Asbury Free Methodist – June 18, 2025
By Rev. Dr. Brent Russett -Mark 1:21-27
Last week we launched our series on the book of Mark. The gospel of Mark spends more time telling us what Jesus did rather than what he said. Mark wants to show us, rather than tell us, who Jesus is.
This morning, I want to look at the story you already heard read. It is the story of Jesus teaching in the synagogue and then casting out an impure spirit. On the surface, it looks like a simple story. But if we peel back a few layers, you are going to see that it speaks deeply into how we live our lives. It will speak into your identity if you are a follower of Jesus. It will make you more discerning in how you live your life.
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So, let’s look at the first layer of the story. Jesus goes to a town on the shore of the Sea of Galilee called Capernaum. It was Sabbath day, and Jesus preached a sermon at the local synagogue. It was unlike any sermon the people had ever heard.
They were used to hearing sermons that were constantly referencing someone else. Here is the scripture – and here is what the Talmud says about it, and here is what Rabbi so and so says about it.
Jesus started to teach, and they were astounded.
Mark 1:22 (NIV)
22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.
When Jesus spoke about God, he seemed to know what he was talking about. When he spoke about the scriptures, it was as if he was there when they were written. When he spoke, he didn’t need the authority of other Rabbis or commentators – he spoke as if he himself was the authority on what he was speaking about.
This amazed people. Remember, this happens right at the beginning of his ministry. People really didn’t know who Jesus was. But what they did recognize is that he was different than any other preacher that they had heard.
So, Jesus is in the middle of his sermon and…
Mark 1:23–24 (NIV)
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!”
I have never had anything like this happen to me when I have been preaching. But I have had a number of friends in who have had this happen. It has usually happened when they were preaching in the global south.
A friend of mine in South America told me that this was so common that they had people in the church prepared to deal with it. When what was obviously a demonic spirit disturbed the church service, these people would take that person into a side room and help deliver that person from the evil spirit. My friends in Cuba tell me that this is not all that unusual there.
But I imagine the synagogue that Jesus was preaching in would be much more analogous to Asbury. Our services tend to be orderly. We don’t tend to have people with demonic spirits interrupt the service. Although there have been times when I have wondered about our sound system, but that is a whole other story.
So, what does Jesus do?
Mark 1:25–26 (NIV)
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’ actions don’t surprise us. We have read over and over in scripture how Jesus delivered people from evil spirits. But it sure surprised the people in the synagogue. What surprises me is that they were less surprised by the evil spirit than Jesus’ ability to deal with the evil spirit.
Mark 1:27–28 (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.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
What amazes them is that he has authority not only to teach but also to give orders to impure spirits, and they obey him. They were amazed at his authority. He had authority to teach and authority to cast out spirits.
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I don’t think we spend much time thinking about authority. Although we probably spend a little more time thinking about it than we did 10 years ago. If you are reading articles online about a particular subject, and one was published by the Reuters News agency and the other was published by Bob’s conspiracy journal.com, depending on your bent, you may think one speaks with more authority than the other. When wondering what you believe, we tend to ask ourselves – mostly subconsciously – who has the authority to speak on this issue?
In our world, this is even more complicated. You can find an expert with degrees behind their name who will say almost anything. We also have seen to the south of us that political leaders with authority to make laws and command armies lie as a matter of course. So, this whole idea of authority gets more confusing.
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I want to take you to another story to help us think about authority.
Matthew 8:5–10 (NIV)
5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”
7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
A centurion was the relative equivalent of a captain in the Canadian army. They commanded between 80-100 men. Men in the army follow orders because the one issuing the orders has the authority to do so.
What amazed Jesus is that this centurion, although he was Roman, understood that the authority he had to command his men and servants in the physical realm was analogous to the authority that Jesus had to command in the spiritual realm. This centurion understood that he didn’t need to be present for his orders to be carried out. He understood that Jesus didn’t need to be present for the healing to take place. He understood the power to command that Jesus had in the spiritual realm.
That is why Jesus was amazed at his faith. If we were to read on, we would find that Jesus did indeed issue the command, and the centurion’s servant was healed.
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That is real authority. You give the command, and the those around you carry that command out. You have the ability to enforce your will on those around you.
The reason why people are in prison in Canada is that the Crown had the ability to force their incarceration because of what was done. That’s authority.
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There is another kind of authority, though. There is the authority to which we willingly choose to submit. I am under the authority of the Bishop of the Free Methodist Church. I am also under the authority of the board here at Asbury. I don’t have to be under their authority. I don’t have to be a Free Methodist. I don’t have to pastor Asbury. But I have chosen to come under the authority of the Free Methodist Church and Asbury.
If you are employed, you are under the authority of your boss. If you play organized sports, you are under the authority of the rules and the referee or umpire. When you borrow money from a bank, they have the authority to collect a certain amount of money from you every month.
In all these situations, we have willingly put ourselves under the authority of someone else. Why would we do that? There are benefits. You get paid to be under the authority of your boss. You get to play if you are under the authority of a sport. I get to pastor because I am under the authority of Asbury. You get to be a Canadian citizen because you are under the authority of Canada.
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You understand this implicitly, but let me state it. It matters whose authority you are under. Being under authority can make your life better. It can give you all kinds of advantages. But being under the wrong authority can make your life horrible.
If you work for a bad boss or have taken out a loan at a very high interest rate, it can make your life difficult.
Here is the thing. You will always be under authority. But sometimes, you get to pick what authority you are going to be under.
Bob Dylan had it right in his song “Gotta Serve Somebody.”
