Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 7 Study # 4
February 26, 2019
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: Mark used the record of the unclean spirit to enhance the "authority" Jesus expressed in Capernaum.
Introduction: We have considered the "authority" issues in Jesus' teaching. With the record of the reaction of the unclean spirit, we have an "enhanced" authority in the sense of the stacking on of evidence.
- I. Mark's Use of the Reaction of the Unclean Spirit.
- A. In his presentation of John and his country-wide impact, there is no record of any significant "miracles" and no "exorcisms".
- B. As soon as Mark begins to present "Jesus" as the Object of Faith, the supporting arguments for His identity become more intense.
- C. For those in the synagogues of Israel, what Jesus had to say was going to be significantly more critical so that "evidences" of genuine "authority" had to be given.
- D. The "contribution" that the record of the reaction of the unclean spirit makes to Mark's presentation.
- 1. Primary to this "added layer" of evidences is the reality that Mark chose the realm of "spirit" first.
- a. Jesus said that "God is Spirit; and those who relate to Him properly do so in spirit and truth" (paraphrase of John 4:24).
- b. Properly relating to God "in spirit" has much (if not everything) to do with the significance and impact of "spirit" as the essential core of all created persons.
- 1) It was, and is, "spirit" that God first breathed into created man and imparted "functional capacity" to him.
- a) All actions taken are rooted in "spirit".
- b) Nothing is exempted from this entire realm of "activity".
- c) Thus, it is those issues of "spirit" that absolutely dominate "man" and are of the first order of importance (Love and Truth Believed).
- 2) That Mark's move into the realm of "spirit" focused upon "an unclean spirit" indicates the most fundamental "problem" in God's present creation: creatures of "spirit" forsaking what is most valuable and rejecting what is true.
- a) It was in the John 4 context that Jesus told His disciples that He had "food" of which they were significantly ignorant and, by His declaration, made clear what was to be the critical issue of "Life": "to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work" (this is the essential "Love").
- b) In Mark's context, the presence of the "unclean" spirit in the synagogue reacting to Jesus' "teaching" indicates that "Truth" is the main battleground (What is to be believed is the essential issue of "Faith" -- i.e., "Truth Believed").
- c. It must not be overlooked that 1 John 2:16 nails this realm under the banner of "the arrogance of functional capacity", or, in the words of the Authorized Version, "the pride of life".
- 2. Secondary to this "added layer" of evidences is what the "unclean" spirit said and did.
- a. He is an example of the "whats?" of both Love and Truth Believed in the form of a contrary demonstration (a "what to love and believe" by illustrating "what not to love and believe").
- b. The "cry" of the "unclean" introduces the most basic level of the "Love" issue.
- 1) It is a "cry" of "abject terror".
- a) The verb used is only found in five texts in the New Testament (though its "root" is found in 58).
- i. Four times it refers to the reaction of "unclean spirits" to the presence of Jesus.
- ii. Once it refers to the rage of the multitude calling for the crucifixion of Christ.
- b) Mark's uses focus upon "great fear" (this text and 6:49).
- c) In this text, the question, "Are You come to destroy us?", is paramount.
- i. It reveals the "spirit's" awareness that his alignment with the "opposite of Love" and his part in manipulating "Truth" so that it is perverted into "The Lie" means he, and his compatriots, are headed to as complete a destruction as is possible without annihilation.
- ii. It reveals the issue of all "false Love": basic motivation (the "options" are only two: Love or Fear, each of which destroys the other as 1 John 4:18 declares).
- 2) It is "content filled" (lego).
- a) "What do we have to do with You?".
- i. This is a declaration of "no common ground".
- II. It is a most fundamental declaration for the realm of "spirit".
- b) "Jesus, Nazarene".
- i. As "Jesus" the "Love" issue is obsessed with the direction: "Life for His people" (Matthew 1:21) unto the uttermost with total disregard for the cost of such an objective.
- ii. As "Nazarene" the critical "Truth" is revealed: No pursuit of "the arrogance of functional capacities", as Philippians 2:7 declares.
- c) "Have You come to destroy us?".
- i. This "inevitability" exists because of the total absence of "common ground" ultimately puts the Kingdom of "righteousness, peace, and joy" at risk.
- ii. The issue in our text is the matter of "timing"; not "if", but "has the time come?"
- d) "I know You, Who You are".
- i. This is, of course, Mark's major thesis: Who Jesus Is.
- ii. The unclean spirit's description: You are "The Holy One of God" (of the many elements of this description, the one in focus is "Jesus" as the One Whose absolute total focus of existence is centered upon "God" as opposed to Himself.
- 3. And, then, third, there is Jesus' response.
- a. He disallowed the "spirit's" pursuit of "exposure" of Jesus' identity.
- b. And He disallowed any further use by the "spirit" of the man's body as a vehicle of personal expression of the contradictions of Love and Truth Believed.
