In our last episode, we opened the book of Mark for the first time and discussed the first 15 verses of chapter 1. There we heard Mark introduce John the Baptist as a forerunner of Jesus, saw Jesus come to John for baptism, saw the Spirit descend on him like a dove and heard God the Father speak from heaven, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” After these dramatic events, the Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, where he was tested by Satan and proved victorious. Finally, Jesus began His ministry with the public announcement, “The kingdom of God has come near.”

Today, we come to episode 3, which I have entitled “Authority and Amazement.” We will pick up the story in chapter 1, verse 16, where Mark begins a series of vignettes showing the authority of Jesus and how the crowds responded in amazement. We will see that Jesus had the authority to call four fishermen to be his disciples, the authority to teach and expel demons, and the authority to heal. Jesus also showed his authority in less public ways when he resisted pressure from others and chose his own priorities and when he broke the bounds of custom to touch the untouchable, delivering a man from leprosy and its social stigma. As we follow along with Jesus, our picture of who Jesus is will become clearer through what He does. We will also learn how we can be better followers of Jesus and more purposeful in our own spiritual choices.

Authority to call disciples (1:16–20)

Jesus begins His ministry simply. He does not preach a weighty sermon or perform a spectacular miracle. Instead, He simply calls four fishermen into fellowship with himself, but in doing so, he demonstrates that He has authority, the authority to call disciples. I will read, beginning with Mark 1:16.

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
Mark 1:16-20

The Sea of Galilee is a picturesque lake 7 miles wide and 13 miles long at its largest points, confined by steep cliffs on the east and gentle slopes on the west. The historian Josephus praised it for its pure water, many species of fish and pleasing climate. In first-century Galilee, fishing was a thriving business, not only because of the abundant fish, but also because of a major trade route nearby, the Way of the Sea, which connected Egypt and Syria. This gave Galilean fishermen the opportunity to trade on the international market from Antioch to Alexandria. Jesus’ fisherman-followers were likely not indigent workers, as we often imagine, but savvy, successful businessmen, skilled in business and Greek. We see a suggestion of that when we read that James and John’s father, Zebedee, had hired men (v. 20).

Fishermen in this time used a dragnet, about 20 feet in diameter, with weights tied to the bottom and floats on the top. Teams of fishermen would draw it toward the shore by ropes, trapping the fish. They normally fished at night, because the sun would drive the fish deep into the water. Since we read that James and John were preparing their nets, this episode took place during the day, as they prepared for the next night’s catch.

Let me mention three aspects of Jesus call to discipleship[1]. First…

Jesus is the authority of the call

In Jesus day, becoming a rabbi meant attending a training school and then requesting to follow a rabbi. There is none of that here. Jesus approached these men and called them to follow. Following Jesus required a risk of faith. They left their nets, and they left their father to follow Jesus (vv. 18, 20). Does that mean that followers of Jesus today should forsake their families? No, in fact Jesus disciples kept their boats and may have returned to fishing when they were not with Jesus, but Jesus always had the priority. This is still His expectation, today. 

Second, we see that Jesus call was…

A call to service

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people” (v. 17).

Some Bible translations read, “I will make you fishers of people.” In the Old Testament, fishing was used as a metaphor for coming judgment (Amos 4:2; Hab 1:14-15; Jer 16:16), but here, Jesus speaks of netting people for the kingdom.

The disciples of ancient rabbis simply sat at their feet to learn. In contrast, Jesus’ disciples learned by doing. His call to service was not some future activity, but Jesus immediately involved them in his mission while he taught them. As they spent time with Jesus, his followers began to see the world from God’s point of view. They learned how to live from the perfect model of servanthood.

The final aspect of Jesus’s call is that ...

Discipleship requires fellowship

Only within fellowship is the call of Jesus obeyed. The discipleship of Jesus can only be learned in an apprentice relationship; it is more important that they are near Him than that they fully understand Him. In fact, they cannot fully understand him before the cross, when the meaning of his divine sonship will be fully revealed (15:38-39).

