Several people were helped by the article a couple weeks ago walking through a method for meditating on Christ in a passage of Scripture. They asked for more examples so as to “get the hang of it.” Happy to oblige. Here we go.
This passage is also from Mark, earlier is his Gospel—1:21-28:
21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching.
22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.
23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,
24 "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-- the Holy One of God."
25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!"
26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.
27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him."
28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.
- Context
Once again, a familiarity with Mark as a whole would be helpful. Perhaps a goal of reading through the entire Gospel in two or three days would give you good overview. (That’s not too ambitious—Mark is only 16 chapters). However, this is not absolutely essential in order to notice the character of Christ and enjoy Him.
I mentioned last time that the early chapters of Mark emphasize Jesus’ authority. This passage is a very important part of that theme. Other passages contributing to this idea include 1:32-39, 2:10, and 4:38-41.
2. Careful, slow reading
Remember that the intent here is to enjoy a person, not simply complete a task or process information. We should pray for the Spirit of Christ to help us slow down, read carefully, and see and enjoy Him as we read.
After reading slowly and carefully, what details do you notice?
Some things we might pick up:
- The setting is the synagogue and Jesus is teaching there (1:21)
- The people were astonished, specifically that He taught with authority, as opposed to the scribes (1:22).
- There was a man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue (perhaps not the most obvious place to find such a person) (1:23)
- The man with the unclean spirit addressed not the scribes—the officials of the synagogue—but Jesus (1:24)
- The unclean spirit rightly identified Jesus as the Holy One of God (1:24)
- Jesus rebuked the spirit and commanded it to come out of the man (1:25)
- The unclean spirit obeyed Jesus (1:26)
- The people were amazed, associating Jesus’ new authoritative teaching with the fact that even unclean spirits obey Him (1:27)
- His fame spread everywhere (1:28)
- Repeated words or repeated similar words: astonished/amazed, teaching, authority, unclean spirit(s)
(You might notice, the above is really nothing more than a verse-by-verse hunt for details with an eye toward connections and repeated words/themes. That may remove some of the mystery, if there was any.)
3. Pondering the details
What do these details indicate about Jesus—His person, purpose, and character?
What can we make of the fact that the people were astonished at the authority of Jesus’ teaching? These people—some of them, at least—had heard teaching all their lives in the synagogue. What kind of teaching must this have been to move them to astonishment, particularly in its authority?
What can we make of the fact that the people specifically distinguished the authority of Jesus’ teaching from that of the scribes? The scribes were extremely knowledgeable…
What role does the man with the unclean spirit play? What does he say? What does he demonstrate? Does he do anything other than support the point being made about Jesus’ authority?
What should we make of the second statement of the people in v27? How does it function in the passage? Does it interpret for us the episode with the unclean spirit? Does it interpret the whole passage?
A suggestion: I find it helpful to write out answers to these kinds of questions. It helps me to think deeply. You might try it once and see if you find the same thing.
4. Bottomline
Can we take what we’ve seen and put it into a sentence? I encourage you to try before you read mine below.
Jesus teaches with an ultimate authority that commands obedience.
Take your sentence and think deeply about that, perhaps writing about it more.
5. Putting Ourselves in the Pages
To this point, the passage has offered up truth and information, but if we stop here, we will not have gone far enough. We want to know and enjoy the Lord Himself. We want to love Him because of who He is. Therefore, we cannot stop when we arrive at a summary of the facts or the message of the story. We need to put ourselves in the story, which is simply a way of saying, we need to apply it.
A way to do this is to personalize the details and/or the bottomline. Questions that could lead to meditation and greater affection might include:
What are the lesser “authorities” to which have I subscribed in my life? What were the results?
Can I remember my first meaningful exposure to the power and beauty of Jesus and His gospel?
How has Jesus taught me? What has Jesus taught me?
How has Jesus proven to be better than lesser authorities?
Is there any area of willful resistance to His authority in my life?
If even evil spirits obey Him, what can I rightly withhold?
How can His authority in my life be more obvious to those around me?
6. Prayer
Tell Him what you have seen, what has amazed you, what you love about Him. Tell Him what you find lacking in yourself. Ask Him to fill it up. Beg Him to give you more of Him.
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