Disciples Digital Library

He is the Son of Man foreseen by Daniel who has absolute authority from Yahweh over the earth .  After defeating Satan in the wilderness, Jesus began to proclaim the “ good news ” of the kingdom – “ The season is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel .” The term “ Kingdom of God ” is a summary statement that means different things to different people, but he identified his mission with the “ Son of Man ” in the book of  Daniel .

Neither social conventions nor purity regulations prevent Jesus from ministering to the physical needs of men and women  – Mark 1:29-39.  Jesus did not allow scruples over purity regulations keep him from healing the sick and delivering the oppressed from demonic spirits. Neither Sabbath restrictions nor Levitical rules on ritual purity were intended to prevent human needs from being met.

The touch of Jesus cleansed a leper, and the forbidden physical contact did not render him unclean  – Mark 1:40-45.  His touch cleansed a leper from ritual impurity, restoring him physically  AND  religiously. And Jesus touched him  BEFORE  he was cleansed of his  ritual defilement. Any concern over contracting “uncleanness” did not stop the Messiah from healing a son of Israel- (Mark 1:40-45).

Jesus delivered a demonized Gentile while traveling through hostile territory, demonstrating his vast authority over Satan  –  Mark 5:1-20 .  The declaration that Jesus had come to the “ other side of the sea ” links this next story to the preceding incident when he calmed the storm. His plan to crossover the Sea of Galilee set in motion the series of events that followed. Having calmed the storm, he next encountered the demonized man who had a violent “storm” raging within – ( Mark 5:1-20 ).

One day, after teaching the multitude, Jesus set out to cross the Sea of Galilee. But a violent storm descended suddenly, frightening the disciples. Storms were common enough on that body of water, and several of the men were fishermen familiar with its moods. Their terror indicated this was an especially severe storm.

In response to Jewish leaders, Jesus demonstrated that he is Lord even over the Sabbath Day  - Mark 2:23-3:6.  Religious leaders from Jerusalem objected to Christ’s looseness to their Sabbath traditions, but he used the opportunity to demonstrate that the “ Son of Man ” is “ Lord ” even over  that  day. God did cease His creative activities on the seventh day, but its formal establishment as a regulated day did not occur until the  Torah  was given at Sinai (“ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy ”).

Jesus healed a paralytic, demonstrating the authority of the Son of Man to discharge sins  – Mark 2:1-12.  The present literary unit consists of five stories that highlight Christ’s authority and the conflicts between him and the religious authorities, primarily over issues of ritual purity and Sabbath regulations. There are parallels between the present story and the preceding one about the cleansing of the leper.

Jesus demonstrated his authority over Satan by driving his forces out of the children of Israel  – Mark 1:21-28.  Jesus defeated Satan in the wilderness, and the effects of his victory are now demonstrated as he exercises authority over demonic forces in  Capernaum . The village was located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee where it straddled the major trade route between Galilee and Damascus .