Uncovering What Religion Has to Hide

Where does your theology come from? Some people form their theology from the law of Moses. Scripture states that God’s law is the truth and his commandments are eternal (Psalm 119:98, 142). However, it also tells us that all men have sinned and none are righteous (Romans 3:10, 23). The only one who could fulfill the law is the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:17). If we go back and attempt to fulfill the law in our own strength, we return to legalism. Only Jesus Christ could fulfill the law. The letter kills; the Spirit of God brings forth life (2 Corinthians 3:6).

Other people concentrate on the Pauline epistles of the New Testament. Some who focus on grace instead of the law define grace as “unmerited favor.” When they take this to an extreme, however, they end up proportionately focusing on what Christ has done and largely ignore a Christian’s need to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. This can be taken as permission for licentiousness or other sins by those who think the law no longer applies. Knowing they have prayed a “sinner’s prayer,” they assume they are covered. They believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, they congregate in a church, and they pay their tithes, so they believe this grace must cover them no matter what they do.

But unmerited favor is only a secondary definition of grace. The primary definition of grace is the power of God to change and transform us, linking us to the presence of God. And those who are led by the Spirit of God are not under the law (Galatians 5:18).

Therefore, the center of the Scriptures, the center of the plan of God, the center of everything, is the Lord Jesus. If we speak of the law, we must do this in the context of who the Lord Jesus really is, what he has done, and what he will do for us. If we speak of grace, it cannot be separated from the Lord Jesus. His name is Jesus, but he also has another name, and that other name is Christ. Jesus means “savior” (the author of salvation). Christ means “anointing” or “the anointed one.”

Isaiah 10:27 refers to an anointing that will destroy the yoke, an anointing that breaks and dissolves the heavy yoke of religion. The Lord Jesus is the Anointed One who has that anointing. He is the only one who has it. No one else has been able to live a life that is pleasing to the Father. Jesus came to redeem us. He overcame death and then sent the Holy Spirit so we can walk in his victory.

A great controversy arose in the church over one thousand years ago as to who sent the Holy Spirit. Did the Holy Spirit proceed from the Father or from the Son? The Father and the Son, however, are of one accord. Their desire is to send the Holy Spirit to bond us with them. The Lord Jesus as the only mediator of the New Covenant, sends his Spirit with the goal that we can be cleansed by the power of God and come to know the Father.

Mark 1

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus, the Christ, Son of God,

Many preach a gospel (which they define as “good news”) that is different from what is written here. This gospel in Mark 1 speaks of the Son of God and of a kingdom that is different from the kingdoms of men. The word gospel was already in use in the Roman Empire when Jesus entered the scene. Gospel or good news was used on special occasions when there was a change of kings or kingdoms. King and kingdom have the same root word in Greek. The kingdom is everything under the authority of the king. This includes people and territory.

When a new king came on the scene (after the old king died or was killed), with a subsequent change in government, the “gospel” was the proclamation of this important change. Since humans are corrupted by power, the old pagan king had most likely become corrupt. The death of the old tyrant and the rise of the new king was always “good news” to the people. Unlike today, when most countries have elections every four years, at that time it could take thirty, forty, or even fifty years for the old despot to die. Imagine having to put up with that.

When at last the old Caesar was dead or deposed, heralds went forth under armed escort into every corner of the empire. They blew the trumpets and proclaimed that there was a new king. When the proclamation or gospel (“good news”) of the new king was announced, everyone had to make a choice. They either had to kneel and swear allegiance to Caesar as lord and worship the new king (the Romans thought that Caesar was God), or the Roman soldiers immediately dealt with them. Many Christians were killed in this way by the Romans because they refused to worship Caesar as God.

The greeting among the early Christians was “Jesus is Lord.” The reply was “Yes, he is Lord indeed!” This is the beginning of the gospel. This is the gospel that declares that the Lord Jesus is our new king. We may accept him or reject him, but he is the sovereign King. The word gospel does not just mean “good news,” however. It means we have a new king and do not have to serve Satan, the old despot, any longer.

This gospel is recorded, or written down, by John Mark. Mark was a young boy on the night that Jesus was betrayed prior to the crucifixion. Remember that all the disciples fled, but there was a young lad clothed in a sheet nearby. The Roman soldiers grabbed the sheet and the boy fled, naked (Mark 14:50-52).

