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Mark – A Day in Capernaum
“The time has come,” Jesus said. “The kingdom of God is at hand. Change your ways and believe the Good News!”
This is the summary of Jesus’ preaching that the evangelist Mark places at the beginning of his text as a fundamental kerygma. We are at the beginning of the first part. The Gospel of Mark is structured around two significant moments, culminating in a profession of faith. We will now consider the first part, which culminates in Peter’s profession of faith: “You are the Christ” in chapter 8.
This first part is structured into three moments, each with recurring characteristics. Each of these three moments begins with a summary, that is, a synthetic sentence that summarizes the action and preaching of Jesus, and after the summary comes a scene of vocation. Then,some reasonably homogeneous episodes are used to close the part on a note of rebuttal, of controversial opposition.
The first part of the first section begins in the first chapter, verse 14, with the preaching of Jesus and ends in chapter 3, verse 6, on a controversial note: “As soon as the Pharisees left,and immediately took, they met with Herod’s supporters, looking for a way to destroy Jesus.”This verse offers a new synthesis, another summary: “Jesus and his disciples withdrew to the lakeside, and a large crowd from Galilee followed him … he healed many.”
Therefore, the evangelist chose to organize his material in a particular structure. We should not naively believe that the Gospels are the life of Jesus. We have already noted that Mark does not mention Jesus’ childhood. Many details of Jesus’ biography are omitted. Mark has no intention of writing a biography. He collects the apostolic preaching about Jesus; his book is a kerygmatic text, and he wants to announce Jesus, in whom we must believe.
It is a text for the Easter liturgy, addressed to the catechumens’ faith. Mark does not simply tell a story; he trains believers and accompanies them in the profession of initial faith at baptism, so that this faith becomes the structure of all life. Hence, he rewrites the material he found, transmitted to him by tradition and, in large part, perhaps already in writing, and gives structure to the various episodes.
He organized his materials into three summaries: three narrations of vocations in the first part of his narrative. After the synthetic announcement of the preaching, we have the call of the first four disciples, a concise narrative. It is not a historical reconstruction of the man who demanded a great deal.
Simon, Andrew, James, and John probably knew more about Jesus. It was natural, in the sense that before following Jesus, they must have listened to, valued, and esteemed him. Still, the narration is exceptionally schematic and essential, omitting anything unrelated to the proclamation of faith.
“As Jesus walked along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will send you fish for people.’ At once, they abandoned their nets and followed him.”
The same scene repeats immediately afterward.
“Jesus saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee, mending their nets in their boat. Immediately, Jesus called them, and they followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee…”
Mark is interested in very important verbs. Jesus entered the lives of these disciples, called them, and they responded positively. No details, no chronicle account. It is a theological synthesis. It is essential to underscore that initial change in perspective. They were fishermen, but Jesus proposed that they become fishers of people. It is a radical change.
Let’s reflect: the fisherman takes the fish out of the water and kills them. They do so mainly to sell them for income and gain. The fisherman kills the fish to make a profit. Instead, Jesus’ perspective is to transform those men into fishers of people.
He who fishes for people saves their lives. Recent news presented us with the drama of those who could die at sea if no one intervened to rescue them. A fisher of people, therefore, is one who saves the lives of those who are drowning. They don’t do it for material gain but only to bring them salvation, liberation, and human promotion. Instead of promoters of death, they become givers of life.
Jesus’ perspective is a flip: the word ‘fisherman’ is retained, but the perspective is entirely different. Those four accept the invitation; they follow him, leave behind their former way of life, and begin a new experience.
And now, Mark narrates a typical day in the life of Jesus, set in Capernaum, which became his chosen residence. Nazareth was a remote town in the hills of Galilee, a place no one ever went to, and he left Nazareth to announce his message and spread it quickly. To do so, it was necessary to begin the ministry in a busy area with heavy foot traffic.
Capernaum was a seaport, the center of the lake fishermen’s cooperatives, where all those who sold fish came together, and all those who bought the fish and transported it to sell it intowns and villages. So, it was a place where many people gathered, and in that local yet hectic environment, Jesus began his preaching.
And he begins in the synagogue in a unique way, starting as a teacher. This is a bit of a puzzle because the synagogue was well-structured and organized, with precise rules. The synagogue was a religious reality, mainly administered by the Pharisees, quite different from the temple. While the temple was unique in Jerusalem and run by priests who offered sacrifices, that is, immolations, especially of animals, according to the Levitical rules, the synagogues, on the other hand, were many; each town had one, and cities could have several. They were gathering places where observant Jews came on the Sabbath to read the Scripture, meditate, and pray. And someone has to lead the prayer meeting, to read and explain the proclaimed biblical text.
The synagogue was organized around a festive lectionary. Every Saturday, a text was proclaimed. According to the documents we found, the schedule was probably already in place, though it was a little later than Jesus’ time. We know that the entire Pentateuch was read over three years; the five books of Moses were read in full, divided into about 150 texts, one for each Saturday. The following Saturday, when they reached the last chapter of Deuteronomy, they restarted with the first chapter of Genesis. Therefore, at all times, the entire text of the law of Moses was proclaimed as the first reading.
