PONDERING... How Will You React to the King? (Mark 1:14-31)

How Will You React to the King? (AM Sermon Notes)

GIST: Jesus is our King; He has ultimate authority. How do you react to that?

SCRIPTURE: Mark 1:14-31

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

29 And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

The passage we’re going to look at this morning is quite a bit longer than usual, and truthfully, each one of these scenes could be focused on individually. However, today I want to look at a theme that connects them all. Jesus came proclaiming the gospel and telling people the Kingdom of God has come. Mark then shows us in these following verses, and really the majority of this gospel account, that Jesus is the King and has ultimate authority. So the question I want us to be asking ourselves this morning is: how do we react to this King? (I have three points, but the second one is the long one :D)

1. THE KINGDOM HAS COME

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Just a quick note on the structuring here. This is not chronological. We know from the other gospel accounts that some time has passed between Jesus’ baptism and this Galilean ministry, but Mark isn’t writing a history, He’s telling us the good news. Last week we saw John preparing the way for the Lord. Now, immediately we see that Jesus is the way...and the Lord!

We’ll talk more about the kingdom of God later when Jesus uses parables to explain it. But this is the main thing we see here: Jesus comes bringing the good news; he comes to save the world, and he comes fulfilling the long awaited Kingdom of God. Through the Old Testament we see this anticipation, but one of the most recognizable passages is Daniel 7:13-14:

“13 “I saw in the night visions,

and behold, with the clouds of heaven

   there came one like a son of man,

and he came to the Ancient of Days

   and was presented before him.

14 And to him was given dominion

   and glory and a kingdom,

that all peoples, nations, and languages

   should serve him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

   which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one

   that shall not be destroyed.”

The people of Israel had been waiting for this king to come for a long, long time...and here He is. Like I said, we’ll address this more in services to come, but the main thing to get here is that the kingdom of God is God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule and protection (I’ve heard that quoted so many times, but am unsure of it’s original source---but it’s not me☺.) Though primarily spiritual, it also has physical implications. We live here as Christians about His will and under His guidance and protection. Here in this scene, Jesus is not only saying the kingdom of God is here; He’s why. He came so that God’s people could be in God’s place under His rule and protection--for eternity!

2. THE KING IS JESUS AND HE HAS ULTIMATE AUTHORITY

So, first we see the Kingdom, now in these next several passages we see the King--and His authority is ultimate. We’re going to jump around in our order a bit here, but verses 21-22 seem to anchor this passage together with their emphasis on this authority.

Over Truth (21-22) 21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

Jesus comes into Capernaum, where He is now living, and immediately goes to teach in the synagogue. Now, the synagogue is not the same thing as the temple. To be a synagogue, you just needed at least 10 families. So, there were lots of synagogues of various sizes in Israel. Their services were actually structured a lot like our modern church services (because many of the early churches followed that same general pattern). However, there wasn’t a set preacher. Anyone who came in who was respected and knew the Scriptures would be permitted to speak. That’s what we see Jesus doing. Mark doesn’t, however, record any of His words here...but we do get their effect. He blew them away! Why? Because He didn’t speak like a scribe...He spoke with authority. See the scribes would always quote other authorities (rabbis) to make their points. The more the merrier. Jesus, didn’t do that when He taught. In fact, He even sometimes turned respected teachings upside down and corrected them. Remember what He does in the sermon on the mount (click the link to read it!)? “You have heard that it was said...but I tell you…”. No one else spoke like this, because no one else could. He is the authority on truth. He is the Truth. Our minds cannot out know or out reason Him.

Over the Spiritual World (23-28) 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

Here we see His authority because he casts out an unclean spirit. In a few weeks, we’ll see this further explained when He forgives the sins of the paralytic (Mark 2:10). Jesus has authority over the spiritual world.

Now, I think we need to allow ourselves to picture this a little more. Mark moves quickly, and a lot of this is familiar, so we can easily miss the significance of what’s going on. At this point, stories about Jesus are beginning to spread, that’s probably why He was allowed to speak in the synagogue (because He was not a trained rabbi or scribe). Still yet, most people have no idea who He really is. They’ve heard stories, maybe even seen miracles, but to most He’s still a local carpenter from Nazareth...the bad side of town. Now, He comes into the synagogue, speaks in a way that no one else ever speaks, and then… a demon possessed man stands up and starts screaming. Picture that. What would you do if that happened here? All eyes would have been on Jesus. What’s He going to do? How’s He going to handle this? Does He actually have some kind of power and authority, or are those just stories? Ironically, the only person we see in this passage who is 100% sure about Jesus’ person and power...is the demon. It knows Jesus, and knows why He came. (24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”). How does Jesus handle this situation? He tells it to shut its mouth and come out now (the tense of the words here is immediate)...and it does. There is no hesitation, because it had no choice. Jesus is the authority.

