Discovering Jesus' Authority and Identity: Lessons from the Gospel of Mark

Join Reagan as he focuses on three significant accounts where demons confess Jesus' authority and identity. Through these passages, discover the universal authority of Jesus, His unquestioned identity as the Son of God, and His unique power to transform the afflicted. Reagan delves into Mark chapters 1, 3, and 5, drawing lessons that challenge us to reflect on our submission to Jesus' authority and our response to His compassion.

00:00 Introduction to Bob Ross and Happy Accidents
00:45 Unexpected Discoveries in Bible Study
01:35 Demons Confessing Jesus in the Gospel of Mark
03:30 Three Key Lessons from Demons' Confessions
05:03 The Universal Authority of Jesus
09:48 The Unquestioned Identity of Jesus
15:24 Living a Life of Integrity
21:21 The Unique Power of Jesus to Transform
31:56 Conclusion and Call to Action

Transcript

This morning we talked about early 90s PBS, and since we did, I thought it might be appropriate to put this guy up on the screen. Bob Ross and the Joy of Painting was a program that ran from the mid 80s to the mid 90s on PBS, and lots and lots of people drew lots and lots of trees over the course of that time.

And he was famous for saying, there are no mistakes, just happy accidents. And certainly that's probably true in painting. At least if you tell yourself that, you might have a better time doing it. But I would suggest this idea of happy accidents is something that happens in Bible study as well.

Something that happens to me all the time. I'm studying one thing, and lo and behold, there's, there's something that I wasn't even looking for. And I see it and I'm encouraged by it. That happened to me not too long ago. I was reading through the Gospel of Mark, specifically looking at this idea of discipleship, as it goes along with our congregational focus for the year, our theme of walking like Jesus.

And I was looking for those occasions where Jesus found the quiet places and what that looked like, and what I could not just apply to my life, but maybe bring something to be helpful for all of you as well. And I accidentally ran across something interesting that I, I don't think I've ever seen before.

At least nine times, depending on how you count it, in this shortest of the Gospels, Mark mentions Jesus casting out demons. Over and over through the book, Jesus is casting out demons. But what was especially interesting to me that I'm not sure I'd ever put together before are those occasions where we see the demons speaking to Jesus before he casts them out.

What was the reaction of these demons to Jesus? And specifically, what do we see them saying to Jesus? Well, what we see is that they confess him. They confess him openly. They confess him loudly. that he is the Christ, the son of God. They knew Jesus from the spiritual realm. They feared Jesus because of all that he was and all that he came to do.

And it was clear for them to see who he really was, even if oftentimes the surrounding people in the physical realm did not perceive it correctly. And they were compelled to confess Him. So great was this reality before them. And if Jesus said something to them, commanded them to do something, they did it.

They obeyed. They cried out and they wailed about it, perhaps. But they did it because Jesus the Christ, Jesus the Son of God, was the one telling them to do it. What does that reaction of these demons who were cast out show us? Is there application to be made to the way we view Jesus? I believe that there is.

And so I want you to notice with me this evening three accounts from the Gospel of Mark of the demons who confess the Christ. And these three accounts, Mark chapter 1, verses 21 through 24, Mark chapter 3 and verse 11, Mark chapter 1, verses 21 In Mark chapter 5, verses 1 through 20, these three accounts show us at least three things.

Now, all three accounts show all three of these points. But maybe there's a slightly different emphasis on each three, in each of the three accounts we're going to look at tonight. Here are the three things that we see in these three accounts, which also serve as our three points for the lesson this evening.

Number one, these accounts where the demons confessed Jesus as the Christ show us the universal authority of Jesus over all realms. It shows us the universal authority of Jesus. Number two, these accounts show us the unquestioned identity of Jesus. as the Son of God. We see who He truly is as the Son of God from these accounts.

And number three, it shows us the unique power of Jesus to transform those who are afflicted, who are afflicted spiritually and desperately need healing from Him. Now if you didn't get those three points, don't worry, we'll have them on the board behind us as we go. But we're also gonna ask a question hopefully a pointed question, for each one of these points where we need to answer for ourselves.

