Mark 1:23

23 And in the synagogue of them was a man in an unclean spirit, and he cried out,

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 And they entered into Capernaum, and at once in the sabbaths [And they went forth into Capernaum, and anon in the sabbaths], he went into the synagogue, and taught them.

22 And they wondered on his teaching; for he taught them, as he that had power, and not as [the] scribes.

23 And in the synagogue of them was a man in an unclean spirit, and he cried out,

24 and said [saying], What to us and to thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? hast thou come to destroy us? I know that thou art the holy of God.

25 And Jesus threatened him, and said [saying], Wax [thou] dumb, and go out of the man.