Though not Jesus’ audience, demons represent another group of outsiders He deals with. By verse 23 of Mark Chapter 1, Jesus has already encountered a demon possessed man. The parasitic spirit responds to Jesus’ presence by declaring “I know who you are – the Holy One of God!” Unlike the crowds, this unclean spirit knew exactly who Jesus was. In fact, in every instance where they speak, the demons encountering Jesus recognize Him. They call him “Son of the most high God and force their host to fall down and declare “You are the Son of God!" The Epistle of James echoes these demonic reactions to Jesus, “You believe that God is one, you do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”
Think about the things that make you “shudder.” Is it a scene from the television show “Fear Factor” where a hairy spider the size of your hand walks across a contestant's face? Maybe peering over the edge atop a 20 story building or standing in front of a large crowd with speech notes in your hand. Our worst fears cannot approach what a demonic spirit sensed when faced with Son of the most high God who had the power to torment them, silence them, or send them into exile. Their master had taken his best shot with Jesus and failed. They knew the truth. Before them stood One with God’s authority, One whom they must obey and whose power overwhelmed them.
The religious leaders round out the groups of “outsiders” Jesus interacts with. Though they hear the parables and references to the Kingdom of God and are educated in the Hebrew Scriptures, they don't get it, or don’t want to. Jesus challenges their sense of propriety and ritual practices over and over. He eats with sinners because those are whom He came to call. His disciples did not fast because Jesus the bridegroom was still with them. They “harvested” on the Sabbath by picking heads of grain to eat because the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. He healed on the Sabbath as a demonstration of the a new access to God's kingdom.
After all this, these men still fail to respond. Jesus continues to pursue them by pointing out their destructive habits of form over function and worshipping the rule rather than the rule Maker. He notes with authority that even some of the law given by Moses does not express God’s highest expectations for His people, but necessarily accommodates the hardness of their hearts. Jesus chides their common misinterpretations of the law and explains that they, the leaders and teachers of the people, are “greatly mistaken” about God's law because they don't understand the Scriptures or the power of God.
The religious leaders repeatedly encountered Jesus' teaching. Its seems unlikely they lacked the capacity to understand. They had received good educations and spent their days working through intellectual pursuits. When Jesus used a parable to speak directly to them and communicate that He was indeed God’s Son whom they unjustly sought to kill, Mark tells us the religious leaders understood. Even if Jesus' rebuke pressed against their consciences, almost to a man they chose not to acknowledge it. Instead, they opted to continue in their imaginary righteousness.
What do the outsiders tell us about Jesus? His teaching amazed even the uninitiated and possessed an unfamiliar quality of authority. He possessed at least the character of a prophet, healing the sick , raising the dead, casting out demons. To those who saw into the spirit realm, Jesus was the Holy One of God and Son of the most High God. He wielded a spiritual authority that could only come from God and struck terror in His opponents. Jesus could see past the cheap exterior of the religious leaders and had the will to expose them. In doing so, He demonstrated the inadequacy of the old ways and announced new Kingdom ways that would restore the inside of men. Finally, the outsiders make clear with whom the decision to follow Jesus rests.
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