The Battle of Capernaum Synagogue

Dec 7, 2025 • Rory Mosley

005 The Battle of Capernaum Synagogue

Mark 1:21-28

December 7, 2025

To tell the story of any famous conquest,

You would undoubtedly begin with the backstory of the leading general who undertook the challenge.

Mark has done that.

· We’ve seen the forerunner

· We’ve seen the Christ

· We’ve seen His heavenly announcement

· We’ve seen Him scout out the enemy

· We’ve seen His declaration

· We’ve heard Him recruit the followers

But now the story immediately turns to the battles that He fought.

Joshua’s conquest begins with the famous story Jericho.

The conquest of Jesus in Mark’s gospel begins with what I’m calling

“The Battle of Capernaum Synagogue”.

This is not the first place Jesus went when He began His ministry,

But it is the first place Mark takes you.

This is the battle Mark wants you to see.

Jesus is now on conquest.

He is taking His gospel and He is invading enemy territory.

IT IS QUITE INTERESTING THEN,

That when Jesus set out to confront the enemy

· He didn’t go to the bars or the houses of ill-repute,

· Jesus went to the synagogue.

Jesus got a good look at the enemy during His wilderness campaign

While Mark didn’t mention to us what occurred there,

We do know from other gospel accounts some of it.

· We know that Satan is a Scripture quoter.

· We know that Satan is preoccupied with worship.

· Paul tells us in his second letter to the Corinthians that he “masquerades as an angel of light”.

We certainly don’t pretend that Satan doesn’t enjoy

Seeing men trapped in gross immorality or debilitating sin,

But Satan’s ultimate and greatest tool is deception.

“he is a liar and the father of lies.”

And Jesus knew right were to find him.

· Jesus headed to the seat of false religion.

· Jesus headed to the foundation of deceptive theology.

· Jesus entered a place of confusion, legalism, and deception.

Jesus first battle wasn’t in a Roman brothel,

It was in a Jewish synagogue.

Jesus has come to set captives free

And we are well-aware His methods of liberation.

He told us in John’s gospel:

John 8:32 “and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

Jesus came to wage war like the apostle Paul explained:

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”

· Jesus came to preach truth.

· Jesus came to expose lies.

· Jesus came to eliminate Satan’s most effect tool…deception.

THE WAR IS ON!

The conquest has begun!

Just as we are amazed when we read the stories of Joshua’s victories.

· The walls of Jericho falling down

· Joshua setting a trap for the men of Ai

· God pelting the Amorites with hail stones

· The sun standing still

We are also amazed at the victories of Jesus.

But where it was Joshua’s sword that amazed us,

When we watch the conquest of Jesus,

It is His AUTHORITY that blows the mind.

THAT IS MARK’S FOCUS HERE.

Tonight let’s examine this first battle.

4 points

#1 THE ADVANCE

Mark 1:21-22

As we said, Mark likes to walk you through these famous exhibits and he does so with child-like excitement.

He loves the word (yoo-THOOS) – “immediately”

Each time we see it, we can hear Mark saying,

“Come on, now you’ve got to look at this!”

And that is where he has brought us tonight.

Jesus has gathered His followers and He is off on conquest.

And now we read:

(21) “They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach.”

There is a focus throughout the gospel of Mark

To show you that Jesus is committed to preaching.

That is what He is doing here in this synagogue in Capernaum.

You’ll see it again early the next morning when the crowd is looking for Him.

Mark 1:38-39 “He said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.” And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.”

You’ll see it again at the second battle of Capernaum:

Mark 2:1-2 “When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them.”

Even when He leaves there:

Mark 2:13 “And He went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.”

He is a preacher.

He is preaching.

This is how He is fighting His battle.

It is a war for truth.

· He disarms the enemy by exposing his lies.

· He sets the captives free with the proclamation of truth.

Jesus is advancing on enemy territory.

He enters a synagogue and He begins to lay down the truth.

AND AGAIN, YOU RECOGNIZE ONE OF THOSE ASTERISK VERBS.

“went” is another one of those verbs that reads to us in the past tense,

But which Mark put in the historical present tense.

Mark again wants you to close your eyes and see Jesus

Entering that synagogue ready to go to battle against Satan and his lies.

NOW, IT IS SOMEWHAT INTERESTING TO US THAT

Mark DOES NOT include His message.

Matthew would have certainly been interested in what Jesus had to say.

We could probably decipher from Luke’s gospel what the message was

· Luke recounts this story in Luke 4:31

· In Luke 4:16 Luke had spoken of Jesus entering the synagogue in Nazareth

· He told us exactly what Jesus preached there.

