Daily Archives: August 29, 2025

MARK’S GOSPEL…OPPOSITION – 6

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Mark 1:21, 23-26 NIV
[21] “They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach…
[23] Just then, a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, [24] “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!” [25] “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” [26] The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.”

Jesus’ appearance on the public scene stirred up a hornet’s nest of demonic activity. In the synagogue, of all places, the place where God’s people met together to worship and to hear God’s Word… one of the resident demons voiced its objections! How could demons be comfortable in the synagogue? Surely, the very Word of God would stir them to frantic opposition!

It seems that demons were quite at home in Israel, judging by the number Jesus encountered in His movements around the country. Like flies on a rubbish dump, demons infested many of the people of Israel, sucking life out of them and being an embarrassment to their fellow Israelites.

How fitting that the first record of the Servant’s work, according to Mark, was a frontal attack on one of His fiercest enemies. Demons were the devil’s footsoldiers, the infantry of hell, occupying ground that Satan desired to possess completely. The people of Israel were meant to be the front line of attack and defense in the battle between heaven and hell for the souls of men and women. Instead, their lives of sinful disobedience to the covenant of their covenant-keeping God had made them vulnerable to enemy occupation.

One thing the demon recognised when Jesus arrived on the scene, was that the commander-in-chief of the armies of heaven was right there, in its face, if you please! There was no negotiating, no peace agreement, no cease-fire pact. This was not a balancing act between two equal enemies. This was war to the death!

Demons were usurpers, squatters in God’s territory. This was not a battle. This was an eviction order…and the demon knew it. Despite its objection to being disturbed, this demon understood authority. It had to obey. In view of all the people in the synagogue, the demon bowed to Jesus and, with a final show of defiance, fled the scene, leaving Its victim dazed but free.

Imagine the effect of the deliverance on the worshippers! This was power and authority they had never witnessed in all Israel. As much as their spiritual leaders swaggered around, claiming the authority and power they could not produce, Jesus had done the unthinkable with just a few words!
“Be quiet!”… “Come out of him!”

Mark 1:27 NIV
[27] “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 impure spirits, and they obey him.”

So, the battle lines were drawn for all-out war. Most of His struggles were not with Satan’s henchmen but with his representatives…the men who posed as God’s representatives but who, in fact, resembled the devil more than the God they claimed to worship.

Jesus had identified His territory, the kingdom of God, under the authority of the Father… and His weapon of choice, the infallible Word of God, “It is written,” which He used with devastating effect.

Jesus never allowed His reputation or His emotions to take centre stage. In every encounter with the enemy, be it with demons or humans, He always wielded only one weapon…truth. All the Father’s authority and power flowed through His Word.

His first hand-to-hand combat with the devil in the wilderness was convincingly His victory. He had proved the effectiveness of His weapon and established His authority over the only one who had ever dared to challenge His position in heaven.

For the rest of His time on earth, Jesus continued to overcome the world and its opposition forces with one defence…faith, and one weapon…truth. He trusted, submitted to, and obeyed the Father. He did the Father’s works and spoke the Father’s words… a true Servant of Yahweh!

Through the Word, the universe came into being. Through the Word, Jesus upholds all things and all creation functions in harmony. Through the Word, the Son has been assigned the power and authority to judge all people…and, through the Word, He will conquer all opposition.

Revelation 19:11-16 NIV
[11] “I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. [12] His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows, but he himself. [13] He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the WORD OF GOD. [14] The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. [15] Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. [16] On his robe and on his thigh, he has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords.”

Jesus’ victory was not His alone. He passed on His conquest to those who would follow Him by faith.

John 16:33 NIV
[33] “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus unmasked Satan’s plan to enslave all people by holding them accountable to the law of God. He broke Satan’s power by perfectly fulfilling God’s law, then dying as a law breaker to pay our debt for disobeying the law.

The devil can no longer deceive us into believing that he has us in his power.

Colossians 2:13-15 NLT
[13] “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. [14] He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. [15] In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.”

Jesus stepped in, paid the debt, reversed the charge, and cut us loose from any obligation to obey the law to be righteous. So, with His word, these squatters were evicted, and their victims freed from all accountability.