The seeds of the Christian church are planted here, when Jesus created the first fellowship. Occasionally someone will say, “I follow Jesus, but I do so privately. I don’t need to join a church or spend time with other Christians.” I am sorry. That is not an option that Jesus gave His first followers, and it is not an option that he gives you or me, either. It is only as we speak with one another, encourage one another, annoy one another and forgive one another that we truly learn to be like Jesus.

As the disciples followed Jesus, we read in verse 21, “they went with Him to Capernaum.” Capernaum was a city of about 10,000 people on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee.[2] Because it was adjacent to the main trade route between the Mediterranean and Damascus, there was a large tax collection station there where both Matthew and Zacchaeus worked. The economically prosperous city had a harbor which featured piers extending 100 feet into the lake and a 2,500-foot promenade supported by a seawall. Many fishermen, farmers, artisans, merchants, and officials called Capernaum “home,” and during his early ministry, Jesus did as well.

Authority to teach and expel demons (1:21-28)

Mark records how Jesus demonstrated his authority by calling his first disciples, but he does not use the actual word, “authority.” That changes in the next story, when the crowds were amazed at Jesus authority to teach and expel demons. 

For Jesus first public ministry, Mark chooses an encounter in the synagogue, where Jesus goes toe-to-toe with the power of evil.[3] This quickly became a no-contest event.

Let’s begin reading with Mark 1:21

21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.
 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 24 “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!”
 25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
  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 impure spirits and they obey him.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
Mark 1:21-28

The synagogue had developed among the Jewish people during the Babylonian exile as a substitute for their destroyed Jerusalem temple. Services centered on prayer, reading, and teaching of the Hebrew scriptures. Even when the Jews returned to their homeland and reinstituted the temple services, they continued their weekly sabbath services in the synagogue. In this story, Jesus is functioning like a first century rabbi. Rabbis developed the rules for purity and righteous living known as oral tradition. As a teacher, Jesus was considered one of them. By custom, visiting teachers could be invited by synagogue leaders to participate, as Jesus did here.

What amazing authority the crowd saw that day! Jesus did not teach like the scribes, referred to here as “teachers of the law.” They were professional copyists of texts and the legal experts of Jesus’ day. When needed, they would make official legal pronouncements, but mostly they just discussed interpretations along party lines. “So and so says this means such and such,” but this was not the way of Jesus. He did not quote other leaders, but instead made bold, sometimes shocking pronouncements.

In the synagogue that day, there was a man possessed by an impure spirit. Some translations will say “unclean spirit” and it is one of Mark’s favorite expressions for evil spirits, along with the word “demon.” Demons were the absolute antithesis of God, and the expression, “What do you want with us?” indicates two parties who have nothing in common with each other.

Notice that the demon refers to itself in the plural. We also see this elsewhere, and it may simply reflect the subjective experience of the human host with a multitude of evil forces within, or the evil spirit may know that Jesus’ did not come simply to defeat one demon, but the whole evil hierarchy.

The demon recognized Jesus as a powerful adversary. It names Jesus as “Jesus of Nazareth” and “the holy one of God.” Naming Jesus in this way may reflect the ancient belief that you could gain mastery over your spiritual foe by naming them. The name, “holy one of God” certainly recalls the declaration of sonship at Jesus’ baptism, but it also may liken Jesus to Samson, the mighty victor over the Philistines in the Old Testament, and the only other person in the Bible called “Holy one of God.” The reference to Jesus from Nazareth may also relate to Samson’s “Nazarite” vow, since both words come from the same Hebrew root.[4]

Ancient exorcisms were long affairs, with the exorcist chanting repeated formulas to try to expel the demon. Here it is just the opposite. The demon chatters on, “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 commands him simply and directly, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” The demon reacts violently with a convulsive seizure, but it is over in an instant and the evil spirit departs with a shriek. This is what happens when a man with an unclean spirit meets the One anointed with God’s Holy Spirit. The battle is over before it has hardly begun.

