Teaching with Authority
"So they came into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath day Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach; and they were completely astonished at the way he taught, for he taught them like one who had personal authority and not as the experts in the law did (scribes)."
Mark 1:21-22
Why did Jesus go to the synagogue and not the Temple?
There was only one Temple and that was in Jerusalem. The Jewish law stated that where 10 Jewish families lived, there was to be a synagogue so it was very easy to find one. The Temple was the place of worship and sacrifice.
The synagogue was the place of teaching scripture and instructions on the law. The service consisted of prayer, the reading of God's word and the exposition of the Bible reading. Since this was a place where all the people gathered, it was much more influential than the Temple.
They had a ruler who was responsible for the running of the building and arranging for the services, and for the collection and distribution of alms to the poor and needy. He was also the person who appointed someone to give the exposition about the scripture that was read.
That is how Jesus was able to go from town to town and get His message about the Gospel out to the people (Luke 4:15) as He explained the meaning of scripture.
How did Jesus' teaching differ so much from the Scribes? He taught with personal authority. No Scribe ever gave a decision or statement on his own. He would always begin, "There is a teaching that..." and would then quote all his authorities, but never giving an independent statement. So, how was Jesus different? When He spoke, He spoke as if He needed no authority beyond Himself.
He spoke with utter independence. He spoke with the finality of the voice of God. To the people, it was like a re-evaluation from heaven to hear someone speak like that. He could utter a word and people were healed or raised from the dead, so powerful was His speech.
Those of us who have the privilege of being ordained into the ministry of the church are not as eloquent or powerful in speech as Jesus, but we are charged to teach and preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and all the scriptures, so as to give Jesus' message of love and forgiveness to those in our charge. To that end, I would add a quote from the service of Ordination Prayer Book page # 534. The Bishop says, "Receive this Bible as a sign of the authority given you to preach the Word of God and to administer his Holy Sacraments. Do not forget the trust committed to you as a priest of the church of God." Amen, amen, amen.