Peter called Mark his son (1 Peter 5:13), and it is very likely that this writing is the gospel related by Peter and written down by Mark. Peter was an uneducated fisherman when Jesus called him. Another confirmation of this is that in the early church, as the early fathers were establishing the canon of the sixty-six books of the Bible, and separating them from spurious books, one of the key criteria was that the true books of the New Testament had to be written, dictated, or authorized by the apostles who had received their commission directly from the Lord Jesus. Mark is never mentioned as an apostle like Peter or Paul or John, so we are led to believe that Peter authorized this gospel.

After he denied the Lord three times before the rooster crowed twice, Peter became very humble (Mark 14:72; John 21:15-19). Peter may have not wanted to sign his name to the book. He wanted God to get all the glory.

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus, the Christ, Son of God,

Imagine Simon Peter dictating this and young John Mark writing it down.

2 as it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.

He is referring to Isaiah:

Isaiah 40

3 The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places made plain:

5 And the glory of the LORD shall be manifested, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.

6 The voice that said, Cry. And I said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the mercy thereof is as the open flower of the field:

7 The grass withers, the flower fades because the spirit of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people is grass.

8 The grass withers, the open flower fades; but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

What does this mean?

When we live here on earth in the flesh, we are like grass that lasts for a very short time. Even when we are born the second time and blossom with gifts from God, and the Holy Spirit flourishes in our being, this life is very transitory. The purpose of our lives is to produce the fruit of righteousness, the mature character of God in our being. This fruit of the Holy Spirit will endure forever. Later, Peter quotes Isaiah again:

1 Peter 1

23 being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides for ever.

24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away,

25 but the word of the Lord endures for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

It is clear that Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, has a different concept of the gospel from what is prevalent in many of our churches with modern-day Laodiceans.

Mark 1

4 John baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance for remission of sins.

The Greek literally says, “baptism into repentance.”

Under the law, if someone became unclean, they had to be washed with water. There were many ways to become unclean. John was preaching that the entire nation was unclean. Those who sought the baptism of John were publicly recognizing that they were unclean and, therefore, not acceptable to God.

Repentance is different from crocodile tears. Repentance means a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree reversal. If we are heading downhill, we must turn around and head uphill. If we are heading south, we must turn and head north. If we are going our own way and seeking to satisfy our own desires, we must turn and go God’s way and seek to satisfy his desires. God offers us a time and place to repent. If we do not respond, we have no guarantee we will have the same opportunity later.

John’s ministry only lasted five or six months until Jesus came on the scene. He baptized the Jewish people into repentance. He was commissioned to immerse them into repentance, and he used water as a symbol. Later, in Luke chapter 7, we see that those who received the baptism of John justified God and were able to understand the plan and purpose of God in Jesus Christ. Those who refused the baptism of John rejected the counsel of God against themselves.

Those who refused to repent were unable to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. They remained clueless. They desired a messiah who would implement a grand kingdom and restore even more than the glory of Solomon. When Jesus said that his kingdom is not of this world, some were very disillusioned. Jesus came to announce a different kingdom and he started by planting a word. Scripture states that the word goes forth we know not how, first the blade, then the ear, and finally the fullness of the fruit (Mark 4:28). It is the fruit that will remain.

John was sent to prepare the way, and he did this by preaching repentance and baptizing those who responded to his message. Later, when Jesus was about to leave, he told his disciples that they were clean, not because of the baptism of John, but because of the word that he had given them (John 15:3). True cleanness comes from hearkening unto the word of the Lord and hearing the voice of the Lord. When we receive his word by faith, he provides the grace to bring his word forth in us as obedient reality.

5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea and those of Jerusalem and were all baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

These people desired to have a new beginning with God, so God would blot out their past and allow them to start over. Jordan means “to flow down,” and in our natural state, all of us are flowing down, headed for death and decay. John submerged them in water as a symbol of death to all their own sins and ambitions, so they could seek the kingdom of God.

