Unprecedented Jesus, Evil, and the Kingdom of God
I am fascinated with the Gospel of Mark chapter 1. Even though I can’t preach from it during Advent because Mark gives us no birth narrative of Jesus, we are given something else that is remarkable. After emerging victorious over Satan’s temptations in the desert for 40 days (vv. 12-13), in verse 15 Jesus proclaims that, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand” (ESV). After calling two sets of brothers as disciples (vv. 16-20), Mark then tells us that Jesus entered the synagogue in Capernaum and began to teach. A man in the synagogue was possessed by an evil spirit, and with great authority Jesus casts the evil spirit out of the man. As I was studying this passage for our REFUEL Bible study last week, it occurred to me that there is not one recorded instance in the entire Old Testament that I can think of where someone casts out an evil spirit. What Jesus did was unprecedented! It’s no wonder that Mark and the other Gospel writers tell us that the people were amazed not only at Jesus’ teachings, but His authority over evil spirits as well. Right off the bat in chapter 1, Mark, which was the first of the Gospels to be written, was getting the message out not only through the words of Jesus but also through His actions that the kingdom of God is breaking into our world!
The victory of Jesus’ temptation over the devil in the desert (Mark 1:12-13) and the unprecedented casting out of evil spirits are powerful indicators that God’s Kingdom has broken into our world and confronting evil and demonic forces on earth as never seen before! And the one place where evil will certainly not be tolerated is the synagogue, God’s house, where the man possessed by an evil spirit remained unchecked and unchallenged all until Jesus shows up one day.
I didn’t mean to preach in my blog this week (although I am a preacher, and this is after all Good News), but the New Testament goes on to tell those of us who are believers that through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, we’ve been given the same power and authority that Jesus demonstrated, so that as the kingdom of God advances through teaching which informs ignorance, we can and should confront systemic evils in society, that evil can be overcome with good (Romans 12:21), that it is possible to overcome evil (I John 2:13-14), and injustice (Isaiah 1:17), etc. The kingdom of God is the greatest threat to all evil in all its forms!
By the way, we are continuing our study of Mark at REFUEL each Wednesday night at 6:30 pm.
posted by John M. Hanna @ 7:29 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
What about confronting evil in its personal forms? We in the church seem much more comfortable discussing its systemic forms yet the biblical record seems more interested in actual entities. I don't know why I hadn't thought about the absence of deliverances in the OT, but it's a great point. Praise God for the inbreaking of the Kingdom. Keep writing!
Hey Keith, I agree with you, evil is evil, whether it is manifest in a personal form or corporately. I sometimes think the church overemphasizes personal sin and evil and too often neglects pronouncements of systems of evil found in governments, institutions, corporations, etc. But yes, each individual is ultimately responsible for their own sin. Thanks for the post my friend!
Hello John, I have never met you, but read your Blog with great interest.
How is it possible, and what makes it possible to "Live A Sin-Free Life?"...can this be achieved here and now in this present world?
I look forward 2 hearing from you.
Kindest Regards
In Christ,
Matthew
Thanks for the comment Matthew. If you’re near me, I’d love to meet you over coffee. And yes, based on clear passages from the Bible such as I John 3:6 and 9, it is possible, through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of a follower of Jesus, to repent from and turn away from deliberate sins. The liar must stop lying, the thief must stop stealing, etc. But it’s more than that. The energies that once were expended on deliberate sinful behavior now become empowered by the love of God and because of love for God and others to do the Lord's work and live according to His will.
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