Introduction
After Jesus calls his first disciples — the four fishermen Simon, Andrew, James and John — Mark describes the opening actions of Jesus’ ministry. He has already provided an abstract of Jesus’ message in verses 14 and 15 of Mark 1; here he provides more details of specific accounts.
“Then Jesus and His companions went to Capernaum, and right away Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach. The people were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.
Suddenly a man with an unclean spirit cried out in the synagogue: “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!” But Jesus rebuked the spirit. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!” At this, the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and came out with a loud shriek. All the people were amazed and began to ask one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him!” And the news about Jesus spread quickly through the whole region of Galilee.
As soon as Jesus and His companions had left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and they promptly told Jesus about her. So He went to her, took her by the hand, and helped her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them.
That evening, after sunset, people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed, and the whole town gathered at the door. And He healed many who were ill with various diseases and drove out many demons. But He would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.” (Mk 1:21-34 BSB)
So Jesus returned with the fishermen-turned-disciples to Capernaum, which was almost certainly their hometown, as we later see that Simon Peter’s mother-in-law lived there
(Mk 1:29). Capernaum was on the north-west side of the Sea of Galilee, a modest town of around 1500 people, but relatively prosperous from its fishing business. It was also a stopover point for travellers on the Via Maris — an international highway which ran from Damascus to Egypt.
Matthew (Matt 4:13-14) explains that Jesus began his public ministry in the Galilee region in order to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1-2:
“But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” (ESV)
Jesus’ first sermon
Following the pattern which has already been established in Mark, Jesus “immediately” begins teaching in the synagogue on that Sabbath. We sometimes use the phrase “man with a mission” to describe someone who has a very clear goal and doesn’t allow themselves to be distracted from it. Mark portrays Jesus as the “God-man with a mission” — he is sent by God for a specific purpose and he doesn’t waste any time in getting the next thing done.
What did Jesus say in his first address to the Capernaum synagogue? Mark doesn’t give us any details at all; we are left to imagine the content from what we know of Jesus and his recorded teachings. However, it is almost certain that the synopsis would be that of verse 15: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mk 1:15).
This is part of a larger trend in Mark. As you read through the book, you notice that it doesn’t contain as much of Jesus’ actual teaching content as the other synoptic gospels. While numerous parables are recorded, there is not much of what we would call Jesus’ “moral teachings”, such as those found in Matthew’s sermon on the mount. Instead, Mark uses Jesus’ deeds as one of the main ways to convey the message of his teaching and the lifestyle that he calls his followers to. Just as Jesus preached the gospel of the coming kingdom of God, so we are to preach the gospel and coming kingdom. Just as Jesus associated with the lower classes and held back the powers of darkness, so we are to do.
And just as Jesus healed the sick, so we are to care for and heal the sick. In fact, early followers of Jesus believed that they were following in this tradition as they established hospitals and the study of medicine in the centuries following. They saw this as a continuation of Jesus’ healing ministry while he was on the earth. Historians recognise that the first hospital proper was created by Basil the Great, a bishop of Caesarea, in 369 AD. One historian (Roy Porter) says that in mediaeval times, hospitals were “religious foundations through and through”.
So while Mark doesn’t tell us the content of Jesus’ sermon here, he focuses on the reaction and response from the audience, presenting Jesus as the master Teacher.
Jesus as the great Teacher is a theme which runs throughout the gospel of Mark. Jesus is addressed as “Teacher” by his disciples (Mk 4:38), the common people (Mk 10:17), the Sadducees and Pharisees, and even other learned scholars (Mk 12:14, 32). Everyone recognises him as a master teacher – whether or not they agree with his message.
While it is possible that he had more than the elementary Rabbinic education which all male Israelites received, Jesus did not have the conventional qualifications or official authorisation to teach (Jn 7:15; Mk 6:2-3). This made the power of his teaching even more impressive.
Like the Rabbis, Jesus believed that God’s will was revealed in the scriptures alone, particularly in the Law. However, Jesus differed from his contemporary Rabbis in how serious and consistent he was in living out the full extent of the meaning of the Law.
Jesus also differed from other contemporary Rabbis in his consciousness of his personal authority. Other Rabbis taught how they understood that the Law should be followed and cited a line of Rabbinic tradition for their interpretation. Jesus gave an authoritative interpretation of what the Law meant and how followers of God must act in response to this knowledge – similar to the prophets of old who gave a direct word from God. He didn't need to cite his sources like the other Rabbis – he was the source.
The power of Jesus’ teaching astonished the people listening in the synagogue. Throughout the gospel, the way that people respond to his message and actions is almost always astonishment and amazement, or fear, or a combination of both. It is a response from coming close to the power of God, incarnate in the form of Jesus. When we come close to the power and presence of God, we either have a wondrous amazement if we know him, or have an awful feeling of fear – a sinking pit in our stomachs – if we don't know him. It seems likely there was a mix of this amongst the crowd at the synagogue.
