The King’s Ministry

Text: Mark 1:21-34

Core Idea: Jesus’ ministry brings freedom to our lives because He has authority over all things. He ministers with love and compassion, which is why it ultimately led Him to give His life as a ransom for sinners like you and me. He is inviting us to rest in His authority today – He is worthy of our trust.

INTRODUCTION

Good afternoon, Lighthouse. It’s great to have you here. I pray that you’ll find peace and comfort in the Lord today. Children, we’re so glad that you joined us. Being separated is good and helpful, but I firmly believe that being together is even better. Our community is complete because you’re here with us. It’s true that you may not understand everything today, but I pray that you’ll learn and grow as God speaks to you through the Word. And of course, if you have any questions, you could ask me anytime or you could ask your parents – they’ll be more than happy to answer because they love you. 

Well, last week, we learned that following Jesus is not just for super Christians but for everyone who has been pursued by Christ. Jesus is taking us on a journey – to be wherever He is, to keep in step with Him, and to do life with Him. We also learned that as we follow, He’s going to make us into fishers of people – in other words, every disciple of Jesus is a disciple-maker for Jesus. It’s true that this could be costly – it could be hard; you may feel like giving up – but we must remember that in return, we’ll receive Jesus. He is worth losing everything for. 

Today, we’ll see that the journey with Jesus began for these four fishermen – Simon, Andrew, James, and John. Now, have you ever thought about what a typical day with Jesus would’ve been like – the places that He went, the things that He did, the things that He said, the people around Him, and the way people responded to Him? Well, Mark gives us an opportunity to have a glimpse of it through our passage today. Everything you’ll read here happens in a day in a small town called Capernaum. This was what His life was like for three years leading up to His death. So, if you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Mark 1:21-34. Let’s take a look at His day together.

21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at His teaching, because He taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 24 “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!” 25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. 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 impure spirits and they obey Him.” 28 News about Him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee. 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. 31 So He went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. 32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but He would not let the demons speak because they knew who He was.

Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.

Mark gives us a summary of the ways that Jesus ministered to people. Then three things about His ministry:

• AUTHORITY

• COMPASSION

• FREEDOM
  

1) AUTHORITY

Verse 21. “They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.” Jesus and His disciples went to Capernaum which was situated just north of the Sea of Galilee, and He began to teach at the local synagogue. For those of you who may be confused, a synagogue is not the Temple. There was only one Temple in Jerusalem where the sacrifices were offered. In contrast, there were many synagogues throughout the regions, and they served as a gathering place for the Jews to read and study the Torah (the first five books in the Bible). Now, this wasn’t the only time Jesus was given an opportunity to teach at a synagogue. Then have you ever wondered, “How did that happen? Wasn’t there a designated teacher – like a pastor – at each synagogue? Did He just barge in and start teaching until the crowd gathered?” In my research, one commentary (James Edwards) said this: “The only official in charge of a synagogue was the ‘ruler of the synagogue,’ a position that included the responsibilities of librarian, worship committee, custodian, and perhaps schoolteacher. The ruler of the synagogue did not preach or expound the Torah, which meant that Sabbath teaching and exposition fell to the laity, and on this occasion to Jesus.” So, what we read here was a normal day for them – an ordinary day of Sabbath. But of course, it was going to be anything but normal as they witness what was about to unfold. 

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 people were astonished, blown away by Jesus’ teaching. When I read this, immediately, a question popped into my head: “What did He teach? What was so remarkable about His teaching that the people were so alarmed?” But Mark records nothing about what He actually taught. Nothing about the content – not even how articulate He was, how brilliant, intelligent, insightful, elegant, or passionate He was. Of course, we can speculate what He taught. Mark 1:15 tells us that Jesus came proclaiming the good news of God – “Repent and believe.” Maybe Jesus talked more extensively on this. Or we could look at other Gospel accounts that recorded the content of what Jesus taught at other synagogues. For example, this is what Luke 4:16-21 says, “He went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, as was His custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ Then He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on Him. He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’” The audacity to say something like that! But maybe that’s what Jesus said in Capernaum as well – boldly declaring that the Torah was fulfilled in Him today. We’ll never know.