6 John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he ate locusts and wild honey

7 and preached, saying, There comes one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

8 I indeed have baptized you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

The maximum that human ministry can accomplish is to baptize someone in water, but the water is only a symbol. Human ministry cannot submerge anyone into the Holy Spirit unless they are operating in union with Jesus. Many come up out of the water as corrupt as they were before. No miraculous change has taken place. They come out of the water, wet, and possibly a bit cleaner on the surface. But if the Lord Jesus does not effect a work deep within and bring us to genuine repentance and baptize us (immerse us) into the Holy Spirit, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Our only hope is to trust him.

John came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Malachi 4:5; Luke 1:17) in at least a partial fulfillment of Malachi 4. At the first coming, not too many Jews were reconciled to God, and the land was completely destroyed by AD 70. However, at that time most were not aware that the Lord would come twice.

Now, another ministry like John the Baptist’s and Elijah’s is calling everyone to repentance prior to the second coming of the Lord. This time the ministry is not a single individual. God is raising up many people in many lands to blow the trumpet and announce this “gospel of the kingdom” that shall be preached to the ends of the earth. Then the end shall come (Matthew 24:14). God is sending his messengers to prepare the way for the second coming.

6 John was clothed with camel’s hair

The camel was an unclean animal, so this was not clothing fit for a priest. John was a descendant of Aaron, born of Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary; and his father, Zacharias, was one who had a turn at being the high priest (Luke 1:5-17). John, however, did not dress like a priest and did not minister in the temple like his father. He dressed like Elijah and ministered in the desert. A camel could handle the desert and go for long periods of time without food or drink.

God promises to prepare his people in the desert. This can be a literal desert or a spiritual desert. In order to qualify for the fullness of the kingdom of God, the people must go through the desert. God also places ministry in the desert, and the ministry that God places in the desert (or wilderness) is like that of the prophets (Revelation 12:6).

The prophets wore the mantle of camel’s hair as one of the signs that this was not an easy way. It was hard on the flesh. This path that follows the will of God is in the midst of much difficulty. John the Baptist did not do signs and wonders. But he had a powerful message, and the people left the comfort of the towns and cities to go out to the desert to see what was going on with him at the Jordan River. Compare this to many preachers today.

John, and later Jesus, led multitudes in the desert where there was nothing, not even any food. If John had sought his own comfort, he would have been a priest back at the temple. He could have possibly been the high priest, but here he was, dressed in camel’s hair in the desert.

6 and with a girdle of a skin about his loins;

We imagine that this was a belt. No, it was his underwear! And over the top was his mantle of camel’s hair. He was a rustic individual. The history of the girdle of skin (or leather) goes all the way back to Adam and Eve. After they got into trouble and knew they were naked, God was not impressed with their improvised clothing made of fig leaves (it has been said that this was man’s first attempt at religion).

God covered their nakedness with leather girdles. And for this, something had to die. In order to obtain a leather girdle, blood had to be shed. And later, the Israelites were not allowed to kill an animal whenever or wherever they pleased. The killing had to be part of the blood covenant with God and according to his orders. Scripture states that the life is in the blood and without the shedding of blood there is no remission (of sin). This was all designed to point to the supreme sacrifice that would be made by Jesus Christ. John had announced this: Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

So John had his intimate parts covered with a girdle of skin as a reminder that he was in a blood covenant with God. The law requires an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a life for a life (Exodus 21:23-24). We must see things from the Lord’s perspective and not from our own. He is our redeemer and our avenger, and we are not to take the law into our own hands. David summed it up like this: For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light (Psalm 36:9).

John demonstrated understanding of the covenant. We must do God’s will and not our own. We are to live his life and not our own. We are to decrease and he is to increase. The city of the religion of men was not a proper starting place. The “covering” of men was not the covering of John the Baptist. An ordination certificate from the priests at Jerusalem did not cover him. He did not have a credential declaring that he was the son of the high priest. John did not even wear the robes of a priest.

His camel’s hair covering was unclean in the eyes of religious men, but he was covered directly by God. When John came on the scene, Israel had been about four hundred years without a prophetic voice from God. John came emulating the prophet Elijah who had last been seen many hundreds of years before.

6 and he ate locusts and wild honey

In ancient Israel, several serious problems could happen. One was if a foreign army came through and trashed everything; but another was when locusts showed up. Clouds of them could descend, and millions of locusts would eat every green thing. Sometimes the resulting famine would last for years, and even decades. Sometimes the people had to leave the land due to the magnitude of the famine. Abraham experienced this, as did Jacob and his sons (Genesis 12:10; 45:16-28). Ruth and Naomi had to flee to the land of Moab (Ruth 1:1). Many times God’s people had a worse time with the locusts than with enemies who wielded swords.

