Mark 3:11-12 - Superior, Not Equal

Mark 3:11-12
11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are the Son of God!” 12 And He earnestly warned them not to tell who He was.

Message: Superior, Not Equal

Time: Mark's personal connection with Peter gave him the source material for this book. This book was composed probably between AD 57 and AD 59. It's a book that is on the move, leading to the cross. 39 times is the word 'immediately' used. Mark reveals Jesus as God's servant, reaching into the lives of people and effecting physical and circumstantial change.

What the Lord is Saying:

This is an interesting placement of these 2 verses. In the preceding passage, Jesus was headed to a boat, partly ready to get away because the people were crowding in on him and he had instead a message to preach of repentance and believing to people. Back in chapter 1, verse 34 it states, And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was. What stands out in that passage is healing many with a large crowd around, but Jesus not letting the demons speak of Him. The demons knew something about Jesus and spoke this about Him - that others did not. 

And now here in Mark 3 is a similar scene with the unclean spirits or demons - Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are the Son of God!” And He earnestly warned them not to tell who He was. 

It seems in our world today, there are still many that acknowledge Him and surrender their life to Him and yet also many that do not surrender. Yet, the idea of demons and demon possession and Satan living right now is not spoken and if it is, it is often belittled. The French poet Charles Baudelaire once said, "The devil's finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist." There have been ways I have seen that the reality of Satan and his dominions and angels have been presented, like the "This Present Darkness" book series by Frank Peretti, TV Shows like "Touched by an Angel," a sermon series by Andy Stanley in Atlanta called "Twisted" in which he talked about there being more in this world than we can see. But overall, like the Holy Spirit that I have been thinking more about, I think Satan is also de-emphasized even in our churches. Perhaps it is the "unseen" dynamic that Satan has done a good job getting people to not emphasize. I admit, how often do I refer to Satan in my discussions and yet here in Mark, Satan and demon possession has already been mentioned several times by Jesus.

Tabletalk also mentions that there can be a danger in people to blame Satan for every sin and habitual sin in life, such as the demon of alcoholism. So, there must be a happy balance that is needed. But, good and evil are not equally powerful. Satan is still a finite being and not infinite like the Creator.

Son of God
In this passage, the demons call Jesus the Son of God. Traditionally, in Christianity is the belief that the term - Son of God - referred to the Messiah and it was a term believed to have been used by Jewish people. Psalm 2:7-8 states I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. Non-believers argue that the term never was used to refer to Jesus as the Messiah, but could the Jews and followers in the time of Jesus possibly had changed its usage? In this passage of scripture, is it noteworthy that the demons would simply be referring to Jesus as being like God or having a God-likeness. Thus, can a term change in history.

"When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”.
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven." (Matthew 16:13-17)

"Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on THE SON OF GOD?
He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen HIM, and it is HE that talketh with thee".
(John 9:35-37)

"Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are THE Messiah, THE SON OF GOD.”
Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
(Matthew 26:63-64)

I think we can be clear from this that the Son of God, in the Gospels refers to Jesus. And this is the consistent message in the gospels and New Testament of Jesus.

Promise: Safe in the hands of Jesus, we need not fear anything Satan can throw at us.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for being who you are and showing me the way to true life in you. Thank you for protecting me from evil. You are the Son of God. I believe in you. Help me to understand that Satan is real and working in this world but my confidence and victory is in you.