I give thanks today for Dr. Matt Skinner's exciting insights into Mark 1:21-28: "The man with the unclean spirit finds Jesus, initiating the exchange. His opening question, asked by the spirit that possesses him, is idiomatic and therefore difficult to translate. It conveys a sense of “Why are you picking this fight?” or “Couldn’t you have just left things as they were between us?” Jesus, by his sheer presence in this synagogue, has upset the order. He has crossed an established boundary.

"As Loren Stuckenbruck notes, the New Testament is somewhat unique among ancient Jewish literature in its attention to demonic possession (as opposed to demonic attacks). When Jesus strips the spirits of the ability to inhabit their human hosts, perhaps the gospels’ authors claim that Jesus denies the unclean spirits’ capability to have a settled place or entrenched influence in the world. Losing opportunities to win over people’s bodies and minds, they lose the authority they were thought to have. This exorcism, then, does not eliminate evil and oppression; it denies those kinds of forces the authority or power to hold ultimate sway over people’s lives.

"Mark depicts Jesus as the one uniquely authorized, commissioned, or empowered to declare and institute the reign of God. Through Jesus, then, we glimpse characteristics of this reign. It is intrusive, breaking old boundaries that benefited another kind of rule. It is about liberating people from the powers that afflict them and keep all creation — including human bodies and human societies — from flourishing. It is about articulating God’s intentions for the world, defying or reconfiguring some traditions to do so, if need be."

At this time in our world, it is urgent that we depart from our deeply ingrained human traditions of domination, revenge, greed, and deceit. These human traditions are powerful indeed--we see their results in our lives and in the headlines around the world every day. Yet wherever we are right now, Jesus is also here, announcing and showing forth with authority the presence of another kind of power--the power of God's undaunted love and liberation.

What kind of power will we choose to embody? How will we join with Jesus to help human bodies and communities to flourish?

Dr. Matt Skinner is Professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His fuller commentary, from 2015, can be found at WorkingPreacher.org.

Loren T. Stuckenbruck's fuller commentary can be found in “Satan and Demons,” in Jesus among Friends and Enemies: A Historical and Literary Introduction to Jesus in the Gospels (ed. Chris Keith and Larry W. Hurtado; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011), 173-97.