This passage contains a nutshell summary of the whole mission of Jesus: to free humankind from enslavement to the forces of evil, which he does by the power of his word — his is God’s Word-made-flesh (Jn 1:14). To use this passage to argue the pros and cons of personal demons and diabolical possession risks missing the point: all humanity is in the grip of the power of evil without Christ.

This first miracle of Jesus in Mark’s account climaxes the introduction to his Gospel. Read from the beginning of the gospel up to this point. V 1 gives the title, an unmistakable identification of Jesus. John the Baptist, as herald, preaches repentance and preparation (vv 2-8). Jesus embarks on his ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit (vv 9-11), struggles with the forces that would distort his ministry and run it off true course (vv 12-13), and sets off to continue and fulfill what John had begun (vv 14-15). He gathers disciples (vv 16-20), and he teaches (vv 21-22).

Notice that Jesus does not seek out the possessed man. The demon is threatened by the very presence of Jesus and his word, and confronts him. In its fearful rejection of Jesus, the force of evil itself witnesses to him (v 24). Jesus is not asked by anybody to cure the man, he simply order the demon to release him. V 27 relates his word of teaching with his word of power —it is one and the same word. Those who hear his word experience his power. His teaching cannot be separated from his person. He is what he teaches.

Although these words are put into the mouth of Moses as lawgiver, they actually date from much later in Jewish history. The entire book of Deuteronomy is a compilation of laws and traditions formulated during the monarchy (tenth to sixth centuries, B.C.E.) and finally codified around the end of that period.

The description of the four major offices of Israelite society (judges, 17:8-13; kings, 17:14-20; priests, 18:1-8; and prophets, 18:9-22) presents an ideal of social order that seldom occurred in reality, so there was always hope for a better future. The prophet is depicted as being God’s true representative, as opposed to the falsity of pagan oracles. The prophet was seen to have the power to proclaim God’s will in a way that would bring about the deeds that the words signified. Thus Jesus is the fulfillment of the true meaning of prophet.

A sound with no one to hear it is no sound at all. Even the voice of God, spoken through the prophets, through his Son, through his Church, has no power unless freely received — heard and understood, taken to heart and acted upon. And so we must pray that we will hear his voice when he speaks. Response: "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts."

Paul’s purpose here is not to advise whether or not to marry. He was obviously unmarried himself — as a traveling missionary, he had no fixed home, and so marriage and family would have been impossible (see v 8). However he regarded marriage very highly, calling it a sign of the union between Christ and his Church (see Eph 5:21-33). Here Paul holds up an ideal of detachment from the things and ways of the world, using virginity as a sign of this detachment, not as its only means of fulfillment. No matter what our state in life, the important thing is to keep our eyes firmly fixed on what is beyond, and not let ourselves become helplessly entangled in the passing concerns of the here and now.

1. How do words have power? What does this say about the power of God’s word in your life?

2. How and where do you see the power evil at work in your own life? How can the power of Jesus counter it?