Then there was a second reading, a passage from the prophetic texts that served as an interpretation, an accompaniment, and an explanation. But this text was not left to the reader’s or commentator’s free initiative; it was also provided for by the synagogue ritual, as well as by the various introductory and concluding prayers. Jesus enters the synagogue with the demeanor of a teacher; somehow, they recognize him as one.
Did Jesus study… did he attend rabbinical schools to obtain degrees so he could do it? We do not know; it is not mentioned. However, we can imagine something like that from the facts narrated. It is not enough to enter a church—let’s think about our current situation—to preach; there are liturgical regulations. Therefore, the first one who arrives does not take the microphone, read the text he wants, and give his explanations. If I let somebody preach, it is because I recognize him as competent and as belonging to a structure for which he does it, rather than me doing it. This means that the head of the synagogue in Capernaum acknowledged that Jesus was empowered to offer meditation and biblical commentary on the passages proclaimed. Mark calmly narrates this fact.
This is the first scene:
“They entered the town of Capernaum, and Jesus taught in the synagogue on theSabbath day.”
I don’t know if you noticed how often the adverb ‘immediately, at once’ appears in Mark’s text. It is a small detail, but it is worth noting because it does not appear in the other evangelists. Mark uses it many times, maybe too much; it is a trick to give his narrative a particular dynamic. As if to say, there is no time to waste. Jesus is an active man; he acts quickly. “At once the Spirit led him into the desert” … “At once the disciples followed him” … “He immediately called them, and they followed him at once” … They came to Capernaum, and “at once” Jesus came in to teach on a Saturday.
“Teaching”: The first characteristic of Jesus is that of a teacher; he is a synagogue teacher. He explains the readings: “People were amazed at the way he taught, for he spoke as one having authority, and not as the teachers of the law.” The scribes’ tradition was to reinforce their teaching by citing earlier teachers, as we see in the great Talmudic collectionfrom the 5th century after Christ. Still, a collection concerning many older teachers and the custom of the scribes of Israel was to keep the name of the person who said that sentence. ‘The teacher taught it to me, and I repeat it to you under the authority of that teacher.’ ‘Our parents have taught us to do so. Therefore, it is necessary because our predecessors have told us.’
Instead, Jesus surprises people because he doesn’t appeal to an authority that precedes him; he is the authority. He presents himself as authoritative. In the Gospel of Matthew, we find formulas that Mark does not reproduce, but they give us a good idea of Jesus’ authority: “You know what was said to the ancestors, but I tell you ….” That “I tell you” from Jesus makes his authority explicit.
In this teaching context, something unexpected happens. Suddenly, one of those present gets up, furious, begins to speak, interrupts Jesus, and, somehow, insults him:
“What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” (Jesus is in Capernaum … as if saying: ‘you are from Nazareth’ – meaning: ‘go home’). “Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: you are the Holy One of God!”
Who is this man? Is he speaking on his own initiative, or is someone else making him speak? The narrator has told us that he was possessed of an unclean spirit. Note that the unclean spirit is the opposite of the Holy Spirit; God’s Spirit is holy, but the unclean spirit is a spiritual reality opposed to God and, therefore, has become corrupt and dirty; it is a sinister, satanic reality. This man is seized by a devilish power that compels him to speak against Jesus.
“Be silent!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of this man!”
He does not tell the man to be quiet and come out of him, but to the spirit that makes him speak, ordering the spirit to leave. This is important; we notice that it is an exit, an exodus. This is the first miracle narrated by Mark. It is an exorcism; it is an exodus. Jesus brings out the evil spirit from a man. That man, although he has been destroyed, becomes free.
“All the people were astonished, and they wondered, ‘What is this? With what authority does he preach? He even gives orders to evil spirits, and they obey him.’”
That’s where Jesus’ authority is evident. He speaks, and it is done. Jesus is a teacher who does what he says. His word has the power we call ‘sacramental,’ is efficacious, and achieves what it means. He is not simply a theorist who announces an ideal in beautiful words. He is one who concretely does what he says. He explained the scriptures of deliverance and freed a man from the power of evil. What does this mean? People wonder.
It is a ‘didaké kainé,’ a new quality of doctrine accompanied by authority. Jesus has authority, but he is not authoritarian. He has the authority to make his word effective. “News about him spread quickly throughout the whole region of Galilee.”
The beginning of Jesus’ ministry in the Capernaum synagogue is emblematic of Jesus’ work in Mark, where he is portrayed as an influential teacher whose words and actions are central. It makes people do the exodus. If the Gospel of Mark was written for Easter night, the night of exodus, and prepares catechumens to leave the old world to be released, this beginning of Jesus’ ministry orients in that direction. The recipients are “that man” who can be freed by the word of Jesus.