In that synagogue Jesus asked for the scroll of Isaiah, read Isaiah 61:1-2

And said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

It would have been just like Jesus to do the same thing here.

To enter the synagogue and immediately

Identify Himself and His reason for coming.

Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

That certainly fits a conquest theme.

But Mark doesn’t give us the sermon.

In this story Mark is concerned with you seeing something else.

(22) “They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority and not as the scribes.”

There is Mark again showing you “The Amazing Jesus!”

The crowd is blown away with JESUS’ AUTHORITY.

And the key marker is that it is different than the “scribes”.

John MacArthur notes that the typical “scribes” in Jesus day

Were not noted for their conviction and certainty,

But rather for their mysticism and confusion.

“[Rabis] often taught in ways that were mystical, muddled, and often focused on minutiae…By the first century, scribes prided themselves on being familiar with all possible views. Rather than faithfully explaining the simple meaning of Scripture, they delighted in complex musings, fanciful allegories, obscure insights, mystical notions, and the teachings of earlier rabbis.”

(MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Mark 1-8; Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL; 2015] pg. 61,62)

In other words their teaching was not meant to bring clarity to Scripture,

But rather to leave men in deceptive confusion.

THEIR GOAL WAS NOT

· To take the authoritative words of God and apply them to the human heart,

· They chose instead to deal in obscure arguments and mystical meanings.

Such methods are of no value to the hearer

And promote confusion not clarity.

It allows men to justify iniquity instead of confronting it.

FOR REFERENCE SAKE:

Paul noted the same problem taking place among false teachers at Ephesus when he wrote his letter to Timothy.

1 Timothy 1:3-7 “As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”

It was just mind-numbing nonsense.

“myths” – “endless genealogies” – “speculation”

“fruitless discussion” – “confident assertions”

IT IS ABSOLUTELY USELESS.

Jeremiah 23:32 “Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the Lord, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the Lord.”

Here I simply want to remind you that this is SATAN AT WORK.

What better form of deception?

· Than to allow men and women to feel secure in their religious attendance

· While deceiving and confusing them with the preaching they receive?

Satan doesn’t care if you go to church.

He’s certainly not concerned about synagogue attendance.

Some of his best agents spend most of their time there.

What is supposed to be a light house of truth is far-too-often a “synagogue of satan”.

Well Jesus entered this den of robbers; this synagogue of Satan; This house of confusion and laid down the truth.

“They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority…”

· None of the confusion of the rabbis…

· None of the vague fence hopping over possible interpretations…

· No psychological babble…

· No mystical nonsense…

· No allegorical dancing…

Jesus was just taking the perfect words of God,

Rightly dividing them,

Laying them beside your heart

And demanding conformity.

Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Psalms 19:7-9 “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.”

That is undoubtedly how Jesus preached it.

· He went as the authoritative King preaching an authoritative message.

· He wasn’t offering suggestions, He was giving demands.

· He was cutting to the heart of men with the double-edged sword of God’s word

· He was laying men bare before a holy God.

Perhaps the best way to say it.

He walked into that den of darkness

And shined a 100,000watt spotlight into it.

And the people were “amazed”.

“amazed” is (ek-PLACE-o)

Which would most literally be translated as

“to strike out” or “expel by a blow” or “drive out”.

It carries the idea of “blowing the mind”.

Of striking with astonishment, amazement, even panic.

It is that feeling you receive:

· When you are first confronted with truth

· And you realize that the truth is in direct contrast

· To what you have believed and how you have lived.

There is amazement there.

There is a little fear there.

These are people who have heard the truth for the first time.

These people are having their eyes opened, they are blown away.

Jesus is advancing on enemy territory

He is setting captives free simply by the proclamation of truth.

They’ve never heard anything like this.

The Advance

(But you know how most battles go…)

#2 THE AMBUSH

Mark 1:23-24

There’s Mark’s favorite word again.

(yoo-THOOS) – “Just then…”

“there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit;”

That in and of itself

Should tell you everything you need to know about this synagogue.

Here was a place where the truth was supposed to be explained.

Here was a place where the light was supposed to be shined.

But it was such a place of darkness and confusion and deception

That this demon was living comfortably.

It is a horrible thing when demons can go to church

With absolutely no fear of being exposed.

BUT NOT ON THIS DAY.

On this day, Jesus with His 100,000 watt spotlight lit up the whole room.

· This demon was exposed.

· Jesus shined a light right on him.

· If Jesus kept preaching like this everyone would know he was present.

