Mark
1:21-31 NKJV 21 Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath
he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 And they were astonished at His teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. 23 Now there
was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24
saying, “Let us alone!” What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You
come to destroy us? I know who You are----the Holy One of God!” 25 But Jesus
rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” 26 And when the unclean
spirit had convulsed him and cried out with aloud voice, he came out of him. 27 Then they were amazed, so that they
questioned among themselves, saying, “what is this? What new doctrine is this?
For with authority he commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him.” 28
And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.
29 Now as
soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and
Andrew, with James and John. 30 But Simon’s wife mother lay sick with a fever,
and they told Him about her at once. 31 So he came and took her by the hand and
lifted her up and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.
Here in
verses 21-28 you have an unclean spirit that knows who Jesus is and the
religious group see Jesus as trying to give a new “doctrine”. Amazing, right?
Yet here you have the two healing types are going on in Mark 1.
In the
beginning of Gospel of Mark you have the calling of the disciples: Simon and Andrew his
brother casting a net into the sea ( fisherman, you know) and then you then
have James and John the sons of Zebedee and they were in their boat mending
their nets when Jesus called them.
These
people as fishermen worked hard and made money to pay their bills and their taxes! As the Sabbath came, Jesus and the disciples are in the synagogue. It is then that Jesus casts out the unclean spirit on the Sabbath as He taught. Yes, Jesus is
teaching and the unclean spirit within a man walks into a service in the
synagogue.
Jesus called those who would be active for the kingdom of God. No these would not be waiting on a check from any government, these men would work indeed!
Fishermen
would have a first-hand look at casting, not nets into the water, but casting
God’s word and reeling in an unclean spirit! Jesus was giving the reality of
demons and the kingdom of God. In reality the lusts of men cause them to touch
things and play with something dangerous to cause sickness and even death. And
Jesus revealed the kingdom had come, that kingdom of God where Jesus carried
authority. Furthermore, He gave this power to His followers.
And yet
today, we have many speaking and declaring testimonies that are not true and
only that which really is disguised but harms many not by any ounce of healing
but fruits of evil to kill.
But Jesus
points to healing, a physical healing to liberate men from the dread results of
sin. A follower of Jesus should not be hearing testimony of the devil. A
follower is to follow Jesus and declare the truth of God’s word over situations
or trials and even viruses. Faith people call the unseen to be seen! Walking by
faith is that faith or trust is in God who is our shelter from the storm, He is
our shelter in the shade, a shelter from the heat of other people’s wrath or
hate! ( Isaiah 4:6)
Either we speak God’s word with authority or we speak weakly. And speaking weakly is that you do not believe or have faith in God. Our witness is to be of the Lord! If you accept the witness of demons, you will not make them be quiet. But Jesus commanded the demon to be quiet. "Come out of him". Can you imagine this man when the demon cried out and left him right there in that public place? Can you imagine what people would do today if that happened before them in a church or even in another public area? Yeah, panic city would occur! Here these amazed people are seeing authority in Jesus of what they have never seen before. Yet they had the same doctrine of God, but never relayed that to others. Wherever God works, the enemy opposes. And it can anyone again who opposes God and His truth!
“For we do
not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts
of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12
Fame went
out about Jesus! But Jesus was touching the man’s heart not for fame but for
the kingdom of God. Something was occurring in Israel, the Messiah had come. A fire was starting and it was a good one!
Are we
healed and serving others or are we still hobbling about trying to get healed
and still have people serving us? And she served them, not in a weakened condition, no she was alive and well by the hand of Jesus Christ. Amazing, the healing
miracles of Christ Jesus. He dealt with each one in an individual case or as a group. He heard their cries, and this mother-in-law of
Peter’s shows that the priest of the Lord ( Peter) had a family to care about. So Peter tells Jesus of his wife's mother and of the fever. Following
Jesus, that follower would see with his eyes and hear what the Lord would do in
those situations. Those who pay attention to the actions of the Christ will do those things as well. For the Lord lives in our hearts and He is active in His pursuit of the lost person requiring healing today.
In this passage from Mark 1, we see Mark underscoring the need for faith in the person Jesus Christ, in the message, the Gospel had come, and the very power of Jesus to help those in need. Because Jesus in you and me enables us to engage and help those in extreme need. You and I must know the identity of Christ Jesus. Demons may know and confess His divine son-ship, but we must see through to the Cross, see His crucifixion, and resurrection, to take up our cross and follow Him. Because there are demons one day and healing the next that one may encounter, and if you think otherwise, then you know not that the kingdom of God has come.
Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature . 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe; in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents and if the drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.”
19 So then,
after the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven and sat down
at the right hand of God. 20 and they went out and preached everywhere, the
Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.
Amen.
The signs
confirms the ministry of Jesus Christ. His followers continue to carry out that
the kingdom of God has come. The casting out of demons, speaking in tongues,
and healing all is the ministry He revealed and all this comes by believing in Him.
Christ is
lifted up and seated at the right hand of the Father. Jesus is in us and with
the Father we are all one In Him! We are changed from glory to glory, we are encouraged to live for Him and become the image of Him. He kept His walk for a little over three years. He never quaked at anything. He kept hearing and receiving what the Father gave Him to do.
Now it is your turn. So how about
that person next to you, have you prayed for him today or just took his hand and
lifted him from his sickbed……for in Jesus we live and move and have our being!
Amen!
New teaching at: Voice of Prayer
Something like Scales, Thorns, and Clouds without Waters
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