COMMOTION IN CAPERNAUM
J.C.Cordova, D.Min., LCSW
[Jesus and the four initial disciples] went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath he entered
the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who
had authority, and not as the scribes. And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an
unclean spirit; and 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.’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and
come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.
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.’ And at once his
fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee (Mark 1:21-28).
Background
Matthew tells us that Jesus left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum (see Matthew 4:13). Capernaum was
also the residence town of the first four disciples. The town was located on the northwest shore of the Lake of
Galilee. The importance of Capernaum rests on the fact of its location on the lake. Much speculation has
gone on about its economic, political and religious standing. Although it is impossible to know exactly its
number of residents during the time of Jesus, a safe bet would be to say that Capernaum had about a
thousand inhabitants. Capernaum rich commerce was centered on the fishing industry.
We already know from the previews passages that Jesus was recognized by John the Baptizer as a special
envoy from God. The gospel according to John records the occasion when the Baptizer was ministering in the
Jordan and saw Jesus coming towards him to be baptized. John declared: “Behold, the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). We know that Jesus was approved by God as a legitimate
teacher to conduct his ministry (see Mark 1:11). We know that Jesus was tested on his commitment when he
spent time in the wilderness (see Mark 1:12).
Now as was the custom of all devoted Jews, we find Jesus going with his first disciples early Saturday morning
to the local synagogue to the service commencing the observation of the Sabbath or Day of Rest.
At a difference from the temple located in Jerusalem for the purpose of offering the symbolic Abrahamic*
substitute sacrifices during worship, synagogues were local places for corporate praying, teaching and
worshipping emerging about the time of the Babylonian exile. A synagogue service could be conducted with
the presence of at least ten men. The synagogue soon became the center of Jewish life having a rabbi
(teacher) to offer religious and cultural leadership to the community, including the organizing the program to
offer direct assistance to the needy sponsored by the wealthier members. This tradition reaches us to this
day. Although, modern larger communities have more than one synagogue, each having a rabbi or rabbis,
depending upon membership size. Modern synagogues conduct a multitude of community activities.
The four disciples may have been members of the local synagogue. Jesus was not a member of this
synagogue. He was from Nazareth where his synagogue membership was. Jesus was a visitor. So, as the
custom went, the president of the synagogue invited Jesus to address the audience. There is no record of the
content of his address. But the essence of his speech and the delivery impressed the audience as having
solid substance and weight.
On the Sabbath
We first come across the Sabbath at the end of the account of creation in Genesis 2:2-3, where we read:
On the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from
all his work which he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God
rested from all his work which he had done in creation.
Having achieved the task of fixing the chaos in which earth was and creating all organic and inorganic content
of earth, God stopped, looked at His creation and declared that it was “very good” (see Genesis 1:31).
Much later God selected a people from the Egyptian slave working force and commissioned them to be a
model people obedient to Him to reflect His expectations to the rest of humanity. Attempting to establish the
cultural tradition of this people, including religion, God gave the people a normative system to guide them
through the generations. This normative system we know as the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20:1-7 for
the entire text)
Important in the system was the observance of the Day of Rest, for God rested after completing creation. This
is how the Commandment comes to us:
Remember [observe] the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work;
but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your
son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is
within your gates; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them,
and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it (Exodus 20:
8-11).
Later in a discourse to Israel, Moses repeats God’s expectations concerning the Sabbath. This is what he said:
Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your ass may
have rest, and the son of your bondmaid, and the alien, may be refreshed (Exodus 23:12) .
In another address on the occasion of the building of the Tabernacle, Moses talked again about the
importance of observing the Sabbath, including two new elements. Moses affirmed that God was the creator of
the universe, who deserved recognition for His might work. Then, Moses introduced the new elements:
1) The Sabbath was to be a reminder to Israel of God and His creation. It was also to be a witness to
the peoples of the world of God’s relations with Israel and subsequently His dealing with any people who
would recognize Him and His creation.
2) Profanation of the Sabbath will be met with a sentence of capital punishment because this action
would be a denial of God and His creation. This severe punishment would be administered to recidivists
who repeatedly violated the Sabbath in the presence of at least two witnesses.
