Mark 1:16-39

Theme: Jesus came to preach the gospel, with authority over our lives.

Aim: Surrender to his rule, and follow him immediately, even though there is a cost.

Study

1. What have we seen so far?

   • Jesus is God’s Son and promised Messiah
   • He has been foretold in OT prophecies like Isaiah, Malachi, etc.
   • Preceded by JTB
   • Baptised and approved by the Father via the Spirit descending
   • Tempted by Satan but prevailed
   • Currently in Galilee proclaiming the gospel of repentance

2. In each of the main incidents, lets take a look at what it tells us about: Jesus’ Identity, Jesus’ Mission and what it looks like to follow Jesus

   1. Calling disciples
      • Jesus doesn’t try and convince the fishermen to follow him, he just commands them to => Jesus has authority over their lives, he can tell them what and what not to do.
      • Each of them leave something behind, Simon and Andrew leave their jobs and James and John leave their father and family business => to them, following Jesus is worth the sacrifice.
      • Not everyone follows Jesus, Zebedee and the hired hands stay.
      • “I will send you out to fish for people” => Jesus is concerned with reaching as many people as he can, his disciples are to make more disciples.
      • When is following Jesus hardest for you?
      • Is there anything you find hard to sacrifice to follow him?
      • Why do you continue to follow Jesus?
   2. Driving out a demon
      • Jesus teaches in the synagogue and the people were amazed at his teaching => he has authority over the Scriptures and authority to teach, unlike the teachers of the law who have derivative authority, think of Jesus’ classic phrase “Truly, truly I say to you”.
      • An impure spirit appears in a holy place, on a holy day => we see Jesus is concerned with the spiritual cleanliness of the synagogue.
      • The demon knows who Jesus is, and is provoked by his presence => the King’s mere presence and teaching of the truth is offensive to the demon. Notice the plural pronoun ‘us’ => Not just this demon is provoked, but Jesus fights against the entire Satanic realm. The demon knows real identity of Jesus => God’s Holy One has come.
      • Jesus simply commands the demon to be silent and come out of the man => the demon is powerless before Jesus, and Jesus’ power is not derivative but comes from himself, HE has the power.
      • The people were all amazed and recognise Jesus has authority => their amazement indicates that this is an unusual event, the likes of which has never been seen, note the use of the word ‘new’. Yet not one of the crowd is recorded as following Jesus.
      • Do you prize Jesus’ teaching as highly as the crowd did?
      • Do you listen and obey Jesus’ commands as you ought to then?
      • How does your response to Jesus’ command over spiritual forces compare to the crowds’?
      • Do you recognise Jesus’ authority? Will you follow him?
   3. Healing sickness
      • Simon and Andrew go immediately to Jesus => they believe he as the power to heal their Mum.
      • Jesus heals her immediately and she begins to wait on them => Jesus heals her sickness instantly, no modern medicine has ever come close! The healing is so complete that she is able to serve them strait away.
      • He then heals many many more who were sick or demon-possessed => there was great need and Jesus had abundant power and compassion to meet it.
      • Jesus did not let the demons speak => the knew who he was, and Jesus does not need or want is enemies telling the world of him.
      • How should you respond to Jesus’ incredible power? Praise? Trust?
      • Have there been times where you have neglected to turn to him?
      • Are you often tempted to forget Jesus’ compassion and power?
      • Bonus OT References
      • Isa. 35:5-6
      • Isa. 42:7
      • How does this further cement Jesus’ place as the promised Messiah?
   4. Praying in a solitary place
      • Jesus prays alone and undisturbed => he puts prayer and his relationship with the Father in priority, Jesus has unique intimacy with the Father.
      • His disciples come urgently looking for his => the disciples seem to value Jesus’ healing over his preaching, and almost seem annoyed that he has gone to pray.
      • Jesus responds in kindness, telling them that he has come to preach => Jesus understands that what the world needs most is to hear his message, not to be physically healed, so how important must his message be!
      • Notice that Jesus still does heal, the mission is not exclusively preaching => physical healing is important and should not be neglected, Jesus’ compassion is so overflowing that he could not walk past suffering without healing.
      • Do you see people’s spiritual need as greatest? Why or why not?
      • Do you share a compassion for people’s physical needs as Jesus does?
      • Does you/the church hold these in the right balance?

3. Is submission to Jesus’ rule and authority evident in your life, and what would a life modelled by that look like?