Mark 1:23

23 In their synagogue just then was a man with an unclean spirit in him, who shouted,

Mark 1:23 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 1:23

And there was in their synagogue
In the synagogue of the Capernaites, at the same time that Jesus was teaching there,

a man with an unclean spirit:
not with an unclean heart, for there were doubtless many such there, but that had a devil; for in ( Luke 4:33 ) , it is said, "he had a spirit of an unclean devil": so called, because he is impure in himself, and the cause of uncleanness in men, in which he delights: and such spirits sometimes are where religious persons meet, but with no good design; either to disturb the preacher, or to divert the hearer, that the word may be unfruitful and unprofitable:

and he cried out:
either the man, or rather the unclean spirit in him, who had possessed his body, and made use of the organs of it: he cried out through dread of the majesty of Christ, whose presence he could not bear; and through grief and envy at the success of his ministration, and the influence it had upon the minds of men; and through fear of being dispossessed of the man, in whom he was.

Mark 1:23 In-Context

21 They entered K'far-Nachum, and on Shabbat Yeshua went into the synagogue and began teaching.

22 They were amazed at the way he taught, for he did not instruct them like the Torah-teachers but as one who had authority himself.

23 In their synagogue just then was a man with an unclean spirit in him, who shouted,

24 "What do you want with us, Yeshua from Natzeret? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are -- the Holy One of God!"

25 But Yeshua rebuked the unclean spirit, "Be quiet and come out of him!"