This is how Moses stated it:
Say to the people of Israel, `You shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you
throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. You shall keep the
Sabbath, because it is holy for you; everyone who profanes it shall be put to death; whoever does any
work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the
seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the Sabbath
day shall be put to death. Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath
throughout their generations, as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign for ever between me and the people
of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was
refreshed' (Exodus 31:13-17).
At the end of his life, Moses addressed Israel and again reminded the people of all that had happened. God
rescued Israel from Egypt, began shaping the people into a nation giving them specific laws and a unique
character to be a witness to all the people on earth of God’s work and expectations from humanity. The
inclusion of Israel’s social status in Egypt was intended to motivate the people to recognize the importance of
celebrating a Day of Rest in their freedom status and see that Israel would never impose slavery on anyone.
This is how Moses said it:
Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you… You shall
remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out
thence with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to
keep the Sabbath day (see Deuteronomy 5:12-15).
The Commotion
While Jesus was speaking, a man in the meeting called him out to stop, arguing that he was there to destroy
them. The man seemed to have been spirit-possessed. The reference to “them” appears to refer to more than
one, although the subsequent verses revert back to singular. Be it as it may, Jesus told the spirit or spirits to
exit the man, which happened immediately with some trepidation.
This event caused a disturbance. Three questions surfaced immediately: 1) the question about Jesus
authority to command evil spirits to leave people alone; 2) the issue of the presence in the synagogue of a
spirit-possessed person; and 3) the healing on the Sabbath.
Many question the mythological nature of the myriad passages reporting on the actions of Jesus as an
exorcist. Before dismissing these reports as fantastic literary inventions, it should be understood that in the
days of Jesus people, including the Jews, believed to be living in a world heavily populated by evil spirits. In
fact, archeologists have found numerous ancient human skulls with small holes intentionally made in people’s
heads to relieve mad persons from evil spirits.
Research reports from not too long ago tell us about medical treatments of people suffering from dementia.
Researchers have found recent human skulls showing small drilled holes in their heads. After making the
holes, these persons were placed and tied down on swivel chairs and spinned to drive out evil spirits
tormenting them.
Today, however, we have different perspectives concerning these issues. While some continue to believe in
the presence of evil forces making people exhibit bizarre behavior, others deny the existence of these spirits
at all. It makes no different what we believe. The fact is that back then, people believed it; and by believing it,
it was real to them. Thus, Jesus seized the opportunity to help people in need get their lives adjusted to good
mental health.
Desecration of the Sabbath
Much has been made by Christian leaders pitting Jesus against the Pharisees and making him to sound like
being against the Jewish tradition. Lacking willingness or inability to do in-depth research in serious literature
to develop an adequate knowledge indispensible to help interpret scripture text correctly has led many to build
up erroneous concepts about the cultural tradition of the Jews during the time of Jesus. Many ridiculous and
non-sensical conclusions have been made about life back then.
One such problem developed concerning the Sabbath. I have heard preaching expanding about prohibitions
on the Sabbath which would make Moses spin in his grave. The activities prohibited by the Jewish tradition
observing the commandment of Sabbath were related to creative actions only. God created the universe in six
portions of time. Then, He rested. God evaluated what He had made and found it to be excellent. Then, God
felt very good about creation.
Similarly, a person embarks in the construction of a project putting all his or her native abilities and skills on
the job. Upon completion, he or she pulls back, evaluates what was made and with a great sense of pride says
WOW! Then, he or she celebrates. And the project becomes an especial accomplishment, deserving all kinds
of respect by others.
This is what the Sabbath is. It is a day of rejoicing celebrating the creation of God. All activity stops in order to
allow people to observe the occasion. In addition, the Sabbath allows people to rest and prepare for another
venture week. The Sabbath was also a time when each individual spent time reading from the five books of
Moses (the first five books of the Bible), nurturing their spirituality. This custom still goes on by observant Jews.
Healing on the Day of Rest was unrelated to building from scratch, which is what God did. Jesus was not
building anything from scratch. He was restoring sound mental health to a person in great need. Nowhere do
we find scripture condemning actions of the kind. Throughout the New Testament we read many accouns of
Jesus healing folks, for which he was not accused of violating Jewish religious tradition.
