Encounters with God The Gospel of MARK

Thomas Nelson

Contents

An Introduction to the Gospel of Mark..............................7An Overview of Our Study of the Gospel of Mark.....................11Lesson #1: Jesus Delivers from Unclean Spirits.....................15Lesson #2: Jesus Forgives and Heals................................27Lesson #3: Jesus Commands Nature...................................39Lesson #4: Jesus Raises the Dead...................................49Lesson #5: Jesus Multiplies Bread and Fish.........................59Lesson #6: Jesus Confronts His Opposition..........................69Lesson #7: Jesus Dies and Rises from Death.........................79Notes to Leaders of Small Groups...................................87

Chapter One

JESUS DELIVERS FROM UNCLEAN SPIRITS

Unclean spirits: powerful evil forces that cause a person to act in a wicked manner apart from that person's will.

B Bible Focus

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, "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!" But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. Then 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." And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee (Mark 1:21-28).

Mark opens his Gospel as if bursting from a gated chute. In twenty short verses he covers the ministry of John the Baptist, Jesus' baptism by John in the Jordan River, the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, the earliest preaching message of Jesus, and the call of four fishermen to be disciples. The message of Jesus in the earliest days of His earthly ministry is summarized by Mark in eighteen words, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15).

Then, Mark launches into the first supernatural act of Jesus' ministry-the casting out of an unclean spirit. Mark very quickly establishes that Jesus had authority over unclean spirits-they obeyed His commands fully and definitively.

Jesus performed this act of deliverance in public view. He was in a synagogue in Capernaum, the city Jesus seems to have adopted as His ministry headquarters. As was customary for rabbis and those who were well-known teachers, Jesus was given the privilege of teaching. Those who heard Him described Him as teaching with authority to the point they were astonished. Then, apparently in response to Jesus' teaching, a man with an unclean spirit cried out uncontrollably. In torment, the demons demanded to be left alone. They clearly knew who Jesus was, the Holy One of God.

Rather than leave the unclean spirits alone, Jesus confronted them and commanded that they leave the man they had inhabited. His command was simple and direct: "Be quiet, and come out of him" (Mark 1:25). The unclean spirits convulsed the man but apparently did not utter a sound ... and they left. Jesus both taught and then acted with healing, delivering power in a manner that left the people stunned in awe.

Do demons exist? Are they active today? If so, how are we to deal with them?

Believers have asked these questions through the centuries, and they continue to be asked by believers around the world today.

Demonic power is alluded to in the Old Testament, but there are no examples of demonic possession and deliverance from being possessed. Nevertheless, Jewish people from the earliest times recognized that the devil existed and that he had power to entice people to disobey God's commands and to speak and act wickedly. The devil is characterized throughout Scripture as having access to a person's mind, with the intent of prompting willful acts that defy God and seek to countermand His authority over all things.

Demons are traditionally defined as evil spirits that seek to express themselves through living creatures. They are presented throughout the New Testament as being personable and intelligent (Acts 16:16-18), having supernatural strength (Luke 8:29; Acts 19:13-16), and being fully aware that Jesus is divine. They torment their victims and work in direct opposition to God's work with varying levels of influence, oppression, and possession. They can cause both physical torment and mental anguish. They do not possess believers.

Demons appear to have been particularly active at the time of Jesus, perhaps because they knew their days were numbered and their power was subject to limitation. With the incarnation of the Son of God, the realm of evil spirits was being invaded and conquered.

A significant segment of the population in Western cultures today does not believe demons exist. Scoffers cite various mental illnesses and physical illnesses as having tormenting power. Jesus, however, called unclean spirits for what they were: He knew them to be rebellious spirits against God, in league with Satan. These spirits knew Jesus to be the Holy One of God.

Jesus did not teach about demons, but whenever He was confronted by evil, He banished it from His presence and from the lives of people sorely afflicted by its controlling impulses. His purpose was not to seek out sickness or evil spirits. He also did not want to grandstand or astonish His audiences with His supernatural power. Rather, Jesus sought to set people free from whatever it was that placed them in bondage (John 8:32). He wanted to remove any obstacle that might arise that caused people to become distracted or confused about the truth of who He was and what He taught.

Perhaps the most potent form of human power identified and admired in the ancient world was spiritual power. Mark begins his Gospel with a clear statement that Jesus had spiritual power that was divine.

How do you explain terrible acts of wickedness in our world today?

What do you believe to be the role of Christians in confronting evil?

How do we cast out evil wherever and whenever we encounter it?

A Application for Today

A man walked into a large downtown church. He was dirty and unkempt, obviously one of the inner-city street people who were routinely offered a sandwich and cup of coffee in a church-operated ministry half a block away from the cathedral.

The man made his way to the front pew and sat down. During the song service, he waved his arms as if conducting a choir, and when the choir began to sing, he became even more animated in his conducting. Tension filled the air, as parishioners began to look at one another wide-eyed and somewhat alarmed. Was the man dangerous or just deranged? Should something be done, or should he be left alone? Was he sober or drunk? Was it acceptable to smile at his behavior, or was it better to wear a furrowed brow and a frown? Was he a paid actor, or a real street person?

