Jesus Came To Save

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟏𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝟏:𝟏𝟗-𝟐𝟎

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝟏 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝟐:𝟏, 𝟒-𝟕, 𝟖𝐚𝐛𝐜𝐝 “𝐌𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐦𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐊 𝟏:𝟐𝟏-𝟐𝟖

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟓)

         Today marks the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s Will in the life of Jesus Christ and the launching of what was, for all intents and purposes, a salvation drive that would give substance to the reason why Jesus was sent down from heaven.

         There are also two points of fact that are encapsulated in Mark’s Gospel of today that ushers in what is referred to as Ordinary Time in the Liturgical Calendar of the Church. These two realities are that Jesus needed no authority to back up his teaching for he is the authority himself. The other was that he showed he has power and authority even against unclean spirits.

         This passage in Mark’s Gospel which chronicles the beginning of Jesus’s campaign to liberate the people from their sinfulness must have been preceded by a lot of planning more so if it was to be an important campaign such as the redemption of souls.

         Rightly so, Jesus chose no other finer setting to launch his salvation drive than in a synagogue. The synagogue was not only an ideal place to begin his ministry but it was a place where he could deliver an opening salvo that would create an impact throughout the Jewish nation.

         A synagogue in those days was not just a venue for prayer, but it was primarily an institution for teaching and if ever there was a new message that needed to be heard, the synagogue was the place to go to. As synagogues also do not have a permanent preacher or teacher, Rabbis who are traveling to and from are normally invited and or are allowed to preach to the people.

        Jesus was aware of this, and he was right and he introduced not just a new method in preaching from what the Jews were familiar with but his listeners were amazed at his power and authority “𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟐)        

        Normally, the Scribes begin their teaching saying: “there is a teaching that says…” and they would normally quote from the Torah or what Moses may have said. Contrast this with the way Jesus taught saying “𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡…” (𝐌𝐭 𝟓:𝟐𝟔) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐫 “𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮…” (𝐌𝐭 𝟓:𝟐𝟖). Jesus spoke this way because he knew that he was clothed with the authority of God even to forgive sins (𝐌𝐤 𝟐:𝟏𝟎).        

         If the people were amazed at his teaching, they were awestruck when he commanded an evil spirit to come out of a man in the synagogue (𝐯.𝟐𝟓). Mark probably included this event to establish the credentials of Jesus as “𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝” (𝐯.𝟐𝟒) by showing that even the spiritual underworld recognized him as the Son of God. And Jesus, in 𝐌𝐭 𝟏𝟐:𝟐𝟖, would later expound on his power and authority to cast out demons as proof of the coming of the Kingdom of God.

         As what he expected, this event became the talk of the town throughout Galilee (𝐯.𝟐𝟖) because Jesus did not only spoke with authority in introducing a new doctrine of faith but he acted with authority when he cast out the demon from the man.

         The question now is what is in it for us? That was then. We are here and now. Well for one this authority of Jesus is still very much alive today and this flows from the time when Christ created his Church to be the vehicle of his continuing mission in the world and promising to remain present in his Church for all time (𝐌𝐭 𝟐𝟖:𝟐𝟎) as he lovingly guides it through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

         To ensure the success of this mission, Christ gave the Church today which is us the baptized Catholics the ability to teach, govern and sanctify with Christ's own authority. The Apostles appointed successors to ensure that the Gospel would continue to be handed on faithfully as "𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡" (𝐋𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝟐𝟎, 𝐂𝐂𝐂𝟖𝟔𝟎).        

         The purpose of this authority is to give the Church the ability to teach without error about the essentials of salvation: “𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤, 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐌𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐭” (𝐌𝐭 𝟏𝟔:𝟏𝟖).        

         The scope of this authority covers the official teachings of the Church on matters of faith, morals, and worship (Liturgy and Sacraments) and it is on the basis of his continuing presence that the Church cannot lead people astray with its official teachings despite what may seem to be as the individual errors in judgment that have caused scandals within the Church. 

         This is the reason why we the pilgrim Church must draw on the gift of faith and the free assent of our will to the whole truth that God has revealed and nourished by the Word of God so that we can assume our rightful place in his Kingdom since “𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭” (𝐄𝐩𝐡 𝟏:𝟒).        

         As time is relatively short and as we are all living on borrowed time, we must maximize our time spent so that we may all grow as disciples of Christ. Out of his love Our Lord gave us his Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds that we may grow in his truth and in the knowledge of his great love for each of us. This we can do by heeding his Word for us to love God above all else and love our neighbors as well.

         However, it’s easier said than done because we cannot possibly go as we are commanded to do without the most important component of mission – the transformation of the inner man and this can only happen if we will turn our lives around and place our lives in the palm of the hand of Jesus. This means that we need to cross over from trusting ourselves to trusting Jesus Christ.

         As a media practitioner I trusted no one except my own instincts and gut feel, and I took pride in the fact that I was able to squeeze myself out of sticky and dangerous situations because of my ability to anticipate events and situations before they happen and so I thought. Like everybody else I had plans. I wanted to be on top of the heap but God had other plans. I was on my way to having it all when God found me and made me realize that the world I was in was not the kind of life he planned for me.

         I struggled and like Jacob who wrestled with an angel, I also tried to wiggle myself out of the renewal movement. But in the Christian Maturity Program that I attended, the Holy Spirit moved in me, and I yielded my life to Jesus, and my life was never the same again. Did I regret my decision? Of course not! Because the Kingdom of God is better than the world I left behind.

        My faith in God has never been as steadfast as now. But to live, grow, and persevere in my faith to the end, I have it to nourish it with the Word of God. The Lord gives all of us his Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds that we may grow in his truth and in the knowledge of his great love for each of us. If we all approach God’s Word with humility and submission, I assure you that you will be in a much better position to learn what God wants to teach you through his Word.

        So, I leave you with a question: Are you prepared to be taught by the Lord and to conform your life according to his Word? (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘑𝘢𝘯. 13, 2026)