John 3:14-21

Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

Introduction

Note during the advent season that the passages keep drawing us back to the Person and work of the Jesus Christ. Each week, during Lent, we are reminded of the centrality of Christ and the Cross.

Week #1 — Christ’s Baptism and it’s relation to the Cross work
Week#2 — Peter’s rebuke of Christ for speaking about his coming suffering and death
Week#3 — Jesus Cleansing of the Temple and His coming death & resurrection as a confirming sign for his authority
Week#4 — Christ’s conversation with Nicodemus regarding about Christ’s coming “lifting up.”

Lent then, in our Lord’s Days is emphasizing the work of Christ. This season is not so much about our work as it is about Christ’s work for His people. Christ and His Cross-work is our contemplation during this season. The season is only about our self denial in light of Christ’s self-denial in making Himself of no reputation and so becoming obedient even unto the death of the Cross.

Lent brings us back to the Cross and it is good that we should be brought back. There are those who would tire of the Cross saying, “Yes, yes, we know all that. What we need is instruction on how to live the Christian life.” And that is true. We do need instruction on how to live the Christian life but the beginning of all instruction on how to live the Christian life is a firm grip on the meaning of the Cross. That this necessity exists to get a firm grip on the Cross is due to the fact that there is no living the Christian life that is acceptable to God apart from the premise of the Cross. That this necessity exists to get a firm grip on the Cross is due to the fact that apart from the preaching of the Cross it is sure to be the case that instruction in godly living, as disconnected from the Cross, will likely result in some form of ugly self-righteousness because we see ourselves as such good people because of how we please God.  Apart from the preaching of the Cross our obedience is likely to become “legal” as opposed to “evangelical.” It has been my experience among Theonomists that our zeal for God’s law often times keeps us from returning to the Cross. It is as if we forget that the Cross is not merely the beginning of the Christian message but rather is the message that is interwoven with all our attentiveness to God’s Law.

And so during Lent we preach Christ and Him crucified. We don’t preach that in a vacuum. We don’t preach Christ Crucified apart from Christ as the incarnation of God’s Law Word. We don’t preach Christ Crucified as if Christ crucified as no implications for our ongoing sanctification.

Here we come to John 3 and Jesus’ interview with Nicodemus. Nicodemus comes  under cover of night in order to try and get his mind around Jesus of Nazareth. We might say that Nicodemus, as a ruler, is of the establishment and He is here trying to understand what to him is the anti-establishment. In the context of this discussion Jesus reaches back to an OT account and help define Himself and His intent to Nicodemus.

I.) Christ’s Appeal To Revelation

OT Wilderness Serpent Account — Numbers 21:4-9

In the account from Numbers, referenced by our Lord Christ in John 3, God’s people murmured against God’s calling them into the wilderness. As a punishment God sent poisonous serpents into the Israelite camp. When the people repented, God told Moses to fashion a serpent out of bronze and lift it on a pole, so that anyone bitten by a serpent could look and live. The serpent, thus in the Numbers account, was a mark of God’s anger and God’s mercy. God’s people might be saved by the mercy of God from the anger of God, if only they would look upon the image of that which would have brought about their death.

II.) Christ’s Language of Being “Lifted Up.”

The Lord Christ says he must be ‘Lifted up”

This idea of being lifted up becomes a mini-theme in John’s Gospel. It is used here in connection with the OT account of serpents raised for healing. Once that connection is made then we can hear the same connection where it is used elsewhere in John’s Gospel.

—  John 8:28, 12:32,  19:18

^8:28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as my Father hath taught me, so I spake these things.

^12:32 And I, if I were lift up from the earth, will draw all men unto me…. 34.) Repeated back to Christ by audience.

“Lifted up” (hypsoo) — The word can also mean “exalt.” It could be said that “one was lifted up to a high position.” As such we hear it as a referent both to Christ’s own Crucifixion and to His exaltation.

So, when the Lord Christ speaks of his being “lifted up” there is communicated a double meaning. The first meaning of course is as a pointer to the Crucifixion. Christ will be lifted up on the Cross and suspended between Heaven and Earth giving a visual of being the Mediator — the one who stands between God’s Wrath and Man’s Peace with God. Here the idea of Christ’s being lifted up speaks to the apex of His humiliation.

However, the idea of being “lifted up” can also refer to the exaltation of Christ as He is “lifted up” from the Dead and is “Lifted up” to the right hand of God, communicating power and majesty, in His ascension.

