This coming Sunday is the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time. “The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority.” What must they now think when they witness this new demonstration of authority in the word of command to the demon? His word was a simple command.

The familiar prologue, spells or incantations, or other symbolic actions were missing. There was only the word. There was no category familiar to them which explained the sovereign authority with which Jesus spoke and acted. Their astonishment is reflected in the question, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” They do not fully understand who Jesus is or what his presence means, but they cannot avoid the impression of having been confronted by a word invested with power to which there were no analogies in their experience. Here was a teaching qualitatively new in the authority with which it laid hold of men. And the people were alarmed.

Our text ends by saying that Jesus’ fame was spreading. Interestingly, the word for fame (akoe) could also have been translated as rumor, reports, knowledge, or story. In any case, what were they saying about Jesus? We don’t know. Whatever it was, it both attracted people to seek out Jesus as we will hear in the coming gospel readings, but it also so offended some that they will seek to kill him. What the people saw and heard and reported to others, was it more than just that Jesus taught a new teaching with authority, that he had the power to exorcize demons? What Jesus said and did disrupted the world – for some it was a good disruption. Others preferred the status quo.

The report concerning the enigmatic bearer of the authoritative word went forth at once into the surrounding region. The disturbance of men by God had begun.

A Final Reflection

Ben Witherington III (The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary) concludes his section on these verses with:

What one notices about Jesus’ behavior is that he is never worried about becoming unclean or sick by fraternizing with or touching the spiritually or physically or morally unclean. Indeed, he seems to have gone out of his way in some cases to minister to them. Not surprisingly this behavior offended those who were part of the holiness movement of that day – the Pharisaic movement. The question a text like Mark 1 raises for us is: Are we more concerned with public opinion and with not offending some people by being compassionate to society’s outcasts, or are we more concerned with helping those in the greatest need in our society? The answer to this question in Jesus’ case seems obvious from the very outset in Mark. Jesus did not particularly care whom he scandalized if he believed he was doing God’s work and helping to bring in God’s dominion. He was also more concerned with who got the cure than who got the credit. [p. 95-6]

Image credit: Jesus in the Synagogue, unknown artist, Vatican News Service | Public Domain