Hopefully we have more faith than the demons who believe and tremble. But what is it that we should be doing if these things are true about Jesus? So the confession of the demons, number one, shows the universal authority of Jesus over all realms, physical and spiritual. Turn in your Bible, if you would, to Mark chapter 1.

Mark chapter 1, and we'll begin reading in verse 21 toward the beginning of Jesus ministry. Mark chapter 1, beginning in verse 21, if you'll read with me. He's just called some fishermen to be his disciples, and that's the they that we're going to read about here. Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught.

And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribe. So there is this contrast here between the teaching of Jesus and Preston is covering this right now in the Sermon on the Mount, where he says, I say unto you, this is coming from me. As opposed to the scribes and pharisees.

You know what the scribes and pharisees did? You know, we've got a ton of extra biblical literature about this very thing. They would huddle up together, and they would debate, and they would go back and forth, and does the law mean this, or does the law mean that? And what laws do we need to put on top of the law?

All these sorts of things. And Jesus said, this is what it is, this is what it means, this is what you need to do. He taught as one having authority, and that was totally different than any of the other teaching that they were hearing at this time. So, verse 23, Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.

That phrase is used interchangeably with a demon in Mark's gospel. So he has a demon, an unclean spirit. And he cried that, that phrase cried out there is the idea of yelling, shouting, crying aloud. So this, this person who has this unclean spirit, this demon shouts saying, let us alone. What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth?

Do you come to destroy us? I know who you are. The Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Come out of him. When the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out. Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this? What new doctrine or teaching is this?

For with authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him. And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee. If Jesus has this kind of power over the spiritual realm, even when a man on earth, surely he has the right to command in the physical realm. He has the authority to command and he should be the one to be obeyed.

At the end of Matthew's gospel, maybe it's on the same opening there in your Bible and Matthew chapter 28 in verse 18. After Jesus is risen from the dead, He comes and speaks to His eleven disciples, we would call them apostles. And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came, verse 18, and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Well, what's left out on that? If He's been given all authority in heaven and on earth, That means he has all authority in all realms over all things. And so he commands, verse 19, go therefore and make disciples. I have the authority, I am commanding you to make disciples, make more followers of me. Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name.

And certainly, name, the name of God, the name of Jesus, the name of the Holy Spirit carries with it more than just authority, but authority is certainly a part of that. Baptizing them by the authority of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Then notice verse 20, teaching them to observe all the things that I have commanded you, you apostles.

And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. So here's our question. If the confession of this demon shows the universal authority of Jesus over all realms, do we submit to his authority? Do you submit to His authority or do you question that authority over your life? You know, we have every right to question whether or not Jesus desires something from us.

To seek the truth, to seek it diligently. What is it that Jesus really desires from you and me? God wants us to ask those questions and find the answers to them because we love Him and we want to please Him. But when we establish with certainty what His will is, we have no right to question whether or not to obey it.

Does that make sense? We question, what is God's will? I need to know what His will is. Tell me, what, what are these things that He commanded the Apostles that now I need to do as well? But once I determine what those things are, I, I have no right to question whether or not to obey. My job is to obey those things.

When I was a kid my, my dad, you know, worked as a superintendent, my granddad worked as a farmer, but they both primarily did the teaching in the small congregation where I grew up. And I remember there was this big green chalkboard over here, and it had those giant pieces of chalk. I don't think this is just because I was a kid.

I think they really were giant pieces of chalk. And I remember my granddad. You know, he would go up there, and he would write on that chalkboard, and then he would hit that board. And there was a phrase that he always used all the time. And he would write it up there. You know, Jesus said it. Pow, pow, pow.

That settles it. Pow, pow, pow. I'll do it. Pow, pow, pow. Now that's, that's simplistic, isn't it? Maybe overly so, to a certain degree. But I think that captures the attitude that we ought to have as Christians. If Jesus said it, that settles it. Now, maybe there's confusion or misunderstanding, or I have to work through exactly what that means and the ramifications for my life, but I need to do it, whatever that is.