Over the Physical World (29-31) 29 And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

Next, we see His authority over the physical world. He just cast out a demon. Then, when He gets back to where He’s staying, Peter’s mother-in-law is very sick. The fact that she’s lying down with this fever indicates that it has likely been going on for some time and is not getting better. Jesus reaches out His hand and heals her. This is one of many personal healings we’ll see, and it points to a significant truth. Jesus has authority over this physical world, as well. Later, we see Him look out at a storm and tell it to be quiet. He created this world and everything and everyone in it. NOTHING is outside of His grasp.

However, this is not a guarantee of healing. There are so many false teachers out there who will take passages like this and twist them to teach that if you just believe enough, you’ll be healed of all sickness and pain. Typically, to that belief requirement is added a need for a financial contribution to “ensure” its effectiveness. This is simply not the case. Jesus can heal, but that does not mean He always will. Is this because He’s heartless, or only selectively compassionate? No, it’s because the world has a deeper need--salvation. Because we live in a fallen world, sickness and heartache will abound. In His sovereign, perfect plan, He knows what really needs to be done. Our limited eyes can’t see that---and our grieving eyes often don’t want to. Yet, all of this is pointing to the ultimate end of His coming. He came to defeat sin, and did! And He’s coming again, so that victory can be realized in its fullness for those who have been saved. In Heaven, there will be no sickness or pain or heartache.

Over Us (16-20) 16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

There is a lot that could be said here. In fact, it’s probably more typical to just preach an entire message on this passage alone. Today, I just want to look at how it fits with these other passages. We’ve seen His authority over truth, and the spiritual and physical worlds. Now, we see this authority come home, to a personal level. When you read the other gospels, you learn that Jesus had probably met with these fishermen before. So, it is possible that they have been around Him for a little while at this point. Nonetheless, the picture is amazing. Jesus, God in flesh, comes to these normal guys (uneducated fishermen) and calls them to follow the King of Kings (the long awaited Messiah...the creator of EVERYTHING) on a mission to meet the deepest need of mankind (leave their nets and start fishing for men...spreading the gospel), and they left everything (most accounts point to these being financially successful fishing businesses) immediately. Jesus has authority over our personal lives, as well.  

3. THE KING IS JESUS; HOW WILL YOU REACT TO HIS AUTHORITY?

To help answer this question, let’s look really quickly at how these people who experienced His authority first hand reacted. Then we’ll end with some takeaways.

1. Truth Hearers Were Astonished. No one had ever spoken like this before. They were blown away, but we don’t see evidence that they followed Him, or committed their lives to Him. They were just impressed, maybe even entertained, but not changed.

2. Those Who Knew Him Proclaimed and Disdained. In this passage, the one who knew Him was a demon. It publically proclaimed who Jesus was...but there was no salvation here. It knew the truth, and hated it. Just knowing who Jesus is and admitting publically won’t save you. In fact, it often just makes people angry. Why? We don’t want to have to feel bad about our sin. We don’t want to feel obligated to change the lives we’re happy to live. We don’t want to have something else to do...we’re to busy as it is. The list could keep going, but the truth is the same. Knowing isn’t the same as loving and belonging to.

3. Those He Called Followed and Fished. At this point, the disciples don’t even really understand who Jesus is. Still they left everything and followed Him...AND they committed their lives to fishing for Him, spreading His gospel. We’ve talked about this several times lately. Jesus became their everything. Following Jesus means sacrificing anything that gets in the way of that. This doesn’t mean we all have to leave our jobs and sell all we own. Jesus might have called you to those jobs. The heart here is not letting anything stop you from growing closer to Jesus and telling people about Him. If you’re not finding time to dig into His word, but you are finding time to do many other eternally useless things. Cut the useless, build the eternal. I know for me, as superficial and silly as this sounds, this means cutting out a lot of TV time. I’m like you guys, I’m busy all day, and by the time we get the kids to bed, I just want some veg time. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but I have come to realize that if I want to make time for studying His word, those moments before I crash are some of the only ones I have. I can’t squander them, or I won’t be ready to fish.

4. The Woman He Healed... Served. I love this scene. In fact, I think it is possible that the person who showed the most faith here (and we’ll hit on this a bit more tonight) is Peter’s mother-in-law. She was very sick. Jesus touched her and healed her completely. She was changed...and she immediately served Him. I really don’t feel like I can say anything else to add to that.

TAKEAWAYS

The driving question today has been “how are you reacting to Jesus’ authority?” People are quick to accept Him as Savior, but Lord? Here are a few questions to chew on this week.

1. What hardship in your life is He not able to handle?
• ...none.
2. Are you just astonished… maybe even angry?
• Come to Him.
3. How will you follow?
• Is there anything you’re refusing to give up to Him?  
• Intellect, Physical Needs, Spiritual Needs...Your Time, Energy, $...Life?
4. How will you serve?
• If He’s touched your life, how will you serve Him?
5. Where will you cast your net?
• There are souls around you who need to hear.