Jesus Teaches and Heals with Authority

Bible Study Lessons, Mark 1:21-45

22 They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as on then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

24 saying, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!"

25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"

26 Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him.

27 They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."

28 Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.

Crowds Healed

29 And immediately after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

30 Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they spoke to Jesus about her.

31 And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them.

32 When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed.

33 And the whole city had gathered at the door.

34 And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

35 In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.

36 Simon and his companions searched for Him;

37 they found Him, and said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."

38 He said to them, "Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for."

39 And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.

40 And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."

41 Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."

42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

43 And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away,

44 and He said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.

The Authority of Christ

The Jewish Synagogue

When studying the authority of Jesus we need to look at a bit of Jewish history. Synagogues served as "churches" and schools to teach the ways of the Old Testament to boys; sadly, not girls.

Jesus spoke at these synagogues as guest speakers were asked to come in to teach from time to time. Many of these guest speakers gave their sermons and quoted the better known rabbis of the day. They did this in order to give their sermons more authority.

The absolute difference of Jesus' teachings

Jesus did not need to quote anyone. He knew the Scripture and could give a Bible study lesson from the one who first versed it. In other words - God. Since Christ was God in flesh His authority came from Himself with no person to challenge it.

Driving out demons and healing the sick

This authority of Christ was further proven by the casting out of demons and healing sick patrons of the towns He visited. These spirits had no response to Jesus but to leave those they (temporarily) controlled.

Making Jesus the authority

One lesson taken from these verses is that we need to make Jesus the authority in our lives. By praying about how we should live our lives or decisions we need to make on a daily basis - listening for the answers, we can draw upon the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. He will direct us.

Love in Christ

- Bob

 Mark 1:1-8 - John the Baptist Preaches about Christ