In Revelation chapter 9, the locusts are a symbol of enemy demonic forces. When the fifth trumpet is blown, a horde of locusts comes out of the pit to attack and sting all men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

The locusts that were the terror of Israel were lunch for John the Baptist. Everyone else was afraid of the locusts (due to the famine that could ensue), but for John it was the other way around. For him the locusts were a blessing!

Those who live to feed their flesh on the “grass” of the Word of God, as if they were cattle in a pasture, fear the coming of the locusts; they fear that the enemy forces will take away all their earthly goods. But others live like John the Baptist under a different type of covering and are not trying to please their flesh. They seek to please the Lord and to serve the people of God. They understand that all things work together for good for those that love the Lord and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). For these people, when the demons show up, they only serve to further the purposes of God that are hidden to the natural man.

Brethren, this is extremely important to understand. The Devil is not our most serious problem. Why do you think the Lord has allowed all these devils to roam loose for such a long period of time? Why has he not put them on ice? He will do so at the proper time. For now, however, they fulfill a useful purpose.

Even after the Devil is locked up for one thousand years, God still plans to let him loose again for a short period of time (Revelation 20:7).

Why?

He does this is to make sure that those who want to live according to their own desires, do their own thing, and foment their own selfishness and arrogance will have to reckon with the possibility of “locusts.” To fall into the hands of the Devil is serious. Here in Colombia, it is relatively easy to fall into the hands of bandits or guerrillas or corrupt officials and get stung by the locusts (when all the earthly money and things that you have stored up get taken from you).

John the Baptist came to prepare the way for those who desire to serve the Lord. This is a way where even a fool will not get lost (Isaiah 35:8). This is a highway of holiness where no demon can prosper. This is a way where we do not lose our hard-earned investments to the Enemy, because we have learned to invest in heavenly treasure that is beyond his reach. This is a way where the tables turn, and we are not the food and the prey of the Enemy. Rather, the Enemy is our food and our prey!

This is the gospel according to John the Baptist and according to Simon Peter from the perspective of God.

Here is another perspective of the gospel:

The Lord Jesus described a wedding supper. The invited guests, for the most part, did not come. They were busy inspecting land to enlarge their private kingdoms. They were trying out new yokes of oxen to see how much they could “evangelize” in the flesh. They had no time to go to the great feast of the Lord (Luke 14:18-24).

In another parable, the servants were to go to the highways and gather everyone, good and bad, and bring them to the wedding feast. But one guy was thrown out of the wedding feast because he was not wearing the proper attire (Matthew 22:1-14).

What is the Lord saying?

If we submit to his authority and do his will, we will come under his covering. In Revelation 19:8, the white robes of fine linen are the righteousness of the saints. All we have to do is eat the clean food that the Lord provides, for man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

Revelation 19

9 And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are those who are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said unto me, These are the true words of God.

This is a call to feed upon the true words of God. If we receive the covering that he provides, and if we eat the food that he supplies, he will take care of everything else. With these two things, we will be able to walk through hordes of demons, and they will not be able to cause us any eternal damage. They can only destroy the things of this world, and the kingdom of God is not of this world (John 18:36).

Some confusion arises here because the word translated world is cosmos in the Greek. This refers primarily to the system or the manner of doing things. For the meek shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). God is going to put his government upon the earth. He will not do this by taking over the White House or the Palace of Nariño or the Vatican or the World Court or the United Nations. No, the Scripture is very clear: All of the kingdoms of this world will crumble (Daniel 2:31-45; Revelation 11:15). God’s kingdom begins with a different way of doing things – his way, as he transforms hearts one by one. At the proper time, all will be revealed.

Luke 17

20 And when he was asked of the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation;

21 neither shall they say, Behold it here! or, Behold it there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

22 And he said unto the disciples, The days will come when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.

23 And they shall say to you, Behold it here, or, Behold it there; do not go, nor follow them.

24 For as the lightning, which shines from the region under heaven, shines in that which is under heaven; so also shall the Son of man be in his day.

In what day?

In the day of the Lord which is even now at our very door.

