doesn’t surprise us, astonish us, or amaze us. Is a sanitized version of the real Jesus. is a phrase I learned from Ray Ortlund at Immanuel Church. We can call this half-Jesus “Jesus Jr.” Who is Jesus Jr.? Jesus Jr. He has all the encouragement and good vibes we want without the lordship and salvation we need. It’s a Jesus fashioned out of the selfish mind, perfectly contoured to personal desires and felt needs. Instead of accepting the Jesus of the Bible with all his claims of lordship and exclusivity, many have accepted a half-Jesus, which is really no Jesus. He fits squarely into the mold Self-centered thinking. But the popular Jesus is a far cry from the biblical Jesus. And it’s the one we swim in, primarily, in our area today. The other way is no less a denial but a much more subtle one. Could you imagine an event like this making the front page of the news websites today with any level of seriousness? And we have a demon-possessed man healed, the unclean spirit cast out, and everyone left awestruck.
Here we have the God-Man, Jesus, teaching not with suggestions for a better life but with the authority of the living God. So today’s passage, in today’s world, is just about as crazy as you can get. Part of that subjection to reason was a rejection of the supernatural-not only the supernatural miracles of God but even the person of God. They said all tradition, all revelation, all external authority must be put under the microscope of personal reason and submitted to the moral authority of the Self. They said modern people must question all authority. That’s what the Enlightenment thinkers told us to do. This passage includes at least two things almost no one believes in anymore: authoritative teaching and spiritual warfare.Īnd there are two primary way of ignoring them.
27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. We pick up the story now to see what life in God’s kingdom looks like.Ģ1 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. God will rule and his people will be glad. It means things will finally be done on earth as they are in heaven. Last week, we saw Jesus say in Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe in the gospel.” What is the kingdom of God? It’s God’s presence coming to all peoples and cultures, pressing into the brokenness of the world, fulfilling God’s promise to restore all things.
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