Disciples of Jesus - Mark 1:21-34

This is our Sunday teaching by our Senior Pastor, Tom Thompson. Recorded live at our Sunday Service in Harris Academy Purley, Croydon on Sunday 20th September, 2026.

Talk Summary - When Jesus Interrupts the Ordinary

Capernaum was not the centre of the world. It wasn’t glamorous, prestigious or particularly remarkable. It was an ordinary town, full of ordinary people living ordinary lives.

And that is where Jesus chose to begin.

In Mark 1, Jesus enters the synagogue and begins to teach. The people are amazed because there is something different about his words: authority. This is not simply interesting religious teaching. Jesus speaks as a King announcing that God is at work — bringing healing, freedom, forgiveness and restoration into the world.

Then, suddenly, things get awkward.

A man cries out in the middle of the synagogue: “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” An evil spirit is exposed, Jesus commands it to leave, and the man is set free.

It is dramatic, but it also reveals something important about the way Jesus works. His presence has a habit of bringing hidden things into the light.

Sometimes our response is remarkably similar: Jesus, why are you interfering?

We can happily invite him into some areas of our lives while quietly asking him to leave others alone. The old wound. The bitterness. The fear. The unhealthy relationship with money or work. The discouragement that has begun to feel normal.

But Jesus interferes because he loves us. He does not expose what is broken in order to shame us, but because he intends to bring freedom.

And in Mark’s Gospel, one person’s breakthrough quickly becomes hope for others. Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law, word spreads, and by evening the whole town is gathering at the door.

There is a pattern here: ordinary people, ordinary places, Jesus — and a willingness to embrace some awkward moments.

Following Jesus has always involved a little risk. Offering to pray for someone. Asking for prayer ourselves. Having the conversation we might rather avoid. Trusting Jesus enough to let him put his finger on something we have learned to live with.

Not every awkward moment produces an instant miracle. But if we continually avoid the awkward, we may also miss some of the places where God wants to break through.

Jesus still loves ordinary people and ordinary places.

And sometimes extraordinary things begin when we stop asking him not to interfere.