So, we would say that in terms of human agency, of course, the cross is a “lifting up” that communicates a profound humiliation and defeat. But in Christ’s language, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension are collapsed into a single movement of divine agency: Jesus is “lifted up” by God.

III.) Clearing Up The Usage of “World”

A good many Evangelicals make the mistake with John 3:16 to make it read that God loves each and every individual that has ever lived. This is simply not true. The word “world” in John 3:16 is used in order to reveal that God’s program of redemption was not merely for the Jewish tribe. Our Lord Christ says “world” here so that the Jews might understand that His work went beyond the borders of Israel. We know that “world” here does not mean each and every individual who has ever lived because of John’s own Gospel. John’s Gospel is perhaps the most Calvinistic of all the Gospels. In John’s Gospel we chapters 6, 10, and 17 we find Jesus repeatedly making distinctions between people he came to save and people He didn’t come to save.

6:39″And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Here John, quoting Jesus, clearly makes a distinction between people whom the Father has given to Jesus and people whom the Father has not given to Jesus. Why didn’t the Father give everyone to Jesus? The answer is because the Father does not love everyone.

10:26but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[d]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30I and the Father are one.”

Here the inspired Apostle clearly records Jesus saying that there is a distinction between those who hear His voice and those who don’t and goes on to say that the reason that they do not believe is because those who do not believe are not His sheep.

Why are they not His sheep we might ask? The answer is clearly because the Father does not love them.

Note also here the verse that teaches that those who belong to Jesus can’t not fall away.

17:9I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.

Jesus here prays for His people and decidedly not for those who are not His people. Jesus makes a distinction between those who are His and those who are not His.

Why are some His and some not His? The answer is that the Father does not love all people.

God does not love everybody. Jesus did not come to die for everybody though the death of Christ is sufficient for whosoever believes. If you have been given belief you can be sure that Christ died for you.

This is because there are a few that are like Esau whom God hates (See Romans 9). These were hated before they were born or did anything good or bad.

However, having said that we note that God sent Christ that those set apart for salvation might be saved (17), and in the doing of that the whole Cosmos will be saved and renewed by the finished work of Christ. The fact that Christ has come to save the world indicates an expansiveness of God’s grace. True … all will not be saved but so many will be saved that it will be rightly said that the whole world was saved and renewed by the death of Christ.
IV.) Series of Sharp Anti-thesis

condemnation (17-18) and salvation (17)

(Condemn = Penalty after sentence // Language from the courtroom)

This text reminds us that all people stand either in the way of salvation or in the way of condemnation. There is no third way or tertim quid.

Reminds us that our problem is forensic or legal and so requires a legal solution.

Part of the problem in the church today is that we make Christianity about our subjective experiences or our emotive disposition but Christianity, while affecting those realities primarily speaks to our objective legal position. We are either in the way of legal condemnation or we are in the way of legal vindication (salvation). God has a lawsuit against us and our condemnation or vindication rests not upon our experience or emotive dispositions but rather the verdict rests upon our legal relation to the one who God provides as our legal substitute. If we believe in and upon Christ we are vindicated (saved) if we believe not we remain in the legal position of being condemned.

This brings us to another anti-thesis

belief and unbelief (vs. 18)

stay in the darkness and come into the light (19)

This preference for darkness among those who belong to darkness should serve as a reminder for our evangelism. Men do not refuse to come to Christ because they cannot understand the the light of truth. Men refuse to come to Christ because their preference for darkness will not consent to understanding the light of truth. The problem in evangelism is often not the message but those hearing the message. This is absolutely necessary to keep in mind.

John begins this chapter by telling us that Nicodemus comes in the dark. By the end of John’s Gospel (19:39) Nicodemus is out in the light.

do evil and doing what is true (20)

Conclusion

The Cross

We are still considering the Church calendar, and in that context we are still considering Epiphany. Epiphany, as we have stated means “manifestation.” As we’ve been looking at these texts we’ve then been considering the manifestation of the Lord Christ and the manifestation of the purpose of His coming.

