Who has really the ‘authority’ to preach in the synagogue, the Scribes or Christ? First we have to understand what synagogue is. It was primarily a teaching institution. A man with a new message can come in and preach in it. There was the Ruler of the synagogue who was responsible for the administration of its affairs and the arrangement of its services. When the people met at the synagogue for the service, it was open to the Ruler to call on any competent person to give the address and exposition. There was no professional ministry whatsoever. That is why Jesus was able to do his campaign in the synagogues. He was known to be a man with a message.

Who were the scribes? They were writers and scholars. Since there was no printing press yet, books had to be written down manually page by page, chapter by chapter, and the Scribes had to do all that. That’s why the scribes knew almost all the books, especially the Torah (the Law). They were known as good teachers (Rabbi), and the best preachers they had were the Pharisees.

For the Jew the Torah is divine because it was given directly by Yahweh to Moses, and so therefore it is holy and thus, binding. It contains not only necessary things to guide and direct life; but it became the supreme rule of faith and life as well. Since the scribes felt the obligation to preserve the whole tradition and transmit them in its original form, they were very cautious not to omit any word from the Written Law. And they have to memorize them by heart; as well as those hundreds of Unwritten Laws (Oral traditions). This makes the difference between the scribes and Jesus.

Scribes usually quote only from the OT that says:  “As it is written...” But Jesus spoke as if he needed no authority beyond himself. He spoke with independence and did not need to quote from other authorities; he decides with finality as if coming directly from God. Another difference is that Jesus expresses his authority not only in words but in deeds as well. The scribes will only teach but will never expel demons. But in today’s Gospel while Jesus was teaching, he also rebuked the unclean spirit by saying, “Quite, come out of him!” When we teach our children, they will listen not only to our words but they will look at the way we live. Children nowadays, use eyes more than ears. They will believe you more because they know that you do what you say.

They also believed that when someone called you by name, he has the power over you. It was a rare occasion that a demon called Jesus’ name, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth... I know who you are – the Holy One of God.” The congregation thought that Jesus would fall as a victim of the unclean spirit that knew his name. But the opposite was true, Jesus was able the show ‘who is the boss’, and he rebuked the evil spirit. Youth sometimes need to be advised about respecting the ‘wisdom of their parents’. They may be far advanced in academics and computers but nonetheless they have to acknowledge the authority of their mothers and fathers. For them no amount of books can be equal to the ‘wisdom of the olds.’

We priests, when we preach, we preach not only to people but to ourselves as well (most often our own sermons hits us more directly). We accept that we are also transformed by what we say. May your advice to your own children change your own life too. And from that conversion you can draw more authority, to teach and influence your children the right way.