Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; 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!”
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.
Gospel Trivia:
This passage marks the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. He has just called his first disciples (the gospel last Sunday), and now begins to preach. Mark introduces this phase by establishing the authority of Jesus:
- First, the crowd is astonished by his preaching. A synagogue service usually consists of prayers, a reading from the Hebrew bible (or what we now refer to as the Old Testament), and a commentary. These are usually performed by the learned members of the community or by visitors known to be Scripture experts. Jesus was likely invited to read and preach because his reputation preceded him.
(This also implies that Jesus was well educated and knew how to read and write -- skills that were possessed by less than 5% of the Jews at that time).
- Jesus had the power to heal and over "unclean spirits." Illnesses, especially mental illness, were generally attributed to the influence of or possession by demonic spirits (used interchangeably with "unclean spirits" by Mark). Note also how Mark contrasts the violence and convulsion of the unclean spirits with the gentle authority of Jesus.
This battle between the spirit of Jesus and the unclean spirit continues in the life of the disciple up to today.
Jesus' authority is therefore well established by Mark as he begin his ministry.
Reference:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Manila: St. Paul Publications, 1988), pp. 18-19.
- Wilfred Harrington, OP, Mark (Delaware: Michael Glazier, Inc., 1979), pp. 15-18.
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