Fourth Sunday after Epiphany: Gospel, Mark 1:21-28                   

Mark 1:21-28

Mark’s gospel is loved by many because it is short, yes, and easier to read through in one sitting. But it is loved as well because it is an account filled with the divine actions of the Savior. And when one realizes that Mark is really the faithful pen holder for the apostle Peter, one can see that of course, the impetuous Peter would love action. I don’t think Peter sat still much. He was a “doer,” and he loved his Savior in part for the same reason.

In our gospel this week (and next) Jesus is seen healing various maladies. But what one runs into first is that those who heard His synagogue instruction were astonished, “for he taught them as one who had authority and not as the scribes” (v. 22). You see, those who were usually instructing the people always had to cite others. Jesus simply laid out the truth as if He were the source of it. He was.

No one who loves the Bible would deny having a desire to have been alive to see the miracles done at the hand of the Man from Galilee. But even more stunning in my view is the response to His heavenly words. We have them. We can ponder them today. Do they astonish you?