Mark 1:28
“And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.”
In the synagogue in Capernaum, Jesus encountered a man with an unclean spirit. While there is no way of knowing what lifestyle he had lived which led to his condition, we can surmise from other accounts of dealing with demons, he was living in great darkness and difficulty. Whatever turmoil he faced, the solution was encountering Jesus. What the world could not do, Jesus did with seven simple words,”be quiet and come out of him.”
The Word of God has been overcoming darkness ever since. The Bible records many cases where people’s lives have been forever altered by the Words of God. We read of prostitutes, tax collectors, insurrectionists, religious zealots, as well as common everyday men and women, who encounter the Word of God, and are forever changed. The Word of God is still driving out darkness and changing lives.
A number of years ago, a plot of land, more than 20 acres, was given to the Calvary Chapel Bible Training Center in Ghana, West Africa. This pristine plot of ground, on a mountain overlooking the Volta river, was the perfect site to build a facility for the school, and later a church. We were amazed that it was gifted to us, and could not understand why it had not been developed earlier. Since that time, the facilities were erected, others have built homes, and established farms in the area. We recently heard, the reason it lay dormant all those years is, the people believed the area was filled with evil spirits. When the Training Center was built, and the Word of God taught, they saw that the evil of the area was driven away. The whole village has been impacted by the teaching of God’s Word, and Jesus is continuing to make Himself famous.
What we need, more than ever, is for the Word of God to be proclaimed so darkness can be overcome, and lives can be transformed.
Pastor Jim
Questions for Mark 1
- How does Mark describe the Gospel in verse 1?
- According to verse 5, what did those who came to John do in addition to being baptized?
- Have you been baptized since you made a decision to follow Jesus?
- Jesus faced temptation from the devil, to see how He combatted it see Matthew chapter 4.
- Because the Kingdom of God is at hand, what should we do?
- Notice how people responded to Jesus
- The fishermen
- Those in the Synagogue
- Peter’s mother in law
- The Leper
- How are you responding to the invitation that Jesus has given to follow Him?
Old Testament: Exodus 7-8- One More Night
Jim Gallagher 