You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You might be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the Devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
That is just another way of saying that you are going to have to come under someone’s or something’s authority. The authority in your life may be an addiction. Everything in life is focused on managing that addiction. The authority in your life may be money. We all need money, but there is a way to live where you serve money. There is another way to live where money serves you.
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Choosing to submit to some authorities can give you all kinds of advantages. Choosing to submit to some authorities can make your life horrible.
There is real authority. The authority to command. There is authority to which we willingly choose to submit. The last kind of authority I want to look at before I bring this all together is conferred authority. You are given authority because of your relationship with one who has authority.
If you have ever been someone’s power of attorney, then that person has given you authority to speak on their behalf to banks and other businesses. It is conferred authority. You have the authority to deal with stuff that isn’t yours because the persons whose it is has given you the authority to do so.
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Come with me back to our story. Put yourself in the place of listeners in the synagogue. You have attended synagogue all of your life. You had been under one kind of teaching. What is God like? Well, this is what the Old Testament says. This is what the Talmud says. This is what Rabbi so and so says about the Talmud. This is what Rabbi so and so says about Rabbi so and so.
But this week you have a special speaker. You go to synagogue, and you come under the teaching of Jesus. What is God like? We heard last week the first of Jesus’ message.
Mark 1:15 (NIV)
15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
What is God like? I have good news for you. He has come near. He is not remote or far away. He hasn’t just acted in the past like you have read in the Old Testament. He has come near. He is near right now.
Jesus says, Let me tell you about the kingdom of God. It is open for you. God is like a shepherd who has 100 sheep. But when he does his count, he finds there are only 99. He goes out, and he searches, and he searches for that sheep. When he finds it, he celebrates. He does a happy dance because the lost is found. You are that lost sheep. God is looking for you.
Jesus says, let me tell you about the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is like finding a treasure in a field. You go and sell all you have to buy the field. You lose what you had to gain so much more than you had.
You have been under one kind of teaching, but now you have come under another kind of teaching.
Here is what you need to know. All of us have a theology of what God is like. Even atheists have a theology. You can have good theology or bad theology – but we all have theology.
What theology you choose to come under/ What theology you use as your authority can make your life good, and it is helpful. Or it can make your life terrible. It can really mess you up. A.W. Tozer said that what you believe about God is the most important thing about you.
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So, you are sitting in this synagogue service, and you have heard Jesus speak. You have a few options. You can stay under the authority of the former teaching, where God is remote. You can let Jesus’ teaching be the authority in your life. Or you could say, according to Jesus, I am lost. I am not interested in God coming near.
So, you are sitting there, listening to Jesus speak, and all of a sudden, you hear Joe explode in this strange voice. Capernaum is a small town. You have known Joe all your life. He has some problems, but don’t we all.
Then you hear Joe in this weird voice interrupt the church service, and he says,
Mark 1:24 (NIV)
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!”
That’s Joe. That’s not Joe. Yeah, that’s an impure spirit. Jesus doesn’t flinch. He just says in a stern voice.
Mark 1:25–26 (NIV)
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.
You are sitting in the synagogue and thinking. Jesus teaches with authority. He has the authority to cast out demons. What am I to do with this? Should I still be under the authority of the old teaching, or should I investigate this new teaching?
It seems obvious to me that Jesus has the power to enforce his will – and make me do what he says. But that is not the kind of authority he wields. Instead, I have the invitation to come under his authority. But it is my choice. It is my choice as to whether I am going to submit to his authority or not.
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Synagogue is over, and your head is left spinning. You here, small town and all, that Jesus has gone over to Peter’s home. You hear after the fact that Peter’s mother-in-law was really sick, and Jesus healed her.
But all day long, your head has been spinning. What do I do with Jesus? You hear through the grapevine that something is happening over at Peter’s house.
Mark 1:32–34 (NIV)
32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
The deliverance in the synagogue isn’t a one-off kind of thing. Jesus is doing amazing things all evening. What do I do with Jesus?
Jesus must have closed down the evening. He probably stayed at Peter’s house. The next morning, Jesus got up while it was still dark, and he found a solitary place and he prayed. The disciples got up a little later, and Jesus was gone. Not only that there are people knocking on Peter’s door. “Where is Jesus?” I don’t know. “Where is Jesus.” I don’t know. You go and knock on Peter’s door. “Where is Jesus?” I don’t know.
So eventually, Mark 1:36–37 (NIV)
36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
Jesus doesn’t do what I would expect him to do. He doesn’t go back to Capernaum. He says,
Mark 1:38–39 (NIV)
38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
You are left back in Capernaum with this wonder. I have never heard such preaching with authority. That authority is backed up by miracles. I don’t have to follow what Jesus says. I can go my own way. Which way should I go?
What is worse, he has left town. What does that mean for me? I guess I have to decide if I am going to do what he said.
Mark 1:15 (NIV)
15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Am I going to submit to what he says or not? That is the question we all have to ask ourselves. Am I going to come under the authority of Jesus or not? He has authority. But he does not force me to come under that authority. But he invites me too because as he says – “I have come that you might have life – and have it to the full.”
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I want to lay one more scripture on your mind. Jesus spent three years teaching and preaching. He was crucified and resurrected. These are some of the final words he said to his disciples.
Matthew 28:18–20 (NIV)
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
I have all authority. Go and make disciples that come under my authority. I have conferred authority on you to make disciples. Teach them to obey what I have taught you. Here is what I want you to know. I am with you always. My presence and my authority go with you.
What that means is that Jesus is here right now. Our command is to invite people to come under his authority.
If you have never come under Jesus’ authority…
– Maybe you need to be reminded. – Repent and believe, for the Kingdom of God is near.