Mark 1:21-34
What has President Trump done for you? I know there are people in here who are happy that he is in power, and that’s cool, but ask yourself this – what has He done for me? Maybe set some favorable policies that you benefit from? Maybe done some things that you think should be done? He did get a cease-fire started in Israel and has certainly been working on growing the economic power of the US by enforcing tariffs and such. That’s great – but not what I’m talking about. What has Trump done for you?
Last week, we opened up our series exploring the Kingdom of God and saw that it is here, in real-time, a literal and actual kingdom, and that Jesus, the King, has personally invited you to be a citizen. In fact, it is so important to Him that you be a part of His Kingdom, that he paid your entrance fee Himself by dying on the cross and rising from the dead to appease the wrath of God and grant you forgiveness through faith. That’s kind of a big deal! And guess what? That’s not all! If it were, He’d still have done enough, but Jesus has done oh so much more than that – He runs His Kingdom with real authority, and it’s for your benefit!
Jesus Protects Us from Evil
The authority of Christ is a truly incredible thing. There was once an evil presence in my apartment – it was scary, strong, and took a few days to pray away, but in that, God protected us and kept us from evil affects. While there was absolutely something in that room that needed dealt with, Jesus was with us every step of the way and I was able to sleep in that room in the confidence that I was fully protected. The authority of Christ is on full display here at the beginning of Mark and you can see that with the oddly repeated word of immediately. It’s repeated 4 times in today’s passage with a 5th if you count “at once” in v28. It’s repeated a total of 9 times in ch1 and about 41 throughout the book of Mark (depending on the translation). That seems an odd word to have repeated so many times, but it really helps to show the intent of the author. While that word references time, usually just referring to the next thing that happens (and it is sometimes used that way), the way it is used throughout the story shows that it means a bit more. Jump back to v18 real quick – immediately they left their nets and followed Him. That does mean it happened right away in real time, but it also shows the authority Jesus held with them. There was no negotiation of His proposal; there was no questioning of His plans or expectations; He said jump and they jumped. The same thing happened with the unclean spirit, and notice that the spirit clearly knew Jesus’ full identity. And that is where the difference comes in – the unclean spirit was angry about the situation, while James and John were excited about it. The unclean spirit HAD to obey – it didn’t have a choice – but it hated that reality. James and John as we read last week willingly submitted to Christ’s authority and greatly benefitted from it.
Jesus Helps Us with Nature
Unclean spirits aren’t the only things that have to obey Jesus, though. So does nature itself! Mark jumps us immediately into the next story which is a small group meeting at Peter’s house. What’s interesting to note about this story is that nothing major is going on – they were just sitting down in the home and they told Jesus that Peter’s m-i-l was sick. Not dead, probably not even terminal (at least no details of that ilk were given), it seems here that she was just under the weather. And that’s where Jesus comes in to heal – which He does and then she gets up and gets them some tea. God cares about the little things! As a kid, I prayed over an Atlanta Braves game and within minutes saw David Justice hit a game-winning homerun. Scripture absolutely shows us that the minor things matter to God too and He shows that here in the healing of Peter’s m-i-l. Jesus uses His authority to protects us, but also to bless us! He wants to bestow good things upon His followers and proves it by upending nature. His authority provides us with the blessing of a good God who wants to give good things.
Next Steps
When Jesus speaks, all of creation bends to His will. His authority exists to accomplish the purposes of God, and in that, protects and blesses His people. This is real authority and hear this: it is here for you!
- Step out in confidence that you will be protected. Be aware of the spiritual realm, but not afraid of it.
- Keep a prayer journal and notate when prayers are answered.
- Willingly submit to Christ with your time (activity), treasures (money – tithing), and talents (what you are good at)
Earlier I asked you what President Trump has done for you. Has anyone received an invitation to Mar-a-Lago? Has anyone has their taxes given back? Jesus gave my baseball team a victory so that 15yo me would understand the power of prayer in relationship. Jesus uses His authority for our good and benefit. That’s a King I’m happy to submit to.
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