Bài Tin Mừng hôm nay giúp chúng ta nhận ra bàn chất con người thực sự của Chúa Giêsu, và qua đó chúng ta có thể hiểu rõ được sứ mệnh của Ngài. Những lời giảng dạy của Chúa Giêsu đã làm mọi người trong hội đường vô cùng kinh ngạc Ngài dạy dỗ họ như một người có uy quyền của Chúa Thánh Thần, vì họ chưa bao giờ có thể được nghe những lời của Thiên Chúa như thế này.
Tuy nhiên, Chúa Giêsu cũng khiêm tốn khi Ngài đã bắt thần ô uế phải im lặng không được tuyên rao Ngài là Đấng Thánh của Thiên Chúa. Ngài đến là để loan truyền và đưa con người hướng về Thiên Chúa. Đối với Chúa Giêsu, Nước Thiên Chúa sẽ chỉ được hiện thực nếu tất cả mọi người biết thống hối, ăn năn và biển đổi cuộc sống và biết trở về với Chúa Kitô.
Nếu chúng ta biến biến đổi đời sống cá nhân của chúng ta hôm nay để trở về với Thiên Chúa, Chúa Kitô sẽ ban cho chúng ta quyền phép để đánh bại Satan. Như Chúa Giêsu đã nói, "Ví bằng Ta nhờ Thần khí Thiên Chúa mà trừ quỉ, thì quả là Nước Thiên Chúa đã đến trên các ngươi.". (Mt 12: 28)
Lạy Chúa, lời Chúa là sức mạnh và là cuộc sống của chúng con. Xin giúp chúng con đừng bao giờ nghi ngờ tình yêu cứu rỗi và lòng thương xót của Chúa, Xin vì sức mạnh của Lời của Chúa mang lại ơn chữa lành và giải thoát cho chúng con và những người cần đến lòng thương xót Chúa.
Today's gospel is for us to recognize the true person of Jesus, and thereby understand His mission. Jesus' teaching astounded the multitude in the synagogue. He taught with authority. He spoke the word of God as no one had spoken it before. By His words, He had authority even over demons. No wonder the crowd reacted with amazement and wonder but not with recognition. They are amazed by His actions, but they don't recognize who He is. They are intrigued by His words, but they do not know from where the authority comes. But Jesus was authority incarnate - the Word of God made flesh. When He spoke, God spoke. When He commanded even the demons obeyed.
However, Jesus was also guarding against the dangerous possibility that He would be recognized as a political Messiah. Jesus had to silence the unclean spirit for proclaiming Him as the Holy One of God for fear that people would seek Him as a political leader who would deliver them from the oppressive foreign forces occupying Palestine. This mistaken view would jeopardize His mission, which was to inaugurate the kingdom of God. For Jesus, the Kingdom of God would only become a reality if sinners would repent and convert themselves to Christ. Undergoing personal conversion to Christ would allow them to defeat Satan. As Jesus would say, "But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Mt 12: 28).
"Lord, your word is power and life. May I never doubt you’re saving love and mercy, and the power of your word to bring healing and deliverance to those in need?"
Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. Mark 1:21–22
Imagine attending a book study for a profound and challenging book. The group leader has read it thoroughly and consulted reviews; he shares various interpretations, offering valuable insights. You leave with a deeper understanding and gratitude for the leader’s guidance. Now imagine years later you attend another study on the same book, but this time the author leads it. The author alone can speak with absolute authority—explaining the backstory, the intent behind the words, and the true meaning of the text. Nothing compares to hearing from the one who wrote the book.
Jesus, as the eternal Son of God, is not just a teacher of Truth, but is its Co-Author, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. From the beginning of time, God’s Truth—His Eternal Word—has been gradually revealed through creation, the covenants, the Law, and the prophets. Yet only the Word Made Flesh could reveal Himself fully.
When Jesus entered the synagogue in Capernaum, His teaching astonished the people. The scribes, though learned and revered, taught by relying on the traditions of their ancestors and the interpretations of others. Jesus, however, spoke with divine authority. His words were not secondhand interpretations but the living, authoritative proclamation of Truth. Those who were open to faith recognized something far greater than human wisdom; they encountered the very voice of God.
The people’s astonishment reveals the transformative nature of the Word of God. Jesus did not merely interpret the Scriptures for the people; He fulfilled them and identified Himself with them. As the Author of all Truth, His words—and His very Person—carried the power to liberate and transform. This power was immediately demonstrated when He cast out the unclean spirit in the verses that follow, revealing that His word does not simply teach—it acts, healing and restoring those in bondage.
