Mark 1:24, commentary and pictures

The cry was wrenched from the possessed man in the Capernaum synagogue by the demon speaking through him, demanding to be left alone and asking what Jesus of Nazareth has to do with them and whether He has come to destroy them. Beneath that outburst the afflicted man himself was stirred by Christ's presence to long for freedom from long bondage and silently appeal for help, producing a terrible conflict between his desire for deliverance and the evil spirit's effort to retain control. Even in resistance the demon's naming of Him as the Holy One of God acknowledged His true identity and divine authority as the Messiah, the Prince of Life and Redeemer of the world. Though the demons knew His power could destroy them, Jesus rebuked and silenced their testimony and with authoritative voice commanded them to come out and set their captives free. That deliverance shows no captivity to secret sin or ruling passion is hopeless, for Christ hears the heart's silent appeal and has power to break Satan's tyranny and bring the captive into freedom and soundness of mind.

Cry in the Synagogue

The cry broke out in the synagogue at Capernaum on the Sabbath day before the assembled congregation, while Jesus was speaking about the kingdom of God and His mission to set free those held captive by Satan. The outburst interrupted His teaching and drew the people's attention away from Him and His words. That diversion served Satan's purpose, to keep the words from reaching hearts.

The plea to be left alone did not come from the man himself and did not express his own desire, but was wrenched from his lips by Satan's power and spoken by the demon through him. His mind had been darkened by Satan, yet the presence and divine power of Jesus stirred his remaining reason and kindled a ray of light and a longing for freedom from long bondage and control. He partly understood and partially comprehended that he stood before One who could set him free, that Jesus' teaching was from heaven, and he tried to come within reach of that mighty hand and silently appeal for help.

When he tried to appeal, another will held him and the evil spirit resisted the power of Christ, controlled his speech, and put its own words of terror into his mouth through him in an agony of fear. Through him it asked Jesus of Nazareth to leave them alone, what He had to do with them, and whether He had come to destroy them and their power, revealing fear of His authority and of His divine power. Even that utterance testified to His divine authority, though those who resisted divine evidence did not grasp its significance.

The words thus expose a terrible conflict between the sufferer's desire for freedom and the evil spirit's effort to retain control of its victim. The demon exerted all its power to hold its ground, because to lose ground there would give Jesus a victory. The struggle was so fierce that the tortured man seemed about to lose his life, until Jesus spoke with a voice of authority that alone could break the cruel tyranny and set the captive free into the freedom of self-possession.

Confession of Christ's Identity

The cry names Jesus as the Holy One of God and the Son of God, recognizing who He truly is and bearing witness to His divine power and authority even while resisting Him. The evil spirit feared He had come to destroy its power, and its words testified to that divine authority even as the outburst was used to distract hearers from His teaching. That testimony stood even though those who resisted divine evidence did not grasp its significance. The confession did not express the man's own darkened understanding, for he only partly recognized that Jesus could free him, while the demon's fear was stirred when divine power awakened his remaining reason and began the conflict for his release.

That acknowledgment, forced even from the prince of the powers of darkness and the powers of darkness themselves, gives witness that He is Jesus the Messiah, the Prince of Life, and the Redeemer of the world. His divine identity was thus recognized even by His enemy. As the Holy One, His divine glory and majesty coexist with love and sympathy for even the weakest person, and entitle Him to praise and adoration.

The confession forced even from demons and evil spirits confirms that His enemies and the powers of evil could find no sin or fault in Him. He knew no envy, worldly ambition, pride, or selfishness. He remained wholly loyal to God's law, never acted against His Father's will, and always did what pleased His Father.

Satan already knew well who Christ was from association with Him in the heavenly courts, as proved also by the cry of the evil spirits in the two madmen at Gadara. Yet in the wilderness, when Christ was tested as the second Adam, Satan disputed His sovereignty and demanded evidence that He was the Son of God. Through Christ's humanity Satan could still see the glory and purity of the Holy One, and seeing Christ recalled his own former beauty and holiness before self-exaltation led him to strive for a place above Christ and fail. The same opposing cry appears where Satan opposes Christ while Christ's Spirit is at work bringing forth a message acknowledging Jesus as the Son of God.

The same evil spirit that tempted Jesus in the wilderness spoke through the possessed man, though with a different approach. That same spirit also worked in the unbelieving Jews who rejected Jesus and scorned His teachings, there assuming an appearance of piety and learning to conceal motives and deceive as to why they rejected Him. The afflicted people themselves did not understand who Jesus was or His mission to free those held by Satan and ultimately to destroy Satan, who wields the power of death.

Though the demons publicly acknowledged His authority through the people they controlled and knew His power could destroy them, Jesus silenced them as He freed their captives rather than accepting their testimony. He rebuked the spirit and commanded it to come out of the man and to surrender. His work as the great Medical Missionary, bringing healing to soul and body by forgiving sin and healing disease with convincing miracles, so plainly revealed His glory that demons were pained, and when compelled by Him to cease tormenting human beings they confessed Him to be the Holy One of God.

Bondage and Deliverance Today

The terrible affliction of the man in Capernaum followed a life of sinful pleasure, dissipation, intemperance, and frivolity that broke the laws of health and morality, weakened and perverted his mind, and opened the way for Satan to gain control of him. Possessed and helplessly captive under an evil spirit's control, he illustrates how secret sin or a ruling passion can enslave a person to a power stronger than his own. Yet such captivity is not hopeless, and his condition was less hopeless than that of those who feel no need of Christ and are therefore held fast under Satan's power.

Only Jesus' voice of authority could break that cruel tyranny and bring the captive into the freedom of self-possession. The demon made a last effort to rend the life from its victim before being forced to depart. The man was left delivered, clothed and in his right mind, and afterward joined the triumphal entry procession to Jerusalem adding his own testimony that the Lord had done great things for him. The deliverance belongs to Christ's personal ministry, the time of greatest activity for the forces of darkness when Satan summoned all his forces and contested Christ's work at every step.

For ages Satan with his evil angels had sought to control the bodies and souls of men to bring sin and suffering and then charge that misery upon God, while Jesus in this deliverance was revealing the character of God, breaking Satan's power, and setting His captives free, as new life and love and power from heaven moved upon hearts and the prince of evil was aroused to contend for supremacy. No one is beyond deliverance in Christ, for even when the evil spirit speaks through the captive and he cannot voice his own plea, the heart's silent, unspoken appeal for freedom is heard by Him who has power to release. God does not control the mind without consent, and those who enter into covenant with Him are not left to Satan's power or their own weakness.