THEY FELL DOWN

Jesus departed with his disciples to the lake, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon.He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, ‘You are the Son of God!’ (Mark 3:7-11)

‘Mark 3:7-12 is the second of five stories recording people’s reactions to Jesus’ growing ministry. Jesus’ fame has spread across Israel. People from Sidon, fifty miles to the northwest, to Idumea, one hundred miles to the southwest, and almost everywhere in between have come for healing. The ever-present crowd keeps growing, to the point where Jesus has to plan an escape route to avoid being injured. Most people are intent on using Jesus’ power for their own gain. Ironically, only the demons show Him proper fear and respect.’ (BibleRef)

What is called an ‘unclean spirit’ is variously interpreted as an ‘evil spirit’ or ‘demon.’ Isn’t it something that whenever the demons ‘saw him’ they knew who Jesus was and they “fell down before him and shouted, ‘You are the Son of God!’” It reminded me of a couple chapters earlier when Jesus was in the synagogue at Capernaum on the Sabbath and a man with a demon was there and the demons cried out, “What do you have to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” (Mark 1:21-25) And Jesus rebuked the demon and said,

“Be quiet, and come out of him.” Jesus