1:21  And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.

1:22  And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.

    This verse does not start with Mark’s favored word of action because nearly a year in the ministry of Jesus was skipped.  Matthew and Luke deal with that year.  Perhaps Peter skipped it because he felt it could have bogged down the pace of his narrative by having to take time to explain to his readers that the rejection reflects our ability to choose to accept or reject Christ at this point in his account.

    Part of what was happening with the teaching from Jesus was that He was teaching Scripture, not tradition of men; He was teaching them what God said, not what some famous Rabbi of bygone days had said.  The Wesleyan quadrilateral is important but it must never be forgotten that the Scripture part of that is the preeminent portion, yet too many times tradition gets elevated above its proper place.

 

1:23  And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

1:24  Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

1:25  And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.

1:26  And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.

1:27  And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

1:28  And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.

 

    The whole subject of demonology is a difficult one, but no more so than the problem of the devil.  The devil is an unclean spirit, because he has lost all the purity of his former nature, therefore he acts in direct opposition to the Holy Spirit of God, and by his suggestions defiles the spirits of men.  There are many in our assemblies who quietly attend under merely formal teachers; but if the Lord comes with faithful ministers and holy doctrine then by his convincing spirit, they are ready to say, like this man, What have we to do with thee!   There is potentially a hint of dishonesty in what that demon said in that it probably was well aware of the fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and therefore it likely was attempting to cast doubt or deflect Jesus from what it feared Jesus might be about to command to happen.

    No “disorder” could enable a man to know Jesus to be the Holy One of God. He desires to have nothing to do with Jesus, for he despairs of being saved by him, and dreads being destroyed by him.  Consider whose language they speak, who say to the Almighty, “Depart from us”.  This unclean spirit hated and dreaded Christ, because he knew him to be a Holy One; for the carnal mind is enmity against God, especially against his holiness.  People who cannot stand to attend a Bible-believing/Bible-teaching Church here on earth should not expect to be able to tolerate Heaven.

    When Christ by his grace delivers souls out of the hands of Satan, it is not without tumult in the soul; for that spiteful enemy will disquiet those whom he cannot destroy. This put all who saw it to considering, “What is this new doctrine?”  A work as great often is accomplished now, yet men treat it with contempt and neglect.  If this were not so, the conversion of a notorious wicked man to a sober, righteous, and godly life, by the preaching of a crucified Savior, should cause many to ask, “What doctrine is this?”