commentary on mark :: jesus casts out an unclean spirit

The text (Mark 1:21-28, ESV):

21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are— the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

The commentary:

This is really a pretty amazing text! And when I posed a few questions about it to the BibleDude group on Facebook, people generally agreed on several points. However, I think that there were also some misconceptions about what this text says.

The biggest misconception about what this text says is that we, as Christians, also have this same authority. I don’t think that is part of what the message is here. One of the biggest rules of interpretation is to never interpret one Biblical text with another text. While it is true that Jesus taught us that we would do “even greater things” than some of the miracles that He did, that idea cannot fairly be applied to understanding what this text means. So it may be a true statement, but I want to get down to figuring out what exactly this text means on its own merits.

First, I think that we must remember that the audience of the Gospel of Mark is primarily the power-hungry Roman culture (see Commentary on Mark :: An Introduction). Therefore, one thing to remember when thinking about the context and intent of this passage is that it was probably intended to help this audience understand and believe.

It may also be important to understand a little bit about the location of Capernaum where this happened. The event happened early in Jesus’ ministry, just shortly after calling His first disciples. It is believed that Capernaum was a fairly (economically) poor town because archaeologists have noticed a lack of infrastructure with things like hygienic facilities and drainage. Jesus may have chosen this site as the center of his public ministry in Galilee most likely because it was the home of some of the first disciples. Apparently, Jesus shared regularly in the synagogue there on the Sabbath. Full understanding about this location may not have been apparent to much of the intended audience, but it is important to note that this place was home to some of the disciples, and became the center of His public ministry.

One of the most common responses from readers about this passage is around the authority that the people said that Jesus preached with. The Greek word used here for authority is exousian. It literally translates as power or authority, but has idea of a power “without hindrance.” It could be used to say that one has the power of choice or to do as one pleases. I think that it is interesting to note that Jesus’ power over the unclean spirit was a power of choice. The demon had to leave simply because Jesus desired it to do so, and that desire was not limited by anything. It is also interesting to note that the same word for authority (exousian) is also used elsewhere to describe the power or rule of government. This is certainly something that would have stuck the original Roman audience!

One thing that the original audience would have taken away from this is that there was a man in a simple fishing village who was displaying a power that was not limited. Even people with what probably would have been considered to be ‘social problems’ were not beyond the authority of this Man. If this guy spoke against the Caesar of the time, he might have been thrown in jail (or worse). But when this man speaks against Jesus, the ‘unclean’ nature of the man is cast out. Rather than being punished, the man is made clean. The Romans certainly would have been amazed at this display of power, and so should we!

 

Related posts: Commentary on Mark
Join the discussion on other passages: BibleDude.net Facebook Group

Commentary on Mark :: Jesus Calls Four Fishermen

The text (Mark 1:16-20):

16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
Read more

Commentary on Mark :: Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry

The text (Mark 1:14-15):

14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” 

 

The commentary:
After the preparation of His baptism and testing, Jesus now begins His ministry. He does this in the northern region of Galilee, the area where He grew up as a young man. His hometown of Nazareth is in this region, so basically He starts close to home. This probably would have had little impact on the original audience of this Gospel, but what I do find interesting is what He starts saying to a people who technically already “know” God…

Twice in this passage, Mark uses a term that is translated here as good news (or gospel in some translations). The Greek word used here is euangélion. It literally translates as good message (eu=good; angelia=message, announcement, or news). Jesus went into an area that already knew about God, and started preaching the good message of God. I imagine in some ways it must have been like preaching to the choir. But it is how He started to communicate the good message that made the difference.

Jesus comes in saying that the time has come for something big. The Jews have always expected the Kingdom of God to come, and Jesus was saying that the occasion in time was now coming to pass. He was saying that what you have been expecting for centuries is now here. Not only is it here, but you must now turn from your old ways, and believe what you are about to see. He was letting them know that their lives were about to change forever.

At this point, Jesus hadn’t performed any miracles (according to the “timeline” of this Gospel), and He was starting off in such a way that would let people know that what they were about to witness was the fulfillment of everything that they had been hoping and waiting for their whole lives. This was the launch of something big, and Jesus let them know ahead of time that something was about to happen.

The word euangélion is also the root of our English word evangel or evangelize. Even today at the core of the evangelism efforts of the church is this idea that there is this great message that needs to be shared. It is the message of salvation and restoration through the suffering of Christ. Our gospel is the story that we have in us about how we have been changed and restored through this Glorious King. And as Jesus did, we must go and announce our ministry and that we have a good message to share that will change their lives too.

Commentary on Mark :: Jesus is Tempted by Satan

The text (Mark 1:12-13):

12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. 

 

The commentary:
This is by far the shortest account of Jesus’ time in the wilderness after His baptism. However, it actually says a great deal about this event in His life.

The first thing that I notice about this passage is how the Spirit “drove” Him out into the wilderness. The Greek more directly translates as impels, but either way it was the Spirit of God that caused Him to go into the wilderness. According to other sources, Jesus would have been around 30 years old when this happened. Therefore, He would have already been living a fairly established life. He would have been living in “the world” and certainly would have experienced much that life brings our way. But before He could fulfill His destiny, He had to be driven into the wilderness. I think that often we look for the easy road to be the path that God directs us, but often He may drive all of us into the wilderness before we can fulfill what He has called us to.

The other Gospels certainly speak more to the types of temptations that Jesus was subjected to, but for this audience it was apparently only important to mention that He was tested without needing to get into the details of how He was tested. Regardless of the level of detail, this mention of the temptations certainly speaks to the idea that He went through a qualifying experience in some way. By going through this temptation, He has shown Himself worthy.

This passage also points out that He had to live among the wild animals. To the original audience, this certainly would have shown that he could not only endure the temptation, but also the harshness of the untamed world around Him. What an amazing example to us as Christians! These days, we tend to separate ourselves from the “untamed world” around us in order to protect ourselves from the harm that it could cause us. But we need not be afraid, because…

Finally, this passage points out that the angels ministered to Him. God had placed the protection that He needed around Him. While I am not saying that this is a theological proof that we as Christians have “guardian angels,” I am saying that when we are in the wilderness we have the protection that we need, just like Jesus did. This protection may come from actual angels, but it may also come from other sources, such as other believers. Jesus would have had a confidence in this, and we can too. However, within the context of this narrative by Mark, this is yet another proof that this man was different…  even the supernatural served Him.

Next Page »