And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.
Parallel translations
- WEB Demons also came out of many, crying out, and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Rebuking them, he didn’t allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
- BSB Demons also came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But He rebuked the demons and would not allow them to speak, because they knew He was the Christ.
- NKJV And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.
- NASB Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” And yet He was rebuking them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that He was the Christ.
- NLT Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The demons rightly identify Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, but he silences them. Even the powers of darkness recognize who he is.
Overview
As Jesus heals, demons cry out his true identity, confessing more clearly than the crowds do. Jesus refuses their testimony, both because the time and manner of revealing his messiahship were on his terms and because such witnesses would distort his mission. The episode shows Christ's authority over the spiritual realm and that his identity is to be made known through the cross and faithful proclamation, not demonic acclaim.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Mark 1:34And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.
- Jas 2:19Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
- Acts 16:17–18The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
- Luke 4:34–35Saying, 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.
- John 20:31But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
- Mark 3:11And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
- Matt 4:3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
- Matt 26:63But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
- Matt 8:29And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
- Mark 1:25And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 4:41 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.