Mark has told us that Jesus had started preaching in Galilee. He has summoned his first disciples. But what does his public ministry look like? In Mark 1:21–28 we are given a snapshot of what Jesus does on a Sabbath day. In showing you Jesus’ activity, Mark wants you to understand who he is.
Hear the voice of authority in the teaching of Jesus. Jesus proclaimed the coming of the kingdom. Mark has already summarized the message of Jesus in verses 14–15. The time is fulfilled. The kingdom is near at hand. The good news of the kingdom includes a call to repent. The preaching of Jesus left no room for neutrality. You must repent from sin. You must trust in him. On a particular Sabbath day, apparently the one after calling Peter, Andrew, James, and John, Jesus goes into the synagogue in Capernaum. Or, rather, they went to Capernaum (verse 21, and they came out in verse 29). This is not Jesus alone, but he and his disciples. He is the active one, however. Jesus, the God-man, the Messiah, joins regularly in worship. He not only joins, he teaches.
Listen! The King is speaking! The teaching of Jesus is authoritative because the King is present. At the heart of the coming of the kingdom is the presence of its King. The crowd recognizes the authority in his teaching and contrasts it with that of the scribes. The authority of the scribes was at best derived. Yet the response was shallow. Amazement was the reaction, verses 22, 27. There is talk about Jesus, but little indication of repentance (verse 15), or the commitment of the disciples (verses 18, 20). The people were satisfied with being dumbfounded. But the voice of the King summons you to trust him. It also summons you to follow him, to obey him, and to love him.
“The evangelists want to indicate that Jesus’ word and work revealed the absolute, the supernatural, and the divine in such a way that even the multitude could not but be aware of it…. The miracles make it clear to them that the “new doctrine” Jesus brings (that of the kingdom) is effective and therefore preached with authority. This doctrine is at the same time power.”
Herman Ridderbos, The Coming of the Kingdom, pages 74–75
The authority of Jesus extends over the realm of Satan. The unclean spirit recognized Jesus. Satan seemed to be mocking the incarnation. The bulk of Scriptural references to possession are during the earthly ministry of Christ. Satan is a fallen angel, removed from heaven along with the angelic beings who joined in his rebellion. He is the great imitator. In the presence of the incarnation, he produces a parody. Notice how much emphasis Mark gives to Jesus driving out evil spirits: 1:21–28, 34, 39; 3:15, 22ff.; 5:1–20; 6:13; 7:24–30; 9:14–28. The temptation described so briefly by Mark is a decisive first battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness, or better, between Christ and Satan. The possessed man recognized Jesus and addressed him by name. Perhaps this was an effort to gain power by the use of a name. The title, Holy One of God, contrasts with the character of the speaker. The battle lines are drawn. The parties are identified.
“When Christ appeared on earth, this ‘prince’ [Satan] concentrated his power against him, non only by assaulting him personally and persecuting him relentlessly, but also by surrounding him on all sides with demonic forces in order to thus break down and resist this work. The (demon-)possessed in the New Testament were not ordinary sick folk, even though symptoms of illness—deafness, muteness, epilepsy, dementia—also occurred among them…. Satan mimics everything: God reveals himself in theophany (incarnation), prophecy, and miracle; the demonic caricature of these three, accordingly, is obsession, mantic, and magic.”
Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 3, pages 189–190
This battle takes place on the Sabbath. Notice on which day this driving out of the evil spirit takes place: the Sabbath. Think back to the first Sabbath rest in Genesis 2:1–3, and God entering his rest. Tie that in with Psalm 95, and Hebrews 4 puts them together. God entered his rest with the goal of the crown of his creation entering that rest. Of course, Genesis 3, with its description of the Fall, shows that Adam failed. God held out the rest of the promised land to Israel in the desert, but unbelief kept them out, as Psalm 95 reminds you. Hebrews 4 points you to the true Joshua, who will give rest to his people, and calls you to not fall through unbelief. There is still a sabbath-rest for the people of God. This very first triumph by Jesus over demon possession is also on a Sabbath, reassuring you that he is opening the way to perfect rest with your God.
The authority of Jesus triumphs. Christ silences the demon, perhaps unwilling to be identified by this questionable source. Christ’s word forces the evil spirit to leave. The judgment aspect of the fishers of men language continues. Jesus triumphs over Satan’s kingdom. His action here anticipates the power he has as the resurrected Lord. The voice of Jesus summons you to respond. There is no enslaving power of darkness that can resist his will, which means that there is no sin so great that Jesus cannot free you from it. There is no demon that can block its ears to Jesus’ voice. Repent, and trust!
Mark wants you to hear the voice of the Lord. Don’t merely marvel Respond to the authority of the King.