4th Sunday after the Epiphany –
Mark 1:21-28 - They went
to
I
have a very serious question that I want you to ponder for a moment this
morning. It is one you have heard me ask
from this pulpit before, but one that is worth asking again. Why are you here this morning? (Pause) Is it because your parents told you that you didn’t
have a choice? Is it simply because
that’s what you do on Sunday mornings?
Is it because you read in the Newsletter that Pastor and the Elders have
been making visits, or because they have recently been to your house and you
don’t want them back? Is it because you
wanted to see your friends and catch up on what happened last week? Were you hoping to hear pastor sing
again? Is it because it’s been a while,
and you figured today was as good as any?
Is it because you are hoping God will do something for you if you do
this for him?
You
and I both know that these are sad - we might even say pitiful - reasons to be
in church. Scripture tells us to gather
together around the Word so that it might dwell in us richly. It tells us to gather together that we might
encourage one another. It tells us to
gather together to be with Jesus. And
where does Jesus speak to us, from His Word.
That word is the ultimate authority in our lives. The question God asks is, “Will we listen to
Jesus?” Will His Word be the ultimate
authority in our lives?
Our
lesson begins with Jesus attending the synagogue (the Old Testament church) on
the Sabbath (the Old Testament day of worship).
For Jesus this was a normal routine.
On the day of public worship Jesus went to church. I make note of this because there are times
when the sinful human heart within us says, “I don’t need to go to church every
week. It’s the same old thing over and
over again. I know what God’s Word
says.” Now, it seems to me, that if
anyone knew what God’s Word said, it was Jesus.
Yet, for some reason I can’t imagine Jesus telling his parents, “Mom,
Dad, I already know what God’s Word says, so I’m not going to the synagogue
with you today.” We come to worship
because that is what God tells us to do.
God commands. We listen.
On
this particular Sabbath Jesus was given the opportunity to address the
crowd. As he spoke, the people were
amazed at his teaching, “because he taught them as one who had
authority, not as the teachers of the law.” In other words, Jesus’ teaching
was very different from what they were used to.
But how so?
Well, simply put, the professional teachers of the
law gave the people very little for their souls. What they had to say was all kind of
empty. To be sure, as teachers of the
law, they had much to say about the law.
The problem was that many of their laws revolved around man-made
teachings and traditions. They
recognized that it was impossible to perfectly keep God’s absolute standard of
right and wrong, so they invented their own that suited them better. This in turn made them feel better about
themselves. Even worse was the fact that
they were teaching the people that as long as they followed the Lord’s commands
they would be happy and be blessed. Yet,
it wasn’t such an easy thing to follow the Lord’s commands. Even though people tried their best to do what
was right, they had all sorts of struggles and problems in their lives. In short, no matter how many times they came
to church, life still stunk. Those
professional teachers of the law never got to the heart of people’s real-life
problems.
But then there was Jesus, telling it like it was,
laying it all out on the line. There was
no pretending to be better than you were.
Jesus looked straight into your heart and told you what your problem was
– you and your sin. Unlike the teachers
of the law, Jesus was able to cut through all our human rationalizing and
excuses, all our amazing ability to avoid the real issues, and all our
ridiculous human opinions. He was able
to present the simple, straightforward, ugly truth of sin that only the God who
looks into the heart can present. That’s
why Jesus words had authority. That’s
why they are sharper than any double-edged sword. That is why we come to worship, to be with
Jesus, so that he can tell us what we need to hear. So that he can cut open our hearts so that
each of can look inside and see the rotting filth that is hidden within.
However, unlike the teachers of the law, Jesus
didn’t leave them hanging there with that mess.
You see, Jesus also has the answer to the fears that the truth of sin
brings to the human heart. Fears like,
“I cannot stand before God! My sin is
too great! Where can I turn, where can I
flee from the punishment that I deserve?”
To those questions, Jesus responded, “Come to me, you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest”
(Matthew
This was not the message the people in the
synagogue were used to hearing.
