As we continue our journey through the Gospel of Mark we discover Jesus teaching in the Synagogue. The Jewish synagogues developed during the nation's exile when the people were in Babylon after the temple had been destroyed. Wherever there were 10 Jewish men above the age of 12, a synagogue could be organized. It was not a place of sacrifice but of reading the Scriptures, praising and worshiping God. (Mark 1:21-28)
Other teachers spoke from authority, but Jesus spoke with authority. Others would repeatedly quote the teachers of the past, "Rabbi so and so said this..." Their teaching was deliberately unoriginal. They rarely gave personal views or independent judgments. Jesus didn't quote previous Rabbi's or religious experts, His teaching were fresh and authoritative. We are not told what Jesus taught, but Mark focuses on the reaction of the audience. "And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." Mark 1:22
The people were astonished and amazed at His teaching. Literally the word astonished means "to strike with panic or shock". It means that His preaching struck them like a blow. Barclay renders it that they were left "thunderstruck." Jesus' preaching carried a powerful punch.
When Jesus preached the Word, He was clear and painfully direct in His application, as we see again and again in the Gospels.
If we want to communicate in our walk and talk, God's authority must be a part of our life. We need not so much to possess the message, but rather to let the message possess us.
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