Wednesday, August 13, 2025 PM

The Authority of Jesus Christ in Mark 1

I invite you to turn your Bibles open to Mark chapter 1. Mark chapter 1. We'll begin in verse 16 here in a moment. Mark 1 verse 16. But before that, let's go once more to the Lord of glory in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time.

We thank you, Lord, for your goodness towards us in many different ways. In ways sometimes we don't even know, but you know, Lord. We thank you for your word, and we pray that you would help us to worship you as we read your word, as we meditate on your word, and get to know Jesus better.

We thank you for the opportunity tonight, Lord. And it's in your son's precious name that we pray, amen. One of the major themes of the gospel according to Mark is the authority of Jesus Christ. And that's the main theme we're gonna draw out of from this passage tonight, the authority of Jesus Christ.

We hear that a lot, Jesus has all authority. And what exactly does that mean? Two particular ways Jesus has authority. It means that he has absolute power and rule over all things. He is completely sovereign in control, and he has the right to bring about his will.

Nothing will stop it, nothing will hinder it. Though rebels might try, their efforts only come about to the glory of God and to further his will in the end. Jesus has absolute rule and authority over all things.

To say that Jesus has authority means that he has the right to define and pass judgments on all matters. He gets to say what is right, what is wrong, what is true, what is noble, and what is false. He is the one from whom all authority flows down from, to the government, to the church, and to the home.

All authority comes from the Lord of glory. And what a blessing it is to know that we have relationship with the one who has all authority. We know of the President of the United States, we know he's a real person, we believe in him, but we don't have a personal relationship with him.

We don't know him intimately, and he doesn't know us intimately. If that's actually the case for you, I'd like to hear about that after the lesson. But what a glory it is to know that the king of all the universe, the one who has authority over every molecule, over every person, and not just authority over a nation, but every nation, every people, and all principalities and authorities.

We get to know Jesus, and he knows us intimately in a way that no one else does. He's closer than a brother, closer than a spouse. He is the Lord. Our text tonight will show that Jesus has authority in four particular ways.

Jesus Calls Sinners to Follow Him

And the first, Jesus has authority over salvation. So let's take up the word, and beginning in verse 16, read through verse 20 of Mark chapter one. The word says, 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.

And Jesus said to them, follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men. And immediately, they left their nets and followed him. 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.

And immediately, he called them, and they left their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow him. As Mark continues his gospel presentation, we see that Jesus calls the first of the disciples to come follow him in his earthly ministry.

And some people of the world might see these ordinary fishermen as maybe not sinners, but just average people, trying to earn a wage, making a positive impact on their society maybe, being a conservative good to those around him.

Are these truly sinners that Jesus calls? And to those of us who are believers, who know the truth of what God has said, we know that these are indeed sinners. Ultimately, all people are sifted into two categories, those who are in Christ, and those who are outside of Christ.

And though it might not be super apparent on the outside, though these people are running a business and making a positive impact on others, they are still rebels against the king of glory, not living according to God's ways, but living according to their ways.

They're still sinners before a holy God. But Jesus Christ, who is full of grace and truth, comes to them in their darkness, in their rebellion, and calls out to them, follow me, follow me. Notice this expression that Jesus speaks to them.

It's not so much a simple invitation, but it's with authority that he says, follow me. And the dead sinners brought to life come and follow Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only one who has the authority, the power, and the rule to call dead sinners to life, to call those who sit in darkness into light, to follow the good shepherd, all through this life into glory.

And it's Jesus alone who has this power. We might be used by him as his instruments to bring the word of salvation, to bring the word of the gospel to others, and be his instruments, his tools, as he saves others, but Jesus Christ alone has the authority to call out to dead hearts and bring them to life.

He alone can raise people from the dead. And what a comfort and blessing this is, for we would make poor saviors, weak, prideful, not very good ones at all, but Jesus Christ is strong. He is full of grace and truth, and he comes into a broken world, and instead of passing judgment, he comes to heal, to bring life, and to call us to himself.

Follow me into glory. Follow me to life. Think with me for a moment. When was that moment for you? You might've heard growing up as a child, the gospel, you might've heard of Jesus Christ, but when was that moment that Jesus called to you?

Follow me. Follow me. Colossians 1 says, who rescued us from the authority of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the son of his love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. By the power of Christ, we are brought unto life to know him and the only true God.

And blessed are the words of the songwriter. Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin in nature's night. Thine eye diffused a quickening ray. I woke, the dungeon flamed with light. My chains fell off, my heart was free.

I rose, went forth, and followed thee. Jesus Christ alone has the power to free the soul from sin, to free the soul from the power of the devil, and to bring him into his kingdom, to know new ways of living, and for the soul to be renewed to say, I wanna live for the glory of God, no longer for myself, no longer for others, but for his glory.

And it's Jesus who comes and gives that call. Follow me. And the sinner brought to life wants to decide, wants to go after the savior. Jesus makes that effectual call, and the sinner brought to life says, yes, I decide to follow Jesus Christ, for that sinner now has life within himself.

He's been given the faith in order to believe in Jesus Christ. Faith is a gift from the Lord, and how gracious it is that he has given faith to all of us to believe in Jesus Christ and to follow after him.

But for the grace of God, we would still be in our sin, we'd still be in darkness, but now we're in light. We know him and are known by him. Yes, these are fishermen that he calls, and to the world, they might seem quite ordinary, possibly even weak according to the world's standards.

Not the smartest, not the brightest, simple fishermen, not rich, not the spiritual elitists, not super mighty, not very noble at all, but Jesus Christ still calls these ordinary people to great things.

And if we think of the transformation that Peter, Andrew, John, and James went through, we see that after spending time with Jesus Christ, they were changed forever, their lives radically altered. Think for a moment on the disciple John, who was always ready to call down fire, call out people who weren't part of the inside group, always ready to get into a fight, a son of thunder indeed.

But after spending time with Jesus Christ, he becomes the apostle of love and says, and later writes by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we know love because God first loved us. Love the brethren in the love of God.

Do you ever wonder to yourself, can I truly be used of God? Because I seem ordinary, I seem weak, I seem even less than average. There's average and I'm down here. But Jesus Christ can take the ordinary, can take the weak and bring great things out of it according to his purpose, according to his ways.

Whether you're given five talents, three talents, or even just one, take what you've been given and use it to the glory of God and trust him with the results. If your other brother next to you has five talents or much more than you do, that's according to the master.

You just be faithful with what you have and God will use you for great things. Think of the individuals in your life who might not have been well known according to history, but have been used by God in mighty ways in your life and the lives around you.

People who the world might call ordinary, but God brought great things in them and through them. He can do that with you as well. Don't fall into the trap of thinking much of your weakness and less of your God.

Think much of your God and less of your weakness. You think of yourself that your weakness disqualifies you, but it is merely the stage upon which God shouts forth his glory and shows that he can bring great things through weak people.

If a builder builds a large house with crusty and broken stones, we would see the value and the skill of the builder. How could you take these rusty and broken down stones that are good for nothing and build an incredible, marvelous masterpiece of a house?

What a great builder. But how much more glorious is it when Jesus Christ takes us as living stones, smooths us out, sharpens us and refines us and builds us up into a house for the Lord? And what a great house it is, the church.

What a great holy nation, a people chosen by God. How marvelous is the builder, Jesus Christ himself. Jesus has authority to save and in this salvation, there is a certainty of the work of Jesus Christ.

He says, follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.

Amen.

May the soul of the believer shout for joy and give up a holy hallelujah at this phrase, I will make you. For Jesus Christ does not say, I'm gonna try, I'm gonna do my best, but you're kind of a hard case so I don't really know.

No, Jesus Christ says, I will make you become fishers of men. We're not all called to be apostles. That time is over, that foundation is laid, but God calls us all to our own individual gifts, our own calling, whatever that might be.

And we can rest assured in his work in us. Jesus Christ says to you tonight, I will make you and to the person that I've chosen you to be. And that is certainty, that is certainty. Even before the foundation of the world, the Lord of glory saw you and chose you to be part of his holy nation, his special people.

