Authority and Scripture

I do not trust authority. My mistrust stems from my relationship with my father, experiences during my teenage years and more recently the actions of politicians and business leaders. Even when I am connected with someone, if they are in authority I am hesitant to embrace their decisions. I just do not believe that their decisions have included my perspectives, interests, and needs. The US experienced a revolution of sorts during my formative years. The civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and Watergate challenged the authority of unjust laws and political secrecy. A bumper stick captured the mood of the times. It read: “Question Authority.” The term “authority” is still questioned by many. The current administration has only caused this mindset to intensify. Authority is often seen as “...heavy-handed, insensitive, top-down leadership that robs people of joy freedom, and autonomy, and that imposes the will of those who govern upon the governed.”

I do not trust authority. My mistrust stems from my relationship with my father, experiences during my teenage years and more recently the actions of politicians and business leaders. Even when I am connected with someone, if they are in authority I am hesitant to embrace their decisions. I just do not believe that their decisions have included my perspectives, interests, and needs. The US experienced a revolution of sorts during my formative years. The civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and Watergate challenged the authority of unjust laws and political secrecy. A bumper stick captured the mood of the times. It read: “Question Authority.” The term “authority” is still questioned by many. The current administration has only caused this mindset to intensify. Authority is often seen as “...heavy handed, insensitive, top-down leadership that robs people of joy freedom, and autonomy, and that imposes the will of those who govern upon the governed.”

Leonora Tubbs Tisdale, “By Whose Authority?,” Pulpit Resource. ordinary 4th 2003

This is quite a contrast to the Jewish society at the time of Jesus as seen in the roles and responsibilities surrounding the synagogue. Whereas there was only one Temple, Jewish law required the formation of the synagogue wherever there were 10 families or more. The primary role in the synagogue was the Ruler. He was responsible for the administration of the affairs and the arrangements of its services.

This is quite a contrast to the Jewish society at the time of Jesus as seen in the roles and responsibilities surrounding the synagogue. Whereas there was only one Temple, Jewish law required the formation of the synagogue wherever there were 10 families or more. The primary role of the synagogue was the Ruler. He was responsible for the administration of the affairs and the arrangements of its services.

Barclay, William, ed. The Gospel of Mark. The Daily Study Bible Series. Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster John Knox Press, 1976.

This is quite a contrast to the Jewish society at the time of Jesus as seen in the roles and responsibilities surrounding the synagogue. Whereas there was only one Temple, Jewish law required the formation of the synagogue wherever there were 10 families or more. The primary role of the synagogue was the Ruler. He was responsible for the administration of the affairs and the arrangements of its services.

A synagogue did not have professional clergy to instruct the congregation. The ruler could call on any man and he would be expected to read and expound upon the Scripture assigned for that particular Sabbath. I wonder what would happen if we returned to that format? I wonder if the men would continue to come to church. With our more inclusive views of leadership, we would have to broaden the selection of speakers to women. Regardless, the emphasis on the function of the laity would mark a dramatic change for us.

In contrast to the Temple, which was the place of worship, prayer and sacrifice, the synagogue was the place of teaching and instruction. To the Jew the most sacred book was the Torah, the Law. This included the first five books known as the Pentateuch. The heart of the Law is the Ten Commandments. To the Jew this Law was divine. They believed that God had given it to Moses.

Barclay, William, ed. The Gospel of Mark. The Daily Study Bible Series. Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster John Knox Press, 1976.

Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of Mark (Revised Edition) Jesus Begins His Campaign

“He who says that the Torah is not from God has not part in the future world.”

A synagogue did not have professional clergy to instruct the congregation. The ruler could call on any man and he would be expected to read and expound upon the Scripture assigned for that particular Sabbath. I wonder what would happen if we returned to that format? I wonder if the men would continue to come to church. With our more inclusive views of leadership, we would have to broaden the selection of speakers to women. Regardless, the emphasis on the function of the laity would mark a dramatic change for us.

One of the well known proverbs captures the seriousness that they gave to the Torah.

While the Torah and the prophets were read and studied in all the synagogues, a class of scholars arose and devoted their lives to its study. They extracted rules and regulations for every possible area of life.

“ Jewish religion began with the great moral laws; it ended with an infinity of rules and regulations. It began as religion; it ended as legalism.

In contrast to the Temple, which was the place of worship, prayer, and sacrifice, the synagogue was the place of teaching and instruction. To the Jew, the most sacred book was the Torah, the Law. This included the first five books known as the Pentateuch. The heart of the Law is the Ten Commandments. To the Jew this Law was divine. They believed that God had given it to Moses.

Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of Mark (Revised Edition) Jesus Begins His Campaign

Jewish religion began with the great moral laws; it ended with an infinity of rules and regulations. It began as religion; it ended as legalism.

William Barclay, ed., The Gospel of Mark, The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster John Knox Press, 1976), 32.

