Earlier in chapter 1, Satan attacked Jesus in the wilderness. Then Mark directed our attention to Jesus’ counterattack. He carried the spiritual warfare into the domain of Satan, to those controlled by evil spirits. As will be the case repeatedly, the battle took place in a synagogue on the Sabbath. Perhaps this shows that Satan can be active even in our houses of worship.

Mark draws our attention to the conclusion drawn by the eyewitnesses to what Jesus did that day in Capernaum. The people were struck by his authority. Not only were they amazed by his application of the Scriptures to their own lives, but they were equally amazed by how he fearlessly confronted demonic power.

Our familiarity with the words of Jesus should never lull us into thinking that they have lost power over the centuries. Jesus remains as powerful today as ever, but we must carefully listen and follow all he says to us.

1:21    They went to Capernaum.  Capernaum, located on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, was the largest of the many fishing towns surrounding the lake. Jesus had recently moved to Capernaum from Nazareth (Matthew 4:12–13). Capernaum was a thriving town with great wealth as well as great sin and decadence. Because it was the headquarters for many Roman troops, heathen influences from all over the Roman Empire were pervasive. This was a needy place for Jesus to challenge both Jews and non-Jews with the gospel of God’s kingdom.

 And when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.  The temple in Jerusalem was too far for many Jews to travel for regular worship, so many towns had synagogues serving both as places of worship and as schools. Beginning in the days of Ezra, about 450 b.c., a group of ten Jewish families could start a synagogue. There, during the week, Jewish boys were taught the Old Testament law and Jewish religion (girls could not attend). Each Saturday, the Sabbath, the Jewish men would gather to hear prayers, the Scriptures read, and an interpretation from a scribe. Because there was no permanent rabbi or teacher, it was customary for the synagogue leader to ask visiting teachers to speak. This is why Jesus often spoke in the synagogues in the towns he visited.

In the presence of Jesus men are disturbed, and this disturbance is the precise act of fishing to which Jesus had called the four fishermen.  William Lawe

1:22    They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  The Greek word translated “astounded” is a strong word; it could also be translated “astonished” or “amazed.” The people were completely amazed by Jesus’ teaching. The Jewish teachers (the scribes) often quoted from well-known rabbis to give their words more authority. But Jesus didn’t have that need. Because Jesus was the Son of God, he knew exactly what the Scriptures said and meant. He was the ultimate authority. The people had never heard such teaching. He created the urgency and alarm that a real prophet would cause, not the discussion and arguments of scribal tradition. He confronted the people with the claims of God on their lives.

The “scribes” (called “teachers of the law” or “lawyers” in some Bible versions) were the legal specialists in Jesus’ day. They interpreted the law but were especially concerned about the “halakah” or “rules” for life that came to be as binding as God’s written law in the Torah. The scribes were the forerunners of the office of rabbi. Their self-assured authority, in fact, became a stumbling block for them, for they denied Jesus’ authority to reinterpret the law, and they rejected Jesus as the Messiah because he did not agree with nor obey all of their traditions.

1:23–24       Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit.  Jesus’ teaching, his powerful authority, and the astonishment of the people just then prompted an outburst by a man who was possessed by an evil spirit. Evil (unclean) spirits, or demons, are ruled by Satan. They work to tempt people to sin. They were not created by Satan, because God is the Creator of all. Rather, the evil spirits and demons are fallen angels who joined Satan in his rebellion and thus became perverted and evil. The Greek is literally “in a spirit, an unclean one.” The evil spirit had entered the man’s body, had taken up residence, and now controlled him. Though not all disease comes from Satan, sometimes demons can cause a person to become mute, deaf, blind, or insane. But in every case where demons confronted Jesus, they lost their power. Thus God limits what evil spirits can do; they can do nothing without his permission. During Jesus’ life on earth, demons were allowed to be very active to demonstrate once and for all Christ’s power and authority over them.

