So there was this one day when Jesus went to church.  It made such a huge impression than Matthew, Mark and Luke record the events of the day for us.  Mark puts it pretty close to the start of his gospel.  Jesus went home in some respects and did what most people did in that day.  He went to church.  They called it a synagogue but church is far easier to spell.  Now remember that no one really knew who He was at that time.  He was not yet the celebrity that would follow in a short amount of time.  You can then only imagine the emotional effect of what Jesus did that day would have on those who were there.

The first thing that Jesus does is to take the Old Testament reading of the day and speak about it.  We may not know what He read but we do know what was the response.  People in attendance were amazed at how He spoke about God and the truth.  Their words were to the point of Jesus speaking with authority unlike the usual speakers at the service.  I think this means He didn't talk about what people thought of the scripture but what it really was all about.  This is what He does in the Sermon on the Mount.  No place was found for rehashing tired old ideas when Jesus cut to the point so God could speak to those listening.  His would be a first person authority rather than reciting the rules around the word.  That was enough to gain the attention of those there but more would follow.

It seems one person had a major problem with Jesus.  Actually, the problem was this person being inhabited by evil in the form of a demon.  Now some scholars may dismiss this as the old beliefs before we would be enlightened.  But it is just my humble opinion that what is recorded is what happened.  This time we read of Jesus dismissing the evil or the demon with a simple command.  Again the people exclaim wonder at this authority of Jesus to cast out this horrible being.  Jesus doesn't gloat over this power nor does He use the moment to call attention to Himself.  But that will not change the reactions of the people as they left church to tell others what they saw in Jesus.  Today was no ordinary day of worship as He displays a real authority to change the lives of others.

Church people tend to get worked up over this problem of authority.  We point to our positions or our accomplishments as some mark of power.  Jesus needs none of that as He simply takes action to bring God's presence into the world.  Other people claim a sense of authority due to longevity or having donated more to the church than another.  Real authority is the result of one thing only.  Is there the living presence of God active through you to change the lives of others?  No other measure really holds up in the Kingdom.  Some may brag or parade around as having something that God doesn't hold in high value.  Let a person begin to see God work through them and discover how threatening it is to the status quo.  May there come a day when we count authority in the same way as Jesus.  That time cannot come soon enough.

Bro. Trey