Mark
In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:
There is a good chance that you have seen the bumper sticker before. It’s the kind that usually ends up on the back of a vehicle that sports multiple stickers. The message is short and to the point. In fact, it is only a couple words long: “Question Authority.”
“Question Authority” isn’t overtly anti-Christian, and yet I find it somewhat troubling. “Question Authority” doesn’t explicitly condemn Jesus or his followers, but those two words epitomize a movement that is slowly eroding the foundations of the Christian faith.
We are living in a world that has rejected the idea of absolute truth. What is right for you may not be right for me, but both of us can still be right. And where there is no absolute truth, there is no absolute authority. It doesn’t matter if it’s the president or your parents or your pastor. You have a right. No, you have an obligation to question whatever they say.
Now what are we to make of all this? Where do Christians fit into this picture? The Bible tells us that people in positions of authority are God’s representatives. And unless they command us to do something contrary to his Word, God tells us to obey them.
But at the same time we can’t help but recognize that our leaders are sinful human beings. Sometimes parents make mistakes. I probably don’t have to convince you that politicians are less than perfect. And church history gives us many sad examples of shepherds who led their sheep astray. So in some situations questioning authority can be a good thing, maybe even a necessary thing.
The question is: Are there any exceptions? Is there any authority we should accept
without question? The people in
We have heard that message before. Jesus speaks to us every Sunday. The Lord speaks to our hearts every time we read God’s Word. And the miraculous account before us this morning reminds us that we have every reason to…
EMBRACE JESUS’ AUTHORITY
I. Listen to what he said
II. Look
at what he did
As Jesus made his way to
I don’t know what Jesus’ sermon text was that day. Mark doesn’t tell us what he spoke
about. What we do know is that Jesus’
words had a profound impact on his listeners: “The people were amazed at his teaching” (22a).
Before Jesus did anything, the people were amazed. Before
Jesus lifted a miraculous finger, the people were amazed. Not by his awesome power. Not by his commanding presence. Not by his communication skills. They were amazed at his teaching, “because he taught them as one who had
authority, not as the teachers of the law” (22b).
The problem with the teachers of the law was that they were obsessed with teaching the law. And I’m not talking about the Ten Commandments either. They got bogged down in the details. They took it upon themselves to make rules where there were no rules. It had gotten so bad that they even determined the precise beginning of the Sabbath day down to a fraction of a second.
That helps us understand why the people were so amazed at Jesus’
teaching. He didn’t just talk about the
law. He proclaimed God’s law. Jesus spoke with divine authority because he
was divine. And even though we don’t
have a written transcript of his sermon, we can be confident that this is what
he said: “The time has come. The
It’s not exactly easy for us to identify with the people in
Because the message of salvation is not brand new to us,
because we routinely hear about our sin and our Savior, we need to be careful. We need to be careful that the good news
doesn’t become old news. We need to be
careful that we don’t take this precious gift for granted. We need to remember that faith can be lost. And if our faith is lost, so are we.
What is amazing is that we have a Savior who forgives our sins of indifference. What never gets old is the fact that we have a Savior who replaces our apathy with joy. He speaks with authority. He speaks the truth. He speaks to you. Listen to what he says (all from Mark’s gospel)…
When you feel like you are all
alone: “Take courage! It is I.
Don’t be afraid” (
When it looks like there is no
solution to life’s problems: “All things
are possible with God” (
When you are weighed down by sin
and guilt: “The Son of Man did not come
to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (
When the truth of God’s Word
comes under attack: “Heaven and earth
will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (
As the people in the synagogue
listened to Jesus, they were convinced that he spoke with divine
authority. They didn’t need additional proof. They didn’t ask for any proof, but Jesus gave
it to them anyway. And what he did only confirmed
what he said.
The scene in the synagogue was probably not drastically different from our worship right now. There was a congregation of people sitting quietly, focusing their attention on the one person speaking up in front. But then something happened, something that broke the silence and forced everyone to take their eyes off Jesus. It wasn’t a crying baby. It wasn’t a cell phone. It was a demon.
“Just then a man in
their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, ‘What do you
want with us, Jesus of
The demon’s declaration leads to all kinds of questions. Why did he reveal his identity in the first place? Why did he identify Jesus as the Holy One of God? Why didn’t he tell all sorts of lies about Jesus in the presence of the people?
Maybe the evil spirit was testing the occult belief that the precise use of a person’s name gives the speaker control over him. But that didn’t happen. Maybe the demon thought that by showing the people how much he knew about Jesus he could discredit Jesus’ message. That didn’t happen. Or maybe the spirit couldn’t stand the fact that Jesus was getting through to the people, and so he made a scene to stop him. But that didn’t happen either.
“‘Be quiet!’ said Jesus sternly. ‘Come out of him!’ The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek” (25,26). If there was any doubt before, if anyone in that synagogue had any lingering questions about Jesus, those questions had been answered.
Instead of stopping Jesus, instead of discrediting Jesus,
the evil spirit did him a favor. Jesus’
miracle confirmed his message, and the people were even more amazed. “They asked each other, ‘What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they
obey him’” (27).
This account is a microcosm of a battle that raged on for thirty three years. From the day he was born the devil and his demons had only one goal in mind: stop Jesus, stop Jesus from completing his soul saving mission. They tempted him. They taunted him. They tried anything and everything to make Jesus fail, but look at what Jesus did.
He overcame Satan’s temptations. He drove out evil spirits. Every day Jesus lived on this earth was as perfect as the day before. And as if living a sinless life for us wasn’t enough, Jesus did something else for us, something that only he could do. He sacrificed his life for us. He shed his innocent blood on the cross to take away our sins.
Jesus said to the devil: “Take my strength. Take my dignity. You can even take my life. But you can’t take my people. You can’t take them because they belong to me.” After that, Jesus said one more thing before he died, and he said it just loud enough for the devil to hear: “It is finished.”
The Bible paints a dangerous picture of the devil. He is called a murderer and the father of lies (John 8). He is pictured as a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (I Peter 5:8). One of our favorite hymns describes him as “the old, evil foe.”
What all of that means is that the devil is our sworn enemy. And even though his best efforts to stop Jesus fell short, he hasn’t given up. He is literally hell bent on destroying us. And you know what? He’s bigger than us. He’s stronger than us. He’s smarter than us. So what can we do?
The way I see it, we have two choices. We can give up, or we can look at what Jesus
did. When Satan tempted him in the
wilderness, Jesus warded off his attacks with the Word of God. And he has placed into our hands the same
double-edged sword. When the devil
tempted him in the
If you have any doubts, if there are any questions lingering in your mind, look at what Jesus did. Look at what Jesus did on Good Friday and realize that the devil’s victory was short-lived. Look at what Jesus did on Easter Sunday and rejoice because our ally is more powerful than our enemy.
That means we can do everything through him who gives us
strength (Philippians
Today the word “authority” carries with it a negative connotation. Authority almost equals oppression. And authority (no matter what form it takes) can’t be trusted. If that is the rule when it comes to authority, then Jesus is the exception. He wants to save us, not control us. He is motivated by a love for souls, not a lust for power. And as we listen to what he says to us and look at what he did for us, we don’t question him. We embrace him. Amen.