13 And you, being dead in your trespasses
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him,
having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting
of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has
taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed
principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing
over them in it. (Col 2:13-15, NKJV)
What authority do demons have over you as a Christian? Satan and his demons
are defeated foes. They are defeated and disarmed enemies of God. They
have no authority and no power over you as a child of God. The fact that
Jesus defeated them on the cross surely has something to do with the rare
occurences of people being demon-possessed today as they obviously were
in the first century.
Why does it seem that the devil just gets on your back and stays there?
Only the authority you give them when you rebel against God's will and,
therefore, align yourself with the will and plan of the demonic realm.
Remember, Satan is a liar and a destroyer. If he can make you think there
is no hope for you, that you belong to him, he will do so. He will use
any and every means at his disposal to keep you down, discouraged, and
walking away from God.
But if you have trusted in the LORD Jesus Christ, you belong to Him
and, as He said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow
Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither
shall anyone snatch them out of My hand" (John 10:27-28, NKJV). So call
on the name of the LORD Jesus Christ, claim the blood that He shed for
your sins, and rejoice in the victory He won for you forever! You, Christian,
cannot be controlled nor defeated when you draw near to God and resist
the devil.
AUTHORITY OVER SICKNESS
29 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue,
they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 But
Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her
at once. 31 So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and
immediately the fever left her. And she served them. 32 Now at evening,
when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who
were demon-possessed. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the
door. 34 Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, (Mark
1:29-34a, NKJV) ...7 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.
And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea 8 and Jerusalem
and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great
multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. 9
So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him
because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. 10 For He healed
many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.
(Mark 3:7-10, NKJV)
AUTHORITY OVER THE WILL OF THE CROWDS
35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while
before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there
He prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. 37
When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You." 38
But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach
there also, because for this purpose I have come forth." 39 And He was
preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.
(Mark 1:35-39, NKJV)
AUTHORITY OVER THE UNCLEAN
40 Then a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling
down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."
41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put out His hand and touched him,
and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed." 42 As soon as He had spoken,
immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. 43 And He strictly
warned him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, "See that you
say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and
offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony
to them." 45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread
the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was
outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every quarter. (Mark
1:40-45, NKJV)
C. Jesus declares His authority even to forgive sins which was the goal
of His redemptive mission on earth.
AUTHORITY TO FORGIVE SINS
1 And again He entered Capernaum after
some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. 2 Immediately many
gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not
even near the door. And He preached the word to them. 3 Then they came
to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they
could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where
He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which
the paralytic was lying. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic,
"Son, your sins are forgiven you." 6 And some of the scribes were sitting
there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 "Why does this Man speak blasphemies
like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 8 But immediately, when
Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves,
He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?
9 "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,'
or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'? 10 "But that you may know
that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"-- He said to the
paralytic, 11 "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go your way to
your house." 12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in
the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying,
"We never saw anything like this!" (Mark 2:1-12, NKJV)
II. The Opposition to Jesus' Mission.
A. With the authority of God demonstrated by His miracles, Jesus shows
that He can and will reach out to whomever He desires.
AUTHORITY TO MEET PEOPLE ON THEIR LEVEL
13 Then He went out again by the sea;
and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. 14 As He passed
by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said
to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. 15 Now it happened,
as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners
also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and
they followed Him. 16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating
with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is
it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?" 17 When Jesus
heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician,
but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners,
to repentance." (Mark 2:13-17, NKJV)
The religious community began to oppose Jesus once they heard that
He could forgive sins. They could not deny the miracles that He performed.
They could not even refute the wisdom of His preaching and teaching. So
they tried to attack His character.
Jesus makes it clear that His redemptive mission was to save those who
are in need of salvation. He was not saying here that the religious leaders
were righteous. His point was that it is sinners who need to be redeemed.
It is the sinners that Jesus came to redeem. The ones who had no hope were
the very ones that God loved enough to come in person to redeem. I'm thankful
that He came to save sinners because that means He came to save me! And
that is how much He loves you!
The scribes -- these were teachers of the Law of Moses-- and Pharisees
-- these were the ruling elders of the religious community -- would not
bring themselves to reach out to "sinners" since they felt it would make
them ceremonially unclean. Certainly, if Jesus were who He said He was,
He would not associate with such "low-life" people. Yet, there was Jesus
in the midst of a great banquet. Jesus was unconcerned about the
traditions of the religious community which interfered with His redemptive
mission.