As it pertains to the Epiphany of the Lord Christ and the purpose of His coming Mark gives us bullet points as to these matters. Condensed and packed tightly Mark makes known the person of Christ and the purpose for His coming.  In Mark 1:5 we are alerted that the coming of the Messiah has to do with the forgiveness of sins. There the Messiah’s “advance man” makes that clear. Eventually the promised “One who is coming” arrives and is Baptized thus identifying with the sons of Adam and in order to consecrate a new Priestly line. With the Baptism of Christ the heavens are split and the approval of the Father is heard communicating that God has come near to man in Christ. Unlike both Adam in the Garden and Israel in the Wilderness the Lord Christ overcomes the trials of Satan’s temptation and begins to announce that the Kingdom of God is at hand (1:15). After Messiah begins to re-establish Israel by calling what will be 12 disciples the Lord Christ immediately (a word used 14 times in Mark 1-2) begins to demonstrate the impact of the Kingdom upon this broken world. Last week we looked at that Kingdom impact in the Lord Christ casting out the Demon. This week we consider the healing ministry.

Clearly what Mark is doing here (and all the Gospel writers do, each in their own way)  is that he is giving us the impact of the Kingdom of God against this present wicked age. The coming of the Messiah, with His Kingdom is with authority and power.  Because of the Messiah and His Kingdom, the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. A pretty impressive resume. It might be helpful to you to keep this in mind when you are reading the Gospels.

I.) The Kingdom & Simon’s Home

Very well then, we get to this account that we have read this morning. After the Demoniac is healed in the synagogue Jesus attends to Simon Peter’s home. Upon arrival Peter’s mother-in-law is discovered as ill with a fever. Mark does not give us details here but we can well imagine this wasn’t a case of the sniffles. In the ancient world fevers could easily lead to long term debilitation and even death.  The text indicates that no time was wasted between the time of the discovery of the illness of this loved one and the communication of this state of affairs to the Lord Christ.

With vs. 31 the problem is as quickly addressed as it was introduced. However let us consider a couple of the verbs in vs. 31. The text says “he raised her up,” and then “she served them.” The verb “raised her up,” will be used again in Mark 16:6 in application to the resurrection of the Lord Christ.  It is a verb that Mark will use frequently to apply to healings .

Jesus simply “raises her up.” In Mark’s direct and uncomplicated style he says, “…and the fever left her and she served them.” The verbs are interesting. Simon Peter’s mother-in-law is “raised up” by Jesus. This Greek word takes on powerful meaning in Mark’s gospel. In 16:6, in reference to Christ’s resurrection, the same word is applied to Jesus himself. Mark uses egeiro in many healings (see, for example, 5:41, 9:27).  This word communicates that strength is restored so that those ill, possessed, or even the dead, are renewed to their former place. Do not miss the fact that the healing was immediate and instantaneous. No recovery period required.

Something we should interject here, before we look at the second verb is who Jesus is dealing with. Jesus comes to those who would have been considered low on the Hebrew societal pecking order. His Kingdom is not only for the well healed and well placed. Mark establishes this by noting Jesus calling of Fishermen as disciples.

The Kingdom sweeps into its vortex all types of men and women — the high born, the low born, the crippled, the healthy, the fisherman, the tax collector. In terms of entrance into the Kingdom there are no credentials that one must bring in order to enter. Jesus here heals a daughter of Eve. Also we would add that it is interesting that Mark records Jesus’ first healing to be of a woman. A woman brought sickness into creation and a woman is the first who is healed in the coming of the re-creation.

The second verb we want to consider in vs. 31 is that “she served them.” The word is where we get our word “Deacon” from. She is healed and she returns to the task that God had assigned her. This is no lowly or mean position. After all, our Lord Christ will us this same word later in Mark to describe His own ministry.

^{Mark 10:45 “}For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Peter’s Mother-in-law was healed and upon being healing she rendered Kingdom service. All who are brought into the Kingdom are brought in to serve even if their service is by way of providing Leadership. Jesus underscored this when He washed His disciples feet.

II.) The Kingdom and the Crowd

A little context here. In the ancient world the homes typically did not have doors like we do today. The openings of the houses were such that one simply walked in and out. This helps us make sense of the whole city being at the door. They were crowded around and pressing in to have audience with the King and the Kingdom. This idea of door traffic is mentioned again in the next chapter. In 2:2 we are told that the traffic was so heavy that there wasn’t even enough room around the door.

Mark’s notation that the “sun had set” is likely indicative that the people were waiting until the Sabbath had ended in order to bring their loved ones. The people had been taught that work was not to be done on the Sabbath and healing was considered work. Keep in mind though that the Lord Christ had already healed on the Sabbath.

