The Demon Knew His Name: Mark 1:21-28

The synagogue in Capernaum was packed that Sabbath morning. Bodies pressed together on stone benches, the air heavy with the smell of wool and sweat and the olive oil that burned in clay lamps along the walls. When Jesus stood to teach, the murmuring died instantly. There was something in his voice that commanded silence—not the droning quotation of other rabbis, endlessly citing what Rabbi Hillel said, what Rabbi Shammai argued.…