Cried 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!”  This cry from the possessed man was the voice of the demon—a horrible sound. The evil spirit knew two facts—that Jesus had indeed come to destroy them (and their power) and that Jesus was the Holy One of God. The demon (indeed all the demons, for the demon used the word “us”) knew Jesus was the Messiah. While the people in the synagogue were astounded at Jesus’ teaching and wondered who this man could be, the demon knew. At this time, people believed that to know a person’s precise hidden name was to be able to gain control over the person. Thus the demon’s first attempt against Jesus was to state his name in public. The demons knew that Jesus’ coming marked the beginning of the end of their power, but they tried every way they knew to break him. Their master, Satan, had tried and failed—the demons would try and fail as well. By including this event in his Gospel, Mark was establishing Jesus’ credentials, showing that even the spiritual underworld recognized Jesus as the Messiah.

1:25    But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”  The Greek word translated “rebuke” means to reprove or shame. Jesus judged the demon and then expelled him. He didn’t use incantations or magic words; he simply and sternly commanded him to be silent—a strong word in the Greek that could mean “to muzzle.” The word is used elsewhere for muzzling an ox (for example, 1 Corinthians 9:9 and 1 Timothy 5:18). Mark also used the word in Jesus’ command when stilling the storm (4:39). A modern alternative would be “Shut up!”—a colloquial translation that also gives Jesus’ attitude toward Satan. The demon was like a boxer, dancing and jabbing to find a weakness; Jesus was the champion who knocked him out with one punch: “Be silent!”

Why did Jesus tell the demon to be silent? Mark portrays Jesus as silencing the demon almost with a tone of insisting on secrecy (see also 1:34). He also commanded some of those he healed not to publicize their healing (see 1:44; 5:43). He even ordered the disciples to keep insights about his true nature and glory to themselves (see 8:27–30; 9:2–9). Two explanations may help us understand why Jesus asked this:

1. Jesus wanted to contain the enthusiasm for a political messiah. He did not wish to be the people’s king in the way they desired, nor did he want to be a military leader.
2. To confess Jesus’ deity without a proper understanding of his crucifixion is partial and invalid. He did not want people to wildly proclaim him to be God’s Son unless they understood the meaning of his death for them on the cross. This would explain why even his disciples lacked understanding until his resurrection.

To silence the demon was not enough, for Jesus wanted to free the man possessed by the demon. So Jesus next commanded, Come out of him! again demonstrating his power and authority over Satan and his demons.

1:26    The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.  Without any recourse except to submit to a higher authority, the evil spirit came out of the man. But first, to show its anger and protest, the evil spirit shook the man violently. This could have been a severe spasm or a blow that thrust the man to the ground. With a final shriek, the demon left. The true purpose of demon possession is revealed by this behavior. Demons have a deep-seated desire to do violence and to destroy all who are made in the image of God.

Many psychologists dismiss all accounts of demon possession as a primitive way to describe mental illness. Although throughout history mental illness has often been wrongly diagnosed as demon possession, clearly a hostile outside force controlled the man described here. Mark emphasized Jesus’ conflict with evil powers to show his superiority over them, so he recorded many stories about Jesus driving out evil spirits. Jesus didn’t have to conduct an elaborate exorcism ritual. His word was enough to send out the demons. Jesus’ power over demons reveals his absolute power over Satan, even in a world that seems to be in Satan’s control. Satan is presently under God’s authority; when God chooses to command, Satan must obey. Satan’s workings are only within God’s prescribed limits; he can do no more evil than God allows. In the end, Satan and all his demons will be tormented in the lake of fire forever (Revelation 20:10).

1:27    The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.”  The word “amazed” in the Greek (ethambethesan) carries with it a note of fear or alarm. The people were astonished at Jesus’ teaching and authority (1:22). Jesus’ display of his authority in the showdown with a demon caused a certain terror in the people at what they had witnessed. With a simple and stern command, the evil spirit obeyed and the possessed man was set free.

The people called Jesus’ teaching new; compared to the dry sermons they usually heard from their scribes, his teaching challenged them. Jesus taught with authority; he spoke to the powerful underworld with authority. Surely this man was someone to watch closely.

1:28    At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.  The people who left the gathering in the large synagogue in Capernaum had witnessed an authoritative and captivating new teacher with unheard-of power. The news spread at once across the region of Galilee. Jesus’ growing popularity becomes a major theme in chapter 1 (see 1:33, 37, 45). This popularity among the common folk stands in glaring contrast to the religious leaders’ opposition expressed in 2:1–3:6.^[1]

^[1] Bruce B. Barton, Mark, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1994), 28–33.