Gospel of Mark Chapter 1 Vs. 24

 Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit

Mark 1:24 “Saying, Let [us] alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.”

us

Me and those like me. The demons, says Bengel, make common cause.

what have we... Questions 1-2. Next, Mark 1:27. Or, possibly Why do you interfere with us? The demon was acutely aware that he and Jesus belonged to two radically different kingdoms, and thus had nothing in common. That the demon used the plural pronoun we indicate he spoke for all the demons. Israel's, God's seed against Satan's seed.

know thee who... Demons knew Jesus and recognized His authority (Acts 19:15). Perhaps the demon sought to show acquaintance with Jesus to discredit Him and make it appear that He was in league with the demon world, but Jesus put an end to this by casting him out, thus proving that He was their enemy and showing that He had power over them.

the Holy One... Psm. 16:10; Dan. 9:24; Luke 4:34; Acts 2:27; 3:14; 4:27; Rev. 3:7).
Amazingly, the demon affirmed Jesus’ sinlessness and deity, truths which many in Israel denied, and still deny.

the Holy One of God

The demon names him as giving to the destruction the impress of hopeless certainty.

We see that this man was possessed of demons. This is a very good Scripture here to prove just who demons really are. My own personal belief about demons is that they are the third of the angels who followed Lucifer when he was thrown out of heaven.

Angels are ministering spirits. The angels who remained on God’s team, minister good. The fallen angels who followed Lucifer are evil, and they minister evil. As Lucifer’s name was changed to Satan, these angels became demons.

In the Scripture above, these demons recognized Jesus. If my opinion of who they are is true, they would have known Jesus the Word, in heaven. It would be natural for them to not only know who He was, but also for them to fear what He might do to them. The fallen angels know that their fate is eternity in hell.

They know that Jesus is the Judge who will determine where they go. So you see this is not ungrounded fear. (In verse 23), when the man cried out, it was actually these evil spirits that cried out. The demons knew Jesus as the Holy One of God.

We have discussed before how Jesus’ name that He used at a specific time, was descriptive of the work that He was doing at the time. Such as Jesus, Savior; Christ, Anointed One. This Holy One of God is His relationship to the Father in heaven.

It alarms and shocks us to think that evil spirits have power over the human mind, and still more that such power should extend, as in cases of possession, even to the body. Evil men, however, manifestly wield such power.

Then we learn that man is not only fallen but assaulted, not only feeble but enslaved, not only a wandering sheep but under the power of Satan, at his will.

What we know is that the sacred Presence provoked a crisis. There is an unbelief which never can be silent, never wearies railing at the faith, and there is a corruption which resents goodness and hates it as a personal wrong. So, the demons who possessed men were never able to confront Jesus calmly. They resent His interference; they cry out; they disclaim having anything to do with Him; they seem indignant that He should come to destroy them who have destroyed so many. There is something weird and unearthly in the complaint.

Again, the demon spoke through the man who cried out, what do You want with us…? These words translate a Hebrew idiom which expresses the incompatibility of opposing forces (cf. Mark 5:7; Jos. 22:24; Jdg. 11:12; 2Sam. 16:10; 19:22).

This question, in the NIV, could be punctuated more forcefully as a declaration: have come into the world to destroy ruin, not annihilate us. The pronoun us in both sentences indicates that this demon perceived the significance of Jesus’ presence (cf. Mark 1:15) to all the demonic forces. Jesus was the ultimate threat to their power and activity.

The demon, in contrast with most people, recognized Jesus’ true character and identity as the Holy One of God (cf. Mark 3:11; 5:7), the One empowered by the Holy Spirit. Thus, the evil spirit knew the explanation for Jesus’ authority.