You know, I believe that it's very important to discuss how we establish authority and, and making sure that we have authority for everything that we do and everything that we practice. I think that is vitally important for us. As soon as we let go of authority, as soon as we say, well, we don't have to have authority for everything we do.

It kind of means we don't really have to have authority for much of anything that we do. I think that's vitally important, but may I suggest that it is even more important. To have the attitude going into establishing authority, that Jesus has all authority. And that I will submit to his authority, whatever that might be.

Even the demons saw and understood and submitted to the authority that Jesus had. And we need to have an attitude of submission that recognizes Jesus's universal authority over all realms, but even more importantly, Jesus's specific authority.

So that's the first of these occasions in Mark where we find the demons confessing Him. And these in verse 27 that we read in chapter 1, they're, they saw that authority, right? They saw that. Now they have a lot of questions they're uncertain about. What is this? What new doctrine is this? Who is this guy who can just command demons and they do what he says?

Now it's not so with the demons. They had no question about his authority, but also no question about his identity either. They were forced to acknowledge his authority, but they also acknowledged his identity. Drop down to verse 34 of chapter 1. Then He, Jesus, healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons.

And He did not allow the demons to speak because they knew Him. They knew who He was. They knew His true identity. And we'll talk about why Jesus didn't allow them to speak here in just a moment. But, but I want us to turn now to Mark chapter 3 and verse 11, where we find another confession of unclean spirits.

And the confession of the demons on this occasion shows the unquestioned identity of Jesus as the Son of God. Read with me there beginning in verse 10. For he healed many. So that as many as had afflictions pressed around him, just to touch him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, fell down before him and cried out, saying, You are the Son of God!

But he sternly warned them that they should not make him known. It's not that they liked this reality. It's not like the demons were excited, Hey, the Son of God is here. No, that was horrible for them and their existence during this time. But they had to admit it. They had to confess it. That he was the Son of God.

So here's my question for all of us. Do even our enemies confess who we really are? Do even our enemies confess our identity? As genuine Christians, not demons, but people of the world, even perhaps other Christians who are walking in darkness in some way, even if they don't like it, do they have to admit it that yes, they are genuinely striving to be who God has called them to be.

Turn in your Bible, marking your spot there in Mark, turn to Titus chapter 2, if you would, Titus chapter 2.

Paul is writing to this young evangelist and he's holding him to a pretty high standard. He says, you need to be an example. You need to be example to, to others by the way that you live. And he says in verse seven, in all things, showing yourself to be a pattern of good works and doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned that here's the reason why.

One who is an opponent, that is, an opponent of Christ, or maybe an opponent of Titus, an opponent may be ashamed having nothing evil to say of you. So you need to live your life in such a way that even someone who is an enemy, someone who's an opponent, they just, they have to manufacture something because they don't have anything evil to say of you.

And this is not saying that Titus is going to be spoken well of by everyone, or that we're going to be spoken well of of everyone. Living righteously sometimes inevitably creates enemies because it shines the light of Christ, the light of truth, and And there are some people who love darkness rather than light.

But our stand for the truth, and Titus stand for the truth, and what is right, should be well known. It should be something that identifies. And in some cases, we might call it, you know, begrudging respect. Maybe people think, you know, I don't, I don't really like him, but he is consistent. He is true to what he believes.

You can depend on him. If he gives you, if he gives you his word, he means it, and I can make up something bad about him, and some will, perhaps, but they know that it's something that's made up. I think about Daniel.

I love how his opponents, you know, they're looking for something. This is before Elon Musk, right? But I think they're looking for some Inconsistency here. Is there some fraud there that we can get Daniel on? And what do they realize? We're not going to find anything unless, what? It's pertaining to his God and the service of his God.

May it always be. May it always be for us who are Christians that the only thing people can find to accuse us on is something pertaining to the service of our God. Because we are living our lives in such a way that we are easily identifiable distinct as true, genuine Christians. Now that doesn't mean that we're living perfect lives.

Don't misunderstand me. But we are living lives submitting to the authority of Jesus and doing everything that we can to be like Him and to follow after His way. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 3. I think we see a very similar sort of statement made by Peter on this occasion. 1 Peter chapter 3. Beginning there in verse 14.

