They Were Astonished

And they were astounded at his teaching: For he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes.  Mark 1:22 (ASV)

How many times have we listened to a message from a well-intended speaker, but just could not get worked up about what that person was saying?  Perhaps we were able to sit through the rest of the discourse politely or maybe we let our thoughts drift off to more interesting topics.

Jesus´ teaching was described as astounding. The definition for the adjective according to Wordweb is; Filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock. How many times have we sat listening to someone teaching us and we can honestly say that we were astonished?  Or have we already heard it all? 

Sure, Jesus came proclaiming a relation to God the Father that until then was not considered attainable by mere men.  His message fell upon hearers who were accustomed to some dry recital of some teacher´s superior study of the sacred scripture.  The world then was filled with worshippers who went about their daily lives because somebody had taught them that was what they should do.  Those people felt a need inside and hoped for something more personally satisfying to sooth their troubled souls, but what was offered them by religion just didn´t fill that hole for them.  So when Jesus taught that God was near and He wanted to be connected personally to them, they were astonished.

The way Jesus taught demonstrated the fact that He knew what He was talking about.  Even before He began to show miraculous signs of the power of God that flowed through Him, His words alone were enough to astonish the listeners.

Point made that there were wonderful things happening as Jesus started to teach, but was His teaching only intended for those lucky souls who heard Him in person?  Do we not find ourselves in the same situations today?  Can we not sense within our hearts, restlessness and a yearning for a deeper and more meaningful relationship with our God?

That same message that Jesus taught, if we would let ourselves hear it, could provide you and me with the same reaction of astonishment.   We could actually let it sink in deep enough and know that God is at hand and wants to walk with us in the most real and intimate way.  We could look past the tedious and monotonous rituals of our religious lives and realize that we if we open ourselves to the teaching of Jesus, the Holy Spirit can and will enter our being.  This should be enough to astonish us today.

Dear Jesus, the voices come to us from all around.  Each would have us get excited about something, but we would hear Your voice.  We want to be astonished, awed and surprised.  We want Your message to fall upon us in a way that nothing we have ever heard has moved us.  Please teach us today.  Show us what You want us to hear.  Pour out upon us the Holy Spirit in all actuality to fill and overflow our souls.  Unlike the dull low norm we are accustomed to, fill us with that Spirit and let us burn up inside.  Let us get excited about coming into a relationship with You and Your Father.

Amen