Bible Strands
Mark 1:23
Suddenly a man with an unclean spirit cried out in the synagogue:
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — A man possessed by an unclean spirit cries out in a synagogue while Jesus is teaching. This interruption follows directly after the crowd's astonishment at His authoritative instruction.
The words — The Greek εὐθὺς (euthus) renders as "immediately" or "suddenly," marking the abrupt timing of the event. ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) identifies the speaker simply as "a man" without additional characterization.
The thread — Parallel encounters with unclean spirits appear in Mark 9:25 and Mark 1:34, where Jesus confronts and silences demonic forces. Matthew 12:43 adds context by describing how unclean spirits wander arid places seeking rest after expulsion.
Why it lands — The text documents a direct verbal challenge to Jesus' presence, establishing an immediate clash between divine authority and hostile spiritual forces. It requires a reader to recognize that the arrival of God's messenger triggers an explicit confrontation with opposition.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
Cross-references
- Mark 9:25 When Jesus saw that a crowd had come running, He rebuked the unclean spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” He said, “I command you to come out and never enter him again.”
- Matthew 12:43 When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.
- Mark 1:34 And He healed many who were ill with various diseases and drove out many demons. But He would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.
- Mark 5:2 As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, He was met by a man with an unclean spirit, who was coming from the tombs.
- Mark 7:25 Instead, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit soon heard about Jesus, and she came and fell at His feet.
- Luke 4:33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon. He cried out in a loud voice,