Hello, children of our Almighty God,
Today, let’s take a look at how demons view Jesus:
saying, “What do we have to do with You, Jesus the Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
— Mark 1:24
Mark records the words of a man who was demon-possessed. Through these words, we can glean the devil’s view of Jesus. Many people today struggle to believe in who Jesus is, which has led many to fall into the trap of unbelief, resulting in a sad eternal destiny for those who don’t believe. The author of Hebrews underscores this point:
So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
— Hebrews 3:19
One commentator said, “The reason people go to hell is not sin, but rather unforgiven sin. Chief among these is the sin of unbelief.”
However, here we see a peculiar case where demons actually believe in the facts about Jesus. Granted, they don’t believe in Him for salvation, but nonetheless, they know who Jesus is in the most accurate sense.
Demons Are Afraid of Jesus
The tone with which the demons spoke is one that is full of fear. The Hebrew idiom they use literally translates to “What to us and to You.” Jesus Himself uses this idiom when speaking to His mother in John 2:
And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what do I have to do with you? My hour has not yet come.”
— John 2:4
One commentator on this passage mentions that the equivalent Hebrew expression in the Old Testament could be used when one person was unjustly bothering another. The injured party could say, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judges 11:12; 2 Chronicles 35:21; 1 Kings 17:18).
— Accordance Forums
In this case, the demons were playing the victim card and speaking as the injured, weaker party. For the demons to take this position shows that they were afraid of Jesus. Further evidence of this is seen in the question they pose later on: “Have You come to destroy us?”
For demons to fear Jesus shows that He was greater than any other being they would usually encounter. Remember, this scene is taking place in the synagogue, which shows that these unclean spirits were not afraid of the man they were possessing, nor were they afraid of the other congregants, rabbis, or priests in the synagogue. But they were very much afraid of Jesus.
Jesus is so great, He is to be feared even by these demons who had the audacity to possess someone within the synagogue. Jesus is to be feared:
So now, O kings, show insight;
Take warning, O judges of the earth.
Serve Yahweh with fear
And rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
— Psalm 2:10-12
Jesus is the Prophesied Nazarene
Next, we see the demons identify Jesus by His title as a Nazarene, that is, Jesus of Nazareth. This points back to the prophecies about Jesus being the one who comes from Nazareth:
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
— Isaiah 11:1
In Isaiah’s prophecy, he mentions a shoot that will spring from Jesse and also refers to a branch. The word for branch here shares roots with the word for Nazareth:
[nēṣer] n.
sprout, shoot, branch (always fig.)
This title that the demons use also points to the human upbringing of Jesus, acknowledging that they knew Him as a human being who grew up in Nazareth:
and came and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
— Matthew 2:23
The demons’ identification of Jesus as a Nazarene not only presents the fact that they knew about the numerous prophecies concerning His coming but also that they were fully aware these prophecies were fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Can Destroy Demons
This is evident in the question the demons ask Jesus: “Have You come to destroy us?” Embedded in this statement is the absolute certainty that Jesus could, at a moment’s notice, disintegrate the demons.
This speaks to the authority that Jesus carried. He had authority over these unclean spirits, and at least the demons knew this. This is why their tone towards Jesus is one of pleading. The Apostle Paul eloquently expresses this in his doxology about Christ:
For in Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
— Colossians 1:16
Jesus is the Messiah
Finally, the demons call Jesus by His messianic title: “the Holy One of God.” This is a title that also translates to “the Anointed One.” There are multiple passages in the Old Testament that use this title to speak about the coming Messiah:
Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘You will not give Your Holy One over to see corruption.’
— Acts 13:35For You will not forsake my soul to Sheol;
You will not give Your Holy One over to see corruption.
— Psalm 16:10
In acknowledging that Jesus is the Holy One of God, they were affirming that Jesus is sinless and that He is the begotten One of God. In other words, they were affirming Jesus’s deity, for no one is holy but God. And finally in affirming his dirty, they were also affirming that He can indeed save mankind.
It is quite astonishing to know that the view these unclean spirits had about Jesus is more accurate than the view some who claim to be believers and Christians hold today. Today, we have Christians who don’t believe that Jesus was a real person, don’t believe in the deity of Christ, don’t believe that Jesus has absolute authority over the universe, and don’t believe that He died and rose again to redeem the lost.
From the fact that demons believe in the facts about Jesus but don’t themselves believe in Jesus for salvation, we can learn something very serious:
It is very possible for one to believe all the facts about Jesus and yet not believe in His saving power and grace. James makes this point in his epistle to the church:
You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
— James 2:19
This is the battle between mere head knowledge and heart knowledge. The demons had accurate knowledge about Jesus. They knew facts about Him, they knew He was the Holy One of God, they knew He was the Messiah, and yet, these facts about Jesus never brought them into an intimate, salvific relationship with Christ.
One such relationship that was clearly based on head knowledge, not heart knowledge, was the relationship Judas Iscariot had with Jesus. Despite knowing Him and walking with Him for three years during Jesus’ ministry, Judas never truly knew Jesus in a way that would save him from the wrath of God. This is why he is called the “son of perdition.” In contrast, the other disciples entered into a personal and salvific relationship with Christ.
“While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.”
—John 17:12
This is a very dangerous place to be—to know all there is to know about Jesus and yet miss out on His saving grace. Yet, many live and die in this very state. Such are the ones Jesus speaks of in Matthew 7:
Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, in Your name did we not prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
— Matthew 7:22-23
I truly pray that this word exhorts us to reexamine our relationship with Christ. Is it a true salvific relationship with Him? Do we know Christ, or are we just full of mental facts about Him? Are we born again?
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Leave a Reply