The Saturday after the First Sunday after the Epiphany of our Lord
Posted on January 18, 2025 by under
Scripture: St. Mark 1:21-28 (NKJV)
1:21 Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. 22 And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
23 Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” 26 And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. 27 Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” 28 And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.
Devotion
When one recounts the many times that Jesus went to the synagogue, we hear the church leaders of His day deny Him as God come in the flesh. Yet it’s the demon who gets it right: “I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” And with all the authority of God, Jesus casts out the unclean spirit.
Such authority also rests in the hands of faithful pastors. “Depart, unclean spirit, and make way for the Holy Spirit.” Using the authority given him as a called and ordained servant of the Word, he speaks those words when he administers Holy Baptism. He gives voice to the words that are really spoken by Jesus in Holy Baptism. The unclean spirit must depart, for Jesus has spoken.
All of this is truly taking place while much remains unseen with the eyes of our flesh. We are once again called upon by God to “see” with our ears as we listen to God’s Word. We see the water and hear what this water is doing when connected to the Word. And then, in His mercy, Jesus applies the precious waters of Holy Baptism by the hands of the pastor. “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Signed by the Triune name of God, sealed through the water of Holy Baptism, and rescued from the hands of Satan, God now says, “I know who you are—you are My Child!”
Collect: O Lord, we beseech Thee mercifully to receive the prayers of Thy people who call upon Thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfill the same; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
