TEACHING WITH AUTHORITY

Teaching with Authority Mark 1:21-43

Power has always been a fascination to many people. We are in the society where powerful people are respected and honored. From the athlete to the entrepreneur; from the physically powerful to the politically powerful, from the powerful rich men to the powerful intellectual men, people stand in awe of power.

It is into this world of powerful men that our Gospel lesson calls us to enter.  It is early in the ministry of Jesus in the gospel of Mark.  Mark has no birth narrative, no childhood stories.  Mark begins with John the Baptist preparing the way with his preaching, and with the baptism of Jesus, The temptation of Jesus, preparing Him to face the difficult tasks ahead and then Mark jumps immediately into Jesus’ calling the disciples and the beginning of his ministry.  And that’s where we are today,  the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.  And how does it begin?  With teaching.  But not just any kind of teaching, it is teaching unlike that of the scribes, it is teaching with “authority.”

 Jesus is described in our text today as "One having authority." The root of the word authority in the bible denotes the right to exercise power, and in Jesus we see one who has that right. Jesus' power gives testimony to the fact that He is God incarnate.

Already in Mark, we have seen the authority of Christ revealed. Here in the first chapter, in verses 12 and 13, we see His authority over the temptation of Satan as He came forth from the wilderness experience victorious. And in verses 16 through 20, we see His authority over men as He called His first disciples and they left all to follow Him. In Luke's account, when He called the disciples we have a scene where He asserted His authority over nature in providing the net full of fishes after a long night without a catch.

So, when we come to our passage of Scripture today, we continue the theme of the authority of Christ. Now Jesus will demonstrate His power and authority to the world.

What’s interesting is that we don’t hear the content of Jesus’ teaching.  It’s almost like Mark is saying, “the content isn’t the important part.”  In the gospel of Mark what makes Jesus’ teaching authoritative is his person; his teaching is authoritative because of who he is — he is “the Holy One of God”, as the devil cried it out. 

 Let us come back to the text: it was on a Sabbath  a day of rest, but also a day of worship. And Mark says that when Jesus taught, the people were "amazed." The people who hear him automatically contrast Jesus’ teaching with what they know, with what they have experienced, with the teaching of the scribes.   And, unlike the scribes, the people perceive Jesus to teach with “authority.”  In other words, Jesus brings something extra to the table, Jesus’ person has something the scribes don’t have.  What is that something extra?  Well, look at what happens next — Jesus heals a man with an unclean spirit.  In the gospel of Mark, there’s no differentiation between Jesus’ teaching and his actions healing.  It’s all part of the same package.  So, when the people hear Jesus teaches with authority and see Jesus heals with authority, they’re “amazed” because this is something new.  This is not at all like what they’ve experienced with the scribes.  This teacher is different because he combines words and actions.

 They were astonished by His preaching. St. Mark says twice that Jesus speaks “with authority.” “And not as the scribes,” he adds. It is because when Jesus speaks the word of God, He speaks as no one has spoken it before. He speaks with authority. When the Rabbis taught they supported their statements with quotes from other authorities.  The prophets spoke with delegated authority like: “Thus says the Lord.”  When Jesus speaks He needs no authorities or doesn’t quote experts to support His statements and render credibility to everything He says. He is the authority incarnate, the Word of God made flesh.  When He speaks, God speaks. When He commands even the demons obey.

The gospel of today calls us to think of what amaze us in this world. What is our source of inspiration? Do we recognize the authority of Christ in our lives? Does this authority of Christ have a room in our lives, in our decision making, in our interests? Most of time we base our lives on how we feel, how we look at things, on how we appreciate looking at our own interests, looking at what pleases us. And when somebody tries to correct us and to bring to the straightway, what is our response? Usually we get angry that the way we feel is not being respected.

The Responsorial Psalm response was If today you hear His voice, harden not your heart We often allow our hearts to harden because we refuse to recognize and obey Jesus' Authority in our daily lives. The invitation is clear this Sunday. We are invited once again to abandon our self to the Lord, and to live according to His Will. In other words to submit ourselves to His Authority; to live according to the Law of Christ and His Church.

Today we are given the opportunity to come back to Jesus so that he may heal us.  He heals because He loves us. Jesus never stops loving us. He loves us but he will not force us to love him in return. He loves the sinner yet hates the sin. He is willing to be reprimanded by the Pharisees and scribes because He cures the man with unclean spirit during Sabbath day. Jesus commands the evil one and he submits. The evil one fears Christ’s power.  He can do the same in our lives if we put our total trust in Him.