Tragically, it is not a message that is being shared in many churches
today. Instead, political correctness
and the fear of confrontation have silenced the authority of God’s Word in many
churches. Commands of God are simply
chosen to be ignored. They dance around
the issues that really matter. Yet,
isn’t that why we are in church, right here, today. To listen to Jesus, the final authority,
expose our sin and present himself as the answer to
that sin.
Among those who came to the synagogue that day was
a man possessed by an evil spirit. The
evil spirit in this man cried out: “What
do you want with us, Jesus of
The picture of this demon possessed man reminds us
that the devil is alive, well, and working with great success in the church and
in the lives of many Christians today.
And one of his strongest attacks is against the authority of God’s Word. To Eve Satan addressed the insinuating
question, “Did God really say, ‘You must
not eat from any tree in the garden” (Genesis 3:1)? It’s as if he were saying, “Boy, God must be
unloving to make such a demand.” Satan
had twisted things around. That wasn’t
what God said. But that’s how Satan
undermines the authority of God’s Word.
And he is still doing it today!
Did God really say I have to stick with my marriage
and try to work things out? God wouldn’t
want me to be unhappy, would he? Did God
really say that sex was a gift to be enjoyed only by one man and one woman
within the bonds of marriage? He can’t
mean that anymore, can he? Did God really say that the Church is to
discipline those who publicly live in sin and refuse to repent? That doesn’t seem very loving!
Do you see how it is the same old lie? The frightening thing is that we’re falling
for these lies hook, line and sinker.
We’re sitting here and listening to what Jesus says, but then we walk
out of here and neglect to put his Words into practice. Or we sheepishly confess, “Yes, that’s what
my church teaches, but I don’t believe it.”
If that’s the case, then you better be in the Word so that you know what
you’re talking about. These are not
human opinions we’re debating, but the very Words of God!
In one sense I’m afraid for the church. The Scripture speaks of the end of the world
and Satan being unleashed because the church fails to make use of God’s
Word. There are pictures of horrible
times, the hearts of people growing cold, hatred and misery. The Bible says that God will cut those days
short for the sake of his elect.
But then I also have great hope. Because I see how easily Jesus silenced the
evil spirits and cast them out, foreshadowing the victory our Savior would win
come Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Through the cross Jesus crushed Satan’s head, winning forgiveness for
every sin for every one, yes for you and me.
For centuries Satan and his allies have been trying to undermine the
authority of God’s Word, but with no success.
“If God is for
us, who can be against us” (Romans
The story is told that Alexander the Great, the
great military legend, one day approached a strongly fortified city with a
small company of soldiers. Alexander
demanded to see the king. When the king
arrived, Alexander ordered him to surrender the city and everyone inside. The king laughed. “Why should I surrender to such a small band
as you? You can’t do us any harm!” Alexander then offered to give him a
demonstration. He ordered his men to
line up single file and start marching. He marched them straight toward a
cliff.
The townspeople looked on in shocked silence as,
one by one, Alexander’s soldiers marched without hesitation right off the cliff
to their deaths! The townspeople and the
king immediately surrendered. They
realized that if a few men were actually willing to commit suicide at the
command of this leader, then nothing would stop his eventual victory.
If that’s the type of allegiance men will show to
the words and commands of a selfish, power-hungry earthly leader, what kind of
allegiance ought we show to the Word of the King that has won the greatest
victory of all time, to the King that proved himself to be a far greater King
by laying down his life in our place, to the King that saved our souls from the
unquenchable fires of hell? The
Scriptural truth is that the Word of God alone gives us the power to surrender
our hearts and lives to our Savior King.
That means the power of God’s Word is all we need to conquer the Enemy.
So,
why are you in church today? In fact, why
are you a member of this church, or why would you ever consider membership in
this church? I pray that your answer to
that question is that you are here to be with Jesus. That you are here to hear
His Words spoken to you from His Word.
And not just some of them – all of them. Both the harsh words of his
condemning Law and the sweet salve of his blessed Gospel. I pray you are here because you are
convinced that what you sing in the hymns, what you hear in the sermons, what
is taught in the Bible Classes is indeed a faithful proclamation of those words
of Jesus.
God fill us with a
greater respect and love for the supreme authority of his Word so that we
indeed think, believe and do what his Word says. Amen.