Jesus in Capernaum (Part A)

Judy is hard for most. They were really going by everything the rabbis said of course rabbis would say they were following Moses and the prophets, but you look at all of the laws they created and the burdens they put on the people and you realize that is not so nice. A very important part of what were saying because we going out to verse 22 and they were astonished at his teaching, he taught them as one having authority, and not as described. This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the gospel of Mark. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching, and now here's Pastor Rick is he teaches in the gospel of Mark chapter 1 in a brand-new message called Jesus in Capernaum are in the gospel according to Mark chapter 1.

Have your Bibles please turn we will take verses 21 to 34 beginning in verse 21 then they went into Capernaum and immediately on the Sabbath. He entered the synagogue and taught they were astonished at his teaching, he had taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, saying, let us alone. What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth. You come to destroy us know who you are holy one of God.

Jesus rebuked him, saying to quiet come out of him. When the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice came out of him, then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, what is this what new doctrine is this for with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits obey him immediately. His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee. Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. But Simon's wife's mother early sick with a fever told him about her at once. So we came and took her by the hand and lifted her up immediately the fever left her. And she served them at evening when the sun had set, they brought him they brought to him all who were sick and those who were demon possessed the whole city was gathered together at the door. Then he healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons.

He did not allow the demons to speak because they knew him.

Jesus in Capernaum. That's what we are considering and if we give you doing a book about an euros on sermons you have to make the titles exciting but going by verse by verse you want to make it educational and we did Jesus in Galilee in Capernaum is in Galilee but is now narrowed down to this particular village. This little city. You could even say in verse 21 then they went into Capernaum and immediately on the Sabbath.

He entered the synagogue and taught now where they entered they wanted to Capernaum. This is a important little village fishing village.

It's also a trading area and Roman polling tax station. I will point out because Matthew the tax collector is called to follow Jesus here in Capernaum, as well as the other four apostles Peter, Andrew, James and John.

They were also called here, it became the center of Jesus ministry. In fact Matthew in the ninth chapter refers to Capernaum as his own city. That's how much work he put into Capernaum but in the end he is going to pronounce a judgment on them where Mark says and immediately here in verse 21 again is his word again is it deed depicting the rapid movement of Christ through this synoptic gospel on the Sabbath. He entered the synagogue and taught the synagogue apparently was built by Roman soldiers.

We read in Luke, for example of of one of the century and swore he loves our nation and has built us a synagogue.

You can go to Capernaum today. The ruins have been excavated, and there you can see synagogue that is probably built a few hundred years after these events, but it's right on top of the synagogue that Jesus is preaching in right here in this story and there's a passageway they are tossed on the ruins and I entered that passageway in I didn't know it was for someone shorter than me and I stood up hard and I still have a bruise on my noggin. I was not myself took it wasn't for the embarrassment of the fear of someone giving me mouth-to-mouth. I might've gone ahead and just fell down anyway they will put a warning sign. The emphasis hard stone you'd be worth the time to go on Internet look at the synagogue in Capernaum. Anyway this preaching is on the Sabbath. He entered the synagogue and taught preaching was paramount, and it was his habit to enter synagogues and teach Paul pick this up all credulity was a rabbi would be invited, as he was. We read about that in the book of acts to preach and so we have frequently in connection to Christ in the synagogue, the mention of him teaching of the synagogue is not the same as the temp Temple was another experience and it was not meant to eclipse the temp but it was the place where teaching took place and they would read from the tour of the books. One of the first five books of Moses, they would select all and then they would read the profits and they would have a sermon pronounce a blessing on the people and interesting part about this is that they likely did not do any singing in the ancient synagogue state was centered on prayer and the ministry of the word and it goes back to leave in the days before Ezra the priest and the rabbis of course had hijacked Judaism. Thus the saying we well the phrase rabbinical Judaism means they departed from Moses and the prophets, and they were really going by everything the rabbis would say.

And of course the rabbis would say they were following Moses and the prophets, but you look at all of the laws they created and the burdens they put on the people and you realize that is not so nice.

A very important part of what were saying because we going out to verse 22 and they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Yeah while they were actually getting sermons from the Scripture. That's why they were astonished at his teaching. They were getting about the ritual and a list of do's and don'ts, mostly don'ts with the rabbinical rabbis are due Judaism and he did not know another interesting thing he did not start off denouncing the tradition of the elders.

He did later but for now he ignored get to that. So where it again it says here in verse 22 that they were astonished or blown away by his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, the anointing was on him.

He gave them God's word from a man that was evidently to them. God centered wasn't giving them his opinions about religion. Giving them understanding about their holy Scriptures and again this Judaism rabbinical Judaism in long-ago departed from there. Scripture as authorities and the rabbis taught nonsense in Scripture's name we see that today in churches we see churches that have departed from the Scripture, but continue to use Jesus name as they go ahead and broadcast their opinions really are often very often blatantly contrary to what Christ taught.

