After driving out the demon from the man in the synagogue, Jesus goes to the house of Simon (Luke 4:38-44). There, He heals Simon’s mother-in-law who is sick with a severe fever. She instantly recovers. The news of His miraculous healings and exorcisms spread throughout the district, and people begin to flock to the house of Simon where He is staying. They bring to Him the sick and He drives out numerous evil spirits: “And demons also came out from many, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God.’”
But what is interesting is the verse that follows: “But He rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that He was the Messiah.” We may naturally wonder why Jesus stops the demons from revealing that He is the Messiah. This is the truth, after all. Jesus does not intend to stifle or hide the truth. Rather, He is just forbidding the demons to publicly and openly declare this truth. We can cite five reasons for this.
First, because the demons are a big distraction to the pastoral activity of Jesus. He must deal with them decisively and swiftly so that they are out of the scene in the quickest possible time. Letting them talk any longer will take the attention away from Him and the essential message He is trying to teach the people.
Second, the demons speak using the voice of the possessed persons. They are robbing the victims of their ability to speak for themselves. Letting the devils continue to speak through their victims implies tacit permission for the demons to take control of their victim. Jesus cannot let the devils do this. They must be silenced immediately.
Third, these evil spirits are cunning and devious. They twist the truth masterfully, mixing it with half-truths and misleading statements. We only need to look at the example of the conversation in the Garden of Eden between Eve and the serpent. There is no such thing as pure truth when the devil speaks. One has always to be on guard for the subtly hidden deceptions. So, Jesus must command the devils to shut up right away. Otherwise, many people may fall into their trap.
Fourth, the devils’ public declaration that Jesus is the Messiah is premature. The title ‘Messiah’ has strong political connotations and serious implications. On many occasions, Jesus talks about the ‘hour’. That is why there are ‘messianic secrets’ that He closely keeps, for His ‘hour has not yet come’. Revealing these before the ‘appointed time’ can seriously derail His mission. One example is what happened after the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. The people were so amazed and excited, “Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, [so] he withdrew again to the mountain alone” (John 6:15).
And finally, even if the devils are declaring the truth about Jesus being the Son of God, this should not come from them. Allowing them to speak about this is tantamount to Jesus giving them an endorsement. Obviously, this can in no way help safeguard and improve the reputation of Jesus. Rather, it can easily put Him in a bad light, and He can be accused of being in collusion with the devils. That, in fact, is what happened. At some point, the crowds entertained that thought: “Some of them said, ‘By the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he drives out demons’” (Luke 11:15).
All throughout His public ministry, Jesus encountered a lot of evil spirits, and His reaction is swift and consistent. He invariably drives them all away with just a word of command. There can be no compromises with them whatsoever. Jesus is the Light. Wherever He is, He always drives out darkness. It is His mission to liberate people from the bondage and dominion of the Evil One.
As Christians, we must follow the example of the Lord. We must always remind ourselves of our baptismal promise to reject the father of sin and prince of darkness, Satan, his works and his empty promises. There cannot be any compromise with the devil. In this great spiritual warfare, there is no middle ground: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Matthew 12:30).
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!