Jesus, Demons and Questions

Theology 30 Jan 2015

As I read Mark 1:21-28 this week, a series of questions ran through my head. Questions alone are not unusual for me. Actually, questions are a daily occurrence. Take a moment and read Mark 1:21-28 and then come back to this blog.
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Did you read it? Make sure you did, because the passage is nothing short of amazing! Perhaps you have some questions about the passage. Here are just a few of my questions. Trust me, the original list is much longer than this…I’m just sparing you some of the pain by abbreviating it.

  • Why does Jesus’ authority differ from that of the scribes? Is it the following miracles? Is it the possibilities He is proposing to them? Are the ideas new to their ears?
  • Immediately? Why this term? Is there urgency?
  • How does the unclean spirit recognize Jesus and why does it call Jesus by two names: Jesus of Nazareth & the Holy One of God?
  • Why does Jesus silence the unclean spirit? Because they are in a synagogue? Because it is the testimony of a demon? If immediately is such a big word, then why silence him?

The passage inspires questions in me, and that is good, but I don’t want to get lost tracking down my questions and miss the whole point of what Jesus is doing.

Here’s what I think Jesus is doing. Jesus demonstrates that the kingdom of God has no equal opponent in this world. It’s not even a fair fight. Jesus takes the most disturbing event, a demon possessed man in a Jewish worship service, and squarely defeats it! There’s a conversation involved between Jesus and the demon, but there is no battle…there is no negotiating…there is only Jesus showing the people what the kingdom of God is all about. God’s rule and God’s reign the lives of people willing to receive Him. The key words of that are God’s rule and reign.

Going back the questions, some of them are easily answered if we believe the previous paragraph. Jesus is unlike anything the people have seen before because the power of God is working through Him. The demon knows precisely who Jesus is and calls Jesus by name. Jesus silences the evil spirit because that alone shows the power of God at work. And yes, the word “immediately” in the passage is important, because this is urgent.

It still is urgent. It will always be urgent. The kingdom of God, His rule and reign, grows in the lives of people, and in turn, in the world as a whole.