Kingdom of Power

Mark 1:14-34

 

How do you begin to explain something that is so totally new and radical that few people will understand? Adjectives can be used to describe sizes and shapes and colors and sometimes functions but when one is speaking of a different realm of existence then one must use a different approach to the subject.

 

When I was a little boy Mom and Dad would let my brothers and I go to the movies on Saturday afternoons. When the movie was over they would pick us up in front of the theater. For sure this was the thrill of our week and with great enthusiasm we would tell our parents what we had seen in the movie. But sometimes there just didn't seem to be adequate words to describe it.

 

Having returned from two years as a missionary in Africa I showed slides of my travels and experiences to my friends but somehow I felt a sense of frustration that they really didn't understand. But when I would get together with old missionary buddies we would enjoy talking about the things going on in Africa. The frustration of not being understood was not even noticeable. I guess you just have to have been there to understand. I'm sure that all of you have had similar experiences.

 

Shanna and I really want to teach our kids all about life but instead of learning what we teach them they seem to learn more by what they experience.

 

Can you imagine how Jesus must have felt trying to explain the kingdom of God to people? Jesus didn't have an easy task to perform because the kingdom of God was so radical and foreign to the minds of the first century Jews. They thought of the kingdom of God in terms of a realm or a geographical area. They thought of the nation of Israel once again united and powerful as it was under King David. They thought of economic prosperity and wealth. They thought of respect in the eyes of the other nations.

 

But the kingdom of God was not like that. The real kingdom of God had to do with the presence and the reign of God in people's hearts and lives. It is not a geographical entity in which life was lived. It is the rule of God in any circumstance. In the kingdom of God Jesus is the king. How did he help us to understand his kingdom?

 

In Mark 1:14-34 (NKJV) we read, "¹⁴Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel ^£of the kingdom of God, ¹⁵and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

¹⁶And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁷Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." ¹⁸They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

¹⁹When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. ²⁰And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.

²¹Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. ²²And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

²³Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, ²⁴saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are-the Holy One of God!"

²⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" ²⁶And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. ²⁷Then 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, and they obey Him." ²⁸And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

²⁹Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. ³¹So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.

³²At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. ³³And the whole city was gathered together at the door. ³⁴Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.

 

 

The first thing that we notice is that Jesus began to preach. Yes, he was a preacher. He came into Galilee preaching the gospel of God. The gospel that Jesus preached was simply that the kingdom of God was near. Two things are noticeable about Jesus' message. First, his message was urgent! The time is fulfilled and the kingdom is at hand! It is very near. It is the next thing that is going to happen. There is no more preparation to be made. The prophecies have been spoken, the forerunner has come and done his work; the Savior is here. Jesus cry was an urgent cry. It was not the cry of a coming king as that of the prophets but of the King who was right at the gate ready to set up his kingdom.

Do we even realize what time it is? Do we realize that the kingdom is here? Is our preaching urgent? Do we realize that generations are passing by us never to return again? Jesus message began with urgency and it is just as urgent in every generation.

 

The second thing that we notice is that Jesus' urgent message called for a radical response. He did not want the people to merely to know about the kingdom of God bu he wanted them to prepare for it. His words were not just food for thought! He wanted those who heard him to participate in the kingdom of God. The only way they could prepare themselves for participation in the kingdom was to repent and believe. Without repentance and faith the kingdom would not be realized in their lives. It would be missed.

 

The same is true of your life and my life today. If we are to experience the rule and reign of God in our lives we must not only hear the message but we must respond to it in repentance and faith. Without the response there is no participation.

 

Yes, Jesus was a preacher. He opened his mouth to proclaim the good news of the gospel. Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:21 said that God was well pleased through the message preached to save those who believed. Romans 10:14 says, "and how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" Just living a good life is not enough to be a witness for Christ. We must open our mouths to proclaim the good news that the kingdom is here. A good life is certainly necessary for a credible witness but if that were enough Jesus, the perfect man, would not have spent time preaching. But preaching about the kingdom is not the whole ball of wax either. There must be more.