But there’s something that Mark does tell us – that Jesus “taught them as one who had authority.” What does that mean? Mark gives more information to help us understand: “not as the teachers of the law.” Who were they? These people were the experts in the Torah. We must remember that most people back then didn’t know how to read which meant that they relied heavily on the people like them to understand the Torah. Their job was to study the Torah and give their interpretation to the people. But as their title suggests, their ultimate authority came from the law – the Torah. Without the Torah, they had no ground to stand on. In contrast, Jesus didn’t need other sources of authority. His authority came from Himself. In other words, He didn’t come to explain the Word of God; He was the Word of God in flesh. 

The Greek word for “authority” is “exousia,” which could also be translated as “power, force, and jurisdiction.” This is helpful because when Mark says, “He taught them as one who had authority,” we could also understand it to be that here was someone whose teaching came with real power – power to captivate, power to control, power to convict. Then it’s no coincidence that Mark records the event we see next. Look with me to verses 23-27. This must have been quite a scene. There was a man in their synagogue – we don’t know if he was visiting for the first time or was a regular attendee; we don’t know if others knew of his condition or not – but this man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out in the middle of Jesus’ teaching, “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!” I could talk about the nature, power, or work of demons – but what I want to point out here is that the demons knew who Jesus was and what that meant for them: destruction. They intuitively recognized the threat that Jesus had against their authority and power. But to show that Jesus not only spoke with authority but had authority over all things, we don’t see Him casting spells, performing some kind of ritual; we simply see Him speak, commanding them to come out – and notice how quickly the demon obeys. What starts as a really terrifying scene, probably with people freaking out, it ends instantly that leads to the amazement of the people. This isn’t an epic battle like a scene from the Lord of the Rings. Jesus isn’t pushed to the brink of His defeat. He simply speaks and the demon comes out. Mark wanted to show us this – that Jesus ministered with authority, that He had power that was greater than the demons, that everything was under the reign of this Savior King. 

Then through this incident, this was what Mark was doing: he was giving us a preview to what the kingdom of God will be like. Pastor David Platt says, “The miracles… are intended to give us a picture of what is to come in the fullness of God’s kingdom, that is, when Christ fully and finally asserts His authority and reign over the earth.” It’s true that that time is not yet here. We still live in a world of suffering and pain, sin and evil. But Mark wanted to show us that it was the beginning of this new reign – signalling the coming of a new world, foreshadowing for us how our world can transform under the reign of this new King. In C.S. Lewis’ book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Narnia is described as a place where it’s “always winter, but never Christmas,” under the reign of this evil witch. In the chapter called, “Aslan is nearer,” we see that Narnia begins to experience transformation in response to his coming. Let me read you a quote from it: “Every moment, the patches of green grew bigger, and the patches of snow grew smaller. Every moment, more and more of the trees shook off their robes of snow. Soon, wherever you looked, instead of white shapes, you saw the dark green of firs or the black prickly branches of bare oaks and beeches and elms. Then the mist turned from white to gold and cleared away altogether. Shafts of delicious sunlight struck down onto the forest floor and overhead you could see a blue sky between the tree-tops. Soon there were more wonderful things happening… There was no trace of the fog now. The sky became bluer and bluer, and now there were white clouds hurrying across it from time to time… ‘This is no thaw,’ said the dwarf, suddenly stopping. ‘This is Spring. What are we to do? Your winter has been destroyed, I tell you! This is Aslan’s doing.’” Jesus came proclaiming these words: “The time has come; the Kingdom of God has come near.” And now, everything was about to change in response to His coming. 

