THEY WERE ALL AMAZED
Mark 1:21-28
If you have spent much time in “church life”, you have likely encountered certain people who thought that they ran the church. In fact, many times it is not that they “think” that they run the church they actually do “run the church”. This is the reason that there are so many assemblies that are struggling today.
When you encounter a church that has constant strife and turmoil it is usually because the focus has shifted from Jesus Christ to certain people and their personal preferences. On the other hand, there is nothing sweeter than an assembly of God’s people who are united in their love and devotion for the Savior and focused on God’s glory.
When Jesus is in control of a church some amazing things will happen. We have proof of this fact in our selected text today. One Sabbath, Jesus entered a Synagogue and taught the people. By the time He was finished, the people in that gathering were astonished by what they had seen and heard. The same thing has happened and I pray will continue to happen within our own assembly.
I want to examine the events that took place in that Synagogue and preach a message entitled “…And They Were All Amazed”. When we are finished, I hope that it will be apparent that the things that took place within that Synagogue that day should take place in this church every time we gather together.
On that day THERE WAS A GREAT MESSAGE, THERE WAS A GREAT MINISTRY and THERE WAS A GREAT MIRACLE. Let’s begin with the fact that in that assembly:
I. THERE WAS A GREAT MESSAGE
v21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.
- The first thing that we see is:
A. THE SPEAKER
The speaker in the Synagogue was none other than the sinless Son of God. Throughout my life I have heard thousands of sermons. Some were from men who were seminary educated with decades of experience, and others were from recent converts with very little bible knowledge. I have benefitted from many of these sermons, not because of the men who delivered them, but because of the power of God’s Holy Word.
Leighton Ford was speaking at an open-air crusade in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Billy Graham was to speak the next night and had arrived a day early. He came incognito and sat on the grass at the rear of the crowd. Because he was wearing a hat and dark glasses, no one recognized him. Directly in front of him sat an elderly gentleman who seemed to be listening intently to my presentation. When I invited people to come forward as an open sign of commitment, Billy decided to do a little personal evangelism. He tapped the man on the shoulder and asked, “Would you like to accept Christ? I’ll be glad to walk down with you if you want to.” The old man looked him up and down, thought it over for a moment, and then said, “Naw, I think I’ll just wait till the big gun comes tomorrow night.” (Good News is for Sharing, Leighton Ford, 1977, David C. Cook Publishing Co., p. 67)
I am here to tell you that there is only one “big gun” and His name is Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter who is speaking, when the power of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures are at work, lives can be changed. That was the case in this Synagogue and that is the case today as well.
- Now that we have seen The Speaker, let’s take a moment and examine:
B. THE SERMON
We are not told what the specific subject matter was, but there are some safe assumptions that we can make concerning Jesus’ message. The heart of Jesus’ message in those days was “repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”.
On another occasion Jesus entered a synagogue and read from the Book of Isaiah.
Luke 4:16 and he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
It was a common thing for Jesus to teach in the Synagogues. We see this in - Matthew 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
On this day, whatever His specific message was, we know that it was powerful for “they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.” (v22)
- Without a doubt, on that day there was A Great Message. As we continue we will also see that :
II. THERE WAS A GREAT MINISTRY
This passage records a testimony of a life that was forever changed in that meeting. The reason that this man was delivered is because Jesus had compassion on Him. Notice in verses 23-26:
A. THE COMPASSION
v23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.25 and Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.26 And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.
This man was helpless in his condition. We do not know how long he was possessed before Jesus came on the scene. We also do not know how long he had been attending the services at the Synagogue. This shows us that there may be people within our own assembly who are faithful in their attendance, but they remain far away from God.
When Jesus saw this man He had compassion on him and delivered him from this evil spirit. I am glad that Jesus is still moving in the lives of people in our day. I stand before you today because almost 23 years ago Jesus was present in a church service at Mt. Olive Baptist Church and He saw my helpless condition and He had compassion on me.
Many of you can testify of a similar experience in your life. Others may be in a desperate situation today. You are lost and away from God and you need to know that the Bible says that you are “dead in trespasses and sins”. This could be the day that Jesus comes on the scene and delivers you from your sins. And if that is the case, it will be because of the compassion of the Christ.
