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Throughout
history, there have been thousands of kings. Some
were good warriors, but many weren't. Some were
able rulers, but many were corrupt. Some helped
their people, but many took advantage of the people.
Some were wise, but many were ignoramuses. What
kind of King is Yeshua of Nazareth?
With the
coming of the Son of God from Heaven to Earth,
the long awaited King of Israel, the Messiah and
the Savior had come! The Kingdom of God was now
present in a much greater way, because the King
Himself was here, in person, in the flesh.
What kind
of king would King Yeshua be like? An able warrior?
A good leader? Wise or foolish, good or cruel?
Let's see what we can learn about the King from
one busy Sabbath in Galilee where Yeshua demonstrates
His power with the Word of God, His power over
demons, His power over disease, and what these
powers mean to us.
This Sabbath
day starts off in the morning at the synagogue
in Capernaum. Yeshua is invited to teach at the
synagogue in K'far Nachum (Capernaum), the home
town of His first disciples, Peter and Andrew,
James and John. The city that will become the
center of Messiah's ministry in the north.
They went
into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath
He entered the synagogue and began to teach. They
were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching
them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Yeshua
observed the Torah, including the laws of the
Sabbath. Yeshua rested on the Sabbath. He treated
it as a special day, a holy day, a day that is
set apart and treated differently from the rest
of the days of the week. The King did not engage
in regular work on that day. Instead, He gathered
with the religious community, and prayed, and
read and studied the Word of God.
Jewish
followers of the King should do the same, and
Gentiles are welcome to join us! And, for those
Christians who want to live within their non-Jewish
culture, they should be encouraged to rest and
worship and study on the first day of the week.
Not only
did Yeshua go to the synagogue, but He began to
teach. He knows how to teach the Tenach: the Torah,
the Prophets, the Writings. King Yeshua is anything
but an ignoramus.
In fact,
He is the greatest Rabbi who ever lived! He is
our Head Rabbi, our Supreme Teacher, who authoritatively
teaches and interprets the Word of God. His teaching
is authoritative and final. We ought to listen
more carefully to Him than to any other human
being who has ever existed. We must pay very careful
attention to every word He ever uttered. We should
listen to His teaching, and submit ourselves to
His teaching, more than to anyone else.
In this
short passage, we are not told what Yeshua taught
in the synagogue, but we are told of the effect
the teaching had on His audience. It was one of
amazement. Why? His teaching was different. It
was powerful. It was authoritative. It was unlike
the other Torah teachers of His day. The other
teachers rarely taught boldly; they would often
simply quote a variety of other rabbis. "Rabbi
Eliezer taught this in the name of Rabbi Simeon,
who taught thus and thus. This is the way we understand
this passage. This is our tradition."
He taught
as one who truly understood the Word of God, and
had the right to interpret it authoritatively.
He taught as one who knew the mind of God, and
had the authority to declare it. Rabbi Yeshua
taught as one who wielded great authority. Yeshua
didn't have to quote other rabbis and authorities,
because He knew that He is the Supreme Authority!
May we
never lose our sense of amazement at His teaching.
May it never become dull or commonplace. May we
always consider it to be one hundred percent true,
and supremely authoritative.
Not only
did Messiah Yeshua teach with power and authority,
but miracles accompanied His teaching. (1:23)
Just then there was a man in their synagogue with
an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, “What
business do we have with each other, Yeshua of
Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know
who You are -- the Holy One of God!" And Yeshua
rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of
him!" Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean
spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out
of him. 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."
This miracle
validated His amazing teaching. This miracle showed
that Yeshua's teachings came from God. God was
empowering Messiah to teach, and to do a miracle,
and which meant that both came with the authority
and blessing of God.
Evil spirits
are real. They have mind, emotion and will. They
are very intelligent. They are our deadly enemies.
They are the unseen forces behind much of the
evil that happens in our world. They are the corrupters
and destroyers of mankind. They are fallen angels,
who originally were good angels who served God.
But, before our world was made, a great rebellion
took place. A third of the angels followed Satan
in his rebellion against God. Because of their
rebellion, these angels became corrupted. Demons
are called unclean spirits because they have lost
all the purity of their original good nature,
and because they oppose the Holy Spirit of God,
and because with they are able to tempt us, and
with their temptations they pollute human beings.
You might
think that demon possession is unreal, but it
is real. One wise man said that it is the extreme
end of the spectrum of truth that "the whole world
lies in the power of the evil one" (1 John 5:19).
Even as the Spirit of God can live in us, filling
and controlling us to help us do good, so one
uninhabited by the Spirit of Yeshua can be inhabited
by a demon -- filled and controlled to do evil.
