People were “astonished” at Jesus’ teaching because he taught “as one who had authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22). Mark highlights authority as a key feature of Jesus’ public ministry.
In Capernaum on the Sabbath, Jesus enters the synagogue and teaches, and the crowd is struck by the weight and directness of his words. In the same setting, a man with an unclean spirit interrupts by shouting who Jesus is and questioning his intentions. Jesus cuts the spirit off and orders it to leave, and it does. This scene comes early in Mark, just after Jesus begins his public activity in Galilee and calls his first followers. Mark moves quickly from announcement to public demonstration, showing Jesus acting in ordinary community settings.
Mark presents Jesus acting in a normal public setting—a synagogue gathering on the Sabbath—where his teaching and his deliverance are experienced together as one kind of authority. The crowd’s response is not mild interest but shock and active discussion: his words feel weighty, direct, and effective (verses 21–22, 27).
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with Mark 1:22, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
22They were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes.