Mark 1: 21-45 (HG)

Mark 1: 21-45

Interpretation

Others saw Jesus’s authority when he began to preach in the synagogue.

Sometimes sharing testimony and experiences are not effective. How does God choose to give authority to us when we share our knowledge of Him?

First we must recognize that authority is God’s and He decides when and where we receive that authority. Did Jesus always have his authority? Or did God give him the authority at a specified time or after a certain set of events?

We must understand our motives for our desire for authority. Is it truly to serve God’s purpose or our own desire? Sometimes God’s Will entails that we have a smaller role in certain situations, but we would want to have a larger role to make us feel proud. For example, God’s Will might be that a person is led to Christ through coming into contact with multiple Christians; however, sometimes we want to be the Christian that ultimately leads them to Christ. We must recognize that even in this way, God’s Will may not match our own.

Authority is not something that we know we have. It is not like permission that we is given and then we use. Authority is something that other’s see in us as we go about doing what we believe is God’s Will. The more authority that others recognize God’s authority in us, the more we can realize we are in God’s Will.

How did Jesus get His authority?

Authority is given through the strengthening of your relationship and understanding of God. The more you know, relate and understand a person, the more you become an authority to speak about and for that person. The same is true with authority from God.

Jesus had the ultimate relationship with God, so he had the ultimate authority. However, we can also strengthen our relationship with God and in the process God will give us increasing authority for us to be His representative.

Authority is given by the Spirit of God within us. Jesus had the same Spirit in Him as we do.

Knowledge about God is not authority. Just because we know a lot about God, does not mean that we have the understanding to represent Him.

Did Jesus always have his authority?

Jesus gave up his authority when he chose to become man. (Phil. 2) An example of Scripture interpreting Scripture.

God gave back his authority when he was baptized and spent the time in the wilderness strengthening his relationship with God.

Is there a difference between being Chosen and being given Authority?

God chooses people out of love (e.g. the Israelites, David, etc…) He gives authority through a relationship. When Sampson allowed his hair to be cut, he was effectively severing his relationship with God and so his strength was removed.

Authority is something we help establish through our effort in building the relationship with God. Once we commit ourselves to strengthening that relationship, God can then choose to give us his authority in accordance with his Will.

How do I tell if someone is speaking without authority? Some people are very convincing.

Take the time to validate all that you hear with the Bible. Even the sermons on Sunday.

We don’t all have to be theologians to do this. Use the concordance to cross-validate with other sections of Scripture. Understand the context that the verse is applied in. Any verse, taken out of context can be interpreted to serve anyone’s purpose.

There are many examples of people using the Bible for their own gain. They prey upon the complacency of people to not validate them against the Bible itself. They know that if we actually took the time to do this, the truth would come out.

Gandhi said, “If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.”

Why did Jesus want to keep his miracles a secret?

If Jesus boasted about his powers, he would have been known only as a magician or miracle-worker. His true purpose would have been overshadowed.