The nation’s heart is heavy this morning as we grieve two mass shootings in the last 24 hours. The first one was yesterday in El Paso, Texas, where an individual drove 10 hours to a mall, killing 20 and wounding 26 more. The second occurred just a few hours ago in Dayton, Ohio, where a gunman killed 9 and wounded many more in a nightclub district. Last Sunday afternoon, there was a shooting much closer to home: in Gilroy, California at the Garlic Festival.
A familiar refrain has begun. We need to get stronger legislation. We need to get better mental health care. We need to eradicate hatred. We need to deal with systemic issues that allow these kinds of events to occur, over and over.
And when we begin to talk about each end every one of those “need to’s,” we quickly get frustrated because we realize none of those things – not even all of those things together – could guarantee that a next event will not happened. That’s not to say we should throw up our hands and do nothing; it is to recognize the futility of pretending that we are capable of exercising authority over the unstated root cause.
Friends, “our struggle is not against the enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”[1] Until and unless we recognize the spiritual dimension – specifically, the attack of the demonic – we will always flounder with helplessness in the face of powers beyond our control.
You see, although the lone gunman mass shooting is a manifestation of evil largely peculiar to the United States, outbreaks of evil resulting in death and destruction are not unique to the United States. My point is not to minimize or excuse what is happening; to the contrary, I am urging us to open our eyes. Evil manifests around the world. Look at all the countries from which refugees are fleeing – what is causing the flight? Think of what has happened in Syria. Think of what is happening in El Salvador. Think of what has happened in Venezuela. Think of what has happened in China. Think of the genocides: Cambodia, Rwanda, the Holocaust. Without going on through a parade of horribles, it is important to recognize that outbreaks of evil occur on small and large scales regularly all around this broken world.
We are always shocked when we see a brazen act of evil. As a nation, we remember the morning of September 11, 2001. Everything stopped and we watched the video of the planes hitting the buildings over and over again. We could not comprehend it. In the years since, we have tried to figure out how we can prevent something like that from happening again. But we know – we know – we will not be able to overcome evil in our own strength.
Evil is not a popular sermon subject. We tend to focus on the power of positive thinking, the joy of salvation, the importance of love and other worthy topics. It is important to cover those things. However, the Bible does not candy-coat the existence and ongoing persistence of evil. I think it is surprising to people who have never read the Bible to find out that it is not an historical Hallmark card, full of nice words about a nice God. The Bible reveals how things really are.
As a culture we have intentionally rejected God’s call on our lives by determining that church should not have even a persuasive impact on society; and, as a result, we have made ourselves susceptible to spiritual powers over which we exercise no control. When we ask, “what would possess someone,” it is actually the correct question. The problem is that our culture does not accept or recognize the demonic – we feel foolish saying something like that because it seems so, well, naïve, ignorant, and religious. It seems a copout when there must be some sort of social, political, or scientific explanation.
A number of years ago, M. Scott Peck wrote a book entitled People of the Lie. It was the follow-up to his bestseller, The Road Less Traveled. In this book, Peck tried to grapple with the reality of evil – something he experienced in his calling as a psychiatrist. In a chapter entitled “Toward a Psychology of Evil,” he wrote, “Evil is in opposition to life. It is that which opposes the life force. It has, in short, to do with killing. Specifically, it has to do with murder – namely, unnecessary killing, killing that is not required for biological survival. …When I say that evil has to do with killing, I do not mean to restrict myself to corporeal murder. Evil is also that which kills spirit. (p. 42) I think that is a pretty good definition. When we see or read about evil, one of the tell-tale markers is the irrational destructiveness.
We are left grieving because of the senselessness of loss. We are frustrated because it is irrational and we cannot stop it. We are looking at the consequences of sin and wonder why we cannot fix it.
The truth is: we do not have the power and we do not have the authority to overcome evil on our own. But we know the one who does have the power and authority.
This takes us to our Scripture passage today.
There are four different actions in this opening section. Jesus proclaims. He calls. He teaches with authority. He commands. What comes through most clearly in these episodes is Jesus’ authority. He is doing some highly remarkable things and it is kind of overwhelming to his first audiences.
Likewise, it would be overwhelming to Mark’s audience. Remember, it is important to consider why Mark was writing this gospel to understand what he is saying. Mark was answering the question, “Is belief in Jesus Christ worth it? Who is this that I should be willing to die for him?”
We are going to look briefly at each of these four actions in order: the proclamation, the call, the teaching, and then the command. In each, consider the question, “Who is this?” and what the answer to that question means.
