Angelic Conflict part 252: The Carrier of the kingdom of God – Mar 1-3; Luk 4; 1Ti 4:1; 1Co 2:12; 2Co 11:14; 1Jo 4:1-6.

Title: Angelic Conflict part 252: The Carrier of the kingdom of God - Mar 1-3; Luk 4; 1TI 4:1; 1CO 2:12; 2CO 11:14; 1JO 4:1-6.

 

 

In many instances, Christ's teaching about the kingdom of God is mentioned in the same breath as healing or casting out demons, activities that demonstrate the power of the kingdom of God.

 

The Lord not only talked about the kingdom but He embodied it. Wherever He went, he was about freeing people from the scourges of the ruler of darkness.

 

Christ's ministry began with a routing of demons as He preached the gospel of salvation.

 

In the opening of Mark's gospel, Jesus begins His ministry by announcing:

 

MAR 1:14 And after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,

 

MAR 1:15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

 

Mark is saying that this was the main body of His teaching in Galilee.

 

The main body of Christ’s teaching in Galilee as He began His ministry was that the kingdom of God was at hand and that Israel needed to repent and believe in the gospel.

 

Then Mark continues to inform us of what this kingdom teaching means, and he does so by illustration.

 

After calling his disciples, Jesus amazes the people with the authority of his teaching.

 

MAR 1:16 And as He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.

 

MAR 1:17 And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." 

 

MAR 1:18 And they immediately left the nets and followed Him.

 

MAR 1:19 And going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets.

 

MAR 1:20 And immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.

 

MAR 1:21 And they went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach.

 

MAR 1:22 And they were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

 

Immediately, however, a man demonized by an unclean spirit cries out:

 

MAR 1:23 And just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out [singular],

 

MAR 1:24 saying, "What do we [plural - speaking on behalf of all demons] have to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are —  the Holy One of God!"

 

In contrast to all the people around Jesus at the time, those in the demonic kingdom know exactly who Jesus is and have suspicions about what he has come to earth to do.

 

MAR 1:34 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.

 

MAR 3:11

And whenever the unclean spirits beheld Him, they would fall down before Him and cry out, saying, "You are the Son of God!

 

Jesus rebukes the demon, telling him to be silent, or literally "muzzled."

 

After Jesus muzzles the demon with his divine authority, the demon throws the man to the ground and leaves him with a shriek.

 

MAR 1:25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" 

 

The demon leaves kicking and screaming. Demons throw tantrums when they don’t get what they want.

 

MAR 1:26 And throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice, and came out of him.

 

This is the kingdom of God and what it means when it comes to the earth in Christ.

 

Mark then notes that the people were again "amazed" at this new teaching and new authority, showing that the two go hand in hand.

 

Every CA believer has been given the new teaching, and even more new teaching, as well as the authority to communicate it. Therefore, we should teach and communicate with confidence and authority without compromise.

 

2CO 5:17-18

Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

 

ROM 1:16-17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous  man shall live by faith. "

 

By compromising with false doctrine and attempting to be people pleasers and friends with the world system, too many Christians do not communicate the gospel with authority. They are either embarrassed or have a weak testimony through lack of wisdom and lack of understanding of the authority and power of the gospel. They are more interested in the approval of men rather than the approval of God.

 

MAR 1:27 And 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."

 

MAR 1:28 And immediately the news about Him went out everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.

 

Mark then records Jesus' healing of Peter's mother-in-law's fever which may have been demon induced.

 

MAR 1:29 And immediately after they had come out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

 

MAR 1:30 Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they spoke to Him about her.

 

MAR 1:31 And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them.

 

LUK 4:39

And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately arose and waited on them.

 

That very evening the whole city brought all who were sick or demon possessed and Jesus cured many and cast out many demons.

 

MAR 1:32 And when evening had come, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed.

 

MAR 1:33 And the whole city had gathered at the door.

 

MAR 1:34 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.

 

Next in Mark's account, Jesus tells his disciples that He wants to go into other villages and proclaim the message there also.