I again like what John MacArthur had to say here:

“Demon possession – always present, usually hidden – was dramatically and uniquely exposed during the ministry of Jesus Christ. The rebellious angels were unable to remain concealed in His presence. In the Old Testament, outside of Genesis 6:1-2, there are no recorded instances of demon possession. In the book of Acts, there are only two (Acts 16:16-18; 19:13-16). The Gospels, however, abound with it…Confronted by the glory of the Son of God Himself, the demons revealed their identities, often in violent and remarkable ways.”

(ibid. pg. 63)

This demon had been able to easily hide himself inside this man.

· Because sin was not explained.

· Because truth was not exposited.

· Because corruption and fallenness and wickedness were not exposed.

This demon had been able to easily blend in with the crowd.

But on this day Jesus came shining the light

And this demon must have felt naked and exposed.

Jesus was about to prove to everyone that this demon was present.

So rather than just sit back and hope to not be seen

This demon engaged in battle and sought to ambush the Lord.

Mark says “he cried out”

“cried out” is (an-a-KRAD-zo)

It means “to raise a cry from the depth of the throat”

He couldn’t take it anymore.

“Fine! You’ve exposed me!”

He comes bounding out of the shadows to fight back.

(24) “saying, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth?”

FIRST OF ALL you recognize his term of derision.

“Jesus of Nazareth” was NOT a name of respect.

Remember when Jesus was first announced to Nathanael?

John 1:45-46 “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Nathanael was almost willing to totally dismiss Jesus

Simply based on the fact that He was from Nazareth.

Nothing good came from Nazareth.

The Pharisees would gladly use this title as a term of derision.

There is recognition, there is fear, but there is no love.

And the demon wants to know “What business do we have with each other..?”

· What are You doing here?

· Why have You come?

· Why have You invaded my space?

· What is Your goal?

This demon is simply trying to get a risk assessment.

HE THEN ASKS:

“Have You come to destroy us?”

I think this is quite crafty by this demon.

We know that Jesus is here to declare war

Against Satan and all his demons. (so did this demon)

1 John 3:8b “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”

We know Jesus created hell for them and will send them there.

Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”

The demon comes to Jesus and asks if

He is here for the purpose of bringing about that destruction.

The crafty part is his use of the word “us”.

(He is the only demon there)

It seems to be the intent of this demon

To make the entire congregation

Afraid of what Jesus is going to do to all of them.

This demon seeks to point out Jesus as a mediator of judgment.

But that is not why He came:

Mark 2:17 “And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

· Jesus message was salvation.

· Jesus mission was salvation.

· Jesus came to save sinners.

But this demon would get the crowd to

Move their focus away from salvation and to condemnation.

“This Jesus hasn’t come to save, He has come to condemn!”

“He has come to destroy us all!”

And the demon says:

“I know who You are – the Holy One of God!”

(They may not know You, but I know You)

Of course this demon knows.

He saw Jesus glorified in heaven before the fall.

THIS DEMON IS RIGHT TO DREAD JESUS.

I think of Joshua’s conquest, do you remember the dread of the enemy?

When the spies came to Jericho:

Joshua 2:8-11 “Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. “For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. “When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.”

Joshua 2:34 “They said to Joshua, “Surely the Lord has given all the land into our hands; moreover, all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before us.”

The enemy dreaded their arrival, so did this demon.

He knew what Jesus’ arrival meant for him.

James 2:19 “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”

But this demonic response is NOT simply

A terrified demon trying to escape.

No, this demon interrupted the sermon and sought to fight back.

His ambush was to announce to the crowd

That Jesus has come to destroy sinners!

Might I just point out by way of a side note:

Satan still distorts the words of Christ in this same way today.

How many times have you tried to present the gospel to someone

Only to have them respond,

“All you want to do is condemn people”, “All you do is judge people”?

That’s not what we do, that’s not even what we want.

We do want to expose sin so that people will be saved,

But it is Satan whispering in their ear not to believe us.

That is what this demon is doing here.

He is ambushing the sermon of Jesus.

The Advance, The Ambush

#3 THE ASSAULT

Mark 1:25-26

Jesus fights back!

This is a war after all.

“And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet…”

I love this.

“Be quiet” is (fi-MA-o)

It is the same word Paul used in:

1 Timothy 5:18 “For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”

It means “to muzzle” or “to gag”

Jesus used the same word when He told the sea to “hush be still”.

Jesus told this demon to “Put a sock in it”

He muzzled him.

He gagged him.

And said, “come out of him!”

Everything that demon said about Jesus was technically accurate.

· He was from Nazareth.

· He would one day destroy this demon.

· He is the Holy One of God.