As we saw last week, so here, the Lord Christ does not allow the Demons to acknowledge Him. Perhaps it was a matter of not desiring the sulfur tongued  to be His heralds.

Herman Ridderbos in his book “The Coming of the Kingdom offer here,

“From the beginning of his public activity Jesus’ power over Satan had already asserted itself. This is not only proved by the casting out of devils in itself, but also by the manner in which those possessed by the devil behave in his presence (cf. Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34; Mark 5:7; Matt. 8:29; Luke 8:28,31). When Jesus approaches they raise a cry, obviously in fear. They show that they have a supernatural knowledge° of his person and of the significance of his coming (cf. Mark 1:34; 3:11). They call him “the Holy One of God,” “the Son of God,” “Son of the most high God.” By this they recognize his messianic dignity (ef. Luke 4:41). They consider his coming as their own destruction (Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34); their torment (Matt. 8:29; Mark 5:7; Luke 8:28). They feel powerless and try only to lengthen their existence on earth (Matt. 8:29; Mark 5:10), and implore him not to send them into “the deep,” that is to say, the place of their eternal woe (Luke 8:31, cf. Rev. 20:3ff).9 All this shows that in Jesus’ person and coming the kingdom has become a present reality. For the exercise of God’s power over the devil and his rule has the coming of the kingdom for its foundation.”

Perhaps, also there was a desire to keep the sensationalism at a minimum so that He could more freely be about His work. This insistence that His work be kept as low key as possible is not unique here.

Mark 1:43-44, 3:11-12, 4:10-11, 5:19, 8:30, 9:9

This insistence on the stealth approach has sometimes been referred to as the Messianic secret. The idea is that the Lord Christ constantly kept tamping down his fame so that the Father’s plan for His death would not be accelerated by popular enthusiasm.

The question is asked why we do not continue to see these kinds of healing and miracles today since the Kingdom is still present and for the answer we have to consider the place of all this in God’s redemptive History. The reason that all this is happening is that a very particular time in Redemptive History has arrived. All of this activity is giving testimony that this unique time in History has arrived.  All of what is happening here and then later with the Apostles after Pentecost is part of a single, comprehensive crescendo part of history. All this is done in light of the Historical coming of the Kingdom and it is done only with the arrival of the Messiah and His Kingdom and the establishment of His Church.  Here, in this point in History, the cornerstone and foundation is laid. From the close of the canon forward the superstructure is built upon this unique point in time history. To ask for more of this Historical uniqueness is like asking to be 25 again. That historical moment has passed. This is not to say that remarkable providences or inexplicable healings don’t still happen as God ordains. It is to say that we are at a different time of Redemptive History.  Do keep in mind that were it the case that we were to have the same kind of demonstration of authority and power as we find in this Redemptive time, this time would no longer be seen as a time that was unique and Historically epoch. That time of Christ would be “just another” day.

While the Pentecostals and Charismatics are full of good intentions they sully the record and uniqueness of Redemptive History with their insistence that 2015 and every year must be the same Historical Epoch as the 1st Century when Jesus and the Apostles ministered.

III.) The Kingdom & Continued Ministry

A.) Prayer

In the midst of this Kingdom expansion the Lord Christ takes time to commune with He who, according to His divine nature is one with.  This bespeaks the intimacy between the Father and Son. The text says a solitary place. Some translate it as deserted.

There is a theme that runs through Scripture of God’s man and the desert or solitary space. Often you find that God raises His man up for service but before He employs him for service God puts him on the back side of the desert.

Elijah — I Kings 19 // Moses — Exodus 3 // David — I Samuel 23:14 // John the Baptist — Desert prophet // Paul — Desert years

It is beneficial to see an implied connection made between the Kingdom work of the Lord Christ and the intimacy with the Father that accompanies it. The Lord Christ is no rogue agent but in His work he is about the will of the Father whom he spends solitary time.

B.) Purpose statement — Mark 1:38 -39 — Purpose statement — “Therefore came I forth … that I might preach there also.”

“That I may preach there also” //  Preaching, healing, and casting out. // Preaching is shorthand for all three

Though shorthand for all three the primacy is on preaching the good news of the Kingdom.  The miracles only have meaning to the end of confirming what was being preached. The disciples want to constrain Jesus to a theology of glory where everyone is being wowed by the next miracle. Jesus insists on pressing on to the next community to preach the glad tiding of the presence of the Kingdom.