I. The Proclamation
There are two declarative sentences and then two imperative sentences. The declarative sentences are an announcement: “The time is fulfilled, the Kingdom of God is near.” The imperative, ordering statements: “Repent, believe in the gospel.”
The declarative sentences would have been eye-openers to Jesus’ audience. Jesus was building on John the Baptist and, thus, his message would be even more shocking than John’s. You have to trace this through a little bit, but follow along if you would:
For generations, there had been hopes and prayers for a Messiah. They were looking for the anointed one who would do greater things than Moses. When John the Baptist began ministering in the wilderness, there was great excitement and anticipation. But John was about preparing the way. He said so – exactly. When Jesus came, there was no more waiting. The time is now, Jesus said. The time has been fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand.
The word Jesus used to say “time” was very precise. Jesus said it was a “kairos” moment. This was different than saying a “chronological” moment. Chronological time is linear. A kairos moment is a catalytic moment, it is a pivot moment, it is a turning point.
Chronological moments you can see coming – anniversaries, deadlines, holidays. You mark them ahead on your calendar. Not so with kairos moments. You can’t predict kairos moments. You can only recognize them when they happen. They are “aha!” moments that change everything.
Imagine yourself as one of Jesus’ original listeners: a Jew living in Palestine under Roman occupation. Jesus was telling them, “You do not have to wait any longer for the promised One who was to come. I am he. I am the guy. I am the One whom God has been promising.” It was shocking. It was jolting. Jesus was announcing to them the God was on the move within history, within their hearing, within their lifetimes. To them, it raised hopes that God was about to deliver them from the Romans; but Jesus had something much bigger in mind.
Imagine yourself now as one of Mark’s original readers: a believer in Rome, suffering persecution and the threat of death for your belief. Mark’s report to them says that Jesus knew what he was doing. Jesus took the worst the Roman government could do to him – torture, crucifixion, and death – and God raised him from the dead victorious. Here, Jesus was telling them, “God is faithful to his promises. See, I am the One who was promised.”
Imagine yourself today. What are the things that worry you? What are the things that occupy your mind, your time, your energy? When you are overwhelmed by an outbreak of evil in our midst – large or small – Jesus is saying, “I am here. I am victorious. Come and know me.” He is not preaching a religion, he is commanding a relationship. He is issuing an invitation to be a part of the Kingdom of God. It is a command to a relationship.
The two declarative clauses are followed by two imperative clauses. Because these two things are true, do these things: repent and believe the good news. Repent means turn around. Turn away from where you are headed and turn towards God. Turn around from relying on yourself for salvation and security, and turn to God. Turn around and stop trying to control things in the way you think is right. Turn to God and trust Jesus. That’s the gospel message.
II. The Call
As we move on, note the authority with which Jesus speaks: his command yields immediate obedience. Simon (who would become Peter) and Andrew were fishermen who left their business to follow. James and John left their father and their fishing business in order to follow Jesus. Jesus spoke and they obeyed.
Why did Mark tell believers about these calls? It is precisely because he wanted them to have the same reaction that you and I have. “Who is it that could call and make people drop every other priority: business, family, loyalties? Who has the authority to make everything else secondary in comparison?” As we read this, if you are at all like me, you try to think, “Well, they must have known who he was. They must have been thinking about this for a while. There must be something more to this than simply a command and their obedience.”
There’s not. Mark does not allow us to go down that road. “Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” “Immediately after he called them, they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.” They obeyed his command and there was nothing – nothing – that was more important than Jesus’ call. Simon had a wife (as we will find out soon). James and John left their father. To believers in Rome, the message was clear: obeying Jesus’ call outweighs all other considerations.
For Simon and Andrew; there is another part of the call we may have missed as we have taught this episode to our children. We are going to sing a children’s song about being “fisher of men, fisher of men.” It is a fun way for children to understand that it is good to share Jesus with others. That’s true, by the way. However, Jesus was not simply being clever and using wordplay with these early disciples; he was calling them to participate in a bigger part of God’s eternal plan and promise.
You see, the “fishers of men” refers back to several Old Testament prophesies dealing with the coming judgment. “That Day” – the day when the promised One was revealed – was understood to be a day of judgment; and fishing was a metaphor for judgment. For example, Jeremiah 16:16 says, “I am now sending for many fisherman, says the LORD, and they shall catch them…” and this is why, “For my eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from my presence, nor is their iniquity concealed from my sight. And I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations.”
So, in both Jesus’ initial proclamation and his first call to the disciples, he is pronouncing that he is the promised One through whom the Kingdom of God will be ushered in. He is, in his person, judgment. His coming is “that day.” His words have authority and his command demands obedience.