The people were all so amazed (v. 27). The word “all,” here, is emphatic, meaning literally everyone was filled with wonder. They were witness to a new kind of powerful word, a word so authoritative that even the demons fled, a teaching that not only informed but acted. As a result, “news…spread quickly” (v. 28). 

Authority to heal

In addition to Jesus’ authority to call disciples, and authority to teach and expel demons, Jesus also had authority to heal.

Let’s look at this beginning at Mark 1:29.

29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
 32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
Mark 1:29-34

Jesus and his four disciples probably went to Simon’s house for a meal, since the main meal on Sabbath was after the synagogue service. The fact that Simon had a mother-in-law obviously tells us that he was married. Her healing seems less exceptional than many of Jesus’ other miracles and Mark likely includes it as a memoir of Peter. In this story we learn that Jesus was concerned about common people and their ordinary needs.

Archaeologists have identified a site in Capernaum which is believed to be Peter’s house,[5] only a stone’s throw from the synagogue. This home is part of a structure containing several dwellings around a common interior courtyard. The doors and windows open to the interior court rather than the street. The inner courtyard, accessible to the street by a gateway, was the center of life for those living in the dwellings around it. It contained hearths, millstones, handpresses and stairways to the roofs of the dwellings. Devotional graffiti on the walls indicate that this structure was used as a church from the end of the first century, increasing the probability that it preserved Peter’s home.

Simon’s mother-in-law had a fever. It was commonly believed at the time that a fever indicated either divine punishment or demon possession. Mark does not discuss the nature of the fever but emphasizes the sufficiency of Jesus as a healer. Jesus heals her simply, apparently without even a word. He takes her hand and helps her up (v. 31).

Immediately “the fever left her, and she began to wait on them” (v. 31). This is the same word that was used for the angels who “attended” Jesus during his testing in the wilderness and the same word used later in Mark 10:45 where Jesus declares that he came “not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Serving is an essential characteristic of the Kingdom of God. Jesus was the primary example and it also is our response when we are touched by Him.

In the evening the people brought the sick and demon-possessed to Jesus to be healed (v. 32). They had waited until the sabbath ended at sunset before traveling or carrying their sick to Jesus. Their desperation is expressed simply with the words “the whole town gathered at the door.” When Mark says that Jesus “healed many,” he does not imply that Jesus healed some but not others. Rather, this was a Hebrew idiom that meant that he healed the whole community—and that was many people. He showed his compassion by healing all who came to Him.

Jesus also drove out many demons (v. 34) but would not let the demons speak. Demons play an important role in Mark. By putting all the stories of demons into the first half of his gospel, Mark establishes who Jesus is—the one filled with the Holy Spirit. Only the spirit of holiness could triumph over the spirit of evil. Jesus exhibited who he was before publicly declaring that He was the Messiah. He could not let the demons’ blathering alter His plan.

Authority to choose His own priorities (1:35–39)

So far, we have seen that Jesus shows his authority to those around him, calling the disciples, teaching with power, expelling demons and healing the sick. In the remaining part of this chapter, Mark shows us a different side of Jesus authority, a personal side. Jesus makes good choices. We might call this self-control. First, we see that Jesus has authority to choose His own priorities.

Let me read Mark 1:34-39.

35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
 38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
Mark 1:35-39

When I first read this short section, it seemed odd to me. What is Mark trying to say, here? 

The key to understanding this passage, I think, is in verse 37, “Everyone is looking for you!” The disciples had gotten caught up in Jesus’ popularity. “Yesterday was great! Jesus showed his authority by teaching, expelling demons, and healing everyone who came and asked. Now, the crowd is back looking for more. We need to find Jesus. His public is waiting!” This urging from the disciples was, in essence, another temptation for Jesus. The temptation to play to the crowd.

