The autority of the Lord

"[The Jews] were struck by his teaching ; For [Jesus] taught them as having authority, not as the scribes ... Then they were all amazed, to the point of asking among themselves : What is this ? What is this new teaching ? For he commands with authority, even unclean spirits, and they obey him." Mark 1: 22-27

In the synagogue of Capernaum, at the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus made a striking demonstration of his divine authority by delivering a man of a demonic spirit. His divinity is proclaimed in the first verse of this Gospel according to Mark : "Jesus Christ, Son of God." Even if Mark presents us with the Lord in his twofold character of perfect servant and prophet, He is fully the Son of God.

In the verses which precede those of the day, the Lord has already shown His authority by the sovereign call of His disciples. They immediately left their fishing nets, the others their father, to follow him. However, this authority had witnesses only the actors of the scene.

It is quite different in the synagogue of Capernaum, where the public is numerous on the Sabbath. Jesus speaks and teaches the crowd. The Spirit has not seen fit to reveal the content of his teaching, but he draws our attention to his way of teaching : with authority which makes it possible to discern that he is indeed the prophet announced by Moses. 18, 19). He proves that, unlike the scribes, he teaches in the power of the Holy Spirit from whom he was baptized (Mark 1: 9-11). His listeners are therefore struck by his way of teaching.

They are even more surprised when Jesus dramatically delivers a man possessed of an unclean spirit : "What is this ? What is this new teaching ? "They must still learn that in the Lord teaching is always accompanied by action, as it will manifest on many occasions throughout its ministry (Acts 1: 1) .

The Lord teaches us still today by means of the Word. Let us first recognize all authority, for it emanates from God Himself. Then let us put it into practice, because it is on this condition that our testimony will be credible and have some authority.

Source (To pleasing the Lord)