Authority

Mark 1: 21-28

January 29, 2012

J.W. McNeill

This Passage centers on authority.

Contrast authority of a teacher with the authority of a police officer. I understand there is some overlap, but consider a couple of different kinds of cases.

·         Teaching to read or play tennis – trust what I am telling you, learning to follow directions.

o   It is for the student’s good

o   Student chooses whether or not to grant authority

·         Police officer in the midst of a traffic stop – a certain kind of trust, but also following directions because of the fear of consequences.

o   Not for the arrestee’s good – for social good

o   No choice about granting the authority – police officer takes it.

·         In our story today, Jesus shows both kinds of authority.

1.      First, we see Jesus teaching with authority.

a.       Rational and relational: head component and a heart component

b.      Information and encouragement: content and blessing

                                                  i.      God came alive out of the book

c.       Inspiring trust and confidence – drawing them into his authority

2.      On the other hand, we see Jesus cast out the unclean spirit with authority.

a.       Jesus is coercive here, not persuasive.

b.      Teaching is not enough for unclean spirits.

c.       They are not teachable.

                                                  i.      And actually, they know the truth about Jesus. The unclean Spirit knows that Jesus is the Holy One of God.

                                                ii.      But the spirit resists or refuses to consent to live within the truth.

                                              iii.      Jesus forces it to obey, ignoring the question of consent.

3.      The people in the synagogue are amazed at his authority.

a.       They have seen that he has the authority of a teacher that inspires trust and loyalty.

b.      He also has the authority to take charge of spirits and make them obey.

4.      Let's also notice for a moment that this spirit -- whatever it is -- is able to recognize Jesus for who Jesus is:  the Holy One of God.  Somehow the unclean spirit knows who Jesus is before anyone else in the Gospel has figured it out.  Yet Jesus tells the spirit to be quiet and to come out of the man.  Jesus has power over this spirit.

You might be wondering why Jesus tells the spirit to be quiet.

Why does Jesus silence the spirit? Jesus is not ready to be revealed as the Holy One just yet. Jesus is not to be fully revealed outside of the context of his crucifixion and resurrection – but that’s a longer story for another time.

5.      Now with all that as background, I would like to bring us back to the immediacy or our own situations. What has authority over us?

a.       Last week Pastor Margaret preached about the passage immediately preceding this one. She told us that we are being called to follow Jesus and live out the kingdom of God. That kingdom of God language means that we are being called to enter into a different culture. A culture with understandings and assumptions that compassion, cooperation, reconciliation, forgiveness and grace are to be the dominant, operative motivations, for these are the dominant themes of Jesus’ proclamation of the coming culture of God.

b.      That means that we are called to rely on the authority of this Jesus to live according to the way of the God culture that is supposed to be coming into being among his followers.

c.       We are called to be ruled by Jesus’ authority as we go about our lives in our homes, in our school and workplaces, in our neighborhoods, at church, everywhere.

d.      So the question is, is Jesus my authority so that I can be living in such a way that reveals Jesus as my authority?

6.      Now the people in the synagogue that day were impressed with Jesus. They said that he taught and acted with authority.  But the Bible doesn’t tell us that they went ahead and followed. Yes, here is an authority, but will I make that one my authority? Or will I be continually handed over to some other authority? Well, I’m not ready to do that quite yet thank you, very much.

7.      The people in the synagogue may well have been impressed. They may well have recognized Jesus as teaching with authority, but they did not take him as their authority. And what about us?

a.       To whom or what have we given authority over us? Who or what is directing our priorities and our attitudes?

b.      How can we tell? Can we be sure that we are being honest with ourselves about that?

c.       Pastor Margaret suggested some ways last week:

                                                  i.      Calendar

                                                ii.      How we use our money beyond necessities

                                              iii.      Where are our priority commitments?

1.      Entertainment

2.      Sports

3.      What are we passionate about?

4.      What won’t we miss? Church? An opportunity for ministry?

5.      Are we more willing to miss church or our favorite television show?

                                              iv.      What about our attitudes?

