Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. 23 In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; 24 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 Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” 26 The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. 27 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.” 28 His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.
After Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River, he began his Galilean ministry (Mk. 1:14). On the Sabbath, he went to the Synagogue in Capernaum and taught and all who heard him speak were astonished. Teaching in Synagogues allowed him to spread his message to the Jews. The Scribes' main functions were to interpret and teach Jewish law and traditions and also serve as legal advisors. From the perspective of the Jews, Jesus spoke with the authority of a prophet, not like the Scribes who usually appealed to the teachings and deeds of other Jewish teachers.
Synagogues in the time of Jesus were vital centers of Jewish community life, worship, and study. The primary activities in synagogues included the reading and exposition of sacred texts. There was a general ritual format for synagogue worship on the Sabbath that usually included an opening Prayer, recitation of the Shema (Deut. 6:4-9), a reading from the OT with an interpretation of the text, followed by an instruction by a learned individual or teacher who provided religious instruction and guidance. There were no ordained Rabbis in Jesus’ time.
The Shema is a central declaration of the Jewish faith and is recited daily by devout Jews. It is composed of several verses with the key verses being: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength (Deut. 6:4-5),”
Mark uses a format for Jesus’ cures. (1) the meeting; (2) the description of the sickness; (3) the request for a cure; (4) the cure; (5) a statement of the cure; (6) a demonstration of the cure; (7) a choral conclusion. Elements (3) and (6) are missing in this cure.
There was a man possessed by an evil spirit who asked Jesus, “What have you to do with us? (Lk. 4:34)” This implied that Jesus was meddling in the devil’s domain of evil. The evil spirit that possessed the man acknowledged that Jesus was the stronger one who could destroy it (Lk. 11:22). It addressed Jesus as the “Holy One of God” in an attempt to stop Jesus from exorcising it. Ancient Jewish belief held that using the precise name of an opposing spiritual entity would allow you to invoke or control that entity. Jesus ordered the evil spirit to be silent and cast it out. Jesus cured the demoniac by the authority of his word alone, not using rituals or displays of magic like the Jewish religious leaders. The bystanders were impressed with Jesus’ teaching, but the fact that the demon obeyed Jesus’ command demonstrated that Jesus also possessed supernatural power. The bystanders were amazed and acknowledged Jesus as a new authoritative teacher with supernatural power in both his word and his deed.
Almighty God, in a world filled with anger and hatred we pray fervently that you deliver us from evil and guide us along the path of righteousness. Help us to avoid the near occasion of sin, and to do our part to lead others to salvation. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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