February 1, 2015

Mk 1:21-28

Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Spirit

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who You are -- the Holy One of God." But Jesus rebuked him, saying "Be quiet, and come out of him!" And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him. And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

Have you ever seen someone possessed with an unclean spirit? Me, I haven't, not directly of course, but through media (news reports, movies, etc.) What do you feel when you see such situations? For me, it's terrifying or should I say, bloodcurdling. It's an unexplainable feeling that makes you ask yourself why it happens to such individuals. Is it because, they do not pray, or they lack faith, or are they just easily tempted by evil? There are a lot of speculations regarding possessions of a man's body, but I cannot linger much on this topic because the Bible has far more interesting things to share to us. It is the fact that we have authority over the devil.

In this article, Jesus met a man possessed with an unclean spirit, if we understand this verse deeply and we apply it in the situations today, we can compare people possessed with unclean spirit to those who are easily tempted, easily angered, those who abuse their children and those who have vices like alcohol drinking, taking prohibited drugs (excessive vices, in particular, without question are unscrupulous way of treating the body given by God). So if this situation does come to us, how do we authorize evil to get out of our body and forever leave us? God's words have driven away the unclean spirit from the man's body. Why do His words matter? Why His words do deeply stab into our heart? It's because of the Truth behind His every word. If we learn to become truthful in every word we say, if all we say are words that come from the heart that was the only key in driving away this unclean spirit. It's the authority that Jesus teaches us in this particular verse. It is learning to be truthful in everything you say and do.

The Bible has a lot of lessons that we could ponder upon, yes, it is written many years ago, but it is the only book that can never be classified as outdated because this Book of Life also is one of the keys in driving away all forms of fear and doubt that you will encounter in your everyday life. A priest once said, "The evil thing always surrounds us. Even here in the church, you can be tempted by them. So you should always be protected, have faith in Him and overcome your every fear."

Away, Away, unclean spirit

I won't give you any merit

For I'll make prayer as a habit

You will leave, I'm sure about it

God has given authority

Take over fear successfully

Yes, it was done with difficulty

But never doubt, you can be a winner surely.