The question of Truth remains as relevant today as it was when Jesus walked the earth. In a world flooded with opinions, interpretations, and ideologies, only one thing ultimately matters: that which God speaks. We desperately need Christ’s authoritative voice in our lives today. We need Him to cut through the confusion caused by our fallen and disordered human nature and the countless erroneous ideologies that permeate our world.
Reflect today on whether you recognize the Voice of God. Are you familiar with His definitive and authoritative Word that sheds light on your life and the world around you? Do you allow yourself to be regularly astounded by God’s revelation? As we begin Ordinary Time, we enter a season during which we must hear and internalize Jesus’ many authoritative teachings during His public ministry. When properly encountered, His Word is alive and transformative. Place yourself in the synagogue in Capernaum as Jesus begins to reveal the Truth established from the foundation of the world. Allow that Truth to affect you, change you, and set you on the path that leads to eternal glory.
Eternal Word of God, You are the Author and Revealer of all Truth. Speak to me with Your divine authority, and illuminate the many errors that afflict my heart and the world around me. With the power of Your Word, cut through the darkness, dispel confusion, and shine Your radiant light of Truth upon my path. Guide me to walk in Your ways, free from all deception, and lead me to the fullness of life. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. Astonished at Jesus’ Teaching: Like the people in Capernaum, who were astonished at Jesus’ teaching, we need to hear Jesus’ words with new and fresh ears. We need to be astonished each time we encounter the words and teachings of Jesus – either in the Gospel, the Church’s Tradition, or the Church’s Magisterium. In Scripture, the written Word of God, we hear a record and sampling of Jesus’ sermons and his parables. In Tradition, the living Word of God within the Church, the Apostles and their successors faithfully communicate Christ’s message and make it ever-present. The Church’s Magisterium has the divine mandate to serve Christ by faithfully interpreting Scripture and Tradition down through the centuries until his glorious return.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, “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!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” Mark 1:23–25
There were numerous times when Jesus directly confronted demons in the Scriptures. Each time He rebuked them and exercised His authority over them. The passage above illustrates one such case.
The fact that the devil shows himself over and over in the Gospels tells us that the evil one is real and needs to be dealt with appropriately. And the appropriate way to deal with the evil one and his fellow demons is to rebuke them with the authority of Christ Jesus Himself in a calm but definitive and authoritative way.
It’s very rare that the evil one makes himself fully manifest to us in the way that he did in the passage above to Jesus. The demon speaks directly through this man, which indicates that the man was fully possessed. And though we do not see this form of manifestation often, it doesn’t mean that the evil one is any less active today. Instead, it shows that the authority of Christ is not being exercised by the Christian faithful to the extent that is necessary to combat the evil one. Instead, we often cower in the face of evil and fail to confidently and charitably stand our ground with Christ.
Why did this demon manifest himself in such a visible way? Because this demon was directly confronted with the authority of Jesus. The devil usually prefers to remain hidden and deceptive, presenting himself as an angel of light so that his evil ways are not known clearly. Those whom he controls often do not even know how much they are influenced by the evil one. But when the evil one is confronted with the pure presence of Christ, with the Truth of the Gospel that sets us free, and with Jesus’ authority, this confrontation often forces the evil one to react by manifesting his evil.
Reflect, today, upon the fact that the evil one is constantly at work all around us. Consider the people and circumstances in your life where the pure and holy Truth of God is attacked and rejected. It is in those situations, more than any other, that Jesus wants to bestow upon you His divine authority to confront evil, rebuke it and take authority over it. This is primarily done through prayer and deep trust in the power of God. Don’t be afraid to allow God to use you to confront the activity of the evil one in this world.
Lord, give me courage and wisdom when I face the activity of the evil one in this world. Give me wisdom to discern his hand at work and give me courage to confront and rebuke him with Your love and authority. May Your authority be alive in my life, Lord Jesus, and may I daily become a better instrument of the coming of Your Kingdom as I confront the evil present in this world. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. Jesus Taught in the Synagogue: In the Gospel, Mark draws attention to how Jesus went about his ministry in Galilee. Jesus’ custom was to teach in the local synagogues, especially on the Sabbath, when the community gathered to hear the word of God. When Jesus preached, the people realized that the authority of his teaching was superior to that of the scribes. The teachings of the scribes were ineffective at loosening the grip of sin and evil on the human heart. Jesus’ word and teaching have an awesome purifying and healing divine power. They cast out darkness and evil. Jesus’ word is like seed that falls on both good and poor soil (Mark 4:1-20). The Word, sown by God and welcomed into human hearts, can produce abundant and supernatural fruit. The temptations and deceptions of the unclean spirits, who are fallen angels, cannot produce good fruit. Rather, these demons are like birds who take away the seed of God’s Word that falls on hardened and stubborn hearts (Mark 4:4, 15).
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