At any rate, the events at the synagogue led to the recognition of Jesus as a legitimate rabbi speaking with
divine authority. News went about the region, and Jesus became well-known for his power. Soon, people
would come to him with numerous problems to be healed.
Learnings
Can we learn anything from the occurrence at the synagogue? We certainly can. Here are three items worthy
of consideration:
The celebrity of Authority
The consecration of the Sabbath
The compassion of Jesus
First, we can learn from the issue of the authority of Jesus. God granted legitimate power to Jesus to conduct
ministry. He performed his deed with authority, the audience at the synagogue said.
Authority is legal power. For example, police personnel have authority to protect the people they serve. They
arrest law violators. Prosecutors have authority to present evidence in a court of law to condemn offenders.
Defense attorneys have authority to defend clients before a court of law. Judges have congress given powers
to administer the law to delinquents.
The Bible tells us clearly that the believer has divine authority to mediate God’s grace to the needy (see
Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 1:9). Some people need assistance in recognizing the existence of God; and recognizing
it, develop a relationship with Him. Others need direct assistance resolving tormenting problems of a variety of
forms.
Second, we can learn about the holiness of the Day of Rest. We already established that the Sabbath is a
holiday, a day of celebration of the holly. Is this the way we Christians celebrate the Day of Rest?
First of all, the last day of the week has no religious value for Christians. Sadly for us, the Sabbath is just a
day off granted to us by the 40-hour short work week established by law for commercial purposes. On this
day, retail stores do the most business when compared with Monday to Friday, as the citizenry fill the stores of
shoppers. Saturday is also the day of catching up on personal and family affairs. We cut the grass, clean the
house and spend time with family and friends. We go to sport events, watch TV, etc
Since the third century, Sunday** has been the sacred day of Christians. The claim has been that Jesus was
resurrected by God on the first day of the week, which must be celebrated. Of course, this has done away with
the Commandment to observe the Sabbath, the last day of the week. It is most unfortunate that scripture is
bent frequently for convenience
Third, we can learn a thing or two about Jesus genuine concern for people in need, immediately responding
to help them. He showed compassion for people suffering. The gospels are explicit about the deeds of Jesus.
And Luke summarizes Jesus work as follows:
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; [and] how he went about doing
good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him (Acts 10:38).
Putting oneself in somebody else’s situation requires a lot of understanding of the circumstances affecting the
person we want to help. Often, however, a zeal for having people commit to a genuine believe in God and
accepting the mediation of Jesus toward spiritual salvation ignores their physical salvation.
According to research conducted by American psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) and his team,
human needs appear in a gradation as people move toward their self –actualization. Needs appear in the
following order: 1) physical, 2) psychological and 3) social. In other words, trying to help someone with
spiritual matters when the person has pressing other needs requiring immediate care is ineffective.
Allow me to illustrate this point. Long ago when I was a young pastor, I asked a visiting evangelist to visit with
me the home of a potential Christian couple whom I had been helping with marital relationships. At the house
of this family, the wife started talking about their marital relationship. Rather than actively listen to this wife, the
evangelist began preaching to her a three-point message he had prepared for the occasion. Obviously, they
were not communicating. Forty-five minutes later, we left the house. At the entrance of the house, the
evangelist shook the dust off his feet. Seeing this most insensitive action, the woman reacted angrily and told
us in no uncertain terms not to ever return to her house.
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* When God asked Abraham to offer his only son to Him as a sacrifice, a custom practiced by the pagan
religions at the time, without hesitation the patriarch proceeded to comply with the request. At the sacrifice
site, as Abraham was about to kill Isaac to offer the lad on the pyre, God held his hand back and recognized
the patriarch's loyalty. Then, Abraham offered a ram he found caught in the bush as a substitute for Isaac.
Much later, when the Tabernacle was built and even later when the Temple was edified, a ceremonial tradition
was started to enact the events at Mount Moriah. The enactment was celebrated in Jerusalem as a perpetual
reminder of the Saving Grace of God up until the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE.
** Sunday (sun day) is the day of the pagan Roman god Ra, (the sun in all its force), a carry-over from
Egyptian mythology. Originally, Ra was the main god of the Egyptians out of their multiplicity of private and
public deities.