Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 7 Study # 2
February 12, 2019
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: Mark used demonic possession to drive home the recognition by the people that Jesus' teaching was absolute truth.
Introduction: Last week we began to look into the beginning of the actual body of Mark's presentation of Jesus. In that study we considered Mark's statement that "the most significant thing for us to think about" as we begin our look at his verbal picture was that Jesus went into the synagogue in Capernaum week after week and was teaching in that setting with a significantly unsettling "authority" which the scribes did not have.
In that study it was my claim that the root of Jesus' "authority" was what I call "obviousness". That the Holy Spirit, Who descended upon Jesus after His baptism and "immediately"/"significantly" drove Him into the wilderness to be tested by Satan, was the underlying "force" behind Jesus' activities strongly suggests that "obviousness" is created by that Spirit.
Now, in our study this evening, we are going to look into Mark's insertion into his narrative of an event that took place in the synagogue: what he calls "an unclean spirit" manifested his presence with a "scream of terror" and some significant "revelations" about Jesus Who, in response, shut him up and cast him out of his victim.
- I. The Bottom Line Issue.
- A. Mark reveals this by means of his description of the reaction of the people to Jesus' "teaching": they were "astonished" because Jesus came across as "authoritative".
- B. Mark makes sure we understand that this is his "bottom line" by reinforcing it at the end of this paragraph: "...they were all amazed...what new doctrine is this...for with authority commandeth He even the unclean spirits...".
- II. The "Point" of This Bottom Line.
- A. For men, all of time and eternity hinge upon two basic foundational issues: What is valuable? and What is true?
- B. It is because of the interaction of these two basics that "authority" is absolutely crucial.
- 1. The problems are fundamentally two.
- a. What comes first, "values" or "truth"?
- b. How does anyone's "values" and "truth" get straightened out?
- 2. The answer is one: "faith" rooted in "obvious" authority.
- a. This answer is complicated by the presence of "false teachers" who, sometimes, seem to have "authority", but do not.
- 1) The appearance of deceptive "authority" is often rooted in the fact that the principle of "obviousness" has never really surfaced for many.
- a) "Obviousness" is inescapable in day to day living (Romans 1:20).
- b) But "obviousness" in respect to the most critical issues of "Life" can be overcome by the absence of it in teaching and the presence of contrary arguments by skilled deceivers.
- 2) This appearance of deceptive "authority" will dominate in all situations wherein there is no "illumination by the Holy Spirit".
- b. This answer, however, is the answer.
- 1) "Faith" in "truth" actually established by genuine "authority" is "life changing".
- 2) "Faith" is the only revealed principle of Scripture that moves God to act.
- III. Mark's Use of the Reaction of the Unclean Spirit.
- A. In his presentation of John and his country-wide impact, there is no record of any significant "miracles" and no "exorcisms".
- 1. This means that "miracles" and "exorcisms" are not crucial to "faith".
- 2. This also means that the stakes must be higher in respect to "Jesus" than they were to "John".
- B. As soon as Mark begins to present "Jesus" as the Object of Faith, the supporting arguments for His identity become more intense.
- 1. Because John's message was, and is, crucial to "Life", John needed to be believed and he was because of the work of the Spirit.
- 2. But, Jesus' message is not rooted in what He had to say; it was rooted in Who He is.
- C. For those in the synagogues of Israel, what Jesus had to say was going to be significantly more critical so that "evidences" of genuine "authority" had to be given.
- 1. The reason for more evidence of "authority" is introduced by the presence of the unclean spirit in the synagogue.
- a. "Spirits" are the effective agents of all action.
- b. All "spirits" motivate actions based upon their perceptions of "values" and "truth".
- c. The principle characteristics of "unclean" spirits is their "uncleanness": moral depravity presented as "filth".
- d. This "filthiness" consists of "twisted values" and "lies" presented as "truths".
- e. The presence of the "unclean spirit" in the synagogue suggests...
- 1) That the synagogue has already been sufficiently corrupted so as to not be an agent of "faith" in the life of the community.
- a) There is no "authority" in the teaching going on there.
- b) Unclean spirits are on the scene as "comfortable", but alert, monitors of what is "taught".
- i. Ephesians 2:2 indicates that the "prince" of the power of the air has the ability to direct "the sons of disbelief (as rooted in an absence of persuasion).
- ii. Without omnipresence, this "prince" is forced to use "unclean spirits" to spread and dominate what is "taught".
- c) But, it is because the place where this is all going on -- the synagogue -- that is so foundational: it is the center of "Theological" truth and, thus, the most important place in Capernaum.
- 2) That the spirit world is fully aware of the significance of "Theological" truth for all of "Life".
- 2. The presence of the unclean spirit gives Jesus the opportunity to demonstrate that His "authority" is more than "obvious words of truth".
- a. The unclean spirit screams in terror as he comes to grips with the Who? of Jesus.
- b. And Jesus shuts him up and casts him out of the man.
- c. And the people realize with some reluctance that Jesus is seriously important.
