Mark 1:21-28
Lead in: The people recognize in Jesus
someone who spoke like one with authority and not like the scribes and Pharisees.
But it was the tormented spirit in the man
possessed who recognizes in Jesus
a power that he did not see in the Scribes and Pharisees. It was a power that could overcome evil and banish darkness. That’s why, for the man possessed, Jesus is the holy one of God.
Prompt: If Jesus is the holy one of God whose power can overcome evil, what hope does that give for the state of the world today?
Prompt: How can you participate in helping the power of love overcome evil?
Lead in: The people saw Jesus as one who talked with authority. It was an authority that did not come from an academic degree, but from the wisdom of one anointed by God. Jesus could share this truth because he knew the compassion of his loving Father. This is the love that God wants all of us to know. This isn’t a theoretical love we read about in a book. We know it
because we’ve experienced it first hand in our own lives.
Prompt: What is it that you know to be true, not because you’ve read about it in a book, but because you have experienced it first hand in your own life?
Lead in: While the teaching authority of the Scribes and Pharisees came from their position in the religious community, the teaching authority of Jesus came from his very person. By his mere presence, Jesus inspired people to live lives of greater compassion and service to others.
Prompt: Who in your life possesses an authority that comes not from the position they hold, but from the person they are? In terms of how you want to live your own life, what do you learn from that person?
Lead in: In Mark 1, we hear how Jesus drives out an “unclean spirit” from a man who is thought to be possessed. Jesus demonstrates authority over the power of darkness by commanding the “unclean spirit” to come out of the man. By the power of the Holy Spirit within us, Jesus
empowers us to confront the unclean spirits around us and within us. But for that to happen, we need to take the attention off of ourselves. This shift of focus opens our hearts to a flow of
compassion that is rooted in God and not in ourselves.
Prompt: As we look at the world around us, it’s easy to recognize the unclean spirits of anger, greed and selfishness. However, it is harder to recognize those things in ourselves. What are the unclean spirits still lingering in your heart that need to be cast out? What will help you release those unclean spirits?
