Teaching with Authority

Mark 1:21-28 (ESV) 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. “What is this? A new teaching with authority!” Even at Christ’s teaching the people knew there was something different. The gospel Jesus preached, the gospel he gives us to preach is not something to be trifled with. It has authority. It has the authority of God. It is this authority he gave to the disciples the authority given to pastors, to preach the forgiveness of sins. This isn’t something to teach with uncertainty, or to philosophize about, but something to proclaim. Our Lord has risen from the dead. Preach his gospel the way he did.