“Under the Authority of Christ”

A Sermon on Mark 1:21-28

Stanley N. Webster, Pastor

Morning Star Presbyterian Parish, Portsmouth

February 1, 2009

They went to Capernaum ; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their 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 with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching-- with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee . (New Revised Standard Bible, Mark 1:21-28)

An amazing thing happened to me back in 1979 when I was a student chaplain at the Duke Medical Center. I was assigned to a ward of patients having hip surgery. A nurse came to me and asked me to visit a patient. “The doctors and nurses are finding her impossible to handle,” she said. She was a hefty young woman, a high school student. I introduced myself. She invited me to sit down. I listened to her story. She told me about the sports she was active in. She soon came to the problem. “I can be putting my things in my locker and I hear these voices. They tell me to beat up my teammates.” She had been obeying the voices, and problems ensued. So what do you say to a young woman who is hearing voices telling her to beat up her teammates? What to say about the forces of evil in this world? This event in the synagogue shows us how to react and what to say-- how not to react, and what not to say.

The scene starts with Jesus teaching in the synagogue. The people who are listening to his teaching see something radically different with this teacher. All their life they have gone to the synagogue and heard the law read and expounded. They were always hearing their scribes talk ABOUT God, but not sensing God present in the teaching. You really don’t know what that is like because you have always had the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus bringing the reading of Scripture and the preaching alive. You have always had the Sacraments—tokens of the personal presence of Christ with us through the Holy Spirit. The people under the Old Covenant didn’t have the Sacraments. When Jesus Christ comes into the world he is bringing something completely new. For the first time God is with us in the flesh. When Jesus says “the kingdom of God has come near,” he is saying basically “I am here with you.” That is the Lord and Giver of Life speaking.

And then there is an interruption. Suddenly, in the place where people gather to hear the word of God a man with an unclean spirit tries to take the floor. He cries, “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."

What the demon is saying is true. Jesus is the Holy One of God, the one God has set apart to speak and act for God on earth. But Jesus himself is going to reveal who he is in his own way. He will start with a ministry of healing and teaching, meeting the people at their point of need. Then, in time, he will show what the Son of God is truly like by embracing death on the cross. Only then, at the end of the gospel, will the full truth become clear. The Roman soldier, standing at the foot of the cross will say, “Truly this man was the Son of God.” (Mark 15:39) The full revelation of God’s Son is there, on the cross. Jesus will take us there, in time.

The man who is in charge of the revelation of God rebukes the unclean spirit, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, comes out of him.

Actually, this event is not a disruption of the teaching ministry of Jesus. It is a confirmation of that ministry. In his teaching ministry, Jesus comes to people and tells them what to do. Remember the words of Jesus in John’s gospel, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (RSV John 13:34) In Jesus’ time, teaching had a lot to do with clearly laying out to people what they were supposed to do. The people in Capernaum were amazed at how Jesus was telling them how to live, as opposed to the teaching of the scribes, which was much more about talking ABOUT the scriptures. In the teaching ministry of Jesus, God came to be with people and tell them how to live in the kingdom of God. So really, the exorcism is not such a switch of gears. Jesus tells the demon what to do. And the demon obeys. That’s what we need to do with the teaching of Jesus!

The event in the synagogue is all about the authority of Jesus. Jesus Christ brings God’s Word into the world. Jesus speaks with God’s authority. Jesus is the Son of God, the one who acts and speaks for God on earth. The Word of God is what the Bible is about, and the Word of God is what the Christian life is all about. The people in the synagogue don’t get off onto demons. They see something much more important happening: "What is this? A new teaching-- with authority!” We must be careful not to focus on evil. We must focused on the One in whom God clearly speaks for our salvation— Jesus Christ !

So what do you say to a young woman who is hearing voices telling her to beat up her teammates? I told her the same thing that I’ve told you. I don’t understand a lot about demons. But I’m not afraid of the powers of evil that we see so clearly in this world. I asked her if she trusted in Jesus Christ , if she accepted him as her Lord and Savior. She answered, “Yes.” If you are a follower of Jesus Christ , then you don’t have to be afraid of these voices, or of any other manifestation of evil. Whatever evil power there might be, it is not more powerful than Jesus Christ . Christ is Lord. Christ has all authority and power. A person who submits to the authority of Christ has nothing to fear. You may be in the grip of some addiction. Is that substance stronger than Jesus Christ ? No way. The addiction is not you. It is something outside of you. It is like a disease that can be cured. It is like the demon in the man—it can be separated from him. The man can live free of this evil! So can you. You can live free of whatever it is that has grabbed you and taken over your life. You are not under the rule of anything or anyone. You are under the rule of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are living now in the kingdom of God !

Two days after my conversation with the young woman, a doctor on the ward took me aside and asked me, “What did you say to the girl? Her behavior has turned around a hundred and eighty degrees.” I just told her the good news. God is with us in Jesus Christ . If we are in Christ , we have nothing to fear. Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth. Of whom or of what shall we be afraid?

Now to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be honor and glory now and forever! Amen.