"...they were astonished with a great astonishing"

Jesus of Nazareth was astounding to the Jewish world. He came, figuratively, out of nowhere proclaiming the kingdom of God was at hand and teaching doctrine that differed from traditional views of the time. of the main messages that Mark wishes to convey to his audience are the speed at which Jesus's message spread and how revolutionary His teachings were. Over and over, we see Mark use the words "immediately" and "astonished."
When the scholars commissioned by King James were in the process of translating the Bible, they translated by phrase rather than word for word. Stylistically, they translated the same Greek word into multiple contemporary words. For example, words in the King James version like "immediately" and "straightway" came from the same Greek word. The same is true for words like "astonished" and "astounded." So, the frequency of these words "astonished" and "immediately" are even more frequent than they appear.
Why did Mark want to emphasize so much that people were astounded by Jesus? He wanted people to understand that Jesus was no ordinary man. He did not merely bend the status quo or gradually change it; rather, he broke it and established a new one. Jesus did not teach variations of the doctrines currently accepted and taught by the scribes; instead, he taught as one having authority. People were astonished to hear such new doctrine proclaimed boldly from Jesus of Nazareth's lips.
In my own life, I am sometimes astonished by the works of God. For me, as with the people of ancient Judea, it usually stems from a lack of faith. I am astonished at things I did not think were probable or even possible. I need to be less astonished at the workings of an omnipotent God and more accepting of the things he reveals and allows to happen. If I have more faith, more currently astonishing things will be able to happen for my own betterment and for the betterment of those around me. I am limiting myself just as the people of Christ's time. I need to better recognize and have more faith in Christ.