Well, I have been given the wonderful
assignment of preaching on the holiness of Jesus, specifically
entitled, The Holy One of God. So I invite you to take your
Bibles and turn with me to the gospel of Mark, Mark chapter
1. And I want to begin by reading
our text that we shall expound this morning, Mark chapter 1. I want to begin reading in verse
21. I want to set it before your
eyes and before your heart. and then we will work our way
through this text which speaks so pointedly to the holiness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word of God reads, they went into Capernaum and
immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and began
to teach. And they were amazed at his teaching,
for he was teaching them as one having authority, and not as
the scribes. Just then there was a man in
their synagogue with an unclean spirit, and he cried out saying,
What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are, the Holy One of God. There is no more dangerous place
in town to be. than where the direct, straightforward
teaching of the Word of God confronts dead religion. Whenever the truth
of Scripture challenges empty religion, a cataclysmic collision
is sure to result leaving monumental devastation. Whenever the word
is taught in houses of worship that are devoid of gospel truth,
Satan is aroused, demons are awakened, and hell is aggravated. As long as dead religion is allowed
to sleep the sleep of death. all continues placidly and peaceably. But as soon as the light of holiness
and the light of truth shines into the kingdom of darkness,
sin is exposed, Satan is provoked, and unclean spirits are angered. to be sure there is no greater
stronghold of Satan than he establishes in fortresses of houses of worship
where the truth is suppressed. And there is no greater threat
to Satan's kingdom than the penetrating light of holiness, and the penetrating
light of truth. as it invades these fortresses
of demons. I repeat there is no more dangerous
place in town than when divine holiness confronts dead religion. All hell is about to break loose. This is precisely where Jesus
finds himself as we come to this text this morning. In this passage,
Jesus enters the lifeless, godless synagogue in Capernaum. A place where Satan has gained
a foothold. It is a place that has religion,
but no repentance. It is a place that has ritual,
but no regeneration. It is a place that has rules,
but no relationship with the living God through His Holy Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Nowhere is Satan more deeply
entrenched in the lives of people than with those who are religious,
but who have no light of holiness and no truth. It was a religious
crowd that most opposed Christ. It was a religious crowd that
attributed his works to the devil. It was a religious crowd that
accused him of being born out of wedlock. It was a religious
crowd that maligned him and slandered him and then nailed him to a
cross. It is now into this religious
crowd that the Holy One of God advances with the truth and he
meets the devil head on. What follows now is a clash between
light and darkness, between truth and error, between heaven and
hell, between holiness and unholiness. As we begin this narrative in
verse 21, we see Jesus advancing directly into one of Satan's
strongholds. We read in verse 21, they went
into Capernaum. The they refers to Jesus and
four of the disciples, Simon, Andrew, James, and John. And they went into Capernaum,
which was a very important city for the Lord. It would become
the headquarters of his Galilean ministry. Matthew 9.1 says it
became his own city. And it was into Capernaum that
he went. It was strategically located
in Galilee. The Northwest Shore, the Sea
of Galilee, available to the fishing business and much enterprise
there. It was on the main road that
connected Egypt with Mesopotamia. It was strategically located,
highly populous. It was an important travel and
port city. A military station for detached
soldiers. And it was into this bustling
city, Capernaum, that Jesus went with four of his disciples. And we read here in verse 21,
and immediately, this is Mark's favorite word to describe the
ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. Over 40 times this word appears
in the Gospel of Mark. Immediately, immediately, immediately,
immediately. There was a pace and tempo about
our Lord's ministry. There was a push about what He
had come to do. And immediately on the Sabbath,
He entered the synagogue. The synagogue was a house of
worship where people assembled, where there were prayers offered,
the reading of the Old Testament, and the teaching of the Word
of God. And the reading of the scripture
and the teaching of the word was open to any qualified individual
selected by the ruler of the synagogue. It was common practice
for visiting teachers, itinerant teachers, to be asked to address
the worshipers who would gather in the synagogue. And that is
exactly what we see here. And so we read at the end of
verse 21, and Jesus began to teach. Jesus began to teach because
He has come to save sinners upon the cross. But He has also come
to be the chief revelation of God to man. And He is the great
expositor of the Law and the Prophets. He is the great teacher
anointed in the power of the Holy Spirit at Jordan to come
now and to open up the word of God for the people and for there
to be gospel light to come shining into this house. Fifteen times
in Mark's Gospel we read that Jesus devoted himself to the
ministry of teaching. Twelve times in Mark's Gospel
he is identified as the teacher. This was his primary approach
in ministry. It was to read the word, teach
the word, and apply the word. It was a straightforward ministry
that our Lord had. There were no frills, there was
no beating around the bush. It was to open the book and by
divine exposition for the light of holy truth to come pouring
forth from scriptures and from his lips. He is the great expositor
who has come to expound the word. And we read in verse twenty-two.
