Mark 1: 21-28
Pastor Sarah continued our journey through the Book of Mark from where we began last Sunday. As she told us, the Book of Mark is a fast paced writing about how Jesus is God’s plan to rescue the world.
The story we heard today takes place in Capernum on the day of the Sabbath. Jesus entered the synagogue and began teaching. While teaching, he was interrupted by a man with an unclean spirit. The man cries out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
Jesus replies, “Be quiet. Come out of him.”
Scripture does not tell us what Jesus said that stilled the voice and sent the evil out of the man. We learn that the people who witnessed what happened were amazed that he spoke with authority and unlike the way the scribes taught.
Scribes were traditional in their teaching, bound by rules and laws. Jesus’ authority and divine wisdom became evident when confronted by the man with an unclean spirit.
Scripture tells us that there was more than one evil spirit that immediately recognized Jesus as “The Holy One of God.” It is no wonder that the people in the synagogue were amazed that Jesus could drive away the unclean spirits with the simple statement, “Be quiet. Come out of him.” This story teaches us that evil can not win over God.
In this short passage, we learn that Jesus had come to rescue the world from oppression. He had come to “silence the demands of the status quo, and teach us of the ever unchanging truth that God is committed to saving the people of the world.”
Pastor Sarah’s message today remind us that:
God is still here rescuing people who are poor, sick, oppressed and vulnerable.
We can spend time this year reaching out to others who are in need of help and we may find ourselves astonished by what Jesus is doing today.”
