Mark 1:23

And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, AND THERE WAS IN THEIR SYNAGOGUE A MAN WITH (LITERALLY, 'IN') AND UNCLEAN SPIRIT - that is, so entirely under demoniacal power that his personality was sunk for the time in that of the spirit. The frequency with which this character of 'impurity' is ascribed to evil spirits-some twenty times in the Gospels-is not to be overlooked. For more on this subject, see the notes at Matthew 4:12, Remark 4. AND HE CRIED OUT,...

23-28 The devil is an unclean spirit, because he has lost all the purity of his nature, because he acts in direct opposition to the Holy Spirit of God, and by his suggestions defiles the spirits of men. There are many in our assemblies who quietly attend under merely formal teachers; but if the Lord come with faithful ministers and holy doctrine, and by his convincing Spirit, they are ready to say, like this man, What have we to do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth! No disorder could enable a man to know Jesus to be the Holy One of God. He desires to have nothing to do with Jesus, for he despairs of being saved by him, and dreads being destroyed by him. See whose language those speak, that say to the Almighty, Depart from us. This unclean spirit hated and dreaded Christ, because he knew him to be a Holy One; for the carnal mind is enmity against God, especially against his holiness. When Chr...

Verse 23. _A MAN WITH AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT_] This demoniac is only mentioned by Mark and Luke, Luke 4:33. It seems the man had lucid intervals; else he could not have been admitted into the synagogue. _Unclean or impure spirit _- a common epithet for those fallen spirits: but here it may mean, one who filled the heart of him he possessed with LASCIVIOUS _thoughts, images, desires_, and _propensities_. By giving way to the first attacks of such a spirit, he may soon get in, and take full possession of the whole soul....

See also Luke 4:31. Mark 1:21 AND THEY WENT INTO CAPERNAUM - For the situation of Capernaum see the notes at Matthew 4:13. STRAIGHTWAY - Immediately. On the following Sabbath. THE SYNAGOGUE - See the notes at Matthew 4:23. AND TAUGHT - In the synagogue, the presiding elder, after reading the Scriptures, invited anyone who chose to address the people, Acts 13:15. Though

EXPOSITION MARK 1:1 THE BEGINNING OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. These words mean, not the title of the book, but the commencement of the narrative; and so they depend upon what follows, namely, "as it is written" (καθῶς for ὠς), "even as it is written." The words "the gospel of Jesus Christ" do not signify the book which St. Mark wrote, but the evangelical teaching of Jesus Christ. St. Mark means that the gospel announcement by Jesus Christ had such a beginning as had been predicted by Isaiah and Malachi, namely, the preaching of John the Baptist, and his testimony concerning Christ, to be fully laid open by the preaching and the death of Christ. The preaching of repentance by the Baptist was the preparation and the beginning of the evangelical preaching by Christ, of whom John was the forerunner. It has been well observed that St. Matthew an

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

Mark 1:14. _Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,_ When one servant of God is laid aside, it is a call to the rest to be the more earnest. So after John the Baptist was put into prison, «Jesus came into Galilee.» Sometimes a loss may be a gain, and if the loss of John was the means of bringing out Jesus, certainly both the Church and the world were the gainers: «Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,» Mark 1:15. _And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel._ It is clear, from this passage, that our Lord exhorted men to repent, and to believe the gospel. There are some, who profess to be his followers, who will not suffer

PART II. THE SERVANT'S WORK; NOT TO BE MINISTERED UNTO, BUT TO MINISTER -- CHAPTER 1:14-10:52 Chapter 1:14-45. The Ministry in Galilee after John's Imprisonment. _ 1. The Servant in Galilee preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. (Mark 1:14 .Matthew 4:12; Luke 4:14 .)_ 2. The Calling of fellow servants. (Mark 1:16. Matthew 4:18; Luke 5:1 .) 3. The Servant in Capernaum. (Mark 1

A SPECIMEN DAY IN CAPERNAUM. With His first followers, Jesus went to Capernaum (p. 29), a border town in the kingdom of Antipas, on the high road from Ptolemais to Damascus (HNT, _ad loc.;_ Matthew 4:13 *). Mk.'s information now becomes more detailed, and he records the events of the first Sabbath as perhaps Simon himself recalled them. MARK 1:21. Jesus visits the synagogue and proclaims His message there. Throughout the earlier period of His Galilean ministry the synagogues seem to have been open to Him (_cf._ Mark 1:39; Mark 3:1; Luke 4:16). Of the content

THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY (Mark 1:1-4)...