Over the long history of the church, many have made, and are still making, tragic mistakes as they attempt to take over the kingdoms of this world.

John the Baptist did not even attempt to take over the government of the temple in Jerusalem when he could have been the heir of the high priest. He lived in the desert and ate locusts and wild honey.

He did not eat processed honey. He ate his honey with all the natural ingredients. Honey is a symbol of the Word of God. The Old Testament warns about not eating too much honey (Proverbs 25:16), because under law and without the Spirit of God, the natural man cannot digest very much of the Word of God without getting indigestion. John the Baptist, however, and the people of God who have learned to walk in the desert can live on “honey.” They can absorb great quantities of the unadulterated Word of God that can flow and flow and flow – the Word of God that has not been processed by theologians or denominations or Bible institutes. God has administered it directly. This was the diet of John the Baptist as he also munched on a few “locusts” from time to time.

Mark 1

6 he ate locusts and wild honey

7 and preached, saying, There comes one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

In the desert, the shoes are a symbol of preparation. Traveling over hot sand and razor-sharp rocks was impossible without shoes. People could go barefoot in the farms and towns and villages but not in the desert. Moses had to take off his shoes at the burning bush (Exodus 3:5). His preparation at the house of Pharaoh had to be left behind. He had to forget what he learned there in order to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and towards the Promised Land. Joshua also had to remove his shoes when he met with the Prince of the Lord’s host (Joshua 5:15). Even the preparation in the wilderness by Joshua’s great mentor, Moses, had to be left behind when he entered the Promised Land and came into the direct presence of the Prince of the Lord’s host.

Jesus had a different preparation; Jesus had “shoes” that even John the Baptist was not worthy to stoop down and unloose. John was not qualified to touch Jesus’ shoes even from an attitude of humility and worship. The Lord Jesus had a special preparation and formation.

Who are we to modify this and say that we can do things in a different manner? Who are we to set a curriculum of so many weeks or months or years of training and then supposedly ordain “ministers” of the gospel? Jesus was ordained by God and approved by God. He had no human credentials. He had no certificate from Herod or from the Sanhedrin or from the high priest. At the Last Supper, Jesus said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receives whomsoever I send receives me, and he that receives me receives him that sent me (John 13:20).

When Saul of Tarsus was persecuting the believers, he went forth with letters of authorization from the high priest and from the “authorities” in Jerusalem. After the Lord Jesus captured him, his letter of recommendation was his life and the lives of the people who had been transformed by the power of God under his ministry (2 Corinthians 3:1-3). John the Baptist had made reference to that transforming power.

8 I indeed have baptized you with [Gr. “into”] water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

To baptize is to immerse. John immersed people into water but made it clear to the people that Jesus would immerse them into the Holy Spirit, into a new life, into a new nature with new desires. Many years later, people who had received the baptism of John had not yet received the baptism into the Holy Spirit (Acts 18:24-19:7).

9 And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth a city of Galilee and was baptized of John in the Jordan.

10 And as soon as he was come out of the water, John saw the heavens opened and the Spirit like a dove descending and resting upon him;

11 and there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my dear Son, in whom I delight.

Scripture tells us that Jesus was about thirty years of age when this took place (Luke 3:21-23). Under the law, a Levite had to be at least thirty years old to be in the ministry. Seven times this requirement is stated in the book of Numbers. According to Jewish custom, the Levite could also come into the fullness of the inheritance of his father at age thirty.

Even a baby can receive a gift such as the earnest or down payment of the Spirit with measure. Paul writes about the earnest of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14). What Jesus received at the Jordan River was not the earnest; he received the fullness of the Spirit without measure. Note that his Father was delighted with him even before he began his ministry. God will not give this type of anointing to anyone who is still seeking to promote his own life and his own kingdom. God will not give this anointing to anyone whom he does not expressly send (John 3:34).

Jesus could have been an excellent Messiah at age twelve, but he would not have saved us. In order to save us, he had to completely fulfill the plan of God. God’s plan is that no one can have a ministry in fullness without coming to maturity. For the Jews this happened at age thirty. The boy Jesus, who confounded the wise among the priests and scribes at the temple, had to humble himself and go home with Joseph and Mary. He had to wait another eighteen years even though he already knew who his real Father was (Luke 2:49-52).