They were amazed at his teaching. They have been in realms of darkness
for so long. The light of truth has been under
a bushel. And now for this moment in time,
the bushel has been removed. And Christ, the light of the
world, expounds the truth of the word of God like they have
never heard before. It says they were amazed, which
is a very strong word, which means to be struck out of themselves. To be out of their senses. We
would say in the vernacular, as they heard him teach, this
blew their minds. It was shock and awe. They were
astonished. They were amazed. They were bewildered. They were overwhelmed with the
flow of truth that was coming to them. For he was teaching them as one
having authority. The scribes and the Pharisees
would scratch their chin and they would say, well it seems
to me. And they would quote the other
rabbis. And they would quote the other
scribes. But Jesus got up and he said, thus says the Lord. And he proclaimed the word of
God in the most purest exposition that has ever been heard. And
they were astonished and they were amazed at the authority
with which he taught. Not only in what he said, but
how he said it. These lost legalistic scribes
huddled together here. They majored on minors. They
focused on the minutia of their man-made religious rules, their
homespun regulations, their petty legalistic requirements, as they
quoted other rabbis and placed heavy burdens upon the shoulders
of the people, but not Jesus. He taught the pure unadulterated
truth of the word of God. And no wonder they were so amazed
at his teaching. They had never heard anything
like this presentation of truth. The holiness of truth that was
shining forth from this holy life. Verse 23. Just then, as the light of truth
and holiness is shining in this dark house of this den of dead
religion. Just then, there was a man in
their synagogue with an unclean spirit. This man was a demon-possessed
man as he sat in this house of worship. Would you note that
he is not in a den of ill repute? He is not in the harlot's back
bedroom. He is not in the drunkard's parties. He is in the house of worship. He is in the synagogue on the
Sabbath. He is in the Lord's house on
the Lord's day and it is by no coincidence that demons traffic
most in religious settings where there is dead religion and where
there is no gospel truth. Jesus said to the church at Smyrna,
or to the synagogue at Smyrna, He said it is a synagogue of
Satan. Revelation 2 verse 9. And to
the synagogue that is in Philadelphia, He referred to it as the synagogue
of Satan. Revelation 3 verse 9. Though
it says over the portals, house of God, in reality it is a place
held in chains of darkness by a personal devil with people
sitting there whose eyes are blinded under the dominion and
under the control of demons. This unclean spirit was a demon
spirit. residing within the man. Demons are evil. Cast out of
heaven. A third of the angels fell with
Lucifer, son of the morning. Cast down to this world. Satan,
now the ruler of this world, the god of this age, with layers
of rulers and authorities and principalities and powers and
his minions here. Demons can live within a human
body, causing that person to live a godless life, an unclean
life. And in such cases, the demon
takes control of the person and speaks through the vocal cords
of that person under his control. And when the person is addressed,
it is the demon that responds through the vocal cords of that
person. Unholy demons are agents of Satan. They control the mind. They corrupt
the heart. They conquer the will. They are
real and their favorite habitat is houses of worship where there
is dead religion because they love to traffic in places of
worship. And we read at the end of verse
23, and he cried out, the confrontation of light and darkness, holiness
and unholiness. It was the perfect storm. and
he cried out, the he referring to the demon, screaming with
a shrieking voice. This demon made use of this wretched
man's vocal organs and screamed out of the man saying, verse
24, what business do we have with each other Jesus of Nazareth? Literally, what is there to you
and us? Meaning, what do we have in common? It is a rhetorical question implying
a negative answer. We have no common turf. What fellowship can there be
between Christ and Belial? between light and darkness. What
business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? The demon realizes that he belongs
to a totally different world and becomes suddenly aware of
it as he now is standing in the presence of Him who is infinite
light and purity and truth. And the demon now is exposed. Now please note the word we in
verse 24. What business do we have with
each other? Speaking for many demons. Either
other demons were in this one man, or other demons were in
this synagogue, or other demons are scattered about the region.
This demon is utterly provoked. because of the holy teaching
ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is like what Martin Luther
once said, I want to be known as well in hell as in heaven. A man is known not only by the
friends that he makes, but by the enemies he has provoked. And the presence of the Holy
One of God in this den of darkness now clarifies, and there is the
polarizing, and now the demon cries out, what do we have in
common? Have you come to destroy us?
