Clarion

The Impure Spirit? Jared Robinson

Dec 10, 2023 |

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The impure spirit?

When Jesus showed up on the scene, people were trying to decipher if he was the Messiah they were expecting. The question of how he was going to redeem was also on the table.

Imagine being at church …WITH the one you came to learn about. But then a commotion breaks out in the third row. Everyone turns around to see who’s yelling, only to see “a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit crying out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” (Mark 1:23-24) 

So instead of avoiding the conflict by slipping away for a second cup of coffee in the lobby, perhaps we engage the questions that bubble up.

What exactly is an impure spirit?

Is it an extrinsic ghostlike being trapped inside a human host?Or is it more like that internal part of us that isn’t living into the truth of the spirit of love? Either way, it seems to have been threatened by Jesus here. Perhaps because Jesus was the opposite of what it was. Impure will always be threatened by Pure. Untruth will always be challenged by “Truth,” which is one of the ways Jesus describes Himself as (John 14:6).

The possessed man seemed to have an impure spirit of fear, believing that Jesus was a destroyer. So my next question is the same one that the impure spirit asked - was Jesus there to destroy? A lot of people were expecting the Messiah to take the throne and set up camp as the new king. If Jesus was the Messiah, perhaps he was going to  destroy the current ruling kingdoms and all those who opposed Him? For those of us who have read the rest of the story, we know that Jesus didn’t win by killing His opponents. In fact, quite the opposite is how it went down. 
 
So, did the impure spirit get it wrong? Jesus wasn’t there to destroy people. So perhaps the story points us to the one asking the question. Was it the impure spirit that was afraid of being destroyed?
 
This leads me to my final question. What happens when Jesus destroys impure spirits? “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him” (Mark 1:25-26). It appears here that any violence inflicted was on the part of the impure spirit leaving. Releasing our fears can hurt like hell but with them gone the Holy Spirit has room to breathe and we begin to have eyes to see …The Truth. 
 
Artwork: “Breakthrough” by Jared Robinson

 

 

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