1.      Are we cultivating generosity?

2.      Are we seeking reconciliation?

3.      Are we seeking to be free of resentments?

4.      Are we spending time seeking to connect with God and people who will help us connect with God?

                                                v.      These are all ways in which we might honestly question ourselves about whether we are taking Jesus as the authority for our lives.

8.      Or is something else going on in our lives? Are we being dominated by other spirits, perhaps without being clearly aware of it. Are we being driven by other spirits that have taken hold of us? What might they be?

a.       Fears and anxieties

b.      Rivalries

c.       Jealousy

d.      Ambition

e.       Desires for pleasure

9.      Or perhaps we are keeping ourselves back not willing to fully commit our lives, to fully follow any one or any path. We tell ourselves we’ll make a commitment later. Perhaps that was the attitude in the synagogue of those who were astonished by what a good preacher and exorcist had come to church that morning. This one deserves another look. Some day. We’ll see how it turns out. Maybe we’ll do all right in the culture of the scribes or the culture of Rome after all.

But come back to the distinction I made at the beginning between Jesus’ authority as a teacher and Jesus’ authority as one who cast out the unclean spirit. As we try to understand under what authority we live we need to understand that Jesus is inviting us into the culture of God that is set up for relationship and invites us with mind and heart, invites us with encouragement and inspiration. It is about entering into the freedom to be our best and truest selves. The people we were created to be in joy and peace.

But is that just so we are happy and content? So that we can be free from guilt or fear?  No.

What happens as we do that? We create and become that authority. We and others begin to trust it.

The teachers with whom Jesus is contrasted were the scribes.  The scribes were the professional readers, copiers, and interpreters of the Scripture.  Their role was to teach and preserve the written word of God.  People of faith then in Jesus' day as well as now need help in understanding the Bible and how to apply it to their lives.

This passage tells us of a time that Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.  He astounded everyone there because he taught with authority.  That is not more fully described.  Was it his tone of voice?  Was it the content of what he said?  Was there something about his gestures?  Was there a special sincerity in his eyes?  We are not told.

Let’s come back at this from a slightly different angle:

If they were astounded at Jesus' teaching, here the onlookers in the synagogue are amazed by the exorcism.  This combination of spiritual power and teaching is something marvelous.  What stands out is AUTHORITY.  It is what distinguishes Jesus from the scribes.

What is this about?

Here we must contrast the Word of God written with the Word of God living.

           

The Word of God written is a book.  It is a book that allows us to tell and to hear a grand tale.  It is a book that is a source of inspiration and insight into the ways of God.  It is a book that invites us to learn of our heritage as spiritual descendants in a great line of persons who have been called into fellowship with the God who has been revealed in Jesus Christ.  The Word of God written is a source and basis for us as a Church to understand our mission and ministry.

But I want to tell you something that will surprise you and may even offend some of you:  The Bible has no authority in itself.  Hear me carefully here.  It cannot be an authority because it cannot act, it cannot make a judgment, it cannot apply itself.

The Bible only has authority as it is interpreted and lived out in the community of faith.  Its authority is only the authority of the community that is molded by it. And the authority of that community is only the power of God that is unleashed within that community and from that community into the world.

The critical question that faces us as the people of God is not whether or not the Bible is true, but whether we will live out its truth as we struggle together to understand its message to us and to the world and live that message out.  Will we become the living word of God?

As we give ourselves over to the power of God,  we will see in ourselves and one another the authority of Jesus Christ because we will see our lives transformed together and we will see the transforming power of God set free into the world.

We are the ones as the Church of Jesus Christ who take on authority in this world to apply in our life situations the power and love of God as is revealed to us in Scripture. To become the word of God living.

The difference between Jesus and the scribes in that synagogue 20 centuries ago was that Jesus embodied the power of God, while the scribes had simply a head-knowledge of a holy book.  The people who looked on there in that place knew the difference and they were astonished!

Will we simply look on?  Or will we follow the one who calls and live out the power and authority of the God of love in the world?

We are called to become the living word of God by the power and authority of Jesus Christ.