Matthew chapter 15 Jesus said, these people draw near me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. So you have people limited to have to be a real element to everything we come across in Scripture is something I can understand and relate to the other folks are wanting God in their lives and their depending on their leaders. There were spiritual leaders to invest themselves in God and stand before them with the word of God and bring them say something is going to light candles in the dark to awaken something in them to spare them to make them better at serving to be part of the processes that draw us closer to God and help keep us there to uphold many truths of Scripture and they weren't getting this the ideas of men were drowning out the voice of God. That's why we encourage believers to bring their Bibles to church that's not enough, not enough just to know the word is so much more into serving the Lord and growing in Christ and just the Bible but not without it this paragraph. Otherwise we would've just read and they continued in the apostles doctrine that would've been it but that's not it. Prayer that was that walk with Christ. There is the fellowship of the saints, so he points out, Mark does not as the scribes really lived in those days. Mark was still a lad. During this time, but he was.

Steve grew up in the synagogues. He knew what was going on and he knew what was missing and he heard Jesus preach Peter likely the one telling these things to Mark.

Of course Peter grew up in the synagogues and it had become dead religion dead orthodoxy just ritual, no flame, no love, no heart for God, not as the scribes says Mark. He taught them with authority. Unlike there are other teachers lack authority because they had departed from Scripture and the scribes they were originally rate up raised up to guard the Scripture from corruption and to keep it in circulation. They were meticulous counting every word and every page and they did a great job. We have the Old Testament largely because of scribes, but that again this is not enough. That is not to say they were all wicked men. They were failing as a group in the was not only the scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees and the lawyers and others just weren't excited and energized by their faith because they were so focused on rules rules that belong to faith. Of course, but this is life. Also scribes real is real to you, maybe even walking with Christ for decades as he still real to you, maybe just playing games you come to church and you really don't mean it you really love him. You don't see Kim you rather listen to some stranger or something on the Internet or somebody else but not God's word rather listen to indecent people, corrupt God's word to better if you if that's you, if you sit in front of your computer or something else and you let the godless people, corrupt your faith in a hand needs to come out of that computer and smack you upside your head be better that that happened to you then you go to hell thinking that you're right.

In rejecting the one who loves you and guide to save your soul. These were formally educated preachers. They had become inferior as preachers because they were formally misguided. Even the enemies of Christ at hearing him preach when they were sent to arrest him came back did not underestimate that that event they came back and said never man spoke like this will what distinguished him again preach God's word Scripture to Christ was not a token reading go to some churches they just read something from the Scriptures are supposed to do that, then they go off and do whatever they want to do the right shouldn't be that way. As a boy attending a denominational church. Nothing wrong with the denomination in and of itself, but there were the candle lighting's there were the altar boys.

There were the readings of it all. The people were in the hospital or just to hide but there was no word of God and I would wonder where's the word of God. I got more Scripture for my mom and I ever got from the pastors there. Matthew in his 23rd chapter says this about rabbinical Judaism or they will course Lord is speaking with Matthew records for they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of the fingers.

One of their own fingers. That is, so we listen to this and we say this is how not to do Christianity let me find out what my role is in Christ, to help make sure that this does not happen to us and I think it is a problem that if there were those that attend there. There are churchgoers that support churches that are interested in God's word. You need to withdraw yourself. You need to not support them. What is wrong with not enabled. There are enough other churches around to preach God's word that that do preach God's word. Verse 23 now now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit, and he cried out throughout the Lord's ministry of Christ our Jesus as he walked to his ministry was contested by Satan. I think it was unprecedented demonic activity in the days of Christ, and it was hell had mobilized to oppose what God was doing.

The idea of evil spirits, menacing humans and then using those humans to menace those who want God is not new to us and even in those days there was a such thing as exorcisms, not as the Hollywood would portray it with people trying to deal with demonic activity in human beings. In fact, in the Dead Sea Scrolls. There are is a formula in the scrolls to deal with those who are under demonic influences in the scrolls. Of course would go back 250 years before Christ, and here prices going to distinguish himself as separate from the those who would perform exorcism of his day with their incantations easements going to come out and demand that the evil spirit leaves and he will now on. I remember as we look at the miracles in the teachings of Christ, he is saying I Messiah I am the one there is nobody that does what I do and there will not be one after me because what I do and there were those Jews that caught it and there were those Gentiles that God but the nation itself did not reject him cry for Barabbas instead of their Messiah. They had the only thing Barabbas offered them was rebellion against Rome foreigners with the hope of establishing a Jewish kingdom like the Maccabees of revolting against the foreigners in their land.

