Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm19960214.htm

MARK: GOSPEL OF THE SERVICE OF CHRIST, GOD'S SERVANT
Part II: The Authority Of God's Servant For Service
(Mark 1:15-34)
  1. Introduction
    1. Christ has sent us as believers into the world to make disciples of all men, Mtt. 28:19-20.
    2. However, to make disciples, one needs to have some powerful entity going to bat for him as demons, physical limitations, hardened hearts, etc. make getting even a hearing at times seemingly impossible.
    3. When Christ commissioned believers to make disciples, He based that commission upon the fact that He had all authority in heaven and in earth, Mtt. 28:18. With that authority working in their behalf, the disciples of Jesus were to assume that a following would arise as men would respect them and hear them.
    4. As an encouragement of this authority, we now review the amazing authority of Christ in His ministry:
  2. The Authority Of God's Servant For Service, Mark 1:15-34.
    1. Jesus assumed the authority to announce the Kingdom Gospel: He claimed that the time was fulfilled for the presentation of the Messianic Kingdom, and ordered people to repent and believe the Gospel of that Kingdom that He was offering at the time, Mark 1:15.
    2. Jesus demonstrated great authority over various parties, proving the validity of His ministry, 1:16-34:
      1. He demonstrated great authority over the disciples in their call to follow Him, Mk. 1:16-20.
        1. In Christ's day, the discipling process in Israel involved pupils themselves seeking out influential Rabbis to follow in behind them as learners of the ways of God, Bib. Know. Com., N.T., p. 108.
        2. However, Jesus reversed the practice, Himself seeking the pupils and ordering them to leave their occupations to follow Him, Mark 1:16-17. For these pupils to leave their occupations and occupational equipment on the spot demonstrated enormous, unusual authority over them, Ibid.!
        3. Not only did Jesus successfully get one group of men to follow Him, He ordered a second batch of fishermen to leave their nets and even fellow servants and family to follow Him, and it worked, Mark 1:19-20! This demonstrated the consistent great authority of Christ over men!
      2. Jesus demonstrated great authority in His teaching, Mark 1:21-22.
        1. When He taught in the synagogue, the people were astonished at his teaching, Mark 1:21.
        2. This astonishment centered on the authority He used in communicating the Word, for unlike the local Rabbis who would always quote a precedent Rabbi in their teaching, Jesus taught as though He himself had the authority of God to tell t he people directly what to do and to believe, Mark 1:22!
      3. Jesus demonstrated great authority over a demon in the synagogue, Mark 1:23-28.
        1. A demon-possessed man in the synagogue reacted to the teaching of Jesus by the demon in him crying out, "Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth! art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the H oly One of God."
        2. Jesus did not accept the defensive request of the spirit to leave him alone, for doing so would have obstructed His ministry of confronting and overcoming Satan's rule on earth. Thus, He ordered the spirit out of the man much to the amazement of the onlookers, Mk. 1:25.
        3. When the spirit violently shook the man as an act of rebellion against Jesus, but then came out of him, demonstrating again the authority of Jesus over the demon, Mark 1:26-28 NIV.
      4. Jesus demonstrated great authority over disease as well in healing Peter's mother-in-law, Mk. 1:29-31.
      5. He demonstrated great authority over a multitude of diseased and demon possessed parties as He healed in an evening these infirmed or possessed folk in front of all the townspeople, Mark 1:32-34.
Lesson: If Jesus had total authority over getting others to follow, over influencing others in a congregational meeting, over demons and disease, and that when confronted with great degrees of such problems, then we who are sent out under His autho rity (Mtt. 28:18) have nothing to fear regarding our affecting others to become disciples, getting others submit to our teaching in a group and withstanding demonic opposition or obstructions due to disease, and that no matter how great the obstacles to the contrary. As Paul said in Titus 2:15, "Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you (so as to make you intimidated from being authoritative)."