The Authoritative King, Pt. 1

Click HERE to access this program’s Study Guide

Most of us have worked for a boss who has the title but can’t get anyone to follow.  Pastor Nick Gatzke continues our series in the Gospel of Mark by introducing us to the leader of a movement who captured everyone’s attention and spoke with the unparalleled authority. Jesus would be the one to follow.

This world is filled with empty promises. There’s a U.S. company that has an action figure called Invisible Gym that has sold rather briskly in Great Britain for about $2.80 a piece. Why is it called Invisible Gym, you might ask? Because all you get is the packaging. There’s no gym. The packaging is rather attractive. Bright phrases on there like lack of darting eyes and realistic fake hair and as not seen on TV and camouflage suits sold separately are some of the boasts that are made. The company says that they have received no complaints about the empty boxes. And in fact, Invisible Jim has sold so well that they decided to produce a companion action figure, Invisible Jane. But there is no Jane either. A spokesperson for the distributor says that when the first shipment arrived, they thought there was some kind of mistake at the factory, that they sent the packages without the product. But alas, good marketing, good packaging, an empty box. The world is full of empty promises. There is, however, one thing for certain. There will be no shortages of empty promises. That’s the way of politics, so it would seem. Tell them what they want to hear, and then after you’re elected, do whatever you want, because the world is full of empty promises.

Jesus had entered the scene with a very clear message. His message was, The kingdom of God is at hand. And that’s a huge claim. The commands that followed to repent of your sins, believe in the gospel, and follow me are no small implications that follow that headlining message. And if you’re going to make a claim like that, a claim like the kingdom of God is here, you better back it up. This better not be one in the long line of empty promises. You better produce some evidence. And so as we turn to Mark 1 today, we see that the rest of Mark 1 is a display of kingdom dominance. It’s a display of Jesus’ dominance. The type of dominance that comes from someone who can handle any situation, from someone who can meet any need that people have. The kingdom is at hand and I’m going to show you right now. And so let’s read Mark chapter one, starting at verse 21 together. This is what it says. It says, and they went into Capernaum and immediately on the Sabbath, he being Jesus entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his teaching for he taught them as one who had authority and not as the scribes. And immediately there was in the synagogue a man with an unclean spirit and he cried out, 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. But Jesus rebuked him saying, be silent and come out of him. And the unclean spirit convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice came out of him. 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. And at once his fame spread everywhere through all the surrounding region of Galilee. And immediately he left the synagogue and he entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill. She lay ill with a fever and immediately they told him about her. And he came and he took her by the hand and lifted her up. And the fever left her and she began to serve them. That evening at sundown, they brought all to him who were sick or oppressed by demons, and the whole city was gathered together at the door, and he healed many who were sick of various diseases and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak because they knew him. And rising very early in the morning while it was still dark, he departed and he went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, Everyone is looking for you. And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. And the leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling, said to him, If you will, you can make me clean. Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and he touched him and he said to him, I will be clean. And immediately the leprosy left him and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once. And he said to him, see that you say nothing to anyone, but go show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded for a proof to them. But he went out, And he began to talk freely about it and to spread the news so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town but was out in desolate places. And people were coming to him from every quarter. The kingdom of God is at hand. And what we see here is four consecutive scenes of Jesus’ authority. of kingdom dominance, of proof that the kingdom is here and here is the king. And these accounts are awesome in their own rights. And it’s important to know as we consider them how the miracles of Jesus function in the gospel of Mark. Miracles display something very important. Mark is the shortest of the four gospels, and yet there are the highest recorded number of miracles in this of the shortest gospels. And the miracles have this dual purpose. Firstly, and obviously, they show that Jesus has complete power in the physical realm. He was really here. He really did engage us as humanity in our greatest need, and he really offers us the best possible humanity. But secondly, The miracles function much like the parables do. Parables are stories that point us to a spiritual principle and a spiritual reality. Miracles are something that occur in the physical realm, but they point us to something in the spiritual realm. And most pointedly, the miracles of Jesus show us the truth that Jesus himself meets our deepest spiritual needs. And we’re gonna see some of that in these accounts today. In the first scene, verses 21 to 28, you see that Jesus displays authority in his preaching and in his power. He’s preaching in the synagogue, and it wasn’t uncommon for guests to speak among the people of God in that context, and it certainly wasn’t Jesus’ first time to do so. In fact, we see that he was in the synagogue as a young boy engaging the rabbis, asking them questions and teaching them. And see here, what is the result of this teaching?

It says that there was a recognition of his authority. Look at verse 22. And they were astonished, it says, at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, not as the scribes. You see, the scribes of the day were the religiously trained,

but they had little personal conviction of the word of God. They would teach the interpretation of God’s word that they had been given by some of the rabbis of old. And so it wouldn’t be uncommon for some of them to say something like, well, as we see here in the prophet Jeremiah, this is what it says. And Rabbi… Eliezer believes that it could mean this. And Rabbi Gamaliel doesn’t agree with Eliezer. And he says that it could mean this. And as a result, there was very little internalizing of God’s word. There was almost no joy in teaching it. And there was no life that was being communicated through it. And so Jesus enters the synagogue. He relies on no interpretation of the rabbis. He opens God’s word. He teaches it to them with conviction and clear meaning.

