4th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B – 31st January 2021 — Gospel: Mark 1,21-28
New Teaching with Authority
Jesus begins his public ministry by teaching in the synagogue and healing several times. Within the larger context in Mark, Jesus preaching, healing and exorcisms are visible manifestations of the kingdom of God. The evangelist underlines three times (1,21.23. and 28), the immediacy of God’s kingdom breaking in and present in the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. In this passage that takes place in the synagogue, the authority of Jesus is highlighted in the teaching and in casting out an unclean spirit. Jesus’ authority brought blessings to people – health and wholeness. His authority possessed an irresistible power that simply attracted people towards him to partake in his truth and gifts that he wished to share with.
Mark emphasizes twice about the newness of Jesus’ teaching and he delights in recording the emotional responses of people (1,21b; 1,22a; 1,27). The congregation in the synagogue was “astonished” at Jesus’ teaching and “amazed” at his healing powers (1,22; 1,27; also note 2,12; 5,20.42; 6,2.51; 7,37; 10,26; 11,18). The dramatic action of the healing of the demonic spirit is sandwiched between people’s evaluation of Jesus’ authoritative teaching and healing. The word “authority” means the ‘sovereign freedom’ of one who acts without hindrance. This word that denotes teaching includes also the power to ‘exorcize’ demonic spirits. Jesus’ teaching authority in sovereign freedom is contrasted by the people with the teachings of the scribes. The difference is that the scribes’ teaching authority depends on their knowledge of and adherence to Tradition, especially the traditional interpretation of the Torah. However, Jesus teaches with an independent authority or on the authority of God (Mk 11,28-33). While the scribes are bound to tradition, Jesus is relatively free, i.e., one who lives directly from and to God’s authority. Indeed, the scribes spoke from authorities (Torah) but Jesus spoke with authority (inner freedom).
Mark doesn’t give the content of Jesus’ teaching, but we do find few examples of the difference between Jesus’ teaching and of the scribes in the gospels. For example, in Mk 12,35-37, Jesus asks why the scribes say the Messiah is the Son of David, when scripture indicates that David called the Messiah “Lord.” Scripture itself suggests that the scribes’ traditional interpretation is inadequate. Jesus is suggesting that the role of the Messiah is different from the traditional understanding of the Jews. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus does not hesitate to suggest that the traditional interpretation of the commandments is inadequate. What God demands goes far beyond what the scribes require (Mt 5,20).
Jesus’ teaching is always focused on the gospel of the kingdom of God. His kingdom has to do with his reign in the lives of his people. In this section, the focus on Jesus’ authority in words continues in the works of exorcism. The most prominent element that does not have parallels to other exorcisms is the declaration in 1,27: Jesus’ teaching is a “new teaching with authority”. Apparently, Jesus’ powerful exorcism is a confirmation of his teaching authority. What Jesus teaches is new, unlike the scribes who teach the ‘same old stuff’, and his divine authority to teach is attested by his deeds of power. Here, the healing benefits an individual with little power. Jesus uses his power to disrupt and weaken demonic powers that have robbed the powerless of their dignity and denied them full participation in the society. In this way, Jesus’ power is consistently placed at the service of the margins. The newly inaugurated kingdom operates at the individual level as much as it does at the cosmic level suggesting that the individual is as important as the universe.
To his opponents, Jesus was a blasphemer. Jesus’ new practices bring him into deadly conflict with the worldly authorities, who represent the old (3,6). Furthermore, His claim to act on divine authority and to bring out the radical newness of the kingdom leads him to a fatal end (14,62-64). However, He had to trust that God would vindicate his authority by raising him from the dead. In a worldly sense, Jesus did not have any power at all. He was not a worldly king with political or military power. He was not of the priests, who had the power in Roman Kingdom. He was not even a recognized scribe with the authority of Jewish tradition. The only authority he had was the supreme confidence that what he did and said was God’s will and God’s truth. His authority lay in the sheer power of his words and in the example of his deeds. His authority lay in his living as God’s servant. Jesus used his authority not to obtain power for himself but to serve humanity (Mk 10,41-45). Paul, too, exercised this sovereign freedom for the good of others (1 Cor 8,9).
