Lessons 39-40

LESSON 39 - Mark 1:21

21And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. 22And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.

Capernaum is a city on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Although Jesus' boyhood was lived in Nazareth, as an adult He moved to Capernaum to live, fulfilling a prophecy that had been written in the book of Isaiah about the Messiah. Matt. 4:13-16 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias(Isaiah) the prophet, saying, 15The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. (Do you remember that Jesus is called the Light of the world, John 1:5-10, 8:12?)

Unfortunately the people of Capernaum never honored Jesus and His ministry as they should have. Jesus did many mighty works in that city, but the people did not repent. (Matthew 11:20,23 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not....And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.)

Here are some of the miracles that Jesus did in the city of Capernaum:

- Matt 8:5-13 Jesus healed a centurion's servant

- Matt 8:14-17 Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law

- Matt 8:18 On the same evening Jesus healed many that were demon possessed and healed all that were sick

- Mark 1:23-26 Jesus cast out an evil spirit from a man in the local synagogue

- Mark 2:1-12 Jesus healed a man with palsy who couldn't walk

- John 4: 46-54 Jesus, while at Cana, healed a nobleman's son who was in Capernaum

In spite of all these miracles and more, the people of Capernaum did not repent and believe that Jesus was the Messiah sent from God. They had so much evidence of Who Jesus was, not only His works but also His words, but they hardened their hearts and refused to believe in Him.

It was Jesus' custom to go to the synagogue every sabbath (Saturdays), similar to us going to church every Sunday. He also participated in the service. (Luke 4:15-16 And he (Jesus) taught in their synagogues, ... as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.)

Principle: It should be our custom to attend worship services regularly, as is commanded.

Hebrews 10:25...not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting (encouraging) one another; and so much the more, as you see the day (of the Lord's return) coming.

The synagogue was primarily a place to get or give instruction in the scriptures, worship, and pray together with other Jews. (Matt. 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues....)

As Jesus taught the scriptures unto them, the members of the synagogue were astonished at His words and manner "...for He taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes” (who usually served as teachers). Here are some other comments about Jesus' words:

Matt 7:29 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Mark 1:27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

Luke 4:22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.

Luke 4:36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.

Mark 10:24 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 24And the disciples were astonished at his words.

John 6:68 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 68Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 69And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

Principle: The Lord Jesus has the words of eternal life. That's why we need to study His words and why we need to receive them. They are life to us, "wonderful words of life."

LESSON 40 - Mark 1:22

"They were astonished at His doctrine" - "Doctrine" means teachings or instruction. Jesus said in John 7:16-18 that what He taught was that which His Father had given. 16 Jesus answered, "What I teach is not my own teaching, but it comes from God, who sent me. 17Whoever is willing to do what God wants will know whether what I teach comes from God or whether I speak on my own authority. 18A person who speaks on his own authority is trying to gain glory for himself. But he who wants glory for the one who sent him is honest, and there is nothing false in him."(Good News Bible)

These are what we call fundamental doctrines which every new believer should be taught and should understand. They are called the "milk" of the Word, that which even a baby Christian can digest. In Hebrews 6:1-2 is a list of those doctrines: the first lessons for the Christian ... the foundation of (1) turning away from dead (useless) works and of (2) having faith toward God; (3) of the teaching about baptisms and (4) the laying on of hands; (5) of the resurrection of the dead and (6) the eternal judgment. These are topics that every Christian should understand and should be able to explain to others. Let’s do a quick review of the essentials of each one.

(1) turning away from dead works

There are works of darkness Rom 13:12, unfruitful works of darkness Eph 5:11, wicked works Col 1:21, works that deny the Lord, Titus 1:16. Dead works are those that a person tries to do to earn his way into heaven. People will often say, "I’ve been a good person. I deserve to go to heaven," but God says in His Word that it is not our good works that can save us. God said, "All your righteousnesses are as filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6)

Titus 3:5 "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us...." He said in Ephesians 2:8-9 that salvation is not a result of your works, but God’s grace and goodness to you. It is not something you earn or work for, but salvation is a gift to those who believe Jesus is their Savior and receive Him as their Lord.

To be saved one must turn away (repent) from any thought that they can work their way into heaven without Jesus.

