the running reverend
Josh Rhone is a husband, father, pastor, seminarian, and follower of Jesus who is trying to figure out how to best walk in the way of love.
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When you read Mark 1.18-25 who or what do you see?
I see a God-man (Jesus) who is a teacher whose teaching is unlike anything that the people have ever experienced.
This teacher, however, doesn’t just expound upon the scripture authoritatively. He speaks authoritatively to and confidently addresses the brokenness, the fragmentation of a man who interrupts the synagogue gathering that is already in session.
The God-man’s stern reply was born out of a concern for the demon possessed man. Jesus was confident that the man had a problem, which resulted in brokenness and fragmentation. Yet, he was equally confident that he could do something about this problem. Thus, with authority, he addressed the demon. He commanded the demon to come out of the possessed man.
In an instant, with authority, the God-man Jesus transformed the man and his story. No longer was he the fragmented loon who barged in and interrupted the orderly synagogue meeting. Instead, his story became one whose plot contained the dual themes of restoration and wholeness.