Jesus Christ is the one who is perfect and mature. We can never attain this on our own. Yet if we trust him, his life and his words can flow forth even from little children. The journey from Egypt to the Promised Land could have been accomplished in as little as eleven days, but all those who were disobedient and filled with unbelief spent forty years dying in the wilderness, going around and around the same mountain (Deuteronomy 1:2-3).

Notice that when the fullness of the Spirit came upon Jesus at the Jordan River, it did not lead him to grandstand or do things that would attract attention to himself.

12 And immediately the Spirit drove him into the wilderness.

13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days and forty nights and was tempted of Satan and was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered unto him.

When Jesus came into the fullness of the inheritance from his real Father and of the Holy Spirit, the first things that happened were some tremendous trials.

When we receive new things, when new avenues open up, when we receive new gifts, when we come into money or other forms of prosperity, new temptations will always be there.

What will we do with all of this?

Some people have done well with the Lord while they were in prison or in a concentration camp in another country. Then, after many years, they were able to escape or were released and found their way to North America, where they subsequently went down the drain in the land of plenty and prosperity.

Why?

When the rain (of blessing) falls, it waters all the seeds in the garden. When fertilizer is applied, it fertilizes everything growing in the field. If thorns and briers are in our hearts, prosperity will cause them to prosper also. Everything will come up together.

For this reason, the Lord starts us out in a desert (spiritual or otherwise). He wants to make sure no weeds are left in our hearts. Each time we receive something new and excellent from God, it will be accompanied by a test. We have not just received a new gift or talent or capacity from God; we have also received a test on how we will use it. We can use it according to the will of God for the kingdom of God and the good of others, or we can use it for personal gain and foment our own pride and arrogance.

I know of many sad stories here in Colombia of those who cultivated drugs and got involved in the drug trade, thinking about all the good they would do with the money. Instead, they were destroyed by their own avarice.

14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God

John was put in prison for preaching the truth to King Herod. Later, they chopped off his head. When John was beheaded, Jesus sent forth his disciples with authority and power. After that, they were called apostles. No religious commissioning service is recorded (Mark 6:7-30). The typology is interesting. According to Scripture, there was none born of women greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he (Matthew 11:11).

What did Jesus mean by this?

In our human condition, even with gifts and callings and ministries from God, the maximum that we can expect to attain is equality with John the Baptist. However, entering the kingdom of God puts us in a different realm. We must lose our own headship and come under Jesus Christ. John understood that he was to decrease so that Christ could increase (John 3:30).

Paul wrote that he was a prisoner of the Lord (Ephesians 4:1). The Lord desires to take us prisoner so we can no longer implement our own will. The way of the cross is the same. The cross is not an instantaneous death – no bullet to the head of the old man. The cross is a long, slow, agonizing death to the old man as he loses his lifeblood of the nature of Adam drop by drop. However, if we are nailed to the cross with Jesus, we will not be able to accomplish our own will.

14 Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God

15 and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye and believe the gospel.

Notice that Jesus picked up on John’s message of repentance and added another step. Repent and believe! Believe the gospel. Trust and depend upon the new king. You do not have to continue under Satan’s kingdom of darkness.

The time is fulfilled! Now, today, if you hear his voice and have faith in him, he will grant sufficient grace and mercy to accomplish his will. The gospel of Jesus Christ involves repentance and faith, which, even if we are willing, can only be accomplished in us by his grace (power).

16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers.

17 And Jesus said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

18 And straightway they forsook their nets and followed him.

Jesus did not say, “Follow me and I will make you hunters of men. I will give you some sharp arrows and you will shoot men with the truth.” No, he told them he would teach them to fish for men. This requires patience.

My father is a good fisherman because he has more patience than I do. He is fond of telling me that his secret is very simple. To be a good fisherman, you must be smarter than the fish! You must have what they desire, know where they are, and be prepared to give up a lot of time.

Hunting is different.

True disciples must leave everything if they are to become fishers of men. Many would-be evangelists today are not pre[1]pared to do this. They desire to be in the ministry, but they are not willing to leave their pride and arrogance behind. They cling to their own criteria. They will not leave the doctrines of men. They continue to foment their own kingdoms. They insist on retaining their boats and nets and equipment, but the Lord does not need any of this.

19 And when he had gone a little further from there, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.

20 And straightway he called them; and leaving their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, they went after him.