And elsewhere in the New Testament, we see Jesus explaining how the Old Testament really points to his coming and his fulfillment. In John 5, Jesus says, “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” Or Luke 24:27: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Jesus had come, he was teaching in the synagogue, and the people were amazed because he taught as one who had authority.

There’s a good example and a good word for you and for me here today. A good example for preachers and a good example for those who seek to hear God through preaching. Contemporary preachers do not have the same authority that Jesus has, of course. He is displaying a unique authority. And yet, in and of themselves, even though they don’t possess that authority, when they rely on the authority of God’s word and preach it with conviction,

this is good for all of us. Why is that important to say? It’s important to say because there’s a lot of different types of preaching out there. You need not seek preaching That is cold and lifeless theological jargon that might stimulate the mind but never motivate the soul. And likewise, or conversely, you need not seek preaching that is light and fluffy and full of stories that are intended to make you feel good. You can find both of those types of preaching in a lot of different places. There’s no shortage of it, but it will not feed your soul. True biblical teaching that exposes the meaning of the text, points to how God works in it with conviction behind it, an application that displays the glory of Jesus, that is something that will change you. That is teaching and preaching that has authority.

I remember the story of the vicar who was on holiday from his church in England. when his house was flooded. And all of his sermons were kept in the basement. And the first question he asked his son, who had gone to investigate the damage was, are my sermons wet? No, dad, the son replied. They’re as dry as ever. John Calvin once said, “God designs to consecrate to himself the mouths. and the tongues of men, in order that his voice may resound in them.” The Apostle Paul says in Romans 10:17, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” And I’m struck by the old poem that says, still thinking I had but little time to live. My fervent heart to win men’s souls did strive. I preached as never sure to preach again as a dying man to dying men.

Jesus is preaching with authority. And as he is, we see that a demon-possessed man rose up in the middle of the assembly and said, what have you to do with us, Jesus? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. Many people had yet to recognize who Jesus was truly, but the demon knew. They knew that the claim of the kingdom and the coming of it was real. And that’s why the demon thinks that his destruction is imminent. The kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus is displaying his dominance.

And he silences him and he casts him out. And there’s something that’s really interesting to be observed there. Look at verse 27 again. It says, they were all amazed. Yeah, it’s pretty amazing. And so they questioned among themselves saying, what is this? A new teaching with authority? He commands even unclean spirits and they obey him. Now that’s really interesting because they’re still commenting about the preaching. Did you get that? You would think that if a demon possessed man rises up in the middle of assembly of a bunch of people. and calls out in a strange voice and is cast out in front of all of them, and there’s a human body that’s shrieking and convulsing in the front of their midst, they might be going, whoa, that’s amazing. But they said their first words, a new teaching with authority. And secondly, the result of that teaching is that they acknowledge his authority, the authority of this teacher is so great. that even the demons obey. King Jesus has authority in his teaching and he has authority over the dark forces that oppose his kingdom.

It says in verse 29, immediately they left the synagogue and they went to the house of Simon and Andrew. And we see a different type of authority displayed here. Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with fever. She was in bed and upon Jesus touching her, she was healed. And it’s actually a really sweet picture of gentleness. Sick in bed, as you can imagine, the woman is incapacitated. She is unable to welcome her guests. Jesus comes over. He kneels down by her bedside, and he takes her hand, and he lifts her up in front of everybody who was in the house.

Someone goes out into the city and tells them what happened. there was already a stir from the morning worship service. And now in the evening, men and women, boys and girls, parents and grandparents, homeless people to wealthy people, and everyone in between are making their way across town to sit at the door in hopes that they would be healed from what ails them. Some wanted to watch, but they didn’t want to watch or see with the eyes of faith. The truth is, is that they just simply wanted something from Jesus. But at this point, they didn’t want to bow before the king. They wanted the benefits of the king’s authority. There’s something there for you and for me. A lot of people want the benefits of Jesus’s authority without actually coming under his authority. A lot of us do that at one point or another. We’re all guilty of it at some time. And sometimes, as in this instance with the healings, Jesus gives those benefits, even though you haven’t submitted yourself to him yet. But the real benefit, the real benefit is going to come a little bit later in the story as you truly surrender yourself to the authority of this king to become a member of his kingdom. And so the hustle and the bustle of a busy night was exciting, and I’m sure it was exhausting. And eventually the crowd died down or they sent them away and the people went home and they went into their beds and Jesus went to bed as well. And you see between the teaching authority, the authority over the demons and now authority over healing that the kingdom is here and the king has complete authority.

The kingdom is here and the king has complete authority. But early in the next morning, while it was still dark, Jesus woke up and he quietly made his way out of the house. He tiptoed his way through. He whisked through the city before anybody was awake and could recognize him. He got to the outskirts of town and you could imagine that he just climbed up off the path into the hills and he found a spot to pray. It doesn’t tell us what he prayed for, verses 35 to 39, but the fact of all the things that he could do, And as the sun went up, the people thought that the show was going to continue. They all started to look for him. Of all of the things that he could do and all of the tugs that were on him, he carved out time to pray. Prayer is the mechanism of intimacy with his father. And for Jesus, it was so. And it is so for you and for me.

###

This transcript was generated using AI transcription technology and reviewed for accuracy, but may contain errors. Please refer to the original audio for precise wording.