At times, this can be a temptation for successful Christian ministries, today, as well. When a ministry attracts a crowd or people’s lives are truly changed, that is a dangerous moment. It is easy for pride to take hold of one’s heart and to lose sight of one’s purpose. Jesus avoided this temptation.

We get a further clue to the disciples’ thinking when we read that “Simon and his companions went to look for him.” This was not a simple search. The word “look for” really means that they pursued him, even hunted him. This is a foreshadowing of Peter’s more well-known opposition of Jesus in Mark chapter 8, when he tried to dissuade Jesus from offering Himself in death. But Jesus knew who He was. He knew why He had come. Jesus would choose His own priorities.” First,…

Jesus prioritized prayer

He prayed in a “solitary place.” This was the same word used earlier to describe the wilderness where John preached and the wilderness where Jesus was tested. Mark does not mean a desert wasteland, but a place of restoration and fellowship with God, modeled after the wilderness experience of the Israelites after the exodus. Mark only records Jesus praying three times (here at the beginning of His ministry, in the middle of his ministry after the feeding of the 5000, and in the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion). All were at night, and all in solitary places. He needed to spend time with His father.

Secondly, …

Jesus prioritized preaching

“Let us go somewhere else [he replied to the disciples] …so I can preach there also.” And then we find another significant clue to the meaning of this story. “That is why I have come” (v. 38). Jesus knew what his mission was.

This was Jesus’ first preaching and healing tour. Galilee was a small province. It would take only a couple days to cross it on foot, but visiting its many villages must have taken 2-3 weeks. Mark mentions “driving out demons” again for the third time in this chapter, as proof that the kingdom of God has arrived.

Authority to touch the untouchable

Somewhere on this missionary tour of Galilee, Jesus encountered a man with leprosy. Reading from verse 40…

40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
 41 Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
Mark 1:40-42

Leprosy was widespread in Palestine. The scribes counted up to 72 different afflictions as leprosy, including itches and ringworm, not just “Hansen’s disease,” which is our current view of leprosy. In Jesus’ day, leprosy was generally regarded as a divine punishment. Lepers were required to live outside the community as long as the infection remained, keep their lower face covered and cry out, “Unclean! Unclean” whenever they came near another person.

This was a radical quarantine to protect the community from a dreaded contagion. Leprosy was not only a physical disease, it also rendered a person spiritually unclean, unable to participate in the rituals of the Jewish faith, and contaminated Israel as a holy people. Other illnesses could be healed; leprosy had to be cleansed. In this story there are four references to cleansing but no mention of healing.

The leper “begged him on his knees.” His posture and plea resulted from long humiliation, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Here are the seeds of faith. He does not question Jesus’ ability to save him, only his willingness. Perhaps we can relate. When we come to God in prayer, we typically do not question God’s ability to help us, but we may question his willingness.

Verse 41 says, “Jesus was indignant.” Many manuscripts and translations read “Jesus was filled with compassion” but one significant manuscript has the reading we have here in the New International Version. It is easier to imagine later scribes substituting “compassion” for “indignant” than the other way around. For this reason, many Bible scholars believe that “indignant” is the better reading[6]. 

But why would Jesus be angry? Was he unhappy that the man approached him, breaking the laws and tradition? Unlikely! Jesus has already shown that He is unconcerned about such rituals. On other occasions we see Jesus angry at the stubborn hearts of the leaders or angry at the blindness of the disciples who rejected children who came to him, but this case is not like either of those. It is probably best to understand Jesus as angry at the misery and social anguish the man has experienced, and the power of sin and death in this world more generally.

When the leper came to Jesus it was socially offensive. Lepers were required to stand 50 paces away from anyone. By approaching Jesus, he compromised Jesus own ritual cleanliness. This man risked everything, breaking law and custom, on the chance of being restored by Jesus.