This demon knows that all fallen angels are under the judgment
of God. Matthew 25, verse 41, that hell
is prepared for the devil and his angels. This demon assumes
that now must be the time for their destruction. And then he
says, I know who you are. There is no question as to the
identity of the Lord Jesus Christ among the realms of demon spirits. I know who you are, the Holy One of God. That my friend is a better testimony
than you will receive from liberal pulpits. That is a better confession than
from apostate denominations. I know who you are. The holy
one of God. Not a holy one, but definite
article the. The holy one. The one and only
holy one. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
of hosts. This foul demon understood that
shining through this veil of human body was the absolute holiness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This unclean spirit understood
that Jesus of Nazareth was more than a carpenter. He was more
than a mere teacher. He was more than a mere discipler
of men. He was more than a mere preacher
of the Word. He is holy, holy, holy, the Lord
of hosts. He is God in human flesh. Fully
God, fully man, the God-man. Not 50% God and 50% man. He would be a freak. 100% God, 100% man, the fully divine
son of the living God, the one of whom the angels are singing,
holy, holy, holy. How strange that this high confession
would come from such unholy lips. James 2 verse 19 says, the demons
believe. and shudder. The Holy One of
God means that Jesus is infinitely and absolutely holy. Fully and perfectly divine. That He is transcendent, majestic. He has come down from above. He is the Holy One of God, set
apart from sinners, come to save sinners, yet unlike sinners in
that He is sinless, without any moral blemish, perfect in all
of His ways. Jesus is the Holy One of God. His being is holy. His character
is holy. His mind is holy. His motives
are holy. His words are holy. His actions
are holy. His ways are holy. His judgments
are holy. from the top of his head to the
bottom of his feet, every inch, every ounce, the totality, the
sum and the substance of the second member of the Godhead,
co-equal, co-eternal, equally holy with God the Father. What is the holiness of God?
Its primary meaning means apartness. otherness. It speaks to the profound
difference between him and us. Holiness refers to his transcendent
majesty. His august superiority. That is one infinitely above
us. He alone is worthy of our worship
and our adoration He is set apart from us. He is separated from
us. He is unlike us while becoming like us. Exodus 15, 11, Who is
like you among the gods, O Lord? Who is like you, majestic in
holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders? This is what
the demon recognized, that this one is the high and lifted up
supreme being of heaven and earth. And second, it speaks to his
purity, his sinless perfection, that morally he is flawless.
He is blameless in all of his ways. But I want to develop this
one step further. Look again at the end of verse
24. This title The Holy One of God. This is a formal, technical title
drawn from the wells of Old Testament Scripture. This is a title for
God Himself. The Holy One of God is the chief
and primary title for God in the book of Isaiah. It has been
well said, the book of Isaiah is divided into two halves. The
first thirty-nine chapters and then the last twenty-seven chapters. In the first thirty-nine chapters
of Isaiah, this title is found twelve times of Jehovah God. And in the last twenty-seven
chapters of Isaiah, this title, the Holy One, is found twelve
times. Twenty-six times in the book
of Isaiah, God is identified by the prophet as the Holy One. And no doubt it emerges and flows
out of his encounter Coram Deo with the living God in Isaiah
6 when he went into the temple and he saw the Lord high and
lifted up and the seraphim surrounding the temple crying out to one
another day and night, holy, holy, holy, holy, holier, holiest. You are the one most holiest
being supreme in your holiness. in the entire created order which
you have made." Out of that encounter, as Isaiah writes his prophetic
words, he stands unique among the prophets as identifying God
as the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 1 verse 4, they have despised
the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 12, 16, For great in your
midst is the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 41, 14, Your Redeemer
is the Holy One of Israel. Franz Delitzsch, the great Old
Testament commentator, writes that this title, the Holy One
of Israel, is quote, it forms an essential part of Isaiah's
prophetic signature. In other words, these are the
fingerprints of Isaiah stamped on the pages of his book, identifying
God as the Holy One of Israel again and again and again. It
is picked up by the writers of 2 Kings, Psalms, Jeremiah and
Ezekiel. It is the featured and the most
prominent title given to God by the prophet Isaiah. So when
this demon in Mark 1 verse 24 says, I know who you are And
you are the Holy One of God. There is no question as to the
identification that is being made. It is a title, number one,
of deity. This divine name is assigned
to God in the Old Testament. It is now assigned to Jesus in
the New Testament. This is like I am who I am, Exodus
3.14. And then Jesus takes it to Himself
and He says, I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world.
I am the resurrection and the life. He takes the divine name
of the Old Testament and imposes it upon Himself that He is equal
to God. That is what is taking place
here. yet from the lips of demons, assigning the divine name to
Jesus of Nazareth. There is only other one place
in the New Testament where this is found. In John 6 verse 69,
when Jesus looked at Peter and the disciples and said, will
you go away too? And Peter responded, to whom
shall we go? You alone have words of eternal
life. And then identified the master
teacher, their master and Lord as the Holy One of God. That is what this title signifies.
