The King Begins His Work. Mark 1:21-28.
And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him saying, “Be silent and come out of him!”And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed so that they questioned among themselves saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.
Dear Family,
As Jesus begins his ministry, we see two areas in which he claims immediate superiority over the scribes, who were the teachers of the law at the time.
Authority over the Scriptures (vv. 21-22). We do not know the content of Jesus’ teaching in the synagogue that day, but the people noticed a clear distinction between Jesus, who taught with authority, and the scribes, who must have been tentative. This is the Son of God teaching God’s word. We can expect that he knows the exact intent of every phrase and that he would be firm in his teaching. This, the scribes could not do.
Authority over the Spirits (vv. 23-28). A man with an unclean spirit is in the congregation. The spirit recognizes Jesus, “the Holy One of God” a reference to the divine Messiah. Unlike the exorcists of that time, Jesus does not engage in lengthy theatrics. He simply silences the spirit and commands it to come out of the man, and it does. People are left in awe, so they go talking about him and his fame spreads in the entire region. Mark wants us to see this as an obvious outcome of the revelation of the King. His fame will spread so that he can be recognized by his subjects. The task of establishing the realm has begun.
Your loving Pastor Chris.