Epiphany 4: Gospel, Mark 1:21-28                     

Mark 1:21-28

It used to be common that following a great stage performance, the crowd would exclaim, “Author! Author!” from their seats. It was acclaim for the writer of the work just performed and if he or she were in the house, they would come to the stage to receive the warm appreciation of the audience. Well, not in the very same way, but near to it, the people in the audience of our Lord in today’s gospel give their “applause.” 

Just this do I want you to see today and that is enough. Verse 22 is our first encounter with the crowd’s amazement, “And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority and not as their scribes.” And just a few verses later after the expulsion of an evil spirit, who by the way clearly recognized the identity of the Savior, we read, “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’” (1:27).

Authority. The root of which is “author.” It goes to the root. It goes to identity. And the reason Jesus speaks with authority is that He is the author. God’s Word carries full authority and I believe the church suffers and wanders so much in our day simply because the Word has become optional on so many fronts. When a preacher preaches or a teacher teaches this Word, their authority lies only and always with this Word. And we should hear it and receive it as such. 

Author indeed. Hearing and heeding is no option.