“Teaching with authority”
Mark 1:21-28 (January 28, 2024)
I want to begin this morning by acknowledging the difficulty I have with our Gospel reading. Because, unfortunately, I am a scribe, or at least the equivalent of a scribe. I’m professionally trained and educated. I occupy a position of leadership in the religious community. I study scripture. And I interpret scripture to others, like I’m doing here today.
In Jesus’ time, scribes were part of the religious elite. Not only did they transcribe written texts by hand, (remember, there was no way of printing them back then), but they also determined the application of those texts in day to day life.
Some prominent scribes even had their own disciples. So you can imagine how it must have felt to these skilled religious experts when Jesus and his motley crew of simple, untrained, ordinary fishermen showed up at the Capernaum synagogue. On the sabbath.
There, in that sea-side village – hometown of Peter, Andrew, James and John – Jesus began to teach. And how impressive that teaching was! Mark tells us that the congregation was astounded. “For Jesus taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”
Not as this scribes! Ouch! You do know that some scribes welcomed Jesus, even became his followers. So please don’t paint all of us with the same “unbelieving” brush.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Capernaum_synagogue_by_David_Shankbone.jpg " width="228" height="42" />Who is this Jesus, anyway? What credentials does he bring? What gives him the right to teach? By whose authority does he speak? Last week I said there was a kind of “magnetism” to Jesus, a charisma, a power that draws us to him. There’s no way any old scribe can compete with that!
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“He taught them as one having authority.” In our world authority is a tricky thing. Especially in this time and place, in our society, when it seems that almost every authority we can imagine is being challenged. Oscar Wilde wrote, “Wherever there is a man who exercises authority, there is [also] a man who resists authority.”[1]
What authorities might we resist? Government? Oh yes, it’s not an easy time to hold public office. We are so critical! Just mention these positions, and the personalities associated with them, and you may get a hostile response.
We don’t easily trust authority figures of any kind. Politicians … police, the judicial system. Scientists, scholars, “experts” in any field. The medical establishment, mainstream news media. Even organized religion. Maybe especially organized religion.
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It may actually be healthy for us to question authority. After all, we cherish our freedom, and want to think for ourselves, make our own decisions … And yet this kind of deep-seated mistrust of one another threatens to unravel our society. We can’t function without trusting somebody, can we?
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If you were there, in Capernaum, in the synagogue, listening to Jesus teach, would you recognize his authority?
For us, authority may be tied up with integrity. Words and actions that go together. Teaching that’s consistent with a certain way of life. If I tell you something, then do the opposite, it’s not going to be convincing, is it? You’ll say, “He’s just another one of those hypocrites! Whenever there’s a scandal in the church, it results in disillusionment and even more distrust. “Why should I believe a word they say?”
So, yes, integrity is important. And Jesus had that in spades. In him, words and actions were one. Authority in the language of the NT means literally “out of one’s being.” Out of the very essence of who you are.
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What else gave Jesus authority?
Was it the work of the Holy Spirit? When Jesus was baptized, the Spirit of God descended on him. And from that day forward, the Spirit was with him, directing and empowering his ministry. Did the folks gathered in the synagogue sense God’s Spirit moving in that place? Did they sense it particularly in the teaching of Jesus?
To speak of the Spirit is to speak of something intangible, invisible. Kind of like the wind, said Jesus in another place. You cannot see the Spirit. But you can hear the sound of its voice. And you can see the effects of its movement.
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Speaking of effects …
There was a man in that synagogue with an “unclean spirit” which caused him to cry out: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?”
What we have here is a clash of spiritual powers: God’s Holy Spirit confronting an unclean spirit. Jesus, preaching the reign of God, meets a power that would diminish God’s gift of abundant life and love.
“I know who you are,” says the unclean spirit. “Yes, you do know,” says Jesus. “Now be silent, and come out of him!
Look at this! “A new teaching - with authority!” gasp the congregants, stunned with amazement. “He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”
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So now we get to the heart of the matter. What authority does Jesus have for you? In this time when every traditional authority we can imagine is being called into question … You’ve got to trust someone, don’t you? So who do you trust?
On the internet these days we have many so-called “influencers.” People who set trends, telling you how to live, what clothes you should wear, what food you should eat, what products you should buy.
Oh yes, and who you should vote for. There are so many folk willing to stir up hostility, anger. Nurturing grievance, targeting people, or groups of people. Trying to get us on their side, recruit us to their cause. No wonder mistrust and division rule supreme.
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All of it is diametrically opposed to the way of Jesus and his kingdom of justice, love and peace! When Jesus proclaims the reign of God, he’s inviting us to enter a new way of life. “Leave that other stuff behind. Come and follow me. Let me be ruler of your life.”
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord” writes the apostle Paul, “and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) And “no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.” (1Corinthians 12:3)
Do you know the earliest Christian confession of faith? This is it: “Jesus is Lord.” It predates all other creeds and theological formulations, every historical accretion and denominational distinctive. It’s simple and to the point: “Jesus is Lord.”
He does not force this confession upon us. Rather, we freely say to ourselves, to God Almighty, and to anyone else who may be listening, that from now on, Jesus will be the one who directs our living. He will be the authority in our lives. Jesus, not Caesar, nor any other personality or power, influencer or opinion-maker.
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Even that unclean spirit must recognize a greater one who stands before him: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? … I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”
Here in this place, even now, stands One who reigns Supreme.
“They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? … He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.”
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So here am I, a mere scribe. I can’t compete with this teacher. Nor should I.
But if I stand here today and point you toward him, then perhaps I’ll have accomplished what is faithful. Maybe that’s what every scribe is called to do. Just point the way to Jesus. Then, step aside, and listen with the whole congregation. What new teaching, with authority, will he have for us today?
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
[1] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/75354-wherever-there-is-a-man-who-exercises-authority-there-is, Accessed January 27, 2024.