1. Jesus teaches with authority (21-22)

Jesus taught with authority because he was the Son of God. He taught the Bible with authority because he himself believed and obeyed it. He was different from the scribes who only repeated what they heard, but never really believed it for themselves and never thought about obeying it.

2. Authority to cast out evil spirits (23-28)

Jesus' authority was not superficial. When he taught God's word, the demons in one man got so upset that the man shouted at Jesus. Even demons knew Jesus--and trembled. Jesus ordered the demon out, and it obeyed, reluctantly. Jesus came to challenge the devil and to set men free from his grip. Only Jesus can defeat the devil. When the demon obeyed Jesus, the people were amazed at the authority of Jesus' word.

Application: Lord, thank you for your word. Let your word come into my heart this morning. Help me to believe your word and obey it so that I may share Jesus with others.
One Word: God's word has authority