It is a title of deity. Second, it is a title of supremacy. It is a recognition that the
God who is enthroned in the heavens and earth has come down to be
among men. He has come down from above. It speaks of His transcendence,
His majesty, His regality, His nobility, that He is God in human
flesh. Jesus said in John 6.38, I have
come down from heaven. John 6.48, I am the bread of
life. This is the bread which comes
down out of heaven so that one may eat of it and not die. This
is the title of deity, of supremacy, and purity. That Jesus is sinless
and perfect. And even the demons in the kingdom
of darkness know that he is infinitely pure. That he is supreme God
in human flesh. 1 John 3 verse 5, in him there
is no sin. 1 Peter 2 verse 22, he committed
no sin nor was any deceit found in his mouth. 2 Corinthians 5.21,
Him who knew no sin. Jesus said in John 14.30, the
ruler of this world is coming and he has nothing in me. There is no point of access that
he has made into my being. He has established no beachhead.
There are no satanic strongholds in which he has hatched the poison
of hell within me. He has resisted every temptation. And as Judas is coming and dwelt
by Satan, Jesus could say, the ruler of this world is coming
and he has nothing in me. Which one of you convicts me
of sin? Jesus said to his enemies. Look at verse 25. And Jesus rebuked him. Jesus confronted him and called
him out. Be quiet! and come out of him. Shut up
demon. Do not interrupt me when I am
preaching and teaching the word of the living God. Verse 26, throwing him, speaking
of the man. into convulsions. The man, when
it is something like an epileptic fit of being deranged or insane,
reduced to kicking and rolling on the ground and shaking uncontrollably
as the unclean spirit burst into this final display of hellish
rage in the man. This is a vicious, violent spirit
who would not leave quietly. The unclean spirit cried out
with a loud voice and came out of him. Verse 27, they were amazed. They were already
amazed to hear his teaching. Now this is amazement upon amazement
upon astonishment upon bewilderment. They don't even have a category
for this. Not only does he preach the sheer
unadulterated truth of heaven to us, but he backs it up with
all of the authority of God Himself. This must be God in human flesh. They were all amazed. so that they debated among themselves
saying, who is this? A new teaching with authority. It was new for them, but it was
as old as the Old Testament. It was the truth of the word
of God that Jesus has expounded with authority. He commands even
the unclean spirits and they obey Him. Immediately, verse 28, the news
about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district
of Galilee. This is the holiness of Jesus. The Holy One of God. A title
of deity. A title of supremacy. A title
of purity. He is God in human flesh. And
here is His triumph over the kingdoms of darkness. This Holy
One. The Bible says the Son of God
appeared for this purpose. To destroy the works of the devil. The Bible says, now judgment
is upon this world. Now the ruler of this world will
be cast out. The Bible says, the ruler of
this world has been judged. The heel of the seat of the woman
was bruised, but the head of the serpent at the cross was
crushed by the Holy One of God in His death for us upon Calvary's
cross. Him who knew no sin, God made
to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God
in Him. This is the great exchange of
Calvary. All of our sins laid upon the
sinless Lamb of God, spotless, without blemish. He gives to
us His pure, sinless, perfect obedience to the law of God. And His final act of obedience
upon the cross by His death, taking away our sins. Jesus had
to come as He did, be born of a virgin, in order to be what
He was, sinless and perfect, in order to do what He did, die
upon the cross as the sinless Lamb of God, in order to become
sin for us. Jesus, the Bible says, rendered
powerless him who had the power of death. That is the devil. He bound the strong man and plundered
his house at the cross and set the captives free. Greater is
He who is in you than he who is in the world. Thanks be to
God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And it has come because the Holy
One of God has come in human flesh. to go to the cross and
die a death that you and I could never die, to die for us, bearing
our sins, suffering under the righteous judgment of God. that
by his death and the shedding of his blood there would be the
full free forgiveness for our sins. This is the one who has
come into the world and he has come to scatter the kingdom of
darkness. Let us pray. Father this is the trauma of
holiness. that light has come into the
darkness. And men hate the light and they
will not come to the light for their deeds are evil. We thank
you that you have opened our eyes to see the light, the very
light that blinds others. You have given us vision and
sight by faith to see the coming of Christ into this world. to
rescue those held captive by the devil himself. We praise
you that the Holy One of God is greater than the unholy one
of hell and that by His coming into this world He has come to
be Lord and Savior of His people. We praise you that we are numbered
among His people by your choice and by His redeeming death. and
by the seal of the Spirit that has drawn us to him cause us
now to walk in holiness and purity in a manner worthy of our calling. We pray this in the holy name
of Jesus.