We would be wrong to quickly glide by the purpose statement made by the Lord Christ here. He tells us here why he came.

Christ is concerned that the message of the Kingdom receive the widest of audiences. This is consistent with what we find in the OT concerning the Messiah.

Isaiah 61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;^[a]
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;^[b]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord‘s favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;

These “I have come” purpose statements are important inasmuch as they presuppose the pre-existence of the Lord Christ. In saying, “I have come” there is an implied idea that He has come from somewhere previous. So,   the “coming” mentioned here must be conceived as a “coming out of heaven.”

Further the “I have come statements,” reveal that the Messiah was epistemologically self conscious about who He was as Messiah and what His task was.  Jesus has come to call “sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17ff); “to throw fire on the earth” (Luke 12:49); “to bring the sword and not peace” (Matt. 10:34ff, cf. Luke 12:51ff); he has not come to destroy the law or the prophets, but “to fulfill them (Matt. 5:17); “to proclaim the kingdom of God” (Mark 1:38), He has come “to seek and to save the lost”  (Luk 19:10), He has come “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  All of this suggests that the Lord Christ knew His supernatural origins and His task of bringing in the Kingdom.

Conclusion — Recap

Introduction

After Jesus’ Baptism and Desert Temptation Jesus begin his ministry by announcing,

¹⁵  The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe the Gospel.

For the hearers of the time, shaped as they were be the Old Testament, this announcement would have been met by an expectation that God would establish His kingdom by displacing Kingdoms that oppressed His people. After all, the purpose of the Kingdom was now to include salvation and blessing for His people and the defeat of Israel’s enemies.

Much of what is to follow then in the Gospel accounts then is a chronicling of how Christ was ushering in the Kingdom of God.

Keep in mind that as this Kingdom of God comes the consequence is that other Kingdoms are displaced. These other Kingdoms that are being overthrown are Kingdoms that raise protest over being displaced.

Given the truth of all this we should expect that the ministry of Jesus is going to be characterized by conflict. He is bringing in a Kingdom that is going to destroy previous strongholds. The clash of Kingdoms that was first promised in Genesis 3:15 becomes center stage in the life of Christ.

¹⁵ I will also put enmity between ^[a]thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. He shall break thine ^[b]head, and thou shalt ^[c]bruise his heel.

And this is what we find in this passages in Mark 1:21-28. Like an old Western where a new Marshall rides into town to clean it up of assorted villains, the Lord Christ is demonstrating, via His ministry, that there is a new authority in the Cosmos. This kind of drama where demons are cast out, nature is tamed, and the disfigured, diseased and even dead are healed is what would have been expected given all the teaching of the Old Testament on the coming of God’s Messiah.

All of this reminds us that with the coming of the Kingdom in the ministry of Christ we have something more than just sweet nice Jesus giving moral instruction. No … the Kingdom of God comes as with power and authority.

I.) The Authority of the Lord Christ Demonstrates the Kingdom has Arrived

A.) Jesus and his authority (21-22)

“Exousia” describes first the freedom of God to act. The Greek word is exousia and that word is related to a verb meaning “it is free” or “it is permitted.”  When it is noted that Jesus has “authority” what is being communicated is that He has the “sovereign freedom” of one who acts without question or hindrance. This is seen as something different from the Scribes and Pharisees perhaps because they were taken up with Talmudic tradition.

Jesus comes and  teaches and his teaching strips off the accretions of traditions and takes the people back to the bare word itself. Another way of saying this is that Jesus taught as giving God’s original intent and not as the current Teachers of Israel who were forever citing what amounts to the Case law of Talmudic traditions.

This issue of Jesus and His authority will come up again in the next Chapter (Mark 2). In Mark 2 however it is Jesus who is talking about His authority to heal and forgive.

¹⁰ But that ye may know, that the Son of man hath authority in earth to forgive sins, he said unto the sick of the palsy,

So as we would expect of someone who is bringing in the Kingdom of God Jesus is one vested with authority and in this account this unique authority is noted by those observing. Jesus teaches with an independent authority–or rather, on the authority of God (cf. 11:28-33).

