Mark 1:27

And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(27) What new doctrine is this?—A various-reading gives a different structure, “What thing is this? A new doctrine with power. He commandeth even the unclean spirits . . .” “Doctrine” is, as elsewhere, the teaching taken as a whole, including manner as well as substance.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:23-28 The devil is an unclean spirit, because he has lost all the purity of his nature, because he acts in direct opposition to the Holy Spirit of God, and by his suggestions defiles the spirits of men. There are many in our assemblies who quietly attend under merely formal teachers; but if the Lord come with faithful ministers and holy doctrine, and by his convincing Spirit, they are ready to say, like this man, What have we to do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth! No disorder could enable a man to know Jesus to be the Holy One of God. He desires to have nothing to do with Jesus, for he despairs of being saved by him, and dreads being destroyed by him. See whose language those speak, that say to the Almighty, Depart from us. This unclean spirit hated and dreaded Christ, because he knew him to be a Holy One; for the carnal mind is enmity against God, especially against his holiness. When Christ by his grace delivers souls out of the hands of Satan, it is not without tumult in the soul; for that spiteful enemy will disquiet those whom he cannot destroy. This put all who saw it upon considering, What is this new doctrine? A work as great often is wrought now, yet men treat it with contempt and neglect. If this were not so, the conversion of a notorious wicked man to a sober, righteous, and godly life, by the preaching of a crucified Saviour, would cause many to ask, What doctrine is this?

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And they were all amazed ... - The power of casting out devils was new to them.

It was done by a word. Jesus did it in his own name and by his own authority. This proved that he was superior to all the unclean spirits. In consequence, Jesus' fame spread throughout all the country, and the impression became prevalent that he was the Messiah.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

27. What thing is this? what new doctrine—teaching

is this?—The audience, rightly apprehending that the miracle was wrought to illustrate the teaching and display the character and glory of the Teacher, begin by asking what novel kind of teaching this could be, which was so marvellously attested.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The Jews had exorcists amongst them, who sometimes cast out devils by some forms of invocation they had; but Christ commanded them out; he neither did it by any kind of entreaty from any compact with the devil, nor yet by any invocation of God, but by an authoritative command. This was new to the Jews, and especially confirming a new doctrine that he had published. But still we read of no believing, no agnation of him as God, or the Son of God, or the Messias and Saviour of the world; only the generality are amazed they could not obtain of themselves to believe this new doctrine, nor yet so far command their passions, but they must be startled and amazed at it.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And they were all amazed,.... The people that were in the synagogue, who were met together for divine worship, were astonished, not only at his doctrine, as before, but at this miracle and power of his in casting out devils:

insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, what thing is this? They spake among themselves, as Luke says, Luke 4:36; they inquired of one another; they conferred together, talked over the point, and disputed among themselves, concerning both the doctrine and power of Christ, what, and how wonderful they were:

what new doctrine is this? This they said, not as fixing a brand of novelty upon it, as the Athenians did on Paul's doctrine, Acts 17:19, but as admiring it; being what was rare and unusual, and which they had never heard of from their Rabbins and Scribes, and which was confirmed by miracles;

for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him: they not only observed the authority with which he delivered his doctrine, but the authority with which he cast out devils, by a word speaking; he not only commanded them to come out, but they immediately came out; their exorcists took authority upon them to command, but could not oblige the devils to obey; but these men took notice, that such was the authority of Christ in commanding, that the unclean spirits were obliged to obey, and did.

Geneva Study Bible

And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned {p} among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority {q} commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

(p) As men who were amazed.

(q) By his own authority, or as a lord.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Mark 1:27. Πρὸς ἐαυτούς] is equivalent to πρὸς ἀλλήλους (Luke 4:36). The reason why the reflexive is used, is the conception of the contradistinction to others (they discussed among one another, not with Jesus and His disciples). See Kühner, ad Xen. Mem. ii. 6. 20. Fritzsche explains: apud animum suum. But συζητεῖν stands opposed to this, designating as it does action in common, Mark 9:10, Mark 12:28; Luke 20:23; Luke 24:15, al.; so also in the classics.

