As One with Authority—Lectionary Reflection for Epiphany 4B (Mark 1)
Mark 1:21-28 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 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.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
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The
season of Epiphany invites us to contemplate the way God is manifested in the
person of Jesus. The text for the Day of Epiphany is the story of the Magi who
follow a star to the home of the King of the Jews (Matt 2:1-12). Each of the
Gospel readings for the season highlights ways in which Jesus is both
recognized as a manifestation of God’s presence in the world and hidden to a
certain extent, which leads to amazement at points. This is the case in this
story from the Gospel of Mark where Jesus enters the synagogue in Capernaum and
begins to teach.
Our
reading begins shortly after Jesus called Peter and Andrew, and James and John,
to leave their boats and nets and follow him so that they could fish for people
(Mk 1:14-20). Together this team went to the Synagogue on the Sabbath, and
Jesus began to teach. According to Mark, the people who gathered that day in
the synagogue were astounded when he taught. There was something different
about this teacher and his message. Mark tells us that the people were
astounded that he taught with authority, unlike the scribes. To get a sense of
what is happening, think of what happens on a Sunday morning when the preacher
gets up to preach. What are the expectations? On what basis does the preacher
deliver a message? What gives the preacher authority to do so?
In my context, the expectation is
that I have a certain level of training and authorization from a denominational
body to preach. In my case, that is the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
in Michigan. When I preach at Presbyterian Church, which I do regularly, that
body recognizes to some extent my ordination to ministry. Therefore, they
accord me the “authority” to preach.
When it comes to Jesus’ teaching in
the synagogue at Capernaum things are very different. For one thing, this
appears to be the first stop on Jesus’ itinerant ministry, a ministry that God
had ordained at his baptism (Mk. 1:9-11). But, at least from what we read in
Mark’s account only Jesus heard that endorsement. When Jesus arrived at the
synagogue, apparently without any official credentials, he seemed to simply walk
up to the pulpit (bema) and begin to teach. What the people hear amazes them. They
marvel that he teaches with authority, unlike the scribes. We’re not told what
the topic was or what the scripture reading was for the day. Did Jesus use the
Revised Common Lectionary? Did he quote from Scripture? If so, which ones? It
appears that unlike the scribes he didn’t quote the leading rabbis of the day,
whether Hillel or Shammai. He just spoke an authoritative word that manifested
the presence of God.
I would not suggest that a preacher
follow Jesus’ example in their preaching. As the title of a Fred Craddock book
on preaching reminds preachers, we are As One Without Authority. Karl
Barth suggested that preaching becomes the Word of God when it roots itself in
Scripture and points to Jesus. As for our calling, Barth writes in his book God in Action: “As those who are called by Jesus Christ, we have a specific
task to fulfill. This task consists in telling others what we have heard,
namely, that Jesus Christ is the Savior, the Lord, the Word of God in the
flesh. In that we say this, we serve the Word of God. God does not helplessly
need this service, but He desires and expects it.” [God in Action, p.
78]. Thus, our authorization, those called to preach, is rooted in the
community that recognizes and affirms a calling to share a witness to the Word
of God, who is Jesus.
According to our reading from Mark,
Jesus didn’t seem to need authorization. He simply shared a word that caught
the attention of people who needed to hear a word from God. But Jesus wasn’t
finished. Not only did he preach that day in a way that amazed the people. He
then responded to a different witness present in the room. It is interesting
that in the Gospel of Mark, the people, even the disciples don’t seem to
recognize who Jesus is. They are continually amazed at what he says and what he
does. However, the demons seem to recognize him. That is the case here. A man
with an unclean spirit present in the room, shouted at Jesus: “What have you to
do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” Not only did the unclean spirit want to know if
Jesus was going to destroy them, but the man declared something no one else
seemed to recognize: “I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”
Jesus responds to the revelation
made by the unclean spirit who possessed the man: “Be quiet and come out of
him!” Notice here how Jesus exorcized the demon. As John Byron notes,
“Unlike other exorcists of his day, Jesus does not invoke any powers or
assistance from others to cast out the demon. Rather, he simply commands it to
come out of the man (1:25).” [Connections, p. 226]. Once again, he acts
with authority, unlike others of his day. There was something different about
him. When Jesus commanded the spirit to be quiet and leave, it did so by
convulsing the man. In other words, it didn’t go quietly, but it left. As for
the people, as with the teaching of Jesus, they were amazed at his ability to
confront a demon.
