Jesus heals a man with an unclean spirit (Mark 1:21-28)

Mark 1:21-28 ²¹ They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. ²² They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, ²⁴ and he cried out, "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 with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷ They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching-- with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." ²⁸ At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

The Jews in the synagogue were a lot like us.  They didn't go to church on Sunday (or synagogue on Saturday) expecting to witness someone being freed of an unclean spirit.  Jesus is not only recognized by these unclean spirits, he can send them away too.  This power brings him notoriety even beyond his authoritative teaching.

The spirits of darkness are over powered by Jesus.  If you think about your life, you may see glimpses of this darkness from time to time.  Since the Holy Spirit lives within believers, unclean spirits don't.  But they can become enmeshed in our lives.  We really do have spiritual battles that go beyond what we can see in this world.  We probably feel pretty silly believing it, but the Bible is full of such references.  Trust Jesus to have authority over whatever darkness you face - even the kind that can't be weighed and measured that isn't part of the visible world- trust Jesus to send the uncleanness away.

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The story as told by Luke:

Luke 4:33-37 ³³ In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ "Let us alone! 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." ³⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm. ³⁶ They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, "What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!" ³⁷ And a report about him began to reach every place in the region.