III. Teaching With Authority
Third, there is the teaching with authority. Mark does not give us the substance of Jesus’ sermon, but it seems fair to assume that it would have been consistent with the message he has been giving in Galilee.
Mark’s report here turns from Jesus to the reaction of the people. He was more interested in the people than in quoting Jesus. “They were astounded.” That’s more than simply a “how about that” kind of response. It is one of alarm, of fear, of astonishment. His pronouncement of the nearness of the Kingdom of God – and the attendant judgment – is what we now call a “come-to-Jesus” moment. We call those moments of accountability and veil-piercing clarity “come-to-Jesus” moments because they provoke in us a hard, honest look at our own lives and we see – sometimes with great chagrin – where we have failed to measure up.
When you think of being brought into the presence of complete holiness, what is your reaction? For me, that thought immediately surfaces in my mind times and places where I have said things in anger, where I have avoided things that would embarrass me, where I tried to hide from accountability.
Years ago, when I was in my first year of law school, I had two semesters of contracts. Now, many of you have seen the movie “The Paper Chase” where the Smith-Barney guy was a law school professor who scares the pants off the first year students. Rest assured, we all saw it, too. In law school, they use the Socratic method in which the Professor calls on a student and you have stand up and answer the questions. Well, in this class I made it through the entire first semester without being called upon. Midway through the second semester, it started to circulate that I had not been called on again. People to my left and to my right, just in front and just in back were all getting called on for the second and third time. As the second semester drew to a close, I continued to dodge the bullet. As the last class finished and I had not been called on, I walked out and was congratulated as a victor.
Ahh, but the story does not end there. A not-so-voluntary review session was held. The professor walked in and began with, “It has come to my attention that I have made a grievous error. I have been informed that one of my students has not had the opportunity to engage in dialogue with me. So, Mr. Davis, having attended every class for two semesters, would you please share with all of us what you have learned this year?” The moment of accountability.
There was much laughter and a good spirit about that moment. Many other students came up afterwards and remarked how they wondered what they would have said if they had been put in a similar position. Yet, the people to whom Jesus was speaking were not in that same festive mood. It was not, “tell me what you have learned;” instead, it was, “show me your life.” They were all in that position of sensing the judgment of God entering the room.
IV. The Command
While Jesus is teaching with this authority, a man with an unclean spirit heckles him. We are just going to touch on this, but it bears paying attention because of where we started today. The evil spirit attempts to control Jesus by identifying him by name, “Jesus of Nazareth.” The spirit attempts to draw the crowd onto his side by identifying with them and the fear of the judgment that comes along with the promised One. The spirit asks rhetorically if Jesus was there to destroy them all. Then, the desperate attempt to control Jesus by identifying him as “the Holy One of God.”
Jesus was not controlled by the spirit’s efforts. Nor was he overcome. Instead, he rebuked the spirit, “Be silent, and come out of him!” The spirit did not do so willingly, but did so regardless because it was powerless to stand against the command of Jesus.
The silencing and expulsion of the demon is the proof of the judgment Jesus has come to initiate. Jesus did not use any kind of incantation or special ceremony or specific technique – he simply issued a command. It was a tangible demonstration of his authority to speak in judgment-day terms. No wonder they were astounded and asked, “What is this?”
What then?
This one who proclaims, calls, teaches, and commands also is the one who gathered his disciples around this table – this victory table. Jesus was not a victim; he longed – looked forward – to celebrating this meal with his disciples. Evil may manifest, but Jesus shows it never prevails. In this meal, Jesus shows us how he is our hope, life, and salvation – he is able.
So what do we do? What do we do today?
First, we grieve today because of the senselessness of loss. We grieve with those who are hurting.
Second, we express our frustration to God in prayer. We are frustrated because these things are irrational and they are evil and we cannot stop them from happening. We do not have the power and we do not have the authority to overcome evil on our own. But the good news is this: we know the one who does have the power and authority. We pray, “Come, Lord Jesus, come.”
Third, we gather around this table to remember, to encourage one another, and to proclaim the hope we have in the one who is able to face, address, and defeat evil.
Fourth, we remember our commissioning to go – to share the gospel with a lost and hurting world. We share the gospel by bearing witness, and by extending mercy, and by seeking justice that is pleasing in God’s eyes.
We do all four: thoughts, prayers, worship, and action. We do those things in the name of Jesus, because Jesus is our only hope. Jesus is our only righteousness. Only in Jesus is there life. The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news.
Amen.
[1] Ephesians 6:12