Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. 23 In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; 24 he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 25 Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” 26 The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. 27 All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” 28 His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.
In Capernaum on the sabbath, Jesus goes straight into the synagogue and teaches. Mark does not tell us the content of that teaching. Instead, he tells us its effect: the people are astonished because Jesus teaches “as one having authority and not as the scribes” (v. 22). In that setting, scribes normally taught by appealing to established interpretations and earlier teachers. Mark’s point is not that those teachers were useless, but that Jesus’ way of speaking is strikingly direct and arresting. His authority does not come across as borrowed; it comes across as his own—and it does more than inform. It commands attention, provokes a reaction, and calls for a response. That is why the people are not merely impressed but “astonished” (v. 22), and why the confrontation with the unclean spirit follows immediately (vv. 23-26): when Jesus speaks, His word carries the weight of God’s rule present in their midst, and nothing unclean can remain indifferent to it.
Mark immediately places a confrontation inside the synagogue itself. A man is present “with an unclean spirit” (v. 23). “Unclean” here is not about ritual impurity. It signals an affliction tied to a hostile spiritual force. The spirit cries out with two lines that are crucial to the whole scene: it recognizes Jesus’ identity, and it fears Jesus’ power. “What have you to do with us…? Have you come to destroy us?” is not a confession of faith. It is a protest from a power that knows it is being exposed and that its dominion is coming to an end (v. 24). And the title it uses — “the Holy One of God” — is true as far as it goes, but it can still be misunderstood if the people reduce Jesus to raw power. Mark will not allow Jesus to be treated as a wonder-worker or a “magical” figure who simply outmatches other forces. As his Gospel unfolds, he will show that Jesus’ identity can only be understood through the full shape of his mission, including suffering and the cross, not merely through displays of power.
So Jesus answers with brief commands: “Quiet! Come out of him!” (v. 25). That brevity is part of the emphasis. In many ancient settings, exorcists were imagined as working through extended techniques, invoking other names, or using elaborate rites. Mark shows something different. Jesus does not negotiate. He does not invoke another authority. He speaks, and what he says happens. The unclean spirit convulses the man, cries out, and leaves (v. 26). The drama underlines the reality of the conflict, but it also underlines the greater point: Jesus’ word is effective.
That is why the crowd’s conclusion holds teaching and action together: “A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him” (v. 27). The exorcism is not a separate “power episode” after a “teaching episode.” Mark presents Jesus’ deed as the visible confirmation of the authority heard in Jesus’ word. Luke narrates this same kind of synagogue exorcism and reports the same astonishment at Jesus’ authority, reinforcing that this was remembered as a hallmark of his early ministry (Lk. 4:31-37). Mark’s own Gospel will keep returning to this pattern: Jesus teaches with authority, and his authority is shown in what he does.
Mark ends the scene the way he often does early on: the news spreads quickly (v. 28). The fame of His deeds travels throughout Galilee, sometimes even faster than a full understanding of who He is. Word spreads about power that heals and commands spirits, and crowds gather—yet Mark will keep showing that amazement at miracles is not the same thing as knowing Jesus in the full truth of His mission. That tension is part of Mark’s design: Jesus’ authority is real and public from the start, but Mark steadily guides the reader toward what that authority ultimately means.
Lord Jesus, speak your word into what is disordered within us. Give us clear minds, steady hearts, and the grace to trust your authority, not as spectacle, but as the saving power of God at work in our lives. Amen.
_____________________
Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark, pp. 66-67.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: Mark, pp. 165-166.
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (2018), pp. 980-981.
- Raymond E. Brown et al., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990), p. 600 (para. 9).
- The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century, 3rd ed. (2020), pp. 1246-1247.
Comments