^{Mark 11:28} And said unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority, that thou shouldest do these things? ²⁹ Then Jesus answered, and said unto them, I will also ask you a certain thing, and answer ye me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. ³¹ And they thought with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven, he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? ³² [a]But if we say, Of men, we fear the people: for all men counted John that he was a Prophet indeed. ³³ Then they answered, and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answered, and said unto them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Whereas the scribes are bound to tradition, and so are not authoritative in their teaching as Jesus is, the Lord Christ is  free–free in the way that only one who lives directly from and to God’s authority is free.

Mark does not give us the content of Jesus’ teaching, but we can find examples of the difference between Jesus’ teaching and the teaching of the scribes elsewhere in the gospel tradition. For example, in Mark 12:35-37, Jesus asks why the scribes say the Messiah is the Son of David when Scripture indicates that David called the Messiah “Lord.” Scripture itself suggests that the scribes’ traditional interpretation is inadequate. Jesus is suggesting that who or what the Messiah is may break the traditional Jewish mold. Again, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus does not hesitate to suggest that the traditional interpretation of the commandments is inadequate. What God demands of us goes far beyond what the scribes require (cf. Matthew 5:20).

So Jesus comes with the Authority of God. His teaching is new only inasmuch as it is not laden with the mistakes of the Talmud and wrong headed traditions.

Ill. — Someone coming who goes back to the Constitution dismissing the case law and doing so convincingly.

B.) They were astonished

This astonishment over Jesus authority is carefully chronicled throughout the synoptic Gospel account. The presence of this astonishment is one of the markers of the ministry of Christ.

Mark 2:12, 4:41, 7:37, 10:24  // Matthew – 13;54, 15:31 22:22, 33 //  Luke – 2:47-48, 4:22, 36, 8:25

C.) Cite examples of the authority of Christ

1.) Authority over Demons

Jesus tells him to “hold thy peace.”

Why? — the Lord Christ does not desire demonic heralds.

Interesting sidelight — the usage of the pronouns — back and forth singular to plural to singular

2.) Authority over Nature

(Mark 4:37-41)  ³⁷ [a]And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves dashed into the ship, so that it was now full.³⁸ And he was in the stern asleep on a pillow: and they awoke him, and said to him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? ³⁹ And he arose up, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, and be still. So the wind ceased, and it was a great calm. ⁴⁰ Then he said unto them, [b]Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?⁴¹ And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, Who is this, that both the wind and sea obey him?

It is interesting the parallels this account of the casting out of the Demon has to the story of the stilling of the storm (Mark 4:35-41). Here Jesus’ rebukes (epetimēsen) the spirit with the command to “be silent” (phimōthēti). This is  parallel to Jesus’ rebuke (epetimēsen) of the wind and the command to “be still” (pephimōso) in 4:39. The response of the crowd in 1:27, “what is this (ti estin touto)…he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey (hypakouousin) him,” is parallel to the response of the disciples in 4:41: “Who then is this (tis ara houtos estin), that even the wind and the sea obey (hypakouei) him?” These similarities suggest that, for the early Christians who formulated and transmitted these stories, the exorcism and the stilling of the storm illustrate a similar point: Jesus has authority over both the natural world (winds and sea) and the supernatural world (demons).

So, lets summarize briefly here,

In Mark 1:21f we have the record of the Lord Christ casting out a demon accompanied by the amazement of the people regarding Jesus Authority. What we dare not miss here is that this casting out of the Demon is one demonstration that with the coming of God’s King God’s eschatological Kingdom itself has arrived. Mark is interested in placarding this authority of the great King and so in Mark’s Gospel we find the Lord Christ putting on an authority display over competing Kingdoms. With the Demoniac here Christ is showing his authority over Satan’s Kingdom. In the casting out of the Demon He is binding Satan and dispossessing him of his belongings (Mark 3:27). The King has come. Later, in Mark 4 Christ demonstrates his authority over the Kingdom of Nature by instructing the winds and the waves, much as He instructed the demon in Mark 1, to “be still.” The King has come. In Mark 1:30f Christ demonstrates his authority over Illness and disease. The King has come.

Another component of this authority of Jesus is his healing ministry. This is so significant as proof that the Kingdom of God has come that Jesus appeals to it as evidence against John the Baptist’s doubt as to whether Jesus was bringing in the Kingdom.

²⁰ And when the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come, or shall we wait for another? ²¹ And [e]at that time, he cured many of their sicknesses, and plagues, and of evil spirits, and unto many blind men he gave sight freely. ²² And Jesus answered, and said unto them, Go your ways and show John, what things ye have seen and heard, that the blind see, the halt go, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor receive the Gospel.