21 And they entered into Capernaum, and straightway on the Sabbath days he entered into the synagogue and taught.

22 And they marvelled at his learning, for he taught them as one that had power with him, and not as the scribes.

23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out,

Jesus often ministered in their synagogue. He went to where they, in their religion, had added thousands of things to the Word of God. The law of Moses does not mention synagogues, yet they had them then. In this passage, we see the man with the unclean spirit in “their” synagogue, but it took a clean word from God to silence and cast out the unclean spirit.

When men foment religion, they attract unclean spirits instead of the Holy Spirit. These spirits may seem like the Holy Spirit to those who lack discernment. Notice what this spirit said (in the verse below). Is this what you think a demon might say?

24 saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

This demon spoke like many preachers today: “The Holy One of God, Jesus of Nazareth, comes to destroy all the ungodly.” Have you ever heard this message preached? This message was coming from a demon, but Jesus did not say, “Very well, he is preparing the way for my message; he has identified me correctly; he knows who I am.”

No, this is what the Lord said:

25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent, and come out of him.

26 And the unclean spirit tore him and cried with a loud voice and came out of him.

27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this?

The person with the unclean spirit may have been one of the most eloquent doctors of the law. The clear teaching of those synagogues was that the Messiah would come and destroy everything with fire and impose a Golden Age for Israel. The demon started off along this line, but this was not the line that Jesus came to preach when he opened his mouth to announce the gospel. He did not say he had come to destroy, but rather to save. Destruction, however, did come as the result of them not receiving him or his message.

Jesus did not come fulminating with condemnation. He said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 5:3).

Jesus came to right our misconceptions. In addition to calling us to repentance, He came to encourage, to lift us up, and to cause us to understand. The poor in spirit in Greek are really the “poor in pride.” Jesus was asking them to allow God to deal with their pride, so he might become their king. He said this in a manner that was comprehensible to those who had been baptized by John, yet this was unintelligible to arrogant religious people.

22 And they marveled at his learning, for he taught them as one that had power with him, and not as the scribes.

Notice this progression: First came the event at the Jordan River when Jesus submitted to a baptism that John did not think was necessary, but Jesus chose to identify with death from the very beginning. Then came trials and testing in the wilderness. Then a clean word came forth in their synagogue that was able to confront, silence, and cast out the religious spirit they had mistaken for God. Then miracles began to flow.

27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? What new doctrine is this? for he commands the unclean spirits with power, and they obey him.

28 And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.

29 And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

30 But Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick of a fever, and soon they told him of her.

31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up; and the fever left her by and by, and she ministered unto them.

32 In the evening, when the sun was down, they brought unto him all that were diseased and those that were possessed with devils.

33 And all the city was gathered together at the door.

34 And he healed many that were sick of diverse diseases and cast out many devils and suffered not the devils to speak because they knew him.

35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out and departed into a solitary place and prayed there.

This is backward to what many do today. They start by advertising that many miracles will occur in the great meetings at the stadium that they have rented. They sell tickets and encourage the people to prepare their offerings in exchange for blessings.

Jesus spent his first twelve years under the law of his father and mother. Then he voluntarily spent another eighteen years at home without being in the limelight. According to Scripture, he grew in grace and in favor before God and before men, until God declared his approval of him in the waters of the Jordan when he demonstrated his willingness to lay down his life. John declared that Jesus was the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sin of the world. Jesus received the fullness of the inheritance of his true Father. This is the Spirit without measure (John 3:34).

Then the Devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Satan showed him all the kingdoms of the world, but Jesus turned down the Devil’s offer.

How did the Devil show Jesus all those kingdoms?

The Devil can also give visions. The Devil showed him all these things and supernaturally took him to the pinnacle of the temple. He wanted to tempt Jesus to show off in front of the crowd. These were tremendous experiences (Matthew 4:1- 11). Many who go through this type of testing come out saying they have received great things from God, when in reality the visions and experiences have come from the Devil, the prince of this world.

Jesus rejected all of this. He was then able to go to “their synagogue,” and uncover, silence, and evict their religious spirit with a word. The unclean demon spirit had been preaching what appeared to be great things, but he did not preach the message of the Lord, the gospel of the kingdom. What the unclean religious spirit had been preaching was not good news for anyone, and Jesus put a stop to it.

