Jesus' Authority: Teaching, Healing, and Calling Us

And so the demons knew that they were in and under the authority of God when Jesus shows up. They know that when the son of God would appear that their doom would be certain. And so not only are the people afraid but the demons are afraid. Nothing strikes more terror into the heart of the unclean than the presence and the holiness of God. And you're gonna see this throughout the whole book. When the holiness of Christ makes manifest, when he appears, the immediate response is fear and dread to anyone or anything unclean and unholy. We fear holy because we're not holy. [00:33:43] (47 seconds)  #FearOfHoliness

Not like that of the scribes. Now you have to understand that the scribes did have authority. The scribes, they were the most educated. They were the most well known to the scriptures. They were the teachers of the old testament. And so their comments and their teachings when they would enter into the synagogue as a scribe, it would carry weight. It would carry some authority. But listen to me, when Jesus speaks, there's a whole new dimension. When Jesus speaks, it's something beyond anything that they've ever heard, beyond anything they've ever experienced. [00:27:28] (42 seconds)  #AuthorityBeyondScribes

The reaction to Jesus' teaching is one of astonishment or some of your translations might say amazement. But neither of those terms actually do the term justice. The idea is not that they were surprised at his teaching, but rather the word indicates that they were terrified. They were afraid. It's the same word used in Mark chapter six verse 51 when the disciples see Jesus walking to them on the water and it says that the disciples were terrified. They were utterly astonished. So we have to understand that when Jesus teaches, there was an element of fear. [00:26:08] (52 seconds)  #TerrifiedByTruth

It's good news that you can't earn your way toward God. The good news is that what has been done for you has been done in Jesus Christ. And so the good news is that the king has come. Jesus has come. The good news that the king has come to do for you what you could not do. And that's the gospel. And so in verse 14 of chapter one, fourteen and fifteen, Jesus shows up on the scene and starts proclaiming the gospel of God. He says he says, the kingdom of God is here. [00:21:14] (34 seconds)  #GraceNotWorks

Now, if you remember back just a half a chapter in verse 15, Mark one fifteen, it says that Jesus begins his ministry by saying the kingdom is here. And now, Jesus is manifesting that kingdom, that power against evil forces, not just with his teaching, but with his words of authority. So it's also interesting to note that the demons, the unclean spirits seem to be the first ones who recognize the identity of Christ. They know exactly who he is. There's no controversy. There's no questioning. There's like, oh, let's just really see who you are. They know exactly who Jesus is. [00:32:57] (46 seconds)  #DemonsRecognizeJesus

And so Jesus taught with such authoritative power because Jesus taught as one like an originator of truth. He taught like a creator of life. He was the one that didn't derive earthly authority but had all authority. Jesus didn't come on the scene and just simply clarify some things that were true, and he didn't just simply interpret some things that they had already heard, but Jesus was teaching as one with essence of God. Jesus was speaking with authority, and it was rooted and grounded in God himself. And listen to me, it terrified them. They were afraid when Jesus spoke. [00:29:20] (52 seconds)  #DivineTeachingAuthority

And and so here's the gospel. Gospel is not religious advice. The gospel is good news. And and what that means is that religion says, this is what you must do. This is how you must live. This is how you must act. This is how you must perform in order to earn or climb your way into God's favor. In order to be accepted before God, there are certain steps, criterias, behaviors, religiousness that you have to perform in order to allow God to accept you in. But the gospel is not advice. It's good news. [00:20:33] (41 seconds)  #GoodNewsNotRules

he's not just someone with the power and authority to tell you what needs to be done, but Jesus is someone with the power and authority to do what needs to be done. He does what needs to be done and then offers that to you as good news. And so we see Jesus' authority because Jesus is God. We see this kind of authority in Jesus' baptism. If you remember back in the middle of chapter one, Jesus shows up and is baptized and the heavens open up and a voice from heaven says, this is my son whom I'm all pleased. The holy spirit comes and falls upon Jesus. There is a there is a commissioning of authority there. [00:22:42] (44 seconds)  #BaptismAffirmsAuthority