Jesus’ own response was no less scandalous than the leper’s approach. Rather than recoiling for his own protection, Jesus turns toward him, even touches him. He brings himself into full physical contact with this ritually untouchable human. In doing so, he demonstrated His authority in a totally new way. Jesus was not bound by religious rules or social convention. Jesus had the authority to touch the untouchable.

Jesus outstretched arm had a long reach. With it, He removed the physical, social, and spiritual separations prescribed by law and custom. His touch spoke more loudly than his words, even while his words also rang deeply, “I am willing. Be clean.” An ordinary rabbi would have been polluted by the leper’s disease, but with Jesus, the leper is cleansed by Jesus’ contagious holiness.[7]

Listen to how Mark concludes this story.

43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.
 Mark 1:43-45

After this dramatic cleansing, Jesus gives the former leper instructions not to broadcast news of his cleansing to others but to complete the rituals prescribed by law. The fact that Jesus commanded the man to follow protocol shows that Jesus respected the Mosaic law. It also was a way of proving His divine power to the priest, since Jews believed that only God could heal leprosy.

Priests served in the Jerusalem temple twice a year for one week. Between those times, they would return to their homes and serve as judges and magistrates in their local area. Pronouncing someone ceremonially clean was a complex, eight-day ritual witnessed by the community. The priest would make a physical inspection of the person and give a written certificate of health. The cleansed person would then offer various required sacrifices, which would require a trip to Jerusalem. [8]

We are not actually told whether the former leper completed these requirements. What we do learn is that “he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news” (v. 45). In a turn of irony, we also read that “Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places.” In essence, the leper and Jesus have traded places. 

Centuries earlier, the prophet Isaiah had described one who would come, a servant of the Lord. Through Isaiah, God says, “my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. …He poured out his life unto death and was numbered with the transgressors” (Isaiah 53: 11, 12). Mark consistently casts Jesus in the role of this Servant of the Lord. In this seemingly straightforward incident, Mark gives us a preview of Jesus great act of servanthood that is yet to come. Already, Jesus bears the iniquities of others; already, He is numbered with the transgressors.

Concluding comments

Jesus’ power and authority to teach, heal, and expel demons made a huge impression on the crowds. “Who is this person?!” But his quiet, personal expressions of authority demand our attention. We see that Jesus was not swayed by the crowds, or His well-meaning followers. He was able to resist the pride that seems such a natural part of our human experience and set higher priorities. He dedicated time to fellowship with God and declaring God’s message, when He could have been basking in the honors and raves of the crowd. Do you identify with that temptation? When confronted with the choice to protect his own reputation or to meet the true felt-needs of a desperate man, Jesus chose to touch the untouchable. I wonder if we would have made the same choice.

Jesus called four fishermen to follow him. They were imperfect and had so much yet to learn about this leader who was a servant, but they had already made the most important decision. They left everything and followed him. That is still Jesus’ call to us today—a simple, total commitment.

In our next episode, we will continue this theme of authority in a different way. The crowds were amazed at Jesus authority, but not everyone reacted so positively. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were offended at His teachings and actions. As Jesus popularity grew, they also feared that their own influence in society would diminish, and this set up a conflict between the authority of Jesus and the authority of the established leaders which continued until his death. We will see the beginnings of this conflict in our next episode.

In the meantime, if you have found this podcast helpful, I would appreciate your sharing it with your friends by word of mouth, social media, or whatever means you have available. For those of you who might be in a small group of Christian friends, I have provided discussion questions in the episode notes that could form the basis for a group discussion. Thank you for your help in growing this Bible Wisdom Today family.

[1] Edwards, J. R. (2002). Beginnings of the Galilean Ministry. In The Gospel According to Mark (Pillar New Testament Commentary). Eerdmans.
[2] Edwards, James R. (2002)
[3] Edwards, James R. (2002)
[4] Edwards, James R. (2002)
[5] Edwards, James R. (2002)
[6] Osborne, G. R. (2021). Mark (Teach the Text Commentary Series). Baker Books
[7] Edwards, James R. (2002)
[8] Osborne, G. R. (2021)