Mark groups together five stories which show the rise of controversy about Jesus and hostility to him from the Pharisees and scribes of the Law. It was not surprising that Jesus' extraordinary authority, his power to exorcise demons and heal illness, with the implication in I :23 -27 that he had broken the Sabbath laws by exorcizing a demon on the Sabbath, all aroused the religious authorities to investigate what was going on. Jesus was not a Pharisee or scribe of the Law and was preaching and acting in a way that amazed people (l: 22).