And he gave you to the son before the world was ever made. And the son did not reject you, but he accepted you and accepted his plan to eventually call you to himself and give that call, follow me, at that moment in your life when you're given spiritual life and you decide, you place your faith in Jesus Christ, you come to follow the master who has given you before the foundation of the world.

There is certainty in that God will continue the work that he has begun in you. Philippians 1 .6, for I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

To the soul that is weary with the same sin that you struggle with for a long period of time, keep seem to coming back up, coming back up, how discouraging and how downcast the soul can get, because I'm always fighting against this, I'm always contending against this.

Will I ever change? And Jesus Christ says to that weary soul, he says to you, I will make you, I will make you. You will overcome this sin, you will know Christ and he will conform you to his image more and more because he works in you.

His name's sake is on the line for your salvation. He will not let down his name and he will not let down you because he loves you. He will continue the work in you and be sure to complete it. To the minister who wants to minister to the bride of Christ, to teach and to preach and always seems to wind up running into failure and hardship, may he rest in this fact.

Jesus Christ says to him, I will make you a minister. I will make you a minister. The apostle Paul said once, in Colossians chapter one, him we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom so that we may present every man complete in Christ.

For this purpose, I also labor, striving according to his working, which he works in me in power. Resurrection power is in you for Jesus Christ is in you and he will make you into the person that he wants you to be.

That's a new creation in Christ. Before we move on to the next point, let's consider following Jesus. We speak a lot about that. What exactly does that mean for the believer? Two things on that point.

Following Jesus means that you pledge your entire allegiance to him. You raise your white flag. Your body, your soul, your family, your work, everything you have now belongs to him. He's the boss of all of your life and the shots that he calls, you follow.

And those are good decisions brought to you by the good shepherd. It means bowing the knee, making sure that nothing else comes before Jesus Christ. Everything else comes second. And we see that's the results of the fishermen.

They leave their father, they leave the hired servants, they leave everything they knew. And why was that? Because nothing else comes before Jesus Christ. Your spouse doesn't come before Jesus. Your kids don't come before Jesus.

Your work, nothing. It's Jesus Christ first and him foremost. He's the boss. He is the Lord. He is the one who has authority over you. And pledging your allegiance to him is a submission. It's an agreement of saying, yes, indeed, you do rule over me.

And I now submit to you. I give myself to you completely. Take me and have thine own way, oh Lord, for thy way is good. Following Jesus means becoming more like him, seeking to imitate him as his disciple.

Coming alongside after him, following the good shepherd and seeing what exactly is he like. How does he live? How does he interact with others? What does he say when confronted with evil? How does he react to the shortcomings of others?

How do we become more compassionate like him? How do we respond to evil when we face it? It was about last year, this time I went down to Texas and I heard a message on the compassion of Christ. And the speaker mentioned the compassion of Christ is seen in how he comes down to people's level and he sees the whites of their eyes.

He becomes involved in their lives. And he's moved with compassion for those who are hurting and for those in need. To be imitators of Christ is to be more compassionate, to be stronger for the glory of God and to fight for what is good and to show kindness and mercy.

How do we imitate Jesus Christ? Open up your Bibles and read. Look for Jesus in the word. And if you seek with him with all your heart, you're gonna find him. And by his grace, you'll be more like him.

Jesus says, I will make you. This is certainty of certainties right here. Following Jesus. It's the essence and core of Christianity. Christianity is not about a set of rules and regulations. It's not a checklist.

It's following Jesus. Spending time with him, it's loving him, submitted to him in all things. It's following him. He is the one with all authority. I'd like to get into the next point. But I think I'll save that for later, next time I'm up here.

Because we're running a bit out of time. I don't wanna run super over. And I'd like us just to think on following after Jesus and the certainty of his work in us. Don't doubt your savior. Trust him and follow him.

Be more like him. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for tonight. We thank you for the precious promises from your word, which are true, which are steadfast, which will never be taken away. We thank you for Jesus, our good shepherd, who has come and who has spoken to our hearts.

Follow me. And with the faith you've given us, Lord, we are following after him, knowing that he will keep us until that final day. It's in Christ's name we pray, thanking and praising you, amen.