Let's start in verse 13. 1 Peter chapter 3 in verse 13. And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? You know, generally, things are going to work out better if you're living a good life. But, verse 14, Even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who ask you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. They see hope in us. They identify that hope and say, that's, that's different. And some even ask of that. Verse 16, having a good conscience that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ, Ashamed why?

Because they're the kind of people who are ashamed. No, if they're going to lie about you, they're not going to be ashamed in that sense. They're going to be ashamed because it rings hollow. Because deep down they know it's not true. And, and they can repeat the lie as much as they want to. They know that's not really reality.

Do even our enemies confess our identity? That we are striving to be who God wants us to be? has called us to be. Like it or not, we're really committed to this Christianity thing, and we are striving to be followers of Christ. And others should be able to recognize that, and so they must maybe begrudgingly acknowledge our consistency, commitment, and refusal to be hypocritical and compromise with the world.

And so doing doors can and will be opened to share our hope. If even our enemies can identify us as clearly. as the demons identified Jesus's identity. And then if you'll turn to Mark chapter 5, the confession of the demons on these three occasions shows the unique power of Jesus to transform the afflicted.

Begin reading with me in Mark chapter 5 and verse 1. This is admittedly an odd text, but it is often in these odd texts that we find some of the most powerful points. Read with me beginning in verse 1, Mark chapter 5, starting in verse 1. Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.

And when they had come out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, a demon, who had his dwelling among the tombs, and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces.

Neither could anyone tame Him, and always, night and day, He was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting Himself with stones. When He saw Jesus from afar, He ran and worshipped Him. And He cried out with a loud voice and said, What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You, by God, that You do not torment me.

For he had said to him, Come out of the man, unclean spirit. Then he asked him, Jesus asked the man, What is your name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion, for we are many. Also he begged him earnestly that he would not send them out of the country. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.

So all the demons begged him, saying, Send us to the swine, that we may enter them. And at once Jesus gave them There's his authority, right? You asked for it? Okay, I give you permission to do the thing that you've asked. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine. There were about 2, 000. And the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea and drowned in the sea.

You go to Israel today, we know just about exactly where this spot was. And there is this very steep hill that goes down into the water, and then a drop off where they would have fallen down in at the bottom of it. So those who fed the swine fled. And they told it in the city and in the country, and they went out to see what Then they came to Jesus and saw the one who had been demon possessed and had the legion sitting and closed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.

And those who saw it told them how it had happened to him who had been demon possessed and about the swine. Then they began to plead with him, Stay and teach us and No. They began to plead with him to depart from their region. This was too much. Too much power, too much authority, too much damage done. We cannot submit to this man.

And when he got into a boat, Jesus never forces himself upon anybody. He who had been demon possessed begged him that he might be with him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, Go home to your friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you. How he has had compassion on you, and he departed and began to proclaim and decap all that Jesus had done for him and all who heard it marveled.

This story again, is an odd one, and it has been used against Christianity by skeptics for centuries. Bertrand Russell and his famous essay, why I Am Not a Christian. A very inventive title. Wrote, there are other things of less importance. There is the instance of the Gurgasene swine, where it certainly was not very kind to the pigs to put devils into them and make them rush down the hill to the sea.

You must remember that he was omnipotent, and he could have made the devils simply go away, but he chooses to send them into the pigs. That is an odd point, isn't it? Why? Why did Jesus do that? Why did he give them permission to go into the hogs? Well, consider a couple things with me. Number one, this proved that this was a real miracle, right?

I mean, no one could really see a demon being cast out. I mean, I guess you could see the results of it. This guy's in his right mind and clothed and Maybe he was just healed, you know, we don't know what happened, but 2, 000 swine running headfirst into the water? I think everybody would have heard about that.

And they did, and they came out to see Jesus. But I think it also shows that these, we learn from another gospel that there were two men here, but that this man was far more important

Possessions mean nothing when compared to people in the eyes of Christ. And of course we know that, and of course we know that to be true. But we need to remember that same thing, do we not? Who were the owners of these pigs? Well, in this area, it's kind of a borderland between Jews and Gentiles. But in my thinking, it's likely that these were Jews.

