Mark 1:1-21-45: “Ministry In Capernaum / Jesus Begins
Healing & Casting Out Demons / Peter’s Mother-in-law Healed”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked at the introduction for the book and then
studied through verses 1-20 of chapter 1.
1.1.1. Authorship :
Though
there is no claim of authorship for the book internally, the author of this
book is believed today to be one in the New Testament referred to as John with
the surname of Mark, or John who was also called Mark, or John Mark.
1.1.1.1.Internal Evidence :
1.1.1.1.1.We saw that just as John referred to himself in his
gospel as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” it is believed that Mark
referred to himself in his gospel as a “young man.”
1.1.1.2.Source for Mark’s gospel:
1.1.1.2.1.John Mark had been under Peter’s ministry for many
years hearing and learning all about Peter’s accounts of the life of
Jesus. It is from these accounts, as
well as some of the common source material that the other Synoptic Gospels
derived from, that John Mark was able to write this gospel.
1.1.2. Audience:
The
early church fathers wrote that John Mark had written this gospel primarily as
a primer for the Gentile Christians in
1.1.3. Purpose for writing :
1.1.3.1.The book of Mark shows Jesus always in action, and
thus it emphasizes the “good news” about what things Jesus did more than
what He said. It uses brevity to achieve this.
It is sort of a Reader’s Digest version of the things that Jesus did.
1.1.4. Mark began the gospel story
by telling of the calling and ministry of John the Baptist, the prophesied
forerunner of the Messiah.
1.2.
Jesus was baptized by John.
1.3.
Jesus was tempted by the Devil in preparation for His ministry.
1.4.
Jesus began preaching the
1.5.
Jesus called the first disciples as He walks along the
2.
In this study, we
are going to look at verses 21-45 of chapter 1.
2.1.
We will again see
Jesus in action, as Mark always portrays Him.
It has been said that how great Jesus loves men and women and has
compassion on them is seen not in His teachings, but in His acts. Thus, in Mark we Jesus constantly on the move
ministering to sinful human and preparing His disciples and the rest of the
world for His death on the cross for men’s sins and resurrection from the dead.
2.2.
Jesus begins His
ministry In Capernaum.
2.3.
Jesus Begins
Healing & casting Out Demons.
2.4.
Simon’s
Mother-in-law is healed by Jesus.
2.5.
In these stories,
we will foremost concentrate upon the authority that Jesus had while He walked
upon the earth, and how that should affect our lives.
3.
VS 1:21-22 - “21 They went into
3.1.
Still in Galilee
in northern
3.2.
In the
synagogues, if a Jewish visitor from a sister synagogue was in attendance, he
could get up and share some teaching or testimony to Jehovah. Jesus at this time ‘began to teach’
them in the synagogue, and it says here that Jesus’ teaching was not at all
like ‘the scribes’ who were the normal teachers. All were ‘amazed’ when Jesus taught
however, for He ‘was teaching them as one having authority’.
3.3.
The ‘scribes’
taught the people the oral law of the Jews and were thus just passing down what
the Jews had in their traditions. Jesus’
teaching however revealed the true context and sense of a passage as well its
correct interpretation and application.
3.4.
The gospels reveal over and over
the many ways in which Jesus’ during His time upon the earth had authority,
including:
3.4.1. When the Father spoke to Him at His baptism and sent
the Holy Spirit down upon Him as a dove.
3.4.2. When He showed that He had
power over all illness when by healing all who came to Him with any kind of
illness, even those who had never heard or seen before.
3.4.3. When He miraculously fed the 4,000 and 5,000 and
performed other miracles.
3.4.4. When He forgave sinners of their sins, something only
God could do.
3.4.5. When He showed that He had power over death when He
raised from the dead Lazarus, Jairus’ daughter, and the widow of Nain’s son.
3.4.6. When He showed He had authority even over the Law of
Moses by touching the lepers as He healed them in violation of the letter of
the Law.
3.4.7. When He cleansed the temple of the money changers and
thieves twice, once and the beginning and once at the end of his ministry.
3.4.8. When He showed that He had power
over the demonic world by casting out demons from all of those who were demon
possessed, and, remember that He first had to bind the strongman (Satan) to do
this.
3.4.9. When the demons themselves recognized who He was and
declared aloud to Jesus that Jesus was the Holy One who had come to judge and
condemn them.
3.4.10. When He overcame the temptations of the Devil He
experienced when the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness, and He fasted for 40
days and nights and then was tempted.
3.4.11. When He showed that He had power
over all of nature when He calmed the wind and the waves on the
3.4.12. When He confounded those who
tried to trap by asking Him questions.
3.4.13. When He briefly was
transformed into His glory on the mountain at His Transfiguration.
3.4.14. When He walked right through
the midst of those sent from the Pharisees who were trying to bind Him and
arrest (no one could harm Him until He determined the time).