We don’t know what Jesus taught, but we know who Jesus is – and this is crucial for us because it’ll determine, define how we will follow Jesus. In other words, our understanding of Jesus’ identity will shape our discipleship. If you see Him only as a good teacher, you may take His teaching as good advice – take it to better your life, but you’ll reject it when it’s inconvenient or if it goes against your ambition and desires. If you see Him only as a model to imitate (an example of how you should live), you’ll try your best to emulate Him, but soon you’ll be crushed or you’ll give up because living like Jesus with our own effort is utterly impossible. If you see Him only as a friend, you’ll never learn to be in awe of Him. But if you see Him as the Son of God, the holy One, the Savior and Lord of your soul, it will shape the way you follow Jesus in the right way – you’ll learn to be in awe of Him; you’ll adore and worship Him; you’ll trust Him; you’ll be at peace and learn to rejoice in all circumstances; wanting to become like Him will be a delightful call, and you’ll gladly, willingly discipline yourself to imitate Him and help others to do the same. Then let me ask you: who is Jesus to you? Is your understanding of Jesus’ identity causing you to be in awe, amazement? Is it creating humility, obedience? Is it bringing comfort to your heart? 

Pastor David Platt said, “Many Christians, in the midst of a world of pain and suffering, live in fear and anxiety and worry, wondering what will happen in this or that situation. This tendency to fear is why we must remember the authority of Jesus. Sometimes we lack even the faith of demons, for the demons have fear because of their belief. They know who Jesus is, and they are scared out of their minds. But we are just the opposite: we often have fear because of our unbelief. If we realized what the demons realize, we would know that we have no reason to fear.” Brothers and sisters, Mark will continue to show us that Jesus is the Son of God who has the authority over demons, diseases, and even disasters – but the good news is that this powerful One is for us and is with us. Then we, as followers of Christ, are the safest people in the world. But our security isn’t based on how big our house is, how good our job is, or how stable our economy is; we are secure simply because we’re in the hands of the One who has all the authority in the world – and He will never ever let us go. 

2) COMPASSION

Verse 28. “News about Him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.” People who were at the synagogue went back to their towns talking about what they just witnessed. Everyone was talking about Jesus. Everyone wanted a piece of Him. But suddenly, the scene changes – almost like an interruption to the story. Verse 29. “As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew.” What a remarkable contrast between this moment and the previous one! We just saw this amazing, public demonstration of His power as He taught with authority and cast out this demon in the synagogue. The people were amazed – and you would think that this is the time to be in the public. Jesus would get a lot of following. Isn’t that what He wants? But that’s not where you find Him – we find Him in the most intimate, private place at Simon and Andrew’s house. 

There, Jesus hears that Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever. You know, He could’ve just said, “Hope she feels better.” Or “Go check her out; I made her well already. I’m tired; I’m going to go and rest before people look for me again.” But that’s not what He says – in fact, we see Him engaging in something that in the scheme of things may seem like a minor thing. Considering that He is the Savior King, the long-awaited Messiah who is able to cast out demons, make the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk again, and as you’ll see later, subdue the storms, walk on water, and raise the dead to live again, helping His disciple’s mother-in-law from a fever doesn’t seem like the most significant, urgent matter. He has work to do. The fate of humanity was in His hands. And yet Mark tells us that Jesus personally went to her, took her by hand, and helped her up. 

This moment tells us something important about Jesus: He really does care about all of our needs no matter how insignificant they may seem to others. Brothers and sisters, we are loved by the Redeemer who cares about the details of our lives. He cares about what you’re going through and what you’re about to face in life. Then think about your life. The pressure from work; the weightiness of parenting; the anxiety that comes from the worries of life that keep you awake at night; the fatigue from your duties and responsibilities; the temptation to give up because you just can’t live up to the expectations of the people around you; feeling lost because you don’t know what to do with the situation you’re in – yet in all of these big and small moments, Jesus cares. He’s not going to wish us better from afar – He will hear our cries; He will get close to us; He will get involved. Friends, I invite you to go to Him today. I don’t want to promise that everything will be resolved – but I can promise you this: you will find Jesus; He will be with you even when you feel like He’s distant from you – He will be your peace, strength, and comfort. 

