The Epiphany in Jesus' Teaching

And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. (Mark 1:21 ESV) The teaching ministry of Jesus is the highlight of the gospels and the Epiphany of God’s Word. Today at International Lutheran Church we witness the Epiphany that is present in Jesus’ teaching. Yes, He truly is the Holy One of God. His authority is not built on demonstrating superior knowledge or in putting others down, but His authority is revealed in how He comes to free us from the grip of Satan’s tyranny.

At the end of Moses’ life and ministry, God revealed to him that another prophet would come. Before the people crossed over into the Promised Land, God showed them that this prophet would be raised up from among their brothers. His words would be the very words of God. His will would be the very will of God. God did send His prophets and they spoke the Word of God. But not until that day in Capernaum had the people ever heard anyone like this Prophet. It didn’t take long for them to recognize His special charisma.

Was it His teaching style? Was it how He could engage the hearer in ways that invited their response? Certainly, the parables that Jesus told helped put things in such a way that even a child could understand, and yet leave the wise pondering the deep meaning and ways of God. His authority was like no other. Mark does not tell us exactly what Jesus said, but he does note the powerful and immediate response it created: awe, wonder, astonishment… even Epiphany!

“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!” (Mark 1:24 ESV) These words of the unclean spirit are remarkable as they reflect the Epiphany in Jesus’ teaching as this man was restored. Jesus does not destroy the man, but commands the unclean spirit to be silent and to come out of him. Jesus is not any ordinary teacher. At His Word the demons shake! It is no wonder that this would spread like a wildfire, and many would be brought to Him to be healed and freed from the bondage that oppressed them.

In his explanation to the second petition of the Lord’s Prayer, Luther reminds us of the personal nature of the kingdom of God with these words, “The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also.” Jesus’ teaching, His authority, was not something that was meant to puff us up but to free us from our sin and bondage to Satan. His ability to command the unclean spirits should not amaze us. He is the Holy One of God whose presence brings with Him the freedom from Satan’s tyranny. What was long lost is now restored in the Son of God, the Son of Man, this Jesus of Nazareth. He did indeed come to destroy the work of Satan, but not in the way any demon could ever understand. His method was to be made like us, to take our sin and hell upon Himself, and die the death of our destruction upon the cross so that death, Satan, and every unclean and evil spirit would be defeated and cast out once and for all.

St. Paul is no anti-intellectual when he says, “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (1 Corinthians 8:1 ESV) He is only stating the truth. Without love for our neighbor and care for our brother, all the knowledge in the world will save no one. Using our “authority” or “position” to “school others” will only leave them and ourselves to trust in our own understanding. The freedom that is ours in Christ and in His kingdom, however, moves us to serve and care for our neighbor, our sister, our brother, even our enemy in ways we cannot even begin to understand. God’s Kingdom and His authority are made manifest simply in the forgiveness of sins and the release from bondage for all those caught in the tyranny of Satan’s lies.

This is the message that needs to spread throughout the world – in Jesus we are forgiven! In Jesus we are free to serve! Yes, Jesus’ amazing authority not only calms our troubled hearts, but also calls us all to spread the word that in Him we are released and freed to serve and care for one and all.

Pastor Carl