What: Mark 1:27-28
Is fame a good thing? All we want is a little notoriety. We want something upon which our identity can rest. When people hear our name, we want some characteristic to come to mind. What is it for you? When people hear your name, what is your claim to fame?
The people are amazed by Jesus’ action. Pay attention here, because the contrast between the people here in Capernaum and the people in His hometown of Nazareth is startling. We’ll get to Nazareth in a couple of chapters – Mark 6:1-6 for you who want to look ahead. Here the people ask, “What is this?” They are amazed by Jesus’ power being put on display.
I love the focus on what. Human beings often put much more emphasis on who or how or why and frequently gloss over what. In our quest for popularity, when someone does something noteworthy, we connect ourselves to them. In our quest for identity, when something noteworthy is done, we try to understand how it was done so we can repeat it and look like we’ve done something noteworthy, too. Isn’t this one of the driving principles behind Tiktok? How many Tiktok challenges are people replicating the how that some who has done in a massive global quest for shared notoriety?
Blessedly, the people in Capernaum don’t get caught up in who, why, or how. They recognize something incredible happens and bask in the what. A new authority is present. Supposedly, this authority is one they hadn’t heard before.
The last sentence is important. These people could have studied the Law and taught about it like Jesus. In fact, the priests, scribes, and other rabbis did that very thing! The people in Capernaum know Jesus has something the others are missing. The others don’t have God’s power within them enabling them to command the unclean spirits.
This new authority of Jesus derives from God’s power. Jesus had access because He was God. We can only have access to His power as a gift received from God. I cannot make a blind person see again without access to God’s power. We see once again the importance of focusing on what. God’s power saves people; my power does not.
Unfortunately, human society takes over. Humans want to be in the loop. Many humans prefer being the generator of the loop and not just in the loop. We don’t mind hearing gossip, but we especially revel in the moment when others bend their ears to us. We like to spill the tea every bit as much as we like to have it shared with us. Focusing on what is good; gossiping about what is not.
The people in the synagogue tell the surrounding region about Jesus. Why is this a bad thing? We’ll get to that over the next few days. For now, understand the sharing really isn’t that good. The report of Jesus’ incredible authority goes all throughout Galilee. Is fame a good thing?