Jesus has authority over all things and all people and so He can associate
with whomever He desires. And He desired to reach even the "low-life" people
of that day. No one is beyond His reach because God so loved the world
(John 3:16). That is His mission and it is our mission as Christians. Let
us be sure we do not let "church" or "the way we've always done it" ever
get in the way of actively working to share God's word with others.
B. Because Christ has authority over all, even the religious order, the
religious leaders opposed His teachings and His mission.
This is the beginning of the conflict the religious leaders had with Jesus'
mission and message.
AUTHORITY TO CHANGE RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS
18 The disciples of John and of the Pharisees
were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of
John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" 19 And
Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom
is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot
fast. 20 "But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away
from them, and then they will fast in those days. 21 "No one sews a piece
of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from
the old, and the tear is made worse. 22 "And no one puts new wine into
old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled,
and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins."
(Mark 2:18-22 , NKJV)
Jesus has the authority to change your religious traditions, no matter
how pious and holy they seem to be. What is the purpose of your worship
practices, following your traditions, going through the motions, or really
drawing close to and following the King of Kings and LORD of Lords?
AUTHORITY OVER THE LAW
23 Now it happened that He went through
the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to
pluck the heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why
do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" 25 But He said to them,
"Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he
and those with him: 26 "how he went into the house of God in the days of
Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to
eat, except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with
him?" 27 And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man
for the Sabbath. 28 "Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."
(Mark 2:23-28, NKJV)
Jesus has authority over the Law of Moses -- since it is the law He Himself
delivered to Moses through angels. His first point is that the Sabbath
was declared for the benefit of mankind, because we all need to rest and
worship God on a regular basis. His second point is mercy toward people
is more important than the letter of the Law. David went into the Temple
of God and ate the conscrated bread. This was because he and his men were
being unlawfully chased by Saul, who wanted to kill David. They had nothing
and no one to help them. So he turned to the only place for food that was
available. The Pharisees wouldn't complain about David's actions -- so
why were they complaining about his disciples grabbing a few grains of
wheat for food?
We had better be sure we do not judge the sins of others, particularly
other Christians, with such precision that we show no mercy and keep them
out of the Kingdom of God. As Christians we have the keys to the Kingdom
of God (Matt. 16:19) -- the key is the word of God and the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
AUTHORITY OVER THE SABBATH
1 And He entered the synagogue again,
and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 So they watched Him closely,
whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.
3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward." 4 Then
He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil,
to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent. 5 And when He had looked
around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts,
He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and
his hand was restored as whole as the other. 6 Then the Pharisees went
out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might
destroy Him. (Mark 3:1-6, NKJV)
In an almost unbelieveable encounter with Jesus, the religious leaders
would rather see someone continue through life with a lame hand rather
than gain wholeness of that limb. It was the Sabbath and one could do no
work on the Sabbath -- and healing must take a lot of work!
They were not concerned about obeying God -- they were interested in
controlling others. They liked their position of power over the nit and
pick of people's lives. The mission of Jesus Christ offered freedom to
people that they could not control. Since Jesus refused to abide by their
traditions, they plotted at this point to kill Him!
One must be humbled by the example of the Pharisees who were so intent
on living life according to their own rules that they forsook the Savior
who had come to redeem them. Humbled at the thought that you and I might
develop even a small portion of that same attitude.
Jesus' healing of this man in full view of the Pharisees demonstrated
His resolve to carry out the Father's will no matter what. His mission
to redeem the lost was so important He was willing to put His life on the
line for it. He put His life on the line for you.
Reflect on YOUR life: Jesus has demonstrated His authority over
demons, sickness, uncleanness, religious practices, interpretation of the
Law, and even over sin. Basically, He has authority over all things in
life -- and He came to redeem your life. Is your life submitted to His
authority? What would it look like if you were?
You will be an example of humility and reverence toward the LORD Jesus
Christ.
Your relationships at home and at work will reflect His everlasting love
toward you.
You will have a predetermined will -- ready to submit to whatever the LORD
requires of you.
You will diligently study the word of God that you might know and do His
good and perfect will.
As you learn more about Him and about His word and with a heart that says,
"Yes, LORD Jesus -- what is your will?", your submission to Him will make
you more effective servant in His kingdom. His kingdom is offered to sinners
who are forgiven, cleansed, and healed of the penalty and power of sin.
As new creations in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), we no longer live for ourselves
(Gal. 2:20), but under the authority of the One who had the power and did,
in fact, forgive our sins (Mark 2:10).
Our Creator God loves you and wants you to know Him! If you would
like to contact this ministry for further information or questions, please
send your e-mail to:
Email: ministryrequest1@WordTruth.Com
Web Site: WordTruth.Com
Copyright 1999, Randy Lariscy.