Barclay writes:

In contrast Mark records that Jesus :

Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of Mark (Revised Edition) Jesus Begins His Campaign

The teachers of the law never expressed their own opinion. All that they would do was quote rabbis from the past. Their teaching had lost its appeal for the people. It no longer inspired them.

Mark 1:22 NIV84

The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

“He who says that the Torah is not from God has no part in the future world.”

We do not have any information about the people came to worship God. We do not know their average age, their occupation, or their stories. We only know that on this particular Sabbath they came together to hear Jesus. The ruler of the synagogue may have invited Jesus promising him the opportunity to speak. If he had, there would have been extra people in attendance.

I can relate to the experience that the people of Capernaum had that day. There have been times when I was amazed with the wisdom of someone who was lecturing. Certain authors can be spell binding. After they have finished you think that you have been taught by Jesus himself.

Jesus delivered a new teaching according to Mark. The implication is that the people of this village were ready for something new. They were receptive to hearing God speak in fresh and new ways.

This raises some interesting questions for us?

receptive to God breaking into my life in new ways?

Do I approach my faith with a sense of hope and anticipation?

Or, do I come to church on Sunday content to hear a sermon that affirms my established beliefs, and reinforces the rightness of my worldview?

Do I want to sing only the familiar songs

Do I expect to be coddled or challenged?

I remember when my faith conversion was still a fresh memory. I would not settle for the way things have always been to anything. I was bent on changing the church to my expectations. Those views have been tempered over the years. I now understand the value of tradition but I have also learned that in matters of the spiritual life I must always challenge myself to listen to the voice of God speak through different speakers, different spiritual exercises and different ideas. We can never want to stymie the voice of Jesus telling us something new and exciting to believe or to do.

Do you believe in demon? C.S. Lewis wrote we can either give the devil too much credit or too little. I do not know if this man was possessed by a mental illness or a demon. I have never met, that I know of, anyone suffering from demonic possession. But I have met people ravaged by life and by well meaning Christians. The body is limp. Their mind in a state of confusion, unable to stay on one subject in a conversation. The man was dominated by this spirit. He had no voice of his own.

Authority, that is the key word in that phrase. Jesus had the authority to teach the law of God in a new way, he gave it a new perspective. Notice this was even before he delivered the man from the demon.

One of the well-known proverbs captures the seriousness that they gave to the Torah.

People who have suffered abuse lose their ability to speak about the abuse. Story after story in the news has repeated this theme. Women and men hid behind a wall of secrecy in fear for their jobs, their reputation, or future employment opportunities. The flood gates have been open and we are hearing almost every day about a woman who has suffered harassment.

The exercise of authority is a complicated subject. There are many ways do it. In part they depend on your view of humanity. If you view humanity as basically sinful, lazy, or underachievers

While the Torah and the prophets were read and studied in all the synagogues, a class of scholars arose and devoted their lives to its study. They extracted rules and regulations for every possible area of life.

There our other demons that afflict people—our addictions, our sins, our destructive habits, our families, ever our religious practices. The enemy can use anything to at first entice us and then enslave us.

Who or what is possessing us? controlling us? What is warping our views on life? What is turning the joy and freshness of a new day into sheer drudgery?

Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of Mark (Revised Edition) Jesus Begins His Campaign

Jewish religion began with the great moral laws; it ended with an infinity of rules and regulations. It began as religion; it ended as legalism.

We never learn what Jesus actually taught in the synagogues. Did he share with them the Beatitudes? What parables did he share, if any? All we know is that he entered the synagogue, taught with authority and his listeners found his teaching astonishing. Then he capped off the day by delivering a man with an evil spirit. Jesus seems so unapproachable in this passage. He would intimidate most of us. Once that demon was driven from the man some of us would be out the door. But there are a few lessons we can learn from him.

Jesus did not use his authority for self-aggrandizing nor did he seek to control or manipulate any of the people. He only used his power to give the man back his freedom. His only goal was to share the power of the Kingdom of God and then let the person make his own decision. That may have been why people were so drawn to him. He had no political ambitions. He sought no earthly throne. He spoke with a sense of integrity and lived consistent with his teaching.

Authority without humility is tempted by tyranny.

Barclay writes:

Secondly, Jesus did not avoid the ugliness and horror of life. He did not flinch from the distorted face. The scribes would not have engaged the man in a brief conversation. They would have feared spiritual contamination, but not Jesus. He not only preached with great power to the religious folk, he also spoke to the unclean spirit. He listened to its cries and rebuked it for the sake of the man’s health. Confrontation is never easy but we must be willing and ready to rebuke a spirit that dominates and controls another. We must to willing to enter into the lives of people who live in darkness and suffer harassment and abuse from someone else. Jesus has everything to do with our lives and the life of another person. He will not allow anyone to cripple or dehumanize another and neither should we.

