What is an "Evil" or "Unclean" Spirit, Anyway?
What is an "Evil" or "Unclean" Spirit, Anyway?
During Jesus' first sermon an evil/unclean spirit shows up, and Jesus rebukes it. But what the heck even is an "unclean spirit?"
The other day we looked in to how Mark started his gospel. Specifically, how he chose to tell the story of Jesus’ first public act of ministry.
In short, Jesus went to the synagogue to teach his proclamation of the good news of the arrival of God’s Kingdom, and it blew people’s minds. What we discovered is that the reason people were shocked was because he taught with a kind of authority that came from outside their predictable religious expectations. Furthermore, we saw how that authority came from the source of Jesus’ power… which was his trusting that what God said about him was true: You are my beloved son, and in you I am well pleased.
Today, let’s dive in to another aspect of this story from Mark. Specifically, that whole thing about an evil spirit and whatnot…
Mark 1: 23-26
23 Suddenly, there in the synagogue, a person with an evil spirit screamed,
24 "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are the holy one from God."
25 " Silence!" Jesus said, speaking harshly to the demon. " Come out of him!"
26 The unclean spirit shook him and screamed, then it came out.
Weird, right?
What’s all this about “evil” and “unclean” spirits?
Great question. Let’s dive in!
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