The first two sections of the Gospel of Mark are concerned with the beginning of the gospel and the initiation of the Slave-Savior (1:1-13) and the ministry of the Slave-Savior for the spreading of the gospel (1:14—10:52). In the foregoing message we began to consider the contents of the gospel service as revealed in 1:14-45. We saw that this service includes five matters: preaching the gospel (vv. 14-20), teaching the truth (vv. 21-22), casting out demons (vv. 23-28), healing the sick (vv. 29-39), and cleansing the leper (vv. 40-45). Having considered in some detail the preaching of the gospel, we shall go on in this message to cover the teaching of the truth, the casting out of demons, the healing of the sick, and the cleansing of the leper.
Mark 1:21-22 says, “And they go into Capernaum. And immediately on the Sabbath, entering into the synagogue, He taught. And they were astounded at His teaching, for He taught them as One having authority and not as the scribes.” Verse 21 speaks of the synagogue. A synagogue is a meeting place where the Jews read and learn the Holy Scriptures (Luke 4:16-17; Acts 13:14-15).
In the synagogue, the Lord Jesus taught the people with authority. Man’s fall into sin broke his fellowship with God. As a result, man became ignorant of the knowledge of God. Such ignorance issued first in darkness and then in death. The Slave-Savior, as the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5), came to Galilee, the land of darkness, where people were sitting in the shadow of death, and He came as a great light to shine upon them (Matt. 4:12-16). His teaching released the word of light to enlighten those in the darkness of death so that they might receive the light of life (John 1:4). We have already seen that the first thing the Slave-Savior did in His service was to preach the gospel. Now the second thing the Slave of God as the Slave-Savior to fallen men did in His service was to carry out such teaching (Mark 2:13; 4:1; 6:2, 6, 30, 34; 10:1; 11:17; 12:35; 14:49) to bring people out of satanic darkness into the divine light (Acts 26:18).
It was of God’s sovereignty that the Lord Jesus was raised in the region of Galilee and also that He began His preaching and teaching not from Judea, but from Galilee. According to the biblical record, Galilee was not only a despised region, but was also a place of darkness. Concerning this, Matthew 4:15-16 says, “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations: The people sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those sitting in a region and shadow of death, to them light sprang up.” This indicates that when the Lord Jesus walked through Galilee, He was a great light shining in the darkness and shining upon the people sitting in the region and shadow of death. In particular, the teaching of the Slave-Savior was the shining of a great light. Every word that issued out of His mouth was an enlightening word. Therefore, while He was teaching the people, the light was shining upon them. In this way the people in darkness were enlightened by the Lord’s teaching.
According to Mark 1:22, those in the synagogue were astounded at the Lord’s teaching and said that He taught as One having authority and not as the scribes. The self-appointed scribes, teaching vain knowledge by themselves, had no authority and no power. But this God-authorized Slave, teaching realities by God Himself, had not only spiritual power to subdue people but also divine authority to subject them to the divine ruling.