Thoughts for the Day

They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 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.’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 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.’ At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

As we have seen, Jesus makes his home in Capernaum at the northern end of the Lake of Galilee, and sometime on the sabbath (Friday sunset to Saturday sunset) goes to the synagogue. Upon being asked to expound on the portion of scripture for that day, all those present are amazed at his teaching which is so different to that of the scribes. They are scholars who interpret and teach the Law, and who usually base their comments on previous precedent set by others. By the time of Jesus they are a powerful group, for example, the best seats are reserved for them, and people rise to their feet when they enter a room. They will shortly see Jesus as a threat to their comfortable lives, and begin to work towards removing him.

So why is the teaching of Jesus different? Well unlike the scribes Jesus teaches with personal authority. His authority is not based on his award from a famous place of study nor on his ability to quote decisions made by famous lawyers of the past. Jesus was given his authority at his baptism (Mark 1.9-11) and his authority comes directly from God. Because of this he does not look backwards at past precedent, but forwards into the new reign that God is introducing, that is to the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Immediately Jesus is confronted by a man "with an unclean spirit" (whether this is some kind of demonic possession or an example of an epileptic seizure we don't know), and again the way he handles this leaves the people amazed. We see here the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus intertwined, reinforcing the beginning of God's new initiative. Today it can challenge us to consider how much we depend on tradition, and how much we allow God's Spirit to work in us to bring in His Kingdom today and in the future.

Lord Jesus Christ,
in a world full of conspiracy theories
and possible scams
it is easier for us to rely on tradition.
Help us not to get bogged down in the past,
but to find evidence of Your Kingdom
in the good things that occur,
and help us to add our weight
to new initiatives that seek to take Your love
to our world.
Amen.