Scripture Reference: Mark 1:14-45

This Is Why He Has Come – Continued

Please read Mark 1:29-39 for the background to this section.

Jesus had gone out to some quiet hillside to find solitude with God, that union with His Father that matters even more than catching up on His sleep. This is where He finds renewal and refocuses His vision after the clamor of the crowds. The divine Son of God is also that fragile man who needs to do that. Simon and company find Him . . . and they are not impressed. It’s morning now and when they find Him, they say, “Everyone is looking for you.” However, Jesus does not go back to Capernaum that day. Instead He moves on. There are other places, lots of them, that need to hear His words. The word here for “towns” suggests, not the tiny hamlets like Nazareth, but bigger places, small market towns. This part of Mark’s narrative concludes with the picture of Jesus pursuing this strategy, traveling between these centers, “preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.”

But now for the surprises. The first comes in verse 34; “He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew Him.” Now, we could understand it if Mark had written, “He would not let the demons speak because they were telling lies about Him.” After all, Satan is called the “father of lies;” falsehood is his specialty. But in the presence of Jesus’ authority, the demons do not lie . . . or they can’t lie; like the one in the synagogue, they will blurt out His true identity as they depart the scene. Of all those who hear Him, they know Jesus’ identity more accurately than anyone. So we must ask the question, doesn’t He want to be known for who He truly is? Of course He does, but not like this, not with the terrified squeaks of an enemy. Jesus’ mission is not simply to get people to realize who He is, as if this were some kind of cosmic identity parade. His mission is to confront people with the decision they have to make: to recognize Him, yes; but then to acknowledge Him, follow Him, and love Him. Without that, the most complete knowledge about Jesus is useless. So, He silences the demons, proving again, just by the way, that He has total power over the forces of evil.

The demons’ theology is excellent. They know who their enemy is; they know He is going to win. When they see Jesus appear on the earth, the Son of God, they recognize Him as the One who will finally defeat them. They have only the haziest notion about how that will happen, and they don’t understand about the cross, but they do know that Jesus’ arrival spells their final defeat. They have a superb grasp of biblical theology. But do they have faith in Christ? Of course not. The demons, in fact, are a perfect illustration of the fact that simply believing in God is no good to anybody (James 2:19). We should never think that just because someone can say, “I believe in God,” they are thereby close to faith in Christ. The brutal truth is that unless you know Jesus Christ, in a very real and very personal relationship, unless you embrace Him and follow Him as the Son of God, you are no better off than these demons. They know all about God, but in the face of Jesus all they can do is scream and disappear for ever. Plenty of people say they believe in “God,” but only real, true Christians, disciples of Jesus, start with Jesus, being united, abiding with and in Him.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
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