τί ἐστι τοῦτο;] a natural demand in astonishment at what had happened for more precise information as to the circumstances of the case.

In what follows we must read: διδαχὴ καινὴ κατʼ ἐξουσίαν· καὶ τοῖς πνεύμασι τοῖς ἀκαθάρτοις … αὐτῷ! See the critical remarks. They give vent by way of exclamation to what has thrown them into such astonishment and is so incomprehensible to them, and do so in the unperiodic mode of expression that is appropriate to excited feeling: a doctrine new in power! and He commands the unclean spirits, etc.! They marvel at these two marked points, as they have just perceived them in Jesus. Lachmann attaches κατʼ ἐξουσίαν to καὶ τοῖς πνεύμασι κ.τ.λ. But this is manifestly opposed to the connection, according to which κατʼ ἐξουσίαν looks back to the foregoing ἦν γὰρ διδάσκων αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐξουσίαν ἔχων. This applies also in opposition to Ewald, who reads διδαχῇ καινῇ: “with new teaching He powerfully commands even the devils.” A confused identification of the teaching with the impression of the miraculous action is here groundlessly discovered by Baur,[57] and used as a proof of dependence on Luke 4:36. Even with the Recepta ὅτι the two elements of the exclamation would be very definitely correlative to the two elements of the ministry of Jesus in the synagogue respectively.

κατʼ ἐξουσίαν] defines the reference of καινή: new in respect to power, which has never yet occurred thus with the impress of higher authorization.

[57] Who holds that Mark has not been able to enter into Luke’s mode of view, but has kept to the διδαχή of Jesus in the sense of Matthew, without himself rightly understanding in what relation the καινὴ διδαχή stood to the ἐπιτάσσειν κ.τ.λ. Baur, Markusevang. p. 11; comp. theol. Jahrb. 1853, p. 69 f. See, on the other hand, Hilgenfeld, Evang. p. 128.

Expositor's Greek Testament

Mark 1:27. ἐθαμβήθησαν: another strong word peculiar to Mark = they were astonished, i.e., at the sudden and complete recovery. They saw at a glance that the attack had not run its usual course.—ὥστε with the infinitive here expressing result.—συζητεῖν, to seek together; in N. T. tropical = to inquire of one another, to discuss. The word occurs several times in Mark.—τί ἐστι τοῦτο; The question refers to the whole appearance of Jesus in the synagogue that day. One surprise following close on another provoked wondering inquiry as to the whole phenomenon. The words following state the twofold ground of their astonishment: (1) διδαχὴ καινή κατʼ ἐξουσίαν, a style of teaching new as to authoritativeness (entirely different from the familiar type of the scribes); (2) καὶ τοῖς πνεύμασι τοῖς ἀκαθάρτοις ἑπιτάσσει, etc., also He commandeth the unclean spirits so that they obey Him. Both equally unlooked for: the former a moral miracle, the latter a physical; both revealing an imperial spirit exercising sway over the minds and bodies of men.

Bengel's Gnomen

Mark 1:27. Διδαχὴ, doctrine) with which these miracles were connected and accompanied.—καὶ, even).

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 27. - What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? The now generally approved text gives a different rendering, namely, What is this? a new teaching! (Τί ἐστὶ τοῦτο δὶδαχη καινή). If this is the true reading - and there is excellent authority for it - it would mean that the bystanders inferred that this new and unexampled power indicated the accompanying gift of a "new teaching," a new revelation. Nay, more, it indicated that he who wrought these miracles must be the promised Messiah, the true God; for he alone by his power could rule the evil spirits. Mark 1:27

Vincent's Word Studies

They questioned among themselves (συνζητεῖν πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς)

Stronger than Luke, who has they spake together. Tynd., They demanded one of another among themselves.