Answer
More than any other Gospel writer, Mark emphasizes a sense of secrecy about 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” (Mark 1:34). Not only did Jesus command demons to be quiet, but He also asked for silence from people He had healed (Mark 1:44; 5:43; 7:36; Matthew 12:16) and warned the disciples not to tell anyone who He was (Mark 8:30; 9:9). Bible scholars suggest that Mark used a concealment theme to strategically shape his Gospel into a progressive unveiling of Jesus Christ’s true identity.
The first instance of Jesus telling demons to be quiet occurs in Mark 1:23–26 when a man possessed by an evil spirit begins crying out 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 reprimands the demon, commanding, “Be quiet!” and “Come out of him!” After racking the man with violent convulsions, the evil spirit “came out of him with a shriek.” The crowds continued to press in to hear and see Jesus minister. Mark later observes, “Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’” But 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 (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” (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 more 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 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” (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; 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 God’s plan. He did not need the testimony of demons. He would declare with His own mouth and demonstrate by His own actions the kind of Messiah He was. Our Savior would reveal the exact nature of His identity at the proper time, as day by day He lived among the people, preaching, teaching, serving, and eventually laying down His life on the cross.
Jesus commanded the demons to be quiet and did not allow evil spirits to speak about His identity as the Son of God because He would not allow God’s purposes to be thwarted or distorted by demons. Jesus came to do the Father’s will (Matthew 26:39; John 4:34; 6:38; 14:31; Hebrews 10:9). He was wholly obedient to that mission, which called for a deliberate, ever-expanding disclosure of His divine identity. When Christ silenced the demon’s ill-timed cries and confusing confessions, He was conforming to His Father’s perfect plan.
