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And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
What is the reason that X would not permit to speak?
Again Jesus muzzles the demons, “because they knew who he was” (v. 34). Luke is more specific: “because they knew he was the Christ” (Luke 4:41). This reluctance by Jesus to have the demons reveal him as the Messiah is best explained by Jesus’ desire to show by word and deed what kind of Messiah he was (viz., one quite different from the popular conception of the Messiah) before he declared himself.1
1 Wessel, W. W. (1984). Mark. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Vol. 8, p. 628). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
We are not to suppose that Jesus is trying to keep his identity a secret; rather, we should understand that Jesus shows the evil spirits no quarter.1
1 Evans, C. A. (2003). Mark. In J. D. G. Dunn & J. W. Rogerson (Eds.), Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible (p. 1070). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
Simon’s mother-in-law began to serve Jesus as he healed her. KJV uses “ministered” as to serve. Why did she serve him? Was it just out of gratitude or was it a Jewish custom? Did she recognize Jesus as God, Christ (Messiah = Anointed One) If so, healing can be thought of as sign of deity or Messiah.
In one rabbinic tradition healing someone with a fever was considered a greater miracle (because it is heaven sent) than the miracle of the three men who survived the ordeal of the furnace (because the fire was man-made): “who can extinguish” a fever? (b. Ned. 41a).1
1 Evans, C. A. (2003). Mark. In J. D. G. Dunn & J. W. Rogerson (Eds.), Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible (p. 1070). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.