Mark 1:21-28 * January 29, 2012 * Epiphany 4
Dear
Friends in Christ,
It
was only a two-word bumper sticker I saw, but it was loaded with volumes of
late 20th century social commentary.
Perhaps you’ve seen it also. It
read: “Question authority.”
Although
every generation has undoubtedly raised this issue, those of us who grew up in
or lived through the late 60’s and early 70’s know the most recent soil from
which this sentiment springs. “Question
authority” is essentially a call to not trust anyone just because they are in a
leadership position. It is a warning to
not blindly fall in line with what someone says simply by virtue of a title
they hold. It is the admonition not to
automatically believe, but rather to “question” authority. And, unfortunately, those who take such a
position can provide plenty of historical examples ranging from presidents to
preachers of those who have betrayed or misused the authority entrusted them…
Behind
that two-word bumper sticker are some important questions. Is there anyone we can trust? Is there any authority figure that we can
believe without reservation? Is there
anyone worthy of our trust and our allegiance?
Our
text for today provides us with the answer.
Yes, there is someone we can trust.
Yes, there is an authority figure we can believe. Yes, there is someone worthy of our trust and
allegiance. This is the welcome truth we
will now gladly consider:
1.
The Word of Christ
2.
The Example of Christ
Our
text takes place early in Jesus’ public ministry. In the section immediately before, Jesus
called His first four disciples. These 5
constitute the “they” in the opening verse.
“They went to Capernaum, and when
the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at His teaching,
because He taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the
law.”
The
fact that Jesus addressed them as a spiritual teacher was not something unusual
for the people of Capernaum. They
presumably listened to different rabbis (teachers) throughout their lives. Why, then, were they, so amazed at what they heard?
For this reason: they never heard someone like Jesus before. He was entirely different from what they were
used to both in the way He talked as well as what He said.
We
are told that Jesus spoke with authority,
not as the teachers of the law. Other
rabbis they had heard were certainly learned men, but they used their knowledge
to appeal to the teachings of past rabbis. Jesus, on the other hand, appealed
to no one. Why? Because as God He was and is the ultimate and final
authority. And that obviously
came through loud and clear. Think, for
example, of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
He would introduce many of the subjects He there addressed with the
formula, “You have heard… but I say.” We don’t have a recording of Jesus’ voice, but
we can imagine it was the calm and assured intonation of one who knew exactly
what He was saying. It was the voice of authority.
Not
only did Jesus differ from other teachers in method, but in content as
well. We know from history that often
time synagogue sermons would major in minors, trivialities, and legalistic
interpretations on obscure matters. In
contrast, Jesus talked about important things – matters of life and death and
salvation and eternity. The result: “The people were amazed at His teaching…” What
happened next amazed them even more:
“Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by
an evil spirit cried out, ‘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!’” From
the New Testament we know that demon possession was not uncommon at the time of
Jesus, and we have many such instances reported in the Gospels. Here we have
such a situation. (As a sidebar we might mention that demon possession is
clearly distinguished from physical illnesses.
In other words, the Gospel writers were not backward, ancient men who
superstitiously blamed all troubles on “evil spirits.” They knew the difference between the
two.)
This particular evil
spirit speaks through the afflicted man and gives evidence that it clearly
understands who Jesus is – “The Holy One of God.” Not only does it understand who
Jesus is, but also what Jesus can do.
Jesus, however, is not interested in a dialogue:
“‘Be quiet!’ said Jesus sternly. ‘Come out of him!’ The evil spirit shook the man violently and
came out of him with a shriek.” With the same authority that marked His
teaching just minutes before, Jesus commanded the evil spirit to leave. And it did.
Banished at the word of the Lord. Predictably, this caused quite a stir.
“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 evil
spirits and they obey Him.’” Once again (and for the second time in our text) the
people are described as being amazed. And once again they marveled at His “authority” – now demonstrated by this tremendous display of
divine power. This was news! Our text ends as expected, given the
circumstances: “News about him
spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.” And what was
being said? Probably something like
this: A new authority walks among us…
By way of application,
nothing has changed. The conclusion
drawn by the crowds back then is just as true today. Jesus Christ, “the Holy One of God” is the
voice of authority. And Jesus Christ continues to be the voice of authority
for us today. But how is this authority
communicated to us? It comes to us
through His Word and through His example.
And that’s what we’d like to talk about in the remaining time we have
left…
The first point to be
made is that Jesus’ teaching (the Word of God) is authoritative (the truth)…
What we mean is this: Jesus Christ is God, and God has given us His Word in the
Holy Scriptures. Through the process of
verbal inspiration we know that the Bible is the very Word of God. As such, it is the true and final authority on all things…
This is a truly
comforting and liberating fact. Because
the Bible is truth, we don’t have to spend a lot of time and energy debating
what is and what isn’t valid. Rather our
time can be spent, if I may paraphrase the words of our liturgy, “hearing,
reading, learning, and taking them to heart for our spiritual strength and
comfort.” It is pure joy to know that we
have such an authority for life.
