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Answer
More than any other Gospel writer, Mark emphasizes a sense of secrecy surrounding the identity of Jesus Christ. In the opening chapter, Mark writes, “Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was” «And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. », (Mark 1:34). Not only did Jesus command demons to be silent, but He also requested silence from those He had healed (Mark 1:44;Mark 5:43;Mark 7:36;Matthew 12:16) and cautioned the disciples not to disclose His identity (Mark 8:30;Mark 9:9). Bible scholars propose that Mark employed a concealment motif to purposefully structure his Gospel as a gradual revelation of Jesus Christ’s true identity.
The first instance of Jesus instructing demons to be silent occurs in Mark 1:23–26 when a man possessed by an evil spirit starts shouting in the synagogue, “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!” Jesus rebukes the demon, ordering, “Be quiet!” and “Come out of him!” After convulsing the man violently, the evil spirit “came out of him with a shriek.” The crowds continued to gather to listen and witness Jesus minister. Mark later notes, “Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’” However, Jesus “gave them strict orders not to tell others about him” (Mark 3:11-12).
Several possible reasons exist for Jesus silencing evil spirits from proclaiming who He was. Fourth-century church father Athanasius proposed that “Jesus silenced the demons because he did not wish that the truth should proceed from an unclean mouth” (Oden, T. C., and Hall, C. A., eds., Mark, InterVarsity Press, 1998, p. 20). Jesus—the sinless, spotless Lamb of God «but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: », (1 Peter 1:19)—could speak for Himself. He would disclose His identity in His own time and way. Christ’s mission was to reveal the Father. He, who was “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” «who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; », (Hebrews 1:3), did not want people to misunderstand who He was and why He had come.
Not long after Jesus instructs the demons to be quiet, the teachers of the law accuse Jesus of being possessed by a demon and casting out evil spirits through Satan’s power (Mark 3:22-30). This occasion was one of the rare times in Scripture when Jesus defended Himself, asking the scribes, “How can Satan cast out Satan? . . . A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse. Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart. And if Satan is divided and fights against himself, how can he stand? He would never survive” (Mark 3:23-26;NLT).
Jesus explained in Mark 3:27 that it takes someone more powerful than Satan to cast out Satan. By casting out demons and silencing them, Christ proved He was the most powerful.
Jesus is the powerful One with all authority and dominion over demons and spirits. They must obey Him. When He commands an evil spirit to leave someone, it must go. When He tells demons to be quiet about His identity, they must keep quiet. As the Creator of all things, Jesus outranks every creature “in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him” «for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: », (Colossians 1:16). All things, including spiritual beings, are created by Jesus for His purposes and glory. Therefore, they must submit to Him.
The veiling of Christ’s identity also had much to do with a concern for timing. As news about Him spread and the crowds grew larger, it became more difficult for Jesus to minister to individuals (Mark 1:44-45;7:36;Matthew 9:30-31). There was also the matter of His enemies. Jesus told the demons to be quiet because He knew the ultimate revelation of who He was as God’s Son would lead to His death (Mark 2:20;Mark 8:31).
Another motive for concealing His identity may have been, in part, to avoid a violent political uprising early in His ministry. First-century Jews believed their Messiah would be a powerful military leader as well as a religious ruler. Christ’s power and authority over demons proved that God’s kingdom rule had come in Jesus Christ. However, in His first advent, Jesus had not come to earth as a triumphant king but as a suffering servant.
Christ would establish His ministry and authority on His own terms and according to His divine plan.According to God’s plan, Jesus did not rely on the testimony of demons. He would proclaim with His own mouth and demonstrate through His own actions the type of Messiah He was. Our Savior would unveil the precise nature of His identity at the appropriate time, as each day He dwelt among the people, preaching, teaching, serving, and ultimately sacrificing His life on the cross.
Jesus ordered the demons to be silent and prevented evil spirits from revealing His identity as the Son of God because He would not permit God’s intentions to be obstructed or distorted by demons. Jesus came to fulfill the Father’s will (Matthew 26:39; John 4:34; John 6:38; John 14:31; Hebrews 10:9). He was completely obedient to that purpose, which required a deliberate, progressively unfolding revelation of His divine identity. When Christ silenced the untimely cries and bewildering confessions of the demon, He was aligning with His Father’s flawless plan.