As we continue on in this passage in Mark 1, we find that Jesus was not only the master teacher, but also a great Physician (Mk 2:17) – healing the man with an unclean spirit, and then later healing Peter's mother-in-law from a fever.
Casting out a demon
The account of the man with the unclean spirit is interesting. Obviously we don't use this type of language today, so what does this refer to? An “unclean spirit” was a very common way of referring to demons in the Rabbinic literature. So the original readers of this gospel would have understood this as referring to a demon-possessed man. They would not have been surprised as the idea of demons was part of the cultural norm at the time. It is very like our times, where with our “scientific enlightenment”, we might scoff at the idea of demons or even Satan himself. But I think all of us recognise that there are events occurring in the world that are so dark and unexplainable that the action of evil forces seems a more likely explanation than not. As the famous quote goes, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.”
But compared to other contemporary sources, such as the Rabbinic sources and non-Jewish literature, the New Testament is surprisingly spare on the details of demon possession. Yes, there is mention of demon possessed people, but they are only on the stage for a few seconds before Jesus casts out the demon with a simple command. And this lack of focus on demons is not surprising, given that the narrative of the gospels is that Jesus holds complete power over the powers of darkness, including Satan and his servants, and he has come to conquer and vanquish them. He came to confront Satan and strip him of his powers.
In this account – Mark's first account of Jesus expelling a demon – the demon in the man recognises Jesus as the son of God; even when those in the synagogue do not see this truth. Speaking through the man, the demon says, “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!”
“What do You want with us” is a fairly common expression in the Hebrew bible in the setting of combat or judgement, where it carries the idea: “You have no business with us — yet.” The demon is not questioning what Jesus has come for — he knows that Jesus has come to destroy him — but he is challenging him to a combat of powers, if you like.
With this in mind, it is likely that the demon recognising Jesus as “the Holy One of God” was not an outburst of understanding or awe as he recognised who Jesus was. Rather it was an attempt to control Jesus and negate his power. You see, in the ancient Near East, there was a belief that knowing and using someone's proper name and title gave you power over that entity. Archaeologists have discovered so-called “magical papyri” in Egypt, which contain formulations believed to give the reader power over spiritual beings. One of these dating from the 4th or 5th century AD read, “I know your name which was received in heaven, I know your forms… I know your foreign names and your true name… I know you, Hermes, who you are and from whence you have come…” So this demon was attempting to gain power over Jesus by stating that he knew who he was and his relationship to God the Father.
But notice what happens. He does not gain power over Jesus and repel him. In fact, Jesus does not accept his challenge or even acknowledge his words. He merely commands, “Be silent!” and the demon is muzzled. Jesus doesn’t recite any incantations, gather a quorum of other men for a prayer ritual, use Solomon’s name, recite Psalms, or fumigate the man with scents, or use a special ring to draw the demon out of his nostrils — all things which were common features of Jewish exorcisms. In fact, Jesus didn't appeal to a higher power in order to cast the demon out and prevent it from returning. He simply speaks the words, “Come out of him!” and the demon is expelled. The people are in awe — not simply because Jesus can cast out demons, but because he does it with such ease, with just a word, and with complete confidence and authority. The message is clear: Jesus is not like any other Rabbi or any prophet who has come before.
Healing Peter’s mother
From there, Jesus and his disciples went to Simon and Andrew’s house in Capernaum, where Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law from a fever which had left her bed-ridden. Again, there are not a lot of details given in this passage; it is stated as a simple matter of fact event. However, it is notable that the healing was immediate and complete. She rose from the bed and began to prepare the evening meal! This indicates that there were no signs of the usual fatigue or “hangover” effects that usually persist after we recover from a fever.
Word of these miraculous events quickly spread around the immediate villages and the people waited until the end of the Sabbath day (i.e. the evening) and then brought the sick and demon-possessed to be healed by Jesus. Additionally, over the weeks to come, word of Jesus also spread around the broader region of Galilee, such that when he later taught in the Nazareth synagogue, he said, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” ” (Lk 4:23 ESV). The fame of his early works at Capernaum made Jesus a household name. Yet there was no belief of Jesus’ divinity amongst the people. They saw him merely as a miracle worker — yes, a wonderful miracle worker who could help their sick friends or family members — but just a powerful healer and nothing more.
Conclusion
The significance of these early events was so great that they were recorded by Mark in his gospel, and have been faithfully transcribed and passed down to us through the centuries. So we are faced with the same question as the first people who encountered Jesus’ miraculous healings and the earliest readers of Mark’s gospel — who is Jesus? Do you see a man who did cool magic tricks two millennia ago? Or do you see him as the son of God who came into the world to confront Satan and strip him of his power?