At this point in the story, the
people are left wondering what is happening in their midst. You would too!
Imagine a typical Sunday morning. Worship has begun. This stranger walks in,
goes to the pulpit, begins teaching and what is shared amazes everyone. Then,
to top it off, the stranger confronts a demon that possessed one of the church
members. Certainly, chaos would ensue. Of course, it’s unlikely that anything
like this would happen in one of our churches, especially in this age of
disenchantment when we don’t expect things like this to happen. In fact,
everything is set up to make sure such things don’t happen. When I was a
pastor, I made sure I knew who would fill the pulpit on any given Sunday. I
would make sure that what was shared was in line with my own theology. I might
invite someone to preach who would challenge the folks. In fact, on one
occasion I had invited someone to preach who addressed the question of LGBTQ
inclusion. I was confronted afterward by some leading members who were upset by
the preacher's message. They wanted to know why I didn’t preview the preacher’s
message. Now truth be told, I knew what the message was going to be, and I
approved of it, even if he spoke more clearly on a subject than I felt I could
share at that moment. Still, I wouldn’t invite a stranger to speak from the
pulpit without first doing a “background check.”
Returning to Capernaum, the people
are amazed at all of this. What they want to know is whether this is a new
teaching. Remember, in Mark’s Gospel Jesus is just getting started. This is his
first stop in his itinerant ministry. He had gathered a few people to train for
ministry in his new movement, but the larger community didn’t know anything
about him. The people recognize that something is up, but they’re not sure what
it is. The demon understood that God was being made manifest in that room, but
the people were not yet sure, which is why they were astounded and amazed. They
had to work things out.
While this might have been the
first public appearance of Jesus, word quickly got out that something new was
taking place in the land. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus tries to keep his messianic
identity a secret, but hints keep coming out. When someone or something catches
on, Jesus will typically tell them to keep it quiet. It’s not time to reveal
publicly his identity. Scholars call this Mark’s “Messianic Secret.” In the case of the revealing of his identity
in Capernaum, he makes quick work to silence the spirit. For now, his true
identity remains a matter of “need to know,” and at this point, the synagogue
folks don’t need to know the full story, so they’re left to wonder. But you
can’t keep something like what happened in the synagogue a secret for long.
People might not understand what’s happening, but they know something is up.
Thus, word begins to spread across Galilee. No longer is Jesus a stranger. He
is now in demand. People will come from far and wide to hear him preach and to
seek healing. That starts in Capernaum when Jesus goes to the house of Simon
and Andrew to rest and eat. We’re told that at sundown when the Sabbath was
over, folks began to bring to Jesus people who were sick and possessed, such
that “the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were
sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit
the demons to speak, because they knew him (Mk 1:29-34). Now the story of what
happens at the home of Simon and Andrew is the subject of the reading from Mark
for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, so there is more to come.
Jesus speaks and acts as one with
authority, an authority that comes from within him. He doesn’t draw on the
traditional forms of authority. He doesn’t bring with him the kind of
credentials we might expect (and I’m all for credentials). This passage does
raise the question of authority since we live in a strange period of history
where authority, especially credentialed authority is questioned. At the same
time, there is a growing attraction among some, especially among more
conservative Christians, to forms of authoritarianism. Both approaches to
authority seem to be rooted in cynicism and skepticism. We don’t trust the
government, especially the so-called “Deep State.” We don’t trust religious
authorities and for good reason. We’ve seen too many scandals. People are
frightened about the future. Such seems to be the case in the first century
when Jesus walked the earth and Rome ruled. While people hoped a messianic
figure might arise who would rescue them, Jesus didn’t fit the mold. He said
and did things that amazed the people (and frightened those in authority), but the
path he chose didn’t fit expectations. The question is, does the path he chose
fit our expectations? There are signs out there in the world where a different
Jesus is being presented, one who backs authoritarianism to protect the rights
of Christians. Is this the path that Mark reveals? I don’t think so, but we’ll
have to keep following Mark’s lead to see how Jesus reveals God’s presence in
the world.
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