So Christ has come. The Kingdom of God — that promised “age to come” —  is rolling back this present wicked age. And the consequence is that Christ is seen as having Mastery over all.

II.) The Actions of the Lord Christ Demonstrate the Kingdom has Arrived

Devout Jews expected the Davidic Messiah to cast out demons and heal the blind, the deaf and the mute (see Isaiah 29:18; 35:5-6; 42:7,16).

¹⁸ And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.

⁵ Then shall the eyes of the ^[a]blind be lightened, and the ears of the deaf be opened.  Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the dumb man’s tongue shall sing: for in the [b]wilderness shall waters break out, and rivers in the desert.

⁷ That thou mayest open the eyes of the blind, and bring out the prisoners from the prison: and them that sit in darkness, out of the prison house…. ¹⁶ ¶ And I will bring the ^[a]blind by a way, that they knew not, and lead them by paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

This expectation of the casting out of Demons by the Messiah may find its origins with the power of David’s harp playing to exorcise the demons plaguing King Saul (see I Samuel 16:14-23). In traditions attested both in and outside the Bible (see Wisdom 7:20), David’s son, Solomon, also received power over demons and infirmities (see Josephus, The Antitquities of the Jews, Book 8, Chapter 2, no. 5).

Josephus — God also enabled him (Solomon) to learn that skill which expels demons: (6) which is a science useful, and sanative to men.

And now a greater than both David and Solomon is here and the expectation is that if David’s and Solomon’s greater Son is present bringing in the Kingdom He will do greater works of those who previously came and so He also will cast out demons.

III.) The Consequence of this Arrived Kingdom is the dismantling of all other Kingdoms

Satan’s Kingdom — (This incident demonstrates the Jesus has bound the Strong man and is dispossessing him — (Mark 3)

Scribes & Pharisees Kingdom — (This incident demonstrates the Jesus is overthrowing the Talmudic order)

His teaching as “one with authority” is quite possibly a testimony that He is not concerned with Talmudic traditions or case Law. Instead He is going back to the original Torah and is fulfilling it and bringing forth its meaning.

A couple observations

Spiritual vs. Corporeal

There is in some of the Church this idea that Spiritual matters are divorced from Corporeal matters. Here we see in Jesus’ work that the Spiritual and Corporeal intersect. Jesus is dealing with the Spiritual world by casting out a Demon but the effect is on a real live corporeal person. Similarly with His healing ministry Jesus is dealing with Spiritual problems but in his triumph over the spiritual problems physical maladies are healed.

Now / Not Yet

Obviously what we have with the coming of Christ is the NOW of the Kingdom presented to us.  Jesus is triumphing and the Kingdom to come is present. There is, of course a Not Yet to the Kingdom. We still contend with those realities that will only finally be finished once for all upon our entrance into the new Jerusalem.

We live in that time when the Kingdom is both “Now and Not Yet.” We have been delivered but we await to be delivered. We have been set free we await being set free.

I think there is a tendency to forget the Nowness of the Kingdom in favor of the Not Yetness of the Kingdom. We have needs to keep before us that the Lord Christ has triumphed and in principle has brought His Kingdom. This Kingdom reality then progressively rolls forward so that eventually the Kingdoms of nations will become the Kingdoms of our Lord.

Conclusion

How does this account of a 1st century Demoniac being healed bear upon us today? Especially in light of the fact that there are so many that dismiss the supernatural. For those of us who are God’s people, we must dismiss those who dismiss the supernatural and acknowledge and embrace again the truth that the Kingdom of God — the authority and power of Jesus Christ — has come and so is present. We must live in terms of His authority and move in the confidence that His Kingdom has come. We must not recoil in fear against those powers and Kingdoms that have already been defeated.

The fact that the Kingdom has come bears on our eschatology. If we really believe that the Lord Christ brought His Kingdom and has been Ascended and seated as King of Kings then it is difficult to see how we can avoid some kind of optimistic eschatology. If we really believe that we are now living in the age to come because of Christ’s victory over the Kingdoms that resisted his Kingdom then how can we not be convinced that we go from victory unto victory in Christ?

Confidence in Christ’s Kingdom word strongly works towards demanding of us confidence that His already arrived Kingdom is going to become that mustard seed that grows into the largest of trees.