The teachers of the law never expressed their own opinion. All that they would do was quote rabbis from the past. Their teaching had lost its appeal to the people. It no longer inspired them.

We have no authority to confront the demonic of this world in our own power. Our authority comes from Scripture that says in baptism, we were baptized with Christ in death so that we might be raise to new life with him and now live in him. If we live in Jesus we have the same power that he displayed in that Capernaum village. The demonic cannot stand in defiance against our word. We may bodily go out into the world to set people free from the spirits that enslave them.

NIV84

The people were amazed at his teaching because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

We do not have any information about the people came to worship God. We do not know their average age, their occupation, or their stories. We only know that on this particular Sabbath they came together to hear Jesus. The ruler of the synagogue may have invited Jesus promising him the opportunity to speak. If he had, there would have been extra people in attendance.

I can relate to the experience that the people of Capernaum had that day. There have been times when I was amazed by the wisdom of someone who was lecturing. Certain authors can be spellbinding. After they have finished you think that you have been taught by Jesus himself.

Jesus delivered a new teaching according to Mark. The implication is that the people of this village were ready for something new. They were receptive to hearing God speak in fresh and new ways.

This raises some interesting questions for us?

receptive to God breaking into my life in new ways?

Do I approach my faith with a sense of hope and anticipation?

Or, do I come to church on Sunday content to hear a sermon that affirms my established beliefs, and reinforces the rightness of my worldview?

Do I want to sing only the familiar songs

Do I expect to be coddled or challenged?

I remember when my faith conversion was still a fresh memory. I would not settle for the way things have always been to anything. I was bent on changing the church to my expectations. Those views have been tempered over the years. I now understand the value of tradition but I have also learned that in matters of the spiritual life I must always challenge myself to listen to the voice of God speak through different speakers, different spiritual exercises, and different ideas. We can never want to stymie the voice of Jesus telling us something new and exciting to believe or to do.

Do you believe in demons? C.S. Lewis wrote we can either give the devil too much credit or too little. I do not know if this man was possessed by a mental illness or a demon. I have never met, that I know of, anyone suffering from demonic possession. But I have met people ravaged by life and by well-meaning Christians. The body is limp. Their mind in a state of confusion, unable to stay on one subject in a conversation. The man was dominated by this spirit. He had no voice of his own.

People who have suffered abuse lose their ability to speak about the abuse. Story after story in the news has repeated this theme. Women and men hid behind a wall of secrecy in fear for their jobs, their reputation, or future employment opportunities. The floodgates have been open and we are hearing almost every day about a woman who has suffered harassment.

There our other demons that afflict people—our addictions, our sins, our destructive habits, our families, ever our religious practices. The enemy can use anything to at first entice us and then enslave us.

Who or what is possessing us? controlling us? What is warping our views on life? What is turning the joy and freshness of a new day into sheer drudgery?

We never learn what Jesus actually taught in the synagogues. Did he share with them the Beatitudes? What parables did he share, if any? All we know is that he entered the synagogue, taught with authority and his listeners found his teaching astonishing. Then he capped off the day by delivering a man with an evil spirit. Jesus seems so unapproachable in this passage. He would intimidate most of us. Once that demon was driven from the man some of us would be out the door. But there are a few lessons we can learn from him.

Jesus did not use his authority for self-aggrandizing nor did he seek to control or manipulate any of the people. He only used his power to give the man back his freedom. His only goal was to share the power of the Kingdom of God and then let the person make his own decision. That may have been why people were so drawn to him. He had no political ambitions. He sought no earthly throne. He spoke with a sense of integrity and lived consistently with his teaching.

Authority without humility is tempted by tyranny.

Secondly, Jesus did not avoid the ugliness and horror of life. He did not flinch from the distorted face. The scribes would not have engaged the man in a brief conversation. They would have feared spiritual contamination, but not Jesus. He not only preached with great power to the religious folk, he also spoke to the unclean spirit. He listened to its cries and rebuked it for the sake of the man’s health. Confrontation is never easy but we must be willing and ready to rebuke a spirit that dominates and controls another. We must to willing to enter into the lives of people who live in darkness and suffer harassment and abuse from someone else. Jesus has everything to do with our lives and the life of another person. He will not allow anyone to cripple or dehumanize another and neither should we.

We have no authority to confront the demonic of this world in our own power. Our authority comes from Scripture that says in baptism, we were baptized with Christ in death so that we might be raised to new life with him and now live in him. If we live in Jesus we have the same power that he displayed in that Capernaum village. The demonic cannot stand in defiance of our word. We may bodily go out into the world to set people free from the spirits that enslave them.

Authority and Scripture

Distrust of Authority

The Synagogue and Religious Life

The Synagogue

The Synagogue and Religious Life

The People

The Man and the Unclean Spirit

Jesus

Authority and Scripture

The People

The Man and the Unclean Spirit

Jesus

Authority and Scripture