 

Jesus not only preached but he enlisted and trained an army for the kingdom of God (v17). Why did Jesus need an army for God's kingdom? I cannot tell you why God does anything but his strategy is for world conquest and is to touch the farthest parts of the earth. For some reason, in his wisdom and sovereignty, God has chosen to work his plan through people. Not only does he allow us to enter his kingdom but he lets us share it with others. One word of caution is that the church is not to be equated with the kingdom of God. It is a witness of the kingdom and an instrument of the kingdom but it has no authority in itself. Jesus is the only authority in the kingdom. He said, "apart from me you can do nothing".

 

I think it is significant that Jesus chose to begin his army of disciples with a bunch of fishermen. God has always been fishing for men and women and trying to get them to return to him and to let him be God. But there is a great contrast between fishing for fish and fishing for men. Bringing men into the kingdom of God has eternal consequences!

 

We also notice in verse 18 that those who serve in the kingdom army are characterized by immediate obedience. Jesus didn't say, "Let's go on a picnic or a retreat." He said, "Obey me and I'll show you how to catch men." We need to remember that Jesus' disciples were to be an army, ready and equipped to do battle with the Satan and his army. Jesus demonstrated in the wilderness that Satan could be defeated through the power of the Spirit. Now he would train his army to do battle the same way.

 

The third thing that we notice about Jesus is that he is a teacher. He not only preached, he went into the synagogue and began to teach. The concept of the kingdom that the people had was incomplete and inaccurate. The people had not really grasped what the coming of the messiah was all about. Their ideas about the kingdom of God were wrong. So Jesus taught them! Now they had been taught before by the scribes but Jesus' teaching was different. He taught them in such a different way that the people were amazed. The difference was that his teaching had authority. Jesus didn't teach as one who had learned from a text book. He didn't have to. He taught about the kingdom as a king would. He created it and designed it! He did not need any tutors and he did not look to any mentor for his authority. Jesus taught with authority because he was himself the authority.

 

Not only did Jesus preach and teach about the kingdom of God but he demonstrated the kingdom of God (v. 23-34). The people were amazed at Jesus teaching because he spoke with such authority. But Mark doesn't tell us what Jesus said. He simply says that it was so wonderful that the people were amazed. But now Jesus does something even more amazing. He confronts a demon face to face. This is what some have called "a power encounter". Peter Wagner defines a power encounter as "a visible, practical demonstration that Jesus Christ is more powerful than the false gods or spirits worshiped or feared by a people group." It is one thing to preach and teach but it is another to back up your claims with a visible demonstration of power. In 1 Corinthians 4:18-20 Paul said, "now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant, but their power."

 

We may think that we are sophisticated and civilized but I believe that power is still the real issue for us today concerning God and his kingdom. The world is asking, "Is it real and if it is what good is it?" The issue today just as then is power. When Jesus cast out the demon he demonstrated the power of the kingdom. Notice that Jesus did not go through a ritual or ceremony to enact the power of the kingdom. There was no technique. He used just a few words.

 

The result of this dramatic demonstration was amazement to the point that people were talking about had happened everywhere.

 

Just after this incident Jesus and his small band of new recruits went to Simon's house where his mother-in-law was sick with a fever. Their first response was to tell Jesus about her. And, as we read in the next verse, Jesus healed her. Wow, a new teaching with authority! How refreshing compared to the old stuff. What happened then? The people didn't wait. They went home and got all of their sick folks and those who were demon possessed and brought them to Simon's house to be healed and Jesus healed them.

 

People are interested in the practical things of life and the sufferings they go through. People who suffer and are in bondage are not interested in empty philosophies or even theologies. When people hurt they don't care about words. And that's what the kingdom of God is all about. It's about setting people free not just from the pain of disease but also from the pain of sin.

 

The kingdom of God is a kingdom of power. Jesus, the king, can overcome the power of Satan and give you eternal life. The same Jesus who cast out the demons and healed the sick is the Jesus who is alive today and lives in the hearts of believers. Jesus can do mighty things in us when by faith we receive his preaching, his teaching and his power.