The story of Jesus casting out an unclean spirit in the synagogue at Capernaum is a strange story that leaves me with more questions than it does answers. For example, why was there an unclean spirit in the synagogue in the first place? And, why does the unclean spirit recognize the source of Jesus’ authority before everyone else does?

Even though we can’t answer all of these questions, one thing is clear: Mark wants us to be sure we understand that Jesus taught with an authority that was different from the scribes. And, just in case we might miss the lesson, Jesus did something that other teachers couldn’t do: he cast an unclean spirit out of a person without allowing it to inhabit anyone else.

Loren Stuckenbruck, professor of New Testament at University of Munich in Germany, notes that during the time of Jesus, most literature focused on demonic attacks, and not possession by demons. When Jesus cast the unclean spirit out of the person, Jesus was denying unclean spirits a “settled place or entrenched influence in the world.” When Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out, he did not remove all evil from the world, but he demonstrated that evil would not have final say or ultimate power over our lives. Jesus’ teaching was a new one – a teaching with authority. And, in this story from Mark, authority surrounds the center of the story so that we won’t miss it.

Two times – in verses 22 and 27 – the people listening to Jesus were amazed by his teaching with authority. In the middle of those two verses, Jesus encounters a man with an unclean spirit. The spirit recognizes Jesus and cries 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.” Why does the unclean spirit cry out? I think there are two reasons. First, the spirit thought Jesus had come to destroy it. And second, the spirit knew who Jesus was. The word “authority” is on either side of this story like bookends, and in the center is this interaction between Jesus and the unclean spirit. Let’s look more closely at that.

When the unclean spirit encounters Jesus, the spirit cries out, “Have you come to destroy us?” Jesus was teaching something new, in a new and authoritative way. The people who listened to him recognized that he was not teaching them in the same way as their scribes and leaders taught. The people were probably all wondering, “Has Jesus come to destroy what we know and bring us something new?” The unclean spirit, confronted with Jesus’ authority, was afraid of being destroyed. When Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to leave the person, the unclean spirit put up a fight. Verse 26 says, “And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.” 

We don’t talk much about unclean spirits and demons in the presbyterian church – or in American Christianity in general. For that reason, we might struggle with stories from the Bible like this one. But, even if we don’t call them unclean spirits or recognize demons in our midst, we all have probably had the experience of something destroying us. I love the way pastor and author Nadia Bolz-Weber puts it. She writes: “Before we do anything wrong and before we do anything right, God has named and claimed us as God’s own. But almost immediately, other things try to tell us who we are and to whom we belong…they all have a go at telling us who we are. But only God can do that. Everything else is temptation. Maybe demons are defined as anything other than God that tries to tell us who we are.”

Before we had a chance to do anything at all, God looked at us and saw that we were good. God loved us and called us his own. So many things in this world try to tell us we are something else, that we are not beloved, that we are not good. Those lies are the destroyer in our midst. In the presence of Jesus, those lies will quake in their boots. What is it the world is telling you about yourself today? Is it that you haven’t done enough? Or, that you’ve messed up so much you can’t be forgiven? Or, maybe the world is telling you everything is just fine right now, when really God is calling you to dig deep and make some changes. Whatever it is, all those falsehoods are cast out in the presence of Jesus. Seeing what’s real changes everything.

When I was about my daughter’s age – maybe 11 or so – my family took a trip to Disneyland in California. None of us had been there before, but we knew from TV that California is always warm. We packed shorts and t-shirts, flip flops and sunglasses. When we got to the California coast that March, we learned in a hurry that sometimes, California gets really cold. The cold, hard truth was much different from what we had seen on TV, and we had to make a run to Walmart to get some warmer clothes. What we had been taught disappeared in the light of the truth.

 In the presence of Jesus, the truth that we are beloved children of God will win out over whatever the world tells us about ourselves. Those lies may not go down easily. They may hold on and put up a fight. But, the love and truth of Jesus will cast all of those things out. We just need to bring them into the light. Jesus casts out the things that destroy.

The unclean spirit was afraid of being destroyed by Jesus, and it also recognized Jesus. The unclean spirit recognized Jesus’s authority. The Greek word for “authority” comes from the word that means “out” or “from,” and from the word that means “to be.” Authority is about who gave you being, or about who sent you. The unclean spirit recognized the source of Jesus’ authority, “I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” The crowd gathered around Jesus recognized that he taught with authority unlike the scribes, but it was the unclean spirit that recognized where the authority came from. It was from God. 

In the ancient world, it was incredibly important to have authority given to you. When the Apostle Paul began his ministry, all the early churches and Christians wanted to know who had given him the authority to teach them anything. Paul spends a good portion of many of his letters explaining that his authority came from Jesus because if the early Christians did not recognize his authority, they would be unwilling to learn from him.

We have a different idea about authority in our world today. Nearly anyone can start up a YouTube account or a blog and claim to be an expert about something. Bookstore shelves are filled with books written by people who claim to be experts about everything from parenting to dieting to home improvement. Just like in our sermon about the calling of Samuel from two weeks ago, if we haven’t learned how to discern and listen and figure out what voices are speaking to us, we won’t have any idea whether we should be listening to these messages or not. The people who had gathered around Jesus to listen to him teach were wowed by his authority. But, did they recognize where his authority came from?  

Friends in Christ, we live in a noisy world with a lot of voices trying to convince us to listen to them. They might speak in a way that makes us think they have authority. But where does their authority come from? We need to exercise discernment. Just because a voice is loud doesn’t make it right.

On the flip side of that, where would others say our authority comes from? When we speak to others, post online, work at our jobs, or go to the grocery store, will people know who sent us? Our authority doesn’t come from the church building – even though our steeple is beautiful and shiny now. Our authority doesn’t come from our denomination, or our own talents. Our authority comes from Jesus, the Holy One of God, and he demonstrated his authority by casting out the things that destroy and by laying down his life for us. 

May Jesus cast out anything that tries to tell us we are anything less than God’s children. May we have discerning ears so that we recognize the voice and leading of God. And may we live our lives in such a way that others will see God at work through us. May God deliver us from what holds us back, from what destroys us, and from anything that takes us away from the loving embrace of God. Amen.