QT 10/16/2023 Mark 1:21-28, Use God's word in discussions with others

Mark 1:21–28 (ESV) —

21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

 

NOTE: Mark relates that "they were astonished at this teaching" and "he taught them as one who had authority." In some ways his teaching was different from the scribes. His authority is inherent, since he is God, but that would not have been known by his hearers. Unlike other teachers, he did not need to reference anyone else, only scripture; his word was scripture. It has an amazing effect which is not surprising:

 

Isaiah 55:10–11 (ESV) —

10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven

and do not return there but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

 

God's word is very powerful, and we should use it more often in our discussions with others. We do not need to defend God's word or make a secular argument. In fact, a good response is, "I can't argue from a human perspective, but God's word says …." That response, when accompanied by scripture, has more power than anything we can come up on our own.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I memorize scripture so that I can quote the power of God's word and not my own?

 

PRAYER: Father, bring to mind verses that I need in discussions with people. Help me to share those verses respectfully and gently and boldly.