1/18 Mark 1:27

²⁷ 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."

Jesus' authority was not only in the way that He taught. Anyone can claim to define truth. Jesus' authority was verified by His actions. A demon-possessed man confronted Jesus in the synagogue, calling Him the Holy One of God and asking if He had come to destroy them. Jesus ordered the demon to be silent and come out of the man. The man convulsed and then was free of the demon.

Exorcisms were done by some Jewish leaders, but only in a long process with certain prayers and sometimes special herbs. Jesus just commanded the unclean spirit to leave. Not only did the demon identify Jesus as the Holy One of God, but the instant obedience of the demon demonstrated that Jesus had authority over it. The people had never seen anything like that. It was sucg clear evidence of Jesus' authority that the Jewish leaders excused it by saying Jesus was in league with the prince of the demons (Matthew 9:34).

The opponents of the Scriptures will sometimes claim Jesus was a prophet or a great teacher ahead of His time, but the record of what He did declares He is much more than that. No one has ever exercised such authority in teaching. Consider how the gospel of Jesus has changed the world. No one, except Jesus and the apostles He commissioned, has ever healed everyone who came to him or her or has consistently cast out demons with a one-sentence command. The demon knew what many today refuse to see. Jesus is the Holy One of God!

Consider: The physical and spiritual realms obey Jesus' commands. What do those who belong to Him have to fear?