- Not only do we see “The Compassion”, we also see:
b. THE CONFRONTATION
Jesus didn’t just have compassion on this man; He also confronted the works of evil. He rebuked the demon and cast him out. This was a great display of Jesus’ power. Jesus did something for this man that he could not do for himself. Furthermore, Jesus did something for this man that no one else could have done.
You cannot do anything about your sinful condition. You may have loving Christian friends who are concerned about your eternal destiny, but they cannot deliver you. The good news is that Jesus has already done all that is necessary for your salvation. The Gospel that He preached in the Synagogue is the same Gospel that can save your soul.
What is this Gospel? It is the “good news of Jesus Christ”. - I Corinthians 15:3 tells us that “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures”
The very reason that Jesus was in this Synagogue is because God sent Him to be the sacrifice for our sins. God sent His only son, Jesus Christ into this world. He lived a sinless life, and suffered on our behalf. At Calvary He took our place and paid our sin debt, Jesus died on that cross, but on the third day, He rose again. Through faith in Him we can be saved from our sins and receive everlasting life and a home in Heaven.
In order to deliver you from your sins, the Holy Spirit confronts us with the reality of our sins. The Bible tells us that the wages of those sins is “death”. The precious Holy Spirit also convinces us that we are in desperate need of a Savior. Jesus is that Savior and when we surrender to Him, we can be delivered in a similar way to this man who was possessed by an evil spirit.
When Jesus comes on the scene lives will be changed and all who are present will be amazed. In that Synagogue there was A Great Message, there was A Great Ministry and finally we will see that:
III. THERE WAS A GREAT MIRACLE
The Synagogue was the place where Jews gathered for instruction and worship. Synagogue services included prayers, the reading of Scripture, and usually, a sermon explaining the Scripture. It was common for a visiting Rabbi to be invited to bring the message. This explains why Jesus was the one teaching on this day. I am sure that those who entered the Synagogue that day expecting a normal service. They probably figured that they would pray, fellowship and spend some time in the scriptures. They were certainly not expecting to see the great miracle that was performed in their presence. This special guest opened the scriptures and amazed them with His teaching. Then He confronted the evil spirit that was tormenting this man and before their eyes this man was completely transformed.
- Notice:
v27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. 28 And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.
Jesus power amazed the people and the news could not be contained within the Synagogue. They went out and told people everywhere about this man who had performed such a great miracle in their midst.
I am glad to report that He is still as powerful and compassionate as He was back then. And as a result, lives are still being changed! In our midst today are people who have troubles and cannot help themselves. They are facing, mental, physical, marital; financial issues. However, the most serious issues are those of a spiritual nature. Doctors may help the mental and physical issues, counselors may help the marital issues, getting a part time job may solve the financial issues. But the spiritual issues can only be solved by the miracle working power of Jesus Christ!
Jesus spoke to that demon and it had no choice but to flee. The demon “cried with a loud voice and came out of him”. This cry was the sound of forced submission and utter despair on the part of the unclean spirit. We are not told how this man responded to his deliverance. But if this event caused those spectators to be astonished, it is safe to assume that this man was overwhelmed with joy! His life was completely transformed! He went from bondage and oppression to peace and liberty.
As I said earlier, Jesus is still transforming lives, delivering captives and saving souls today! Some amazing things happened in that Synagogue.
i. THERE WAS A GREAT MESSAGE
ii. THERE WAS A GREAT MINISTRY
iii. THERE WAS A GREAT MIRACLE
The reason that these things took place is that Jesus was in control. Today, we have the opportunity to hear a great message, we can be a part of a great ministry and we can witness a great miracle. But for these things to happen, Jesus must have His proper place. When He does, then we can leave here saying “all of the assembly was amazed”.
Perhaps you are like this man that we have considered today. You are in a seemingly helpless situation. You cannot help yourself and no one else can help you. I would like to introduce you to the only one who can… His name is Jesus and He has already done what is necessary to secure your deliverance.
I encourage you to surrender to Him today. Repent of your sins and trust Him as Lord and Savior. If you will, He can and will change your life eternally! Those of us who are saved should long to see this kind of transformation. And when we do, we should go out and tell everybody what happened when Jesus came one the scene. And then it can be said of our assembly that Jesus’ authority was present “and they were all amazed”.
