Mark 1:21-22 21And they went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath after entering the synagogue he taught. 22And they were amazed at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.
The four new disciples joined Jesus on his ministry journey. Mark begins by setting up the scene, starting broadly on the town of Capernaum and focusing in on the activities in the synagogue found in that town. The four fishermen lived near Capernaum, a small village of probably at least several thousand inhabitants. Jesus spent a lot of his ministry time in this area. This story starts to establish Jesus’ authority but also raises the problem of opposition. Both of these themes will be developed throughout Mark until they reach the climax at Jesus’ crucifixion. This is the first scene of Jesus’ public ministry and shows him teaching and casting out demons. The emphasis is not on what Jesus taught, but on his authority.
The time of the event being the Sabbath is important and sets the scene for conflict with the religious authorities that develops in chapter 2. Jews gathered in synagogues on the Sabbath for worship and to hear the Scriptures read and explained. The Sabbath day was sacred to them, and some of them had strong convictions about what people could or could not do on that day. Jesus begins his public ministry in a place of worship, confronting the religious authorities and the power of evil. The setting is significant because Jesus defeated the powers of Satan at the place of worship where people should be devoted to God.
The people were amazed at what Jesus taught. His teaching was set apart as special and unique, unlike the local teachers in Capernaum. The scribes were the spiritual descendants of Ezra, the noted scribe of the restoration of the people after exile (Nehemiah 8:1, 4; 12:26, 36). The common method of scribal teaching was to read and interprete the Scriptures. They were the doctors of law and biblical scholars of their day. If anyone knew the Bible, it was they. Jesus’ teaching did not rely on human interpretations but was clear and got to the heart of the matter. Mark begins to develop the theme that truth is found in Jesus and his teachings. There is no description of what Jesus taught, but people recognized the power of his words. They recognized that there was something special about him and so invited to speak in their synagogue. These opening verses leave us with the question, will we also recognized Jesus’ authority in what we are about to read in this Gospel?
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