When the time came for the parishioners to approach the altar to partake of Communion, the man joined those in line to receive the elements. When offered a wafer as the "Body of Christ," he gobbled it eagerly and announced in a loud voice, "That has no taste!" When the chalice of wine was extended to him as the "Blood of Christ, the cup of salvation," he gulped the entire contents of the chalice and stood to announce, "That was no blood and the Blood of Christ doesn't mean anything anyway." He launched into a tirade of obscenities and vulgarities, all of which seemed aimed at denouncing not only the church, but Jesus as the Savior.

Ushers quickly moved in to escort the man from the building. He did not go calmly, but kicked and screamed in a manner that required four men to eventually lift him bodily and carry him out to the street, where they waited with him until an ambulance arrived.

At a meeting with the ushers the following week, the advice was given: "Act sooner rather than later." However, no one could define when sooner might be.

What should have been done in this case? And when?

It's one thing to look back on an incident and map a strategy. It's another to state what others should have done, and why. What would you have done had you been a member of that church and in attendance that Sunday morning? Would it have made a difference if you had been a person in a leadership position, such as an usher or board member or a member of the pastoral staff?

How would you have determined if such a person was mentally deranged or spiritually wicked? Would it have made a difference in your response to him?

S Supplementary Scriptures to Consider

Jesus' deliverance of people from evil spirits was apparently not an uncommon event. Jesus' popularity grew very quickly after this first incident identified in the Gospel of Mark, and we read just a few verses later:

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You." 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." And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons (Mark 1:35-39).

Often in today's world, prayer for the healing of physical and spiritual ailments takes place in non-church settings or in more private settings-special rallies, meetings, seminars, or at side altars. How would the people in the Galilean synagogues respond to having demons cast out of those in attendance? What about today? Consider this statement: "Demons are active only when the gospel is being proclaimed with authority and Jesus Christ is being lifted up as sovereign God." Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?

One of the foremost examples of a demon-possessed man being healed is that of a man who lived on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee:

Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me." For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!" Then He asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many." Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them." And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the county. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region. And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you." And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled" (Mark 5:1-20).

Swine were not only considered unclean animals, they were appropriately kept at the city dump and allowed to roam cemeteries. Swine were also animals routinely offered as sacrifices to the god below as part of Roman rituals. Rome ruled the ten cities of Decapolis, and the Roman gods were routinely worshiped there. The swine possessed by devils were destined for sacrifice. Jesus simply speeded up the process of their death! Mark wrote that the people of the area pleaded with Jesus to depart from their region. Why? Would you have asked that He leave your town? Your field? This man's deliverance was immediate and complete. He was able to sit calmly, remain clothed, and speak in his right mind. These attributes are hallmarks of mental health: an ability to focus, to adhere to cultural and social normative behavior, and to speak rationally. How comfortable are you in the presence of people who are mentally ill? How are qualities associated with mental health impacted by too much stress? Jesus sent this man home to his friends to tell them what had happened and to express the compassion of the Lord. Is it more or less difficult to witness about Christ Jesus to those who know you well and have seen you at your worst?

The opponents of Jesus attempted to explain His supernatural power over evil spirits by claiming He was in league with them:

The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons." So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house" (Mark 3:22-27).

Can you cite an example of this truth that a kingdom or house divided against itself cannot stand, but it has an end?

Reflect on this statement, "No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man." What implications does this statement have for the role of intercessory prayer in evangelism, healing, or deliverance from evil?

Jesus was misunderstood even by His own family:

"But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind" (Mark 3:21).

When Jesus' own family members and friends heard about the crowds He was attracting and the deliverance miracles He was performing, they questioned His sanity. Have people you dearly loved ever questioned your sanity or stability after you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior or you sought to obey what Jesus was telling you to do? How did you respond? What were the results?

I Introspection and Implications

1. What do you think when you hear the word "demonic"? Are you curious about demons? Do you dismiss the notion that demons exist? Do you believe they exist and pray you never encounter one? Do you suspect demons might be at work in a particular person's life but don't want to say anything because you fear what others might think of you? 2. How do you "feel" about the possibility of demonic activity or influence in the world around you? What is your emotional response to evil or unclean spirits? Do you feel fear? Dread? Anxiety? 3. Is it ever the "right thing" to "do nothing" for a person you believe is suffering with mental, emotional, or spiritual problems? 4. How do you define and differentiate among the spiritual conditions listed below? Spiritual impression to do evil Spiritual oppression (or spiritual depression) Spiritual possession

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Encounters with God The Gospel of MARKby Henry Blackaby Richard Blackaby Thomas Blackaby Melvin Blackaby Norman Blackaby Copyright © 2007 by Henry Blackaby, Th.M., D.D. Richard Blackaby, M.Div., Ph.D. Thomas Blackaby, M.Div., D.Min. Melvin Blackaby, M.Div., Ph.D. Norman Blackaby, M.Div., B.L., Ph.D.. Excerpted by permission.
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