How does
one become possessed by a demon? Exposure to things
such as false religion, occult practices, drugs,
and practicing really bad sin, can open doors
to demonic influence and possession.
Now, we
might expect to encounter demonic activity among
pagan societies where they don't know the One
True and Living God, and where they worship evil
spirits, but we wouldn't expect demon possession
among God's holy people.
Yet, at
the synagogue at Capernaum Yeshua encounters a
man possessed by an evil spirit. What is a demon
doing in a synagogue? You might think that would
be the last place to find an evil spirit -- but
it isn't! Evil spirits are very much at home in
many churches and synagogues, because perverting
the truth about God is perhaps the greatest weapon
in the arsenal of the hosts of Hell. The best
way to destroy a nation is to corrupt its religion!
I'm going
to read the following words, and ask yourself
who uttered them -- some fringe member of a "red
state" who is part of the far religious right?
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead
to political prosperity, religion and morality
are indispensable supports. In vain would that
man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should
labor to subvert these great pillars of human
happiness, these firmest props of the duties of
men and citizens .... Let us with caution indulge
the supposition that morality can be maintained
without religion.... reason and experience both
forbid us to expect that national morality can
prevail in exclusion of religious principle."
These
words were spoken by first president of the United
States at his farewell address in 1796. According
to George Washington, good religion is essential
and must be encouraged by all. If you corrupt
a nation's religion, you will corrupt their morals,
which will corrupt their politics, and ultimately
result in the ruin of that nation.
Satan
and his demonic armies are trying to corrupt religion
today, and it will get worse, as evil men, liars,
false prophets twist the truth, and corrupt rabbis,
pastors and preachers tickle your ears. Finally,
there will be a false religious system that is
totally corrupt and corrupting, that will engulf
the entire world. We must know true religion,
and be moral men and women ourselves, and bring
morality and the principles of true religion into
every area of life -- including politics.
Demons
are intelligent. They know a lot of truth. Here
is the testimony of the demon in the synagogue
in Capernaum: I know who You are -- the Holy One
of God! The demon knew that Yeshua was holy --
He was separate from sin. He knew that all of
Satan's temptations in the wilderness had failed,
and that Yeshua remained unstained by any sin
The demon
knew that Yeshua is God's Holy One, the unique
Son of God, who came from Heaven into this world,
and became a man, in order to save the ruined
sons and daughters of Adam. The demon knew this,
but knowing this truth would not save him. He
still will be eternally damned, and sent into
the Lake of Fire, which was prepared for him and
the other fallen angels.
Having
knowledge about God and religion, even much true
knowledge, is not enough to save demons or men.
You have to know the truth about God and the Messiah,
but you must also submit yourself to the Highest
King, and His Son, King Messiah. You have to know
and obey. The demons know, but refuse to obey.
How about you? Those who only have the knowledge
of God and Messiah, but will not obey, are not
much better than the demons. Is that you?
The demon
also knew that King Messiah was more powerful
than he and all of his demonic allies. "Have You
come to destroy us?" he asked Yeshua? The demon
knew that Yeshua had the power of God, which is
greater than the power of Satan and all his hosts.
The demon knew that if Yeshua wanted to destroy
all of them, they would be destroyed. That's power,
my friends! That's authority!
Yeshua
told the demon to be silent. Why then do many
who think they are knowledgeable about exorcism
encourage those they think are demons, to speak?
And if they were real demons, why should they
believe what these beings, who lie and twist the
truth so easily, say?
Yeshua
rebuked the unclean spirit. He performed an exorcism,
and immediately the demon left the man. I've read
that Jewish exorcists used charms and invocations
and rituals and ceremonies to drive away evil
spirits; but with a simple word filled with authority,
Messiah commanded the demon to leave, and it left.
There was no long drawn out ceremonies, no rituals
and formulas -- just a powerful, authoritative
command to be quiet and come out, which was immediately
obeyed. This first miracle recorded in the book
of Mark characterizes Yeshua's miracles and healings
-- they were neat and clean.
The Jewish
people in the synagogue again reacted with amazement
because of Yeshua's authority. They had no previous
experience with this kind of powerful teaching
and this kind of powerful authority over demons.
Very quickly,
the news that there was a new, miracle working
rabbi who had power over evil spirits, spread
throughout the region. Immediately the news about
Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding
district of Galilee.
After
leaving the synagogue, Yeshua and His disciples
went to Simon Peter's and Andrew's home. Let's
see what happens there: (1:29) And immediately
after they came out of the synagogue, they came
into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James
and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying
sick with a fever; and immediately they spoke
to Yeshua about her. And He came to her and raised
her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever
left her, and she waited on them.
Simon
Peter had a mother-in-law, which means that he
was married. "That's obvious Rabbi Loren. So what?