The owners brought no complaint. They did not ask Jesus to restore their losses. And perhaps that indicates that there is a guilty spirit on the part of the Jewish owners, that this went against the law to have these unclean animals. knowing that they were not supposed to have a herd of swine to begin with.

And if so, this is not destruction of property, as some have claimed. Instead, the destruction of these swine were, was the destruction of sin. Pigs were unclean under the old law, and by law, the Jews should not have owned them. In other words, Jesus was removing the sinful hindrances of both the man who was possessed by the demon, and the Jews who owned the pigs.

For everyone in these 20 verses, Jesus was offering the power of transformation. I want you to consider for a moment there's a lot we don't know about demon possession, but can you imagine how hopeless it must have been for this man? As others came and chained him together, and he breaks the chain.

And he runs off and he's in the mountains and he's in the tombs and he's crying out and he's cutting himself with rocks. What hope is there in that of existence? And then this one comes and the demons run up and worship this one. They, they call him the son of God. And at his command, at his command, this legion of demons leaves him.

and the pigs are running down the hill and now he has his facilities back and he's able to sit and talk and he's clothed from hopelessness to hope. Jesus transformed this afflicted man and that is the power he has to transform all who are afflicted by the spiritual demons of sin. Jesus has this power and he proved this power at the confession of these demons.

But I want you to consider one other thing. Can you imagine if, I'm right as I guess here, that these are Jewish owners of these pigs, can you imagine if these owners ever wanted to get out of the pig business how difficult that would have been? I mean they're, they're way down this road. They got 2, 000 swine out there and they've hired a bunch of people to take care of them.

Maybe that soothed their conscience to a certain a bit. Maybe they could pay somebody else to do this like the prodigal son so that their hands are clean. But deep down they know that this is not what they're supposed to be doing. And what does Jesus do? He removes the temptation. With His power, He is able to transform them, to give them an opportunity for a fresh start.

And that's exactly what everyone in this story has the opportunity for. A fresh start. A new start. being transformed by the power of Jesus. And so what is it that Jesus says to this man, you go and you tell your friends what the Lord has done for you and how he had compassion on you. And so my question to go with this point is this, what is our reaction to God's compassion?

What is our reaction to the transforming power that is unique to Him because He is the one who made the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to cleanse us of our sins? Do we see that for the awesome opportunity that it is, that I have the opportunity to have a fresh start? And it's not a fresh start where, okay, I've got another chance.

Oops, I sinned again. Well, there we go. I ruined it. No, but by the blood of Jesus, I have the opportunity to live my life walking in the light as He is in the light, and knowing that the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse me of all sin and all unrighteousness if I am willing to confess and repent when I fall short.

Do we accept this transformational power of compassion and grace? And do we have the same desire as this man to share that with others? You won't believe what he's done for me. And you won't believe what he could do for you.

Beginning of the lesson, we talked about how Jesus refused the confession of these demons. He says, be quiet. That's enough. Don't go spreading this everywhere else. Why, why, why is that? Why did Jesus not take this endorsement, if you want to put it in those terms? Well, we can talk more about this and all of the ins and outs that may be associated with it.

But I think it boils down to this. Jesus came to secure. The confession of men, not that of demons. He forbid them from speaking. But what happens at the end of this account? He commands this man to confess him, to speak of him broadly, to tell everyone what has been done for him. They, the demons, know who he is, but they reject him in their fear.

He wants us to know who he is and see his authority. And accept him in love. If you're here this evening and you are not yet a Christian, that's what Jesus wants from you. See his authority, it is universal in heaven and on earth. Know who he is, that he is Lord of heaven and earth, that he is the Son of God.

And if you are willing to confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, repent of your sins and be baptized into Christ, he has the unique power by his sacrifice and by his blood to transform you. That you might rise to walk in newness of life. And if we can help you with that even this evening, come now, while together we stand.

Great position down.