Today we still have churches and synagogues full of demons preaching messages that many believe are from God, yet they are not the Word of God. The most dangerous lies are those that have the highest content of truth. Rat poison is only 1-percent poison, and the other 99 percent is rat food. If it were the other way around, no rat would be so stupid as to eat the poison.

Demons inspire people to preach what appears to be the Word of God, but a problem exists. They try to keep us centered on our own lives and on how to use God to get what we want. God wants us to leave our own life behind, so we can enter into his life. The Devil tells people that God wants to see them destroyed (unless they jump through all the hoops of religion). God wants us to leave the old behind, so we may be blessed in his life.

It is not just the message; it is not just about the truth. The way in which things are presented causes a problem. Only the Lord has the anointing that breaks the yoke. After Jesus silenced the unclean spirit in their synagogue was when the miracles began. This process gathered force, not in the synagogue but in the house of Peter and Andrew. Then, after the entire town had been blessed and enthused, Jesus got up early and disappeared!

What great, well-known preacher of today, after winning a huge battle with demon spirits, performing many miracles, and congregating the entire city, would walk away from it all and disappear in the middle of the night? Many preachers today continue to fill the stadiums; they continue to take offerings; they continue to proselytize the people; and they continue to have the people fill out “decision” cards to foment their churches and organizations as long as it is possible.

35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out and departed into a solitary place and prayed there.

36 And Simon and those that were with him followed after him.

37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.

Lord, you don’t understand. Lord, look what you just started and we have to consolidate this. We have to make sure that all those new people get inducted into the synagogue, so all the local scribes and Pharisees can “follow up.”

38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also, for truly I came forth for that purpose.

39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and cast out devils.

Their synagogues were scattered throughout Galilee, and they were all full of devils! Notice that he cast the devils out of Galilee from the very start, and later, when he was definitely rejected, they could not blame the devils because he had cleaned them out. He was rejected because the people did not wish to surrender to the true King. If Jesus were to reign, it would mean the end of their lives, the end of their synagogues, and the end of their religion. Even so, Jesus continued to preach the gospel during the allotted time.

40 And a leper came to him, beseeching him and kneeling down to him and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

41 And Jesus, having mercy on him, put forth his hand and touched him and said unto him, I will; be thou clean.

42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was clean.

43 And he straitly charged him and forthwith sent him away

44 and said unto him, See thou say nothing to any man, but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

45 But he went out and began to publish it much and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places; and they came to him from every quarter.

Leprosy is also a symbol of terminal sin. It does not matter how bad the leprosy, how bad the sin, or how bad the problem that we are in; if the Lord gives the order for us to become clean, we will become clean. If the Lord decides to touch us in our unclean state, he does not become unclean like us; we become clean like him!

Notice that Jesus did not desire the credit. Many preachers today do not pass this test. If a blind person or a leper or someone who is crippled is healed under their ministry, they are not capable of instructing the person to tell no one. No, they want to start another crusade! They publicize their ministry according to the ways of the world to attract attention and manage the crowd.

Jesus did not come to attract attention to himself, and he is the model for all of us. He came to glorify his Father in heaven.

Nevertheless, the former leper was unable to keep his mouth shut, and Jesus became even more famous. Note that this all happens in the first chapter of the gospel.

Why did Jesus no longer openly enter the city?

Because he was announcing and seeking a kingdom that is not of this world. He later told Pilate that if his kingdom had been of this world, his followers would have fought for it (with earthly weapons). He also told Pilate that all those who love and seek the truth are really seeking him. Pilate did not even know what the truth was. Pilate asked, What is truth? And the Truth was standing in person right in front of him (John 18:36-38).

The anointing that destroys the yokes of sin, leprosy, sickness, demons, and their synagogues only comes with the person of Jesus Christ, but he has other criteria for his kingdom. His kingdom is different. His kingdom is not of this world. His true ministers do not seek their own glory. This is the witness of Simon Peter.

Let us pray:

Lord, we ask that we may be able to see with greater clarity. We desire that your life and your kingdom may be seen in us, that there may be a great company of those like Elijah, like John the Baptist, to prepare the way for what you are planning to do next. May we do your will, under your headship, under your authority. May we receive your covering and feed exclusively on your word. Amen.