 

MAR 1:35 And in the early morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there.

 

MAR 1:36 And Simon and his companions hunted for Him;

 

MAR 1:37 and they found Him, and said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."

 

MAR 1:38 And He said to them, "Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, in order that I may preach there also; for that is what I came out for."

 

This He proceeds to do and Mark summarizes the time as preaching and casting out demons.

 

MAR 1:39 And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.

 

Jesus then heals a man with leprosy, followed immediately by an account of Jesus healing a paralytic on the Sabbath. After a brief interlude, we find Jesus again healing people, setting crowds of people from the scourges of the enemy and driving out evil spirits.

 

MAR 3:7 And Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and also from Judea,

 

MAR 3:8 and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude heard of all that He was doing and came to Him.

 

MAR 3:9 And He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the multitude, in order that they might not crowd Him;

 

MAR 3:10 for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed about Him in order to touch Him.

 

MAR 3:11 And whenever the unclean spirits beheld Him, they would fall down before Him and cry out, saying, "You are the Son of God!"

 

MAR 3:12 And He earnestly warned them not to make Him known.

 

Several verses later we have Mark's account of the Beelzebul controversy, in which Jesus presents Himself as the one who has come to tie up the strong man by the power of God.

 

We are not yet out of Mark's third chapter.

 

MAR 3:20 And He came home, and the multitude gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal.

 

MAR 3:21 And when His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, "He has lost His senses."

 

MAR 3:22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons."

 

MAR 3:23 And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan?

 

MAR 3:24 "And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

 

MAR 3:25 "And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

 

MAR 3:26 "And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!

 

MAR 3:27 "But no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.

 

Mark summarized the Galilean ministry as:

 

MAR 1:15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

 

The kingdom of God is about vanquishing the kingdom of darkness and thus setting the captives free. Demons are cast out, people are healed, and the gospel delivers every soul that believes.

 

Luke's and Matthew's account of Jesus' ministry begins with Jesus confronting the devil in the desert. The cosmic war that has raged throughout the ages has now come to center on one person, Jesus Christ. Jesus withstands each temptation.

 

If Jesus had been born in sin or become a sinner then not only would He not qualify as our impeccable Savior but He also would have come under the dominion of satan. The virgin birth and ability not to commit one sin qualified Him as Savior and also ensured that satan would never have any power over Him.

 

Unlike all other humans, Jesus did not come under satan's power by becoming a slave to sin. Jesus stated that satan had no power over Him.

 

JOH 14:30 "I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me

 

Rather, Christ is stronger than the strong man and will bind him.

 

In Luke, Jesus launches His ministry from His hometown. As in Mark, but in a slightly expanded manner, He begins by announcing that the kingdom of God has arrived in his own person.

 

LUK 4:16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

 

LUK 4:17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,

 

LUK 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.

He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set free those who are downtrodden,

 

LUK 4:19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord."

 

LUK 4:20 And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him.

 

After a moment of awkward silence, Jesus adds:

 

LUK 4:21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

 

After prophesying that the Jews would not accept Him and some violent dispute, He is driven out of town and then we see the proclamation of the kingdom concretely.

 

As in Mark, Jesus immediately confronts a demon-possessed man in a Capernaum synagogue who cries out the same:

 

LUK 4:31 And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And He was teaching them on the Sabbath;

 

LUK 4:32 and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.

 

LUK 4:33 And there was a man in the synagogue possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,

 

LUK 4:34 "Ha! [ea - an exclamatory particle indicating surprise, indignation, or anger] What do we have to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are —  the Holy One of God!"

 

As in the Mark account, the Lord muzzles the demon, casts him out, and frees the afflicted man. As in His quote from Isaiah, He came to proclaim freedom to the captives. Release from demon possession is not as wonderful as release from the dominion of darkness through faith in the gospel.

 

He then proceeds to rebuke a demonic fever, heal multitudes of sick people, and cast out multitudes of shrieking demons.