Mark 1:21-28 -- The Synagogue in Bible Studies

Jesus goes to Capernaum and begins teaching in the synagogue. One commentary says there was a custom of "the freedom of the synagogue" where guests could give speeches on that week's Scripture reading. Jesus was not necessarily personally invited, but rather he accepted the general invitation that was open to anyone with an appropriate education.

Once he began teaching, the people were impressed with him. Verse 22 says, "The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law." Of course, because Jesus was the Son of God, he really did have authority. He could say with certainty what God meant by certain Scriptural passages because he is God. I think a lot of people see this verse as a criticism of the way "the teachers of the law" taught. But we shouldn't expect them, or our modern-day preachers, to teach with the same authority as Jesus, because they don't have that authority. The good ones will admit it.

During Jesus' teaching, he is heckled by a man who Mark says "was possessed by an impure spirit." Jesus tells him to be quiet, then says, "Come out of him!" The impure spirit obeys Jesus, and the news spreads all over the region. So what does this all mean? The implication is that there's something spiritual going on here. A demon identifies Jesus as "the Holy One of God," then Jesus exorcises the demon. From Jesus' perspective, this is a demonstration of his power over demons, and thus not only a demonstration of his supernatural ability, but also a demonstration that he is on the side of good, and opposed to evil.

However, from the demon's perspective, by identifying Jesus as "the Holy One of God," the demon opens the door to speculation that Jesus is in fact in league with the demon and other demons and even the devil himself. For the normal people in the synagogue, or who hear the news spreading later, the first time they are told who Jesus is, it's a demon doing the telling. Eventually, the Jewish religious leaders of the time make exactly that claim, that Jesus is working with the devil, which allows them to write off all of his miracles as demonic sorcery. With that in mind, it's not necessarily clear who here "won" the confrontation. Jesus accomplishes his goal, but so does the demon.