Everyone know that was the norm in the Jewish
world. Rabbis and religious leaders were supposed
to be married." Well, if Peter could marry, why
can't leaders in the Catholic Church, that supposedly
derives its authority from Simon Peter, marry
as well? Of course they should be able to marry,
and it wrong to insist that they can't, and causes
other unnecessary problems to develop. What a
blessing are rabbi's wives! How much poorer the
men in ministry, and their ministries, would be
without them!
Peter's
mother-in-law was lying down sick with a fever,
and Yeshua, after the disciples spoke to Him about
her (prayer does work!), went to her, took her
by the hand, and God did a miracle -- immediately
Simon's mother-in-law was healed. When the fever
left her, she did not remain weak, as is normal
with fevers, but she was completely healed, and
restored to full strength. The healing was instantaneous
and complete. Be wary of so-called healing ministries
where the alleged healings aren't instantaneous
and complete.
What happened
to Peter's mother-in-law on a small scale, will
happen to those who are reconciled to God through
the Messiah on a larger scale one day. Humanity
is like Peter's mother-in-law. We are lying down,
weakened by the fever of sin. Our bodies are weak
and dying. The older we get the weaker we get.
We need healing! We need health restored. And
there is good news! A day is coming when the Same
One who was in Peter and Andrew's home, and took
Peter's mother-in-law by the hand, and healed
her instantly and completely, will take all of
His followers by their hands, and completely heal
them instantly and completely and eternally --
body, soul and spirit -- from sin, from sickness,
from weakness, from death.
After
Peter's mother-in-law was healed, she responded
properly by waiting on them. Out of gratitude,
she served, she gave of her time and energy and
service. It is always right to serve the Lord
and His disciples, but it is especially appropriate
when the Lord does something particularly good
for you, like healing you.
If you
are a child of God, Messiah has already started
the process of healing you. You have been estranged
from God, but now your relationship to God has
been healed.
You were
dead in your trespasses and sins, but now you
have been given a new nature that loves God and
His commands.
You had
a problem with your citizenship. You were part
of a dark, evil satanic kingdom, but now your
citizenship has been transferred to the Kingdom
of God.
One day
you will be given a new mind and a new body that
will be equipped to live forever in the new universe
that will be made.
God has
done, is doing, and will do so much healing for
you. What are you doing for Him in return? Are
you waiting on the Lord and His disciples?
So far
this Sabbath Yeshua has powerfully taught the
people at the synagogue, and has demonstrated
God's power over demonic oppression and physical
illness. He healed a man in the synagogue, he
healed a woman in a home, and now at the close
of Shabbat He brings healing to an entire city!
(1:32)
When evening came, after the sun had set, they
began bringing to Him all who were ill and those
who were demon-possessed. And the whole city had
gathered at the door. 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.
Most of
the city waited until till the Sabbath was over
before they came to Yeshua. Perhaps the reason
why they waited until Motza'ei Shabbat -- the
departure of the Sabbath, was because the word
about Yeshua's miracles hadn't reached them until
late; or perhaps they had been taught that going
for healing on Shabbat was work, and violated
the Sabbath, which is a wrong concept that Yeshua
will correct.
For whatever
reason, the whole population of Capernaum waited
until the Sabbath was over before bringing to
Yeshua everyone who was physically ill and demon-possessed.
And, the King healed all that were brought to
Him. It didn't matter if there were many people
who needed to be healed. It didn't matter which
of the many diseases that afflicts mankind was
sickening them. God used Yeshua to heal everyone.
He was like "a medicine for every illness."
Yeshua's
miraculous healings were a dramatic sign that
the Kingdom of God was now here on planet Earth
in a powerful and special way, and that the long
awaited King was finally here among us, beginning
to reverse the curse.
Yeshua's
miracles showed that He was the Seed of the Woman
who would crush the head of the Serpent, and begin
to undo all the damage caused by the Adversary.
Yeshua's
miracles tell us that finally, the Great Healer
is here, the One who will bring healing to humanity
that was caused by the Fall. This is the King
who is not only a powerful warrior, stronger than
all the powerful demonic forces, but also a King
who is gentle, and can heal and teach.
These
miraculous healings are a little taste of the
complete and eternal healing that Yeshua will
ultimately bring, when the Kingdom of God arrives
in its fullness, and when the King will put an
end to all the sin and evil and sickness and death
and rebellion that was caused by the angels's
fall and man's sin. Then He will continue to teach
us and lead us forever and ever!
We need
a leader who really knows God, and the Word of
God, and can teach us, and heal us from all our
physical illnesses and demonic control. Yeshua
is that kind of King.
It's an
honor to know and serve that kind of good and
wise King. Is He your King? Are you serving Him?
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