That's all he had Christ he had a life that matched the Old Testament prophets in every way. And yet, because of their ignorance of the word. The refusal to receive the word they missed it cried out. It tells us in verse 23. This devil, the teaching of the scribes never got them to cry out in the middle of the service evidently, but Christ comes in and the preaching of Christ gets him to protest out loud in front of everyone.

This devil seems to have behaved himself in the assembly in an assembly again that avoided the word of God, but this change when the voice of God is heard preaching with authority of Scripture.

Word of God disturbs devils to this day. To this day there are those that will go into a church and hear God's word preached and cry out. Leave us alone. I didn't care for that.

It's big and he's a big territories of this reason that simply because they don't want to hear God's word. God's word is to rescue sinners who side with devils to get them to stop siding with devils, which is what is going on here.

Verse 24 saying, this is the demon speaking through the man let us alone. What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth. Did you come to destroy us.

I know you are the holy one of God so much here to comment so much going on here is the devil in the church that makes it close to us. The devil in the synagogue that made it close to them on a Saturday on the Sabbath day taking opportunity to disrupt the service. Some people think this is acceptable as it still goes off unclean spirits in church still cry out don't interfere with me. Many will perish on judgment day because they wanted Jesus to leave them alone. Gypsy Smith was an evangelist died in 1947, one in the 1860s. I believe, and his sermons are available. I think you can get them online or in bookstores. Gypsy Smith has this to say, not about this particular event for the latter event will get with the devils also trying to disrupt the ministry of Christ.

Gypsy says this you would rather be let alone. You don't thank me or anybody else to tell you the truth, and the devil within you cries out as it did the son of God, let us alone torment us not, you know what I get about that right this moment is in reading his words.

You don't thank me or anybody else for telling you the truth. How many children are raised to love the Lord throw their parents under the bus.

Nicholas and some doofus outside that could use a nice beat down from a pastor like me, and I think this is okay. They think that this really not devil with fangs and all who hates them God's messing with their head.

They think that getting away with it because the ground doesn't open up and swallow them. They think that their parents are lying to them. Or maybe it's maybe it's not apparent. Maybe it's a coworker.

Maybe it's a friend who knows who doesn't matter loose, preaching the truth, who you turning on for preaching the truth and you won't even think that you won't even say thank you for trying to keep me out of a real hell that doesn't and one day that's where I'll be if I keep saying to Christ leave me alone and it just breaks our heart we keep fighting this war that seems to be stacked against us evil spirits to try to silence the voice of God and in its place. You will get one lifetime of fake fun and venue get nothing. That's what Hell has for you. Nothing you are to see before this devil leaves this person is going to convulse. In other words he could care spirit about this first, people don't get that sort are very dumb saying by a man that was very smart and witty Mark Twain. Mark Twain's human wit goes, he was extraordinary. Mark Twain said I would go to heaven for the claimant. But hell for the company, you fool you regret that right now. Mark Twain is not writing books anymore. He is suffering and eternal judgment. Such dimwitted sayings saying out of the heart as that. What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth. Did you come to destroy, as you got nothing to do with them, but you understand he knew Christ was there are those today that know who Christ is and still reject him evil to man's permission to be evil learn that not only in the garden of Eden. But the book of Job.

Not only in the book of Job, we learned in our own lives evil wants to do evil and doesn't want anybody doing think about it. That's what this this devil is saying right now. Incidentally, the pronouns of changed is now it goes from leave us alone to I starts talking about himself. That's because he's taken over the individual. So we go back and read it.

Let us alone. What we need to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth.did you come to destroy us. I know who you are. You see how the pronoun moves.

I know man was the victim he was in bondage. She was in prison looks gospel Jesus says I will show you whom you should fear.

Fear him who, after he has killed as power to cast a Dell yes I say you fear him as a people don't fear God think it's okay to resist him. Christ is saying listen to me killing the body is not really the big thing soul what happens to you after the worst thing that can happen to a human being is not death, and it is not torture his eternal condemnation. The best thing that can happen to a human being is to be right with God. We call it salvation. We use the phrase so much. Maybe it's lost its emphasis with some what are we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth.

You come to destroy us, what an obnoxious, blasphemous being. This is speaking to God the son, knowing who we speaking to says I know who you are there again is switch pronoun. So at first the demon speaks as joined to the man and then he speaks as over Satan will do just let him very subtle move. Thanks for tuning in to cross reference radio for this study in the book of Mark cross reference radio is the teaching ministry of pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia to learn more information about this ministry. Visit our website cross reference radio.com once you're there you'll find additional teachings from Pastor Rick. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast. When you subscribe will be notified of each new edition of cross reference radio you could search for cross reference radio on your favorite podcast app that's all we have time for today, but we hope you'll join us next time. As Pastor Rick continues to teach through the book of Mark Reiki on cross reference radio