But that demon would misapply His purpose and His target.

Jesus is not about to allow Satan

To be the chief preacher about who He is and why He came.

Satan is that chief distorter of truth.

Satan is a Scripture quoter and an expert at misapplication.

It’s the same reason Paul wouldn’t allow that demon to announce his coming in Philippi even though the demon was technically accurate.

This is a war for truth, and Jesus just disarmed the enemy.

He put a muzzle on him and told him to get out.

(26) “Throwing him into convulsions…”

Thus indicating the demons displeasure in the command.

“the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him.”

The demon didn’t like it, but he had no choice.

There was nothing he could say and there was nothing he could do.

Jesus came into this den of darkness,

Exposed his presence, shut his mouth, and kicked him out.

And so goes “The Battle of Capernaum Synagogue”.

The enemy is forced to flee with his muzzle on.

JESUS WINS!

The Advance, The Ambush, The Assault

#4 THE AFTERMATH

Mark 1:27-28

After the battle is over and you look at the battlefield,

And you try to make sense of what you’ve seen.

How is the battle remembered?

“They were all amazed…”

I’m sure that is true!

· They had already been amazed as He preached.

· They had already recognized His authority as He spoke.

· Now they saw a full demonstration of the degree of His authority.

“They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him.”

Mark says “they debated”

(sood-zay-TAY-o)

Again, a stronger word than Luke uses.

Mark uses a word that means “to seek or examine together”

And it is a strong word, it means “they demanded answers”

It would have been a bad day for the synagogue official.

These people had never seen anything like this in their lives.

They didn’t even know that demon was there,

They had certainly never seen anyone deal with one like that.

Jesus blew their minds again!

· They wanted to know what this meant.

· That place was in an uproar trying to figure out what just happened.

“He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him”

Although Jesus makes it look easy,

CAN I REMIND YOU HOW REMARKABLE THIS IS?

Remember the Gadarene demoniac?

Mark 5:1-5 “They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones.”

Those people had no answer for that man.

He was beyond human control.

Remember in Ephesus when the Jewish exorcists tried to cast a demon out?

Acts 19:13-16 “But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”

To say that demons aren’t always the most compliant is an understatement.

The notion that someone could tell one to be quiet and come out

And the demon, though obviously frustrated, would do it

IS AMAZING!

So let’s just look with Mark at this exhibit for a moment.

Do you see “The Amazing Jesus”?

· Do you see Him on conquest?

· Do you see Him on the warpath?

· Do you see Him utterly victorious?

Does it not amaze that He has such power over demons?

When you read this story it certainly highlights HIS AUTHORITY.

First we see it as AUDIBLE AUTHORITY

· Jesus didn’t wrestle the demon.

· Jesus didn’t put him in a choke hold.

· Jesus didn’t try to bind him with a chain like the Gadarene demoniac

Jesus just told him to put a sock in it, and that was that.

Second we see it as ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY

· That demon was pretty mouthy until Jesus said “enough!”

· There was no debate

· There was no argument

Jesus said he had to go, and he went.

It wasn’t even a hard-fought battle.

Every action-movie director…

Every war documentary maker…

· All know that to make the story interesting there needs to be a least a little struggle.

But there was none.

Jesus totally dominated His foe.

JESUS IS AMAZING!

And then Mark has ONE MORE EXHIBIT to drag you to.

(28) “Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.”

Joshua 6:27 “So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.”

WE SEE THE SAME THING HERE.

· Word is spreading!

· The conquest has begun!

· The enemy has been put on notice!

· The Light has come and darkness has no place.

Isaiah 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

He is “The Amazing Jesus!”

But as we close tonight

I do want to make sure we understand one important point.

I could ask you, “Are you amazed?”

· And I’m pretty sure you’d say “yes”.

· So was this crowd.

I could ask you if there is fear,

· You might even say yes to that.

· So was the demon.

But what I hope you understand is that

Both that demon and this entire crowd all end up in hell.

Matthew 11:23-24 “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. “Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”

Amazement is NOT enough.

Fear is NOT enough.

THEN WHAT DOES HE WANT?

Mark 1:15 “and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

· Jesus doesn’t just want you to fear, He wants you to follow.

· Jesus doesn’t just want you to be amazed, He wants you to be attentive.

· Jesus doesn’t just want you to be startled, He wants you to be submissive.

Don’t just read this story like a good book of history

About a conquest that happened 2,000 years ago.

THIS CONQUEST GOES ON TODAY.

· Jesus’ call is for you to leave your sin and follow Him.

· Jesus’ call is for you to believe His gospel.