3.4.15. When He spoke prophetically
on the
3.4.16. When He knew what was in all
people (what they were thinking and where their hearts were at) never having
met them previously.
3.4.17. When He went against the
laws of the Pharisees and healed on the Sabbath and taught that the Sabbath was
made for man not man for the Sabbath.
3.4.18. When He inagurated the new
covenant in His blood with His disciples at that last supper before His
crucifixion.
3.4.19. When He taught the people
not as their leaders but as one having authority.
3.5.
In John 7:46, we read
what the officers of the temple said concerning Jesus, “46 The officers answered,
“Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.”
4.
VS 1:23-26 - “23 Just then there was a man in
their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 saying, “What business do we have with each other,
Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One
of God!” 25 And Jesus rebuked him,
saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” 26 Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit
cried out with a loud voice and came out of him.” –
Jesus cast a demon out of man in the synagogue
4.1.
Notice here that
this demon who has possessed this man recognizes who Jesus is, he says He is ‘Jesus
of Nazareth’. We see in the New Testament
that the demons recognized Jesus always.
They knew that He was ‘the Holy One of God’, they knew that their
time was short and that one day Jesus would judge them and send them to hell,
and whenever Jesus confronted demons they feared that today was the day that He
had come to judge and condemn them to eternal destruction.
4.2.
Matthew quotes
some demons speaking through a couple of demon possessed men from the tombs in
the Gaderenes, notice what they say to Jesus:
Matthew 8:29, “29 And they cried out, saying, “What business do we
have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” These demons knew there was a future time of
judgment by God promised to them. Matthew 8:30-32 then finished his account mentioning
something very similar to our present day outbreak of “swine flu”: “30 Now there was a herd of many
swine feeding at a distance from them. 31 The demons began to entreat Him, saying,
“If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” 32 And He said to them, “Go!”
And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the
steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters.”
4.3.
Luke, in chapter
4 of his gospel, includes this same story and these same words.
4.4.
James wrote about
the fact the demons believe in God, and this may be a reference to how they
recognized Jesus when He was upon the earth:
James 2:19, “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and
shudder.”
4.5.
The KJV tells us not that the demons threw this man ‘into
convulsions’, but rather that it “tore” him. When demons left people in the New Testament,
they didn’t go out without a struggle.
This struggle could have been fatal to them, but Jesus protected those
from whom He cast out demons. This demon
has been throwing the man into convulsions, and when he leaves the man notice
that the demon ‘cried out with a loud voice’ and then left the man.
5.
VS 1:27-28 - “27 They were all amazed, so that
they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with
authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” 28 Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere
into all the surrounding district of Galilee.” – The
people were all amazed at Jesus and were pondering where His teaching and
authority came from, and news about Jesus spread everywhere throughout all the
surrounding district of Galilee
5.1.
Again the people
discussed among themselves and marveled at Jesus and what He was teaching and
doing. Mark tells us here that they
realized that this was ‘a new teaching with authority’ for ‘He
commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him’. Without saying so, Mark is also referring the
miracle of the herd of swine on this day.
5.2.
In Luke 9:1, we
see that for their intern missionary journeys that Jesus gave His apostles His
authority, “1 And He called the twelve together, and gave them power
and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.”
5.3.
Mark tells us
that the ‘news about Him’ was spreading ‘everywhere into all the surrounding
district of Galilee’.
6.
VS 1:29-31 - “29 And immediately after they came
out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James
and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law
was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they spoke to Jesus about her. 31 And He came to her and raised her up, taking her
by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them.” – When Jesus and His disciples came out of the synagogue there in
6.1.
Simon in this
story is the disciple whom Jesus later gives the name of Peter.
6.2.
Jesus had
different circles of His ministry. The
inner three whom Jesus brought with Him to the most important and spectacular
of His miracles were Peter, James, and John.
They alone were allowed to go with Jesus to the Mount of
Transfiguration, the raising from the dead of Jairus’ daughter from the dead,
the agony of the
6.3.
As He often did,
Jesus touched this woman when He healed her, for it says that He ‘raised her
up, taking her by the hand’.
6.4.
Note here that Jesus’ healing of Simon’s mother-in-law was immediate
and complete, like the rest of His miracles of healing, and that she
immediately ‘waited on them’.
6.5.
We who are born again ought to look at our lives like Simon’s
mother-in-law looked at life. She was
such a great servant that as soon as she felt better she began serving others
in her home.
6.6.
Paul wrote to the
Corinthians indicating that Peter was married when Jesus called him, and that
he stayed married. I 1 Corinthians 9:5,
“5 Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of
the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?” This is Peter’s mother’s mother mentioned in
this healing.
7.
VS 1:32-33 - “32 When evening came, after the sun
had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were
demon-possessed. 33 And the whole city had
gathered at the door.” – That evening, they began
bringing to Him all who were ill or
demon possessed, and the whole city of
7.1.
After Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law, more and more people started
coming to the house where He was at.
Finally, Mark tells us here that ‘the whole city’ had come out to
Simon’s house, and they were ‘gathered at the door’.
8.
VS 1:34 - “34 And He healed many who were ill
with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the
demons to speak, because they knew who He was.” –
Jesus healed all who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons,
but He was not permitting the demons to speak because they knew who He was
8.1.
Jesus again
healed many ‘who were ill with various diseases’. After He began His ministry, Jesus was
constantly busy doing the work of God.
He labored from day to evening every day and accomplished all of the
things that God the Father wanted for Him to do.
8.2.
As was mentioned earlier, demons always recognized Jesus and feared
that today was the day that He had come to judge and condemn them to eternal
destruction in the
9.
VS 1:35-38 - “35 In the early morning, while it
was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a
secluded place, and was praying there. 36 Simon and his companions searched for Him; 37 they found Him, and said to Him, “Everyone is
looking for You.” 38 He said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may
preach there also; for that is what I came for.” – In the morning before the sun had risen, Jesus went to a secluded
place and was praying, and Simon and his companions searched for Jesus and
found Him and told Him that everyone was looking for Him, but Jesus told them
that they needed to go somewhere else to the towns nearby so that He could
preach there, for this is what He came for
9.1.
Notice here that Mark is intimating that this was often the practice of
Jesus to get up before light and to have a quiet time with the Lord and
pray. The fact that Simon found Jesus
quickly and seems to know where to find Him indicates that this was Jesus’
common practice to go to this place and spend quiet times with the Lord before
each day.
9.2.
If Jesus needed to spend time with the Father every day in prayer and
His word, and in order to seek the Father’s direction, how much more do
we? We can place all kinds of things
above quiet times, but this is the most important thing to do in Jesus’ life
and likewise it should be for us.cz
9.3.
When Simon and the group find Jesus, note that when he tells Him, ‘Everyone
is looking for You’ that he seems to be telling Jesus what to do or how to
run His newly gained traveling ministry.
Again, Simon is putting his foot in his mouth. Simon sees the gathering crowds and thinks
that Jesus needs to milk this opportunity for all that it is worth and hang
around there in Galilee forever getting to minister to everyone in that area.
9.4.
Note that because of prayer that Jesus has realized that what God wants
for him to do is not to stay in
9.5.
We Christians need to spend time with the Lord every single day, and
when we do we are led by Him and gain wisdom and discernment of His will for
our lives. We must never get too busy
that we do not do this.
10.
VS 1:39-45 - “39 And He went into their synagogues
throughout all
10.1.
Here we see a man
who is a leper, and leprosy was a very debilitating illness for which there was
no cure, with the exception of the Lord healing the leper. It is interesting that the Law of Moses made
provisions for God healing lepers. This
man had suffered greatly, and he has heard about how Jesus was healing all who
was sick. This man knew that Jesus was
his only hope.
10.2.
When Mark tells
us that this leper was ‘falling on his knees before Him’, this indicates
that this man was worshipping Jesus as he was imploring Him to heal him.
10.3.
This man believed
that Jesus was able to heal him, he asks Jesus if He is ‘willing’ to
heal him. The faith of this man, his
piteous condition, and his worshipful request cause Jesus to be ‘moved with
compassion’ and to heal him.
10.4.
Mark notes here
that Jesus was willing to heal the man, and when we read the gospels we see
that none who came to Jesus and requested Him to heal them were turned
away. Jesus truly had great compassion
for people and their needs.
10.5.
Jesus here shows
His authority even over the Law of Moses by touching this man who was a leper
before healing him, when the Law of Moses forbid touching a leper. Jesus touched lepers and was not defiled by
them when He healed them.
10.6.
Jesus’ healings
were always complete healings, people didn’t just get a little better, or
temporarily do better. Those healings
testify to Jesus’ authority while He was upon the earth.
10.7.
We can only speculate as to why Jesus was often telling those whom He
healed not to tell others, nor why after He told them not to tell others that
they went ahead and did so. It could be
that Jesus told them this because He knew that if too many people came to seek
Him out that it would keep Him from completing those things that the Lord wanted
Him to do. Perhaps Jesus’ admonition to
them kept them from spreading the word about Him as much as they might do
otherwise.
10.8.
As we finish chapter 1, about a year of Jesus’ ministry has been
completed.
11.
CONCLUSIONS:
11.1.
So, we have seen
in this study:
11.1.1. Jesus begins His ministry In Capernaum.
11.1.2. Jesus Begins Healing & casting Out Demons.
11.1.3. Simon’s Mother-in-law is healed by Jesus.
11.2.
Jesus’ revealing
of His authority in compassion in all of these deeds truly should comfort our hearts
that we can trust in Him and all of His promises to us.