MARK’S GOSPEL…THE SERVANT’S FOLLOWERS -5

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The Servant was a rabbi. A rabbi must have disciples.

Mark 1:16-20 NIV
[16] “As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. [17] “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” [18] At once they left their nets and followed him. [19] When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. [20] Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.”

Mark 2:13-14 NIV
[13] “Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. [14] As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.”

Of the many who trailed after this unusual, authoritative, and charismatic rabbi, Jesus selected His final group of twelve after a night of prayer…and they were certainly not the “who’s who” of the religious world!

Mark 3:13-19 NIV
[13] “Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. [14] He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach [15] and to have authority to drive out demons. [16] These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), [17] James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), [18] Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot [19] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”

Why, Jesus? Why such a motley bunch?

Why not those who were already schooled in the things of God? Why not those who were familiar with the opinions of the rabbis with authority? Why not those who were schooled in debate and had formed their own ideas about God, themselves, and the world? Why not men who had the whole Tanach at their fingertips, committed to memory from childhood and ready to draw from at any time?

Exactly! Jesus had no interest in those who were already cemented in their religious opinions. He needed raw, fresh, unmolded clay… guys who would be open to truth, ready to receive the kingdom without the clutter of religious notions gathered from people without the Spirit.

Jesus wanted disciples who would, first, love Him, then believe in Him, and be loyal to Him even if it meant suffering. This was not about doctrine. This was, about a person… Jesus, God’s Son and Servant, who would become to them everything He was, did, and taught.

How different from the rabbis of His day whose model was, “Do as I say,” more than “Do as I do.”

So, Jesus’ method of training was simple.

Mark 3:14 NIV
14] “He appointed twelve that they might be WITH HIM and that he might SEND THEM OUT to preach [15] and to have authority to drive out demons.”

Jesus had a mission to fulfil so important, so far-reaching, and with such eternal consequences that He needed followers who would faithfully imitate Him in life and practice, and teach others down the generations to do the same.

2 Timothy 2:1-2 NIV
[1] “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. [2] And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

Jesus’ choice of followers, who would live and walk intimately with Him for years, learn who He was, what He thought, taught, and did, as closely as they could, was unusual. He chose fishermen, not scholars… young guys, not well seasoned students of Tanach…rough, unrefined peasants, not sophisticated boffins.

He also chose political rebels, a hated tax collector, hot-heads like James and John, riff raff from the outskirts of society, smelly fishermen.. and slowly but surely, He molded and welded them into a unit of men just like Himself…after Pentecost.

His mission was decisive and specific…

John 17:6-9, 11 NIV
[6] “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. [7] Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. [8] For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. [9] I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.
[11] I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so THAT THEY MAY BE ONE as we are one.”

What a tall order! Was this ever possible with such an unruly bunch?

Jesus was patient, persistent, often frustrated, sometimes even angry at their unbelief, but He never gave up on His purpose, knowing that they would become what He desired them to be when the Holy Spirit came. He wanted men who would believe in Him, love Him, and be sold out for Him.

So… He taught, demonstrated, and gave them opportunity to practise what He taught them so that, empowered and unified by the Holy Spirit, they would be fully equipped to continue where He left off.

Jesus was no ordinary rabbi. He was God’s Servant and Son, sent by the Father to restore God’s rule in the hearts of those who would believe in Him. How imperative, then, that His followers understand His yoke, commit fully to passing on His teaching intact and uncorrupted, and model what He taught through the power of God’s Spirit in them as He was in Jesus.

On the eve of His departure to the Father, He commissioned them to go, empowered by His Spirit, into a hostile world to be to the world what He was to them.

Acts 1:8 NIV
[8] “… You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Jesus differed from us in one thing…He saw the finished product and kept in mind what His disciples would become rather than what they were. He fully trusted the Holy Spirit who would be in them, to complete the work He had begun. We see the “now”. He saw the “then” and worked steadily towards the pre-determined end.

As with them, so also with us. Whatever we are now is part of the process. What we shall be in God’s perspective, when Jesus returns is already complete.

1 John 3:2 NIV
[2] “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

Armed with this assurance, Jesus was committed, with patience and determination, to mold unworked clay into vessels of honour, who wouid faithfully imitate their rabbi and pass in His legacy to the next generation.