Title: Jesus! have authority
Contents
Text Mark 1:21-27
In today's text, you can see really precious words that give you a glimpse of how Jesus spent the Sabbath day. In the morning he went into the Capernaum meeting place to preach, cast out demons from demon-possessed people, and at midday he saw Simon Peter's mother-in-law suffering from a fever and healed him. In the evening, many sick people and demons came to hear the news of Jesus. He healed those who were possessed and cast out demons, and at dawn he went to a secluded place to pray. This was the daily routine that Jesus spent on the Sabbath in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Capernaum mentioned in the text was a city located on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, also called the ‘Sea of Tiberias’. It was located not far from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, the hometown of Jesus, and when Jesus made disciples of fishermen who were fishing in the Sea of Galilee, that place naturally became the stage of Jesus' activities.
Originally, the place where Jesus was born was Bethlehem (the first hometown). The place where Jesus grew up was in Nazareth in Galilee (the second hometown). The town where Jesus lived while entering his public life was Capernaum (the third hometown, Matthew 4:13).
Capernaum, where Jesus moved from Nazareth to live, became the center of Jesus' missionary work. The first reason was the good road network. As we can see in today's text verse 28, "Reports of Jesus spread throughout all Galilee (Tyre and Sidon)", Jesus made good use of the road network in his missionary work. The second reason was that it was difficult for a prophet to receive honor in his hometown (Luke 4:24, 29; Matt 13:57).” A third reason is that most of the disciples lived there. Peter, Andrew, James, John, etc. For this reason, Jesus performed many wonders and signs centered on Capernaum.
For example, John 4:47- Healing the king's servant's son / John 6:17-Walking on the sea and getting into the disciples' boat / John 6:48-59- He spoke of dying with the shedding of blood / Luke 4: 39-40- Casting out demons from many sick people and healing them / Luke 7:1-10- Healing the centurion’s servant / Mark 1:21-28- Casting out demons / Mark 1:29-31 - Simon Peter healed his mother-in-law's fever / Mark 1:32-34 - Healed many sick people and cast out many demons / Matthew 17:24 - Peter took out a shekel from the mouth of a fish he caught can.
Although he performed so many wonders and signs, Jesus rebuked them for not repenting. Matthew 11:20-24 (Luke 10:15) - As Jesus rebuked, Capernaum was destroyed.
The reason that the Jews valued the synagogue was that the synagogue was a place where the law of Moses was read and preached on the Sabbath. For the Jews, they could not go to the Jerusalem Temple every Sabbath every week. Right here, on the Sabbath, Jesus taught the Word (Mark 1:22-27), how did the people react? “A new lesson with authority.” The scribes at that time were well-educated and knowledgeable in the Bible, and they taught systematically, logically, and academically. So they were amazed, saying, “This is a new teaching with authority.”
While power generally refers to ability, authority refers to the status of being able to use that power.
John 1:12 - When we say, “To those who believed in Jesus, he gave the right to become children of God,” it means that he gave the status of authority, that is, the status of becoming children of God.
Because Jesus truly has the identity of God, all authority rests with Him. For example,
① Authority to forgive sins Matthew 9:6 - That the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins / Mark 2:10 - I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. / Luke 5:24 - I will let you know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.
② Authority to cast out demons Mark 3:15 - ‘That he might have authority to cast out demons’ / Mark 6:7 - ‘He called his 12 disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits’.
③ The power to heal Luke 5:17 - We will be with Jesus in the power of the Lord to heal. / Luke 9:1 - Jesus called the twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority to control all demons and to heal diseases.
④ The authority to command angels Matthew 26:53 - “Do you not know that I can ask the Father and make 12 more angels come?” / Hebrews 1:14 - Commanding angels / 2 Thessalonians 1:7 - Angel of power la
As Jesus is the authority and the head of the church, he cannot do anything with the power of Hades, that is, the power of the devil.
Matthew 16:18 - “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
John 16:33 - “In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” The ‘world’ here refers to the devil, the ruler of the world (John 16:11). Jesus is the authority who destroyed the devil. That is why 1 John 3:8 - "The reason that the Son of God appeared was that he might destroy the works of the devil."
Dear members of Shepherd Church,
Only Jesus is the eternal authority under heaven. The power of the world will end in 10 or 50 years. However, the authority of Jesus is eternal and eternal authority, an infinite authority without limits. With this Jesus alone, you can be satisfied, give thanks, and become a spiritual winner.
I hope you have a victorious week.
Hallelujah, Amen.