterud:

yeah i love matthew twenty eight we talk about it all the time the great commission we also like to call it his great commandment as well you know it's a command to go make disciples but i love what he says all authority in heaven on earth has been given to me Jesus says this before

bryan:

oh

eric_sitterud:

he know he dies on the cross he raises from the dead and then he is ends to heaven it's like the last thing he tells his disciples says i've been given all authority kind of what philippians said to us as well ut then he says go make disciples and teach them to obey all the commands i have given you and that is really what we're

bryan:

oh

eric_sitterud:

trying to do that's that our job is as pastors and leaders and family members you know parents or just people who have influence in other people's lives we should be the influencers uh in this generation for Jesus with the authority of Jesus because he says i will be with you always we have his authority now to influence people what is true to obey the commands of Jesus he should have the final say in our lives and and if you're if you're not a believer here today or if you know people who aren't um this ought to be something to help convince them that there's a decision that they have to make with um Jesus stepping on the scene two thousand years ago and dying on the cross i mean mark wrote this down so that

bryan:

m

eric_sitterud:

we would know who Jesus is and what he came to do so what are you going to do with Jesus will you follow him will you submit to his teachings will you submit to his power one day

bryan:

yeah

eric_sitterud:

every knee will bow and every tongue confess but we can trust in him before it's too late

bryan:

that's mark chapter one verse twenty one to twenty eight encourage you to read it for yourself and then find resource this is less than five in our mark series at pursue God dot or ford slash mark find resources there discuss and questions so that you can talk about it with a family with a small group or one on one with a mentor and then make sure to join us next time as we continue to study the gospel of mark