(2) Faith towards God

After turning away from dead works, one must turn towards God. If God will not accept our works to pay for our salvation, then He must have another way. This is what trusting God means, that you believe His way of salvation is the only way and He has revealed that way through the Son He sent to earth to be His Messenger.

(3) Baptisms

Refer to lessons 12-14 for a thorough review of this topic. In summary, the most important baptism is the one which puts you into the body of Christ, making you a member of the family of God, It is done by the Holy Spirit at the time when you repent of your sins and you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. The second baptism is the one for service and ministry. It is done by the Lord Jesus. Please review lessons 12-14, if you have questions or want more explanation.

(4) Laying on of hands

This refers generally to the impartation of blessing, healing, commissioning for service, etc. My mother said that as a child, she could remember her father often putting his hand on her head and saying "God bless you my child." The apostles, Barnabas and Paul had hands laid on them as part of being sent out as missionaries from the church in Antioch, Syria. Jesus often laid His hand on sick people as He imparted gifts of healing to them.

(5) Resurrection of the dead

When a person dies, it is only his body that quits. His spirit and soul continue to live, but he is invisible to our eyes, because he has no body of flesh, which would make him visible to us. He still has form, for the soul acts as the body for the spirit. He can talk. He can think. He can remember. He can feel. He is in the spirit realm, and lives in heaven’s regions of light or in hell’s darkness.

At some point in time, God will signal that it is time for the resurrection of the just, those who have had faith in the Redeemer and who believed and received Him by faith. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the spirit-souls of those who have died in Christ will be united with new bodies, glorified bodies of flesh and bone, not flesh and blood like ours now. It will be an eternal body that will not be subject to any disease, illness, or injury. Your resurrection body will never wear out. You will never die. You will never get sick or be in pain.

(6) Eternal judgment

One thousand years later, after the resurrection of the just, there will be a resurrection of the unjust, those who heard the gospel but rejected the light that God offered them. They didn't want God to save them, so He won't. They will be judged by their works, good and bad, that they did on the earth. Their good won’t outweigh their sins. They won’t measure up to God’s high standard of holiness, Who is Jesus, so they will be sentenced to the lake of fire. This lake of fire was never intended for man, just for the devil and his angels. God wanted every person to repent, to receive His salvation and never to be judged for their sins, but some thought they had a better plan. At this judgment, they will realize their mistake too late.

In John 6:45, Jesus said that His Father taught all sinners certain lessons in their lives on earth, so that they would come to belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior. The first lesson, of course, is that God exists. We can look all around us at the creation of the plants and animals and the earth itself and know that there was a Creator of it all. All of this and the order and design of it could not have happened by accident.

The second lesson is to understand that, since God is and He is the Creator of all that is in the universe, then He is powerful, more than anyone else.

The third lesson is that, since God is the all-powerful Creator of all that is made, He is also the Judge of all that is, including mankind. It is He Who decides who measures up to His standard of absolute purity and holiness...and no sinner does measure up. So the Creator has a right to destroy the part of His creation that does not fit His standard.

Nothing the sinner could do could save him from destruction. Only God could come up with a way of salvation, if there was to be one. God did decide to provide a way of salvation for the sinner, a means of becoming righteous and holy enough to suit God’s standards, a way to become a citizen of heaven and to be adopted into the actual family of God…and this Way is Jesus. Believe that with His death on the cross in your place, Jesus paid your way out of the prison house of sin, took your sentence of death and hell for you, did everything that was needed to bring you salvation, if you would turn away from your dead works, turn towards God, accept the salvation Jesus offers, receive it, believe Him by faith, trusting that what He has said and done is the truth.

In exchange for your sins, He gave you His holiness. In the place of your death, He gave you eternal life. In the place of your unrighteousness, He gave you His righteousness. In exchange for being against God, He gave you peace with God. Jesus endured rejection so that you might have acceptance with the only One Who matters---God.

Jesus was willing to be punished in your place so that you might be forgiven. He was wounded for you that you might be healed in every way. Jesus died your death so that you might share His life. He took the shame of your sin on Himself so that you might share His glory. He became a curse so that you could receive the blessings of eternal life and its abundance.

Let's stop here and give thanks for our Redeemer.