February 1, 2009
Epiphany 4

Mark 1:21-28

Who is Jesus? And, how do you react to Jesus? As we read the Gospel of Mark, the Holy Spirit guides us to know Jesus and to respond to him.

Today we read about how Jesus gave his first public sermon. The people did not yet know he was the Christ, but this was their reaction: "22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law." They saw in Jesus, his wisdom and understanding. They were amazed because Jesus taught as if he knew the Scriptures first hand; he was an authority, as if he were the One who wrote them. And of course that is pretty close to the truth.

And then there was another who knew who Jesus really was. That was the man who was possessed by the evil spirit. He said, 24 "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are?the Holy One of God!" It was not the man himself speaking, but rather the evil spirit who was in him. The devil and the devil�fs angels or spirits know who Jesus is. They also know the mission of Jesus. They know that Jesus came to destroy them.

I have read the Gospel of Mark many times. I have read it in Greek and in about 5 English translations and 3 Japanese translations. But for preparation for this Sunday�fs sermon, I read it again in the NIV, and here there was a translation that I thought was perfect in Mark 1:26. "The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek." Usually the word shriek is translated directly from the Greek as "loud voice" or even "loud scream." But translation always has interpretation in it. I think the word "shriek" here is excellent. We usually use the word like this. A woman comes into a room and sees a mouse, she shrieks! A girl finds a cockroach in her cereal bowl, she shrieks! You see a ghost, you shriek! You cut your finger off with a butcher knife, you shriek! Sudden fear, horror, surprise, shock. You feel you might die! And so when the evil spirit came out of the man, he was face to face with the worst of his nightmares. He screamed! He shrieked! Oh, woe is me! He was face to face with the one who could destroy him by sending him back to hell.

And how would you react if you suddenly met Jesus and knew he was the one who could destroy you and send you to hell? If we think of our sin, our disobedience, and our failings, then we should fear, we should shriek! But when we believe in Jesus as our Savior, then it is not an evil spirit that lives in our hearts, but rather it is the Holy Spirit. Then, when we meet Jesus, the Holy Spirit leads us in shouts of Hallelujah and Hosanna! Then we are like the crowds that met Jesus when he entered Jerusalem. We raise our voice and join in the cry of Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 95. It is a song of faith and praise. "O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!" (RSV) We are not afraid of Jesus. We are not just amazed, because we know who he is. He is the Holy One of God. He is our Savior. He is the lord of our lives who leads us and our church. Today we have our annual church meeting. We see his authority to lead our church. To him we pray that he would purge our evil, forgive us our evil, and give us the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

Sermon Index