A day of authority at Capernaum — teaching, an exorcism, a fever healed, a whole city at the door by evening — closed by a solitary hour of prayer before dawn and, the following day, a catch of fish so large it confirms the call already given to four fishermen by the sea.
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The reading is the Covenant Christian Edition — the Joseph Smith Translation reading — carried beside each Gospel and set against the King James baseline. Headers give both numbering systems: the CCE chapter and verse, and the traditional KJV reference.
Each movement Joseph discusses carries a JS link down to his letter; the letter carries a roman-numeral link back up to the movement.
Teaching in the Capernaum synagogue, Jesus astonishes the congregation — he speaks "as one that had authority, and not as the scribes." A man with an unclean spirit cries out, naming him "the Holy One of God"; Jesus rebukes the spirit, and it comes out unharmed.
21And they went into Capernaum. And directly, on the Sabbath day, he entered into the synagogue and taught. 22And they were astonished at his teachings, for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. 23And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, 24Let us alone! What do we have to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know you, who you are: the Holy One of God. 25And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold your peace and come out of him. 26And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. 27And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority commands he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. 28And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the regions round about Galilee.
31And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days. 32And they were astonished at his teaching, for his words were with power.
33And in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean devil, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34saying, Let us alone! What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know you, who you are: the Holy One of God. 35Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold your peace and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him into the midst, he came out of him and hurt him not. 36And they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, What a word is this! For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out. 37And the fame of him went out in every place round about.
Straight from the synagogue to Simon’s house — his wife’s mother lies sick of a fever. Jesus takes her by the hand, and the fever leaves her; she rises at once and serves them.
14And when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid and sick of a fever. 15And he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose and ministered unto them.
29And immediately when they had come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with Jacob and John. 30And Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and they implored him for her. 31And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. And immediately the fever left her, and she came and ministered unto them.
38And he arose out of the synagogue and entered into Simon’s house. And Simon’s wife’s mother was taken with a great fever, and they implored him to heal her. 39And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and ministered unto them.
By sunset the whole city is gathered at the door — every kind of sickness, every unclean spirit brought to him. Matthew reads it as Isaiah’s Servant prophecy fulfilled: "Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."
16Now when the evening came, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils, and he cast out the evil spirits with the word, and healed all that were sick, 17that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.
32And at evening, after sunset, they brought unto him all that were diseased and them that were possessed with devils. 33And all the city was gathered together at the door. 34And he healed many that were sick of diverse diseases, and cast out many devils, and suffered not the devils to speak because they knew him.
40Now when the sun was setting, all they who had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41And devils also came out of many, crying out and saying, You are Christ, the Son of God! And he, rebuking them, suffered them not to speak, for they knew that he was Christ.
Before daylight Jesus slips away alone to pray. Found and told "all men seek for thee," he declines to stay — the next towns need the same message, "for therefore came I forth."
35And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. 36And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. 37And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for you. 38And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came forth. 39And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.
42And when it was day, he departed and went into a solitary place. And the people sought him, and came unto him, and desired of him that he should not depart from them. 43But he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also, for that is why am I sent. 44And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee.
Teaching from Simon’s boat, Jesus sends the fishermen back out after a night that caught nothing. The net breaks under the catch, both boats begin to sink, and Peter falls at Jesus’ knees: "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." The call already given by the sea (§CALLFOUR) is confirmed: "From henceforth thou shalt catch men."
1And it came to pass, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2and saw two ships standing on the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were wetting their nets. 3And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and asked him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship.
4Now when he was done speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. 5And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night and have taken nothing. Nevertheless, at your word I will let down the net. 6And when they had done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes, and their net broke, 7and they beckoned unto partners who were in the other ship that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8When Simon Peter saw the multitude of fishes, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9For he was astonished, and all who were with him, at the catch of the fishes which they had taken. 10And so also were Jacob and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not from henceforth, for you shall catch men. 11And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all and followed him.
Nibley reads Mark’s contrast — Jesus taught "as one that had authority," unlike the scribes — as the whole difference between a prophet and a scholar. And he draws out the limit of that authority: Jesus commands spirits and the elements, but he never commands men.
Now the men who opposed Jesus were learned in the scripture… These men could cite scripture for everything they did or said, and in all things the scripture was their authority. Of Christ, on the other hand, we read: “They were astonished at his doctrine [didaché—way of teaching]: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22). What he spoke was scripture. And the same holds for every true prophet.
They attended the schools of others and sought to sit at the feet of great teachers; he spoke as one having authority… They spoke as scribes and pharisees, hypocrites; he as one having authority. There is all the difference in the world between the two.
One cannot give orders by the priesthood, for it operates “only by persuasion” (D&C 121:41); Christ commanded the spirits and they obeyed him; he commanded the elements and they obeyed him. But men he would not command… “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). There is nothing here resembling earthly authority.
Two of Barker’s central themes meet in this day at Capernaum. The exorcism in the synagogue is, on her reading, the Jubilee’s first act — Melchizedek freeing a captive from the power of Belial. And Matthew’s citation of Isaiah’s Servant Song over the evening healings fits her wider argument that the Servant’s "carrying" of sickness is itself a temple atonement figure.
The first miracle was an exorcism (Mark 1.21–26), setting one of his own people free from the power of Belial. He spoke of a woman bound by Satan and released her (Luke 13.16), of slaves to sin whom the Son could release (John 9.31–38). He forgave sins and illustrated his teaching with a parable of two debtors whose debts were cancelled (Luke 7.41–48). The healing miracles restored to the community people who would have been excluded as ritually unfit: the disabled, the lepers, a woman who was bleeding. This was the great ingathering of the Jubilee.
The Servant figure was modelled on the one who performed the atonement rites in the first temple… It would explain Matthew’s use of the Servant text “he took our infirmities and bore our diseases” in the context of healing miracles (Mat.8.17). It would explain why a sermon in Acts refers to Jesus as the Righteous One and the Servant but also as the Author of Life (Acts 3.13–15).
Neither passage addresses Peter’s mother-in-law, the withdrawal to pray, or the catch of fish by name — the connection to those scenes is the reader’s to draw, not Barker’s to state.