This is what Mark says at the end of verse 31, “The fever left her and she began to wait on them” – which just means that she began to serve them. Now, it doesn’t say that when she was healed, she went about her own business; it doesn’t say that she did all the things that she couldn’t do while she was sick. No, it says that she served. She served the people around her. She showed hospitality. She tended to the needs of others around her. She gave herself up for others simply because Jesus ministered to her with care and compassion. Then this is what it means: when we truly understand and experience the power of the gospel, we begin to love others the way we were loved by the Lord. It’s a natural response to the love and compassion He has shown us. Then as followers of Christ, do you care about others around you – even the things that you think are insignificant, but may be incredibly meaningful, weighty to them? Are you listening to their needs because you want to help them, support them, and provide for them in any way possible? Are you praying for them intentionally, fervently asking God to intervene, move in power? Or are you too busy for others? Friends, let us minister with love and compassion because that’s what Jesus did for us. 

3) FREEDOM

Let’s look at verse 32. It doesn’t take long for them to find Jesus. That evening after sunset, the people from everywhere began to gather around this small fisherman’s house – bringing with them all the sick and the oppressed. But out of love and compassion, Jesus tended to them – He healed and drove out many demons. Whoever came were all freed from whatever was enslaving them. Now, it’s important that we understand the motivation that drove the crowd to find Jesus. There’s no evidence that this crowd was rushing to Jesus because they wanted to follow Him as their Lord, because they saw Him as their Savior King, or because they were convicted by the gospel Jesus preached. No, what the crowd was actually excited about was the miracles that Jesus was able to perform. Now, it’s not wrong to bring your needs to Him – we just talked about that. But something’s wrong if that’s all you want. Pastor Paul Tripp says, “Jesus doesn’t want to be a vehicle of what you want; He wants to be what you want. Jesus is not just a divine vending machine; He is your Savior.” 

This was also the reason why Jesus did not let the demons speak. This is what one commentary (Daniel Akin) said about this, “Jesus wanted to avoid the people’s misconceptions about the Messiah. His Messiahship was characterized by service and suffering, not sensational displays of miraculous authority that would excite political-Messiah fever. Even with Jesus’ attempts to reign in misconceptions, the people still thought He came to overthrow Roman rule.” Jesus forbade the demons from speaking because He didn’t want people to make Jesus into something He wasn’t. 

Then why did Jesus perform these miracles? If it could cause this kind of confusion, why do them in the first place? First, because He loved them. Because of His compassionate heart, He wanted to free them from their oppression, suffering – and this is related to the second reason. You see, it’s really important for us to note that they were never mere displays of power. It was never to just show that Jesus had power to do extraordinary things. If the goal were simply to cause the audience to be amazed, Jesus could have just flown from one place to another – and it would’ve been enough to cause their jaws to drop. But you’ll notice that the miracles were often intentionally related to the effects of the fall – suffering or trouble of some kind. Why? And here’s another reason why Jesus performed these miracles: because these miracles are meant to point us forward to the day when God will restore all things – when His kingdom will be fully consummated. God didn’t invent fever or any other diseases. God didn’t create demons. God didn’t create suffering and a world of death. When we turned away from God, poverty, injustice, sickness, and death – they all exploded into existence because of sin. This is why when Jesus came to address the root problem of human beings, He wasn’t talking about the sufferings we experience in our lives; the root problem He came to deal with was sin, which is where all our sufferings ultimately originate from. Then when Jesus came to die on the cross, He paid the price with His life to overcome our sin so that you and I could be free from the penalty of sin, which is death. 

We have to make it clear: nowhere in the Bible says that if we’re saved from our sins, we won’t suffer. Instead, the Bible says that because Jesus has overcome the root of all suffering – sin, we don’t have to be fearful of our suffering. Regardless of what happens in this world, a day is coming when death, mourning, crying, and pain will be no more. Jesus performed these miracles to constantly point people to the day when His reign will be made complete. This is why when we read passages like this, it should cause us again and again to long for that day. And as we wait for that day, we don’t need to despair in our suffering, we can learn to rejoice in our suffering. He conquered sin. He rose from the grave so that no matter what’s going on in our lives today, we can have a reason to hope again. 

CONCLUSION

Lighthouse family, Jesus’ ministry brings freedom to our lives because He has authority over all things. He also ministers to us with love and compassion. Pause and really think about this today. This is why His ministry ultimately led Him to give His life as a ransom for sinners like you and me. He did that for us. He really is worthy of our trust. Then let us turn to Him today and rest in His authority.