But not everyone has been
led to this wonderful truth. So we find
that which brings us great comfort can also cause us conflict with the world
around us. As Christians, we know and
expect this. The authority of Scripture
is routinely challenged. Take for example,
the whole matter of how our world and everything in it came to be. The Bible says God created the world in six regular
days using nothing except His divine “fiat” (command), that the history of
mankind begins with a literal Adam and Eve, and that the age of the earth
itself is in the range of six to ten thousand years.
The world, on the other
hand, holds to the theory of evolution.
Notable scientists and university science departments make a grand case
for the earth being billions of years old. They will claim that all living
things, including man, “evolved” over time from one-celled creatures to the
complex beings that they are today, all by chance.
So there is a clash. Who do we believe? Who is the authority? As Christians we recognize the Word of God as
the final authority. That may not make
us the brightest and best in the eyes of the world. In fact, to many we may seem silly or
anti-intellectual. Be that as it
may. God has spoken in His Word. That’s all we need to know.
We could certainly cite
other examples of where the authority of God’s Word comes into clash with the
world around us. What about the area of
morals or personal ethics? What about
the great social issues like abortion or sexual orientation? The world in its
“enlightenment” says one thing, God in His wisdom says
another. Who do we believe? Who do we follow? Whose is the voice of authority? For the Bible believing Christian the answer
is clear. God has spoken in His
Word. This is truth. End of discussion…
The Word of God is the
authority in our lives. That’s the
first point. Here’s the second one: The
Son of God is also the authority for the way in which we live our lives.
Let’s set the basis for
that statement: Jesus Christ is first and foremost our Savior and
Redeemer. His expressed purpose for
coming to our planet was to live, die and rise again
so sinners like you and me might have everlasting life. Through the gracious working of the Holy
Spirit we have come to believe in Him as our Savior. But He is more. He is now also the Lord of our lives. He is the One we live for and look to as the
ultimate example, the ultimate authority for how we live our lives…
Have you noticed that
within the last 5 years or so the initials WWJD have become quite popular. We see it on wristbands and bracelets and
book bags and t-shirts and coffee cups and about anything else that can be marketed. WWJD has become kind of a Christian
phenomenon. The initials stand for “What Would Jesus Do,” and they are to serve
as a reminder for Christians to thoughtfully make their decisions in light of
Jesus’ example and teachings.
I’ve never heard where or
when the whole WWJD movement began. Nor
do I know the basis behind it. But I have a theory, which might be instructive
to us as we consider Jesus as the Lord and authority for our lives…
In 1896 a man by the name
of Charles Sheldon wrote a book which can still be purchased today entitled “In
His Steps.” The subtitle is “What Would
Jesus Do?” I remember reading it during
the first year of my ministry, only because my grandmother passed down to me an old copy of the book
that had originally been my grandfather’s…
The story takes place at
the end of the 19th century in the small town of Raymond,
U.S.A. As Pastor Maxwell of the First
Church of Raymond was preparing his sermon one day, a young man came to the
door. He had fallen on hard times, and
was looking for work and some immediate help.
The busy pastor politely turned him away and went back to his
preparations. In later conversations
with other townspeople he heard that the down-and-out young man had been all
over the city looking for some kind of help.
When the Sunday morning
service came that week, the people gathered as usual in the First Church of
Raymond. But toward the end of the
service something very unusual happened.
The ragged young man who had been looking for work came directly to the
front of the church. First there was
silence. Then he addressed the
congregation.
He told them that until
ten months before he had been gainfully employed but then through no fault of
his own lost his job. 6 months later his
wife died. He had been a vagabond ever
since. He asked the congregation what
they meant with all their hymns about following Jesus’ example, and how he had
been knocking on doors throughout the entire city but had never received any help. Without any anger in his voice he asked the
congregation members how they could square up what they said in church with
what they did in town. Then, after
speaking his piece, he slumped over because of exhaustion and illness, and was
carried away.
This event was an
epiphany for the congregation. And the
rest of the book is how the pastor and certain congregation members, moved by
this incident, decided to make the first and foremost question they asked when
confronted by any situation in life:
“What would Jesus do?” WWJD.
Now I’ve heard some
theologians object to the whole WWJD movement because they’d rather have us
focus not on what Jesus would do, but what Jesus has done for us. And I can understand that. However, if we view WWJD as a reminder of who
we are and whose example we are to follow out of love for what He’s done for
us, we can see it as a call to emulate the One who is the Lord of our lives and
the Voice of Authority for our lives…
… Let’s bring our
thoughts to a close. We began with a
bumper sticker that asked us to question authority. While others may cynically search for it, let
us rejoice that we have the Voice of Authority among us. Jesus has and continues to speak to us though
His unchanging Word…
And there He not only speaks to us, but He also gives us an authoritative example of how we may live as His disciples. Therefore let us strive, with God’s help, to emulate and glorify Him who is our Savior, our Lord and the Authority of our lives, Jesus Christ. Amen.