The Demons Knew

We begin with a pattern in the Gospels that any careful reader will notice. When Jesus confronted those possessed by demons, the spirits within them often reacted with terror and with recognition.

Similar scenes appear in Matthew 8:29 and Mark 1:24. Two questions follow, and we state them before attempting either. First, did these spirits truly know to whom they were speaking? Second, were they speaking to God Himself, or only to someone God had sent?

We grant at the outset that the demons addressed Jesus by titles such as "Son of God" and "Holy One of God," and that these titles might seem, on the surface, to distinguish Jesus from God. Our purpose is to show that a closer reading points the other way: the spirits were speaking to God Himself, manifest in the flesh. We proceed in four steps. First, we examine what they said. Second, we examine whom they feared. Third, we explain the titles they used. Fourth, we ask why Jesus silenced them.

In every demonic encounter recorded in the Gospels, the spirits show a clear awareness of who Jesus is. They do not speak as if confused or uncertain, but with dread and certainty. In the synagogue at Capernaum the unclean spirit breaks into the teaching to cry out, "Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art."¹ In the country of the Gergesenes the devils in the two possessed men cry out:

These are not vague religious expressions but statements of fear. The demons were not afraid of Jesus merely because He was a prophet or a healer; they were afraid because He bore the power and authority of final judgment, and only one Being has authority to destroy spiritual beings and to consign them to torment: God Himself.

We observe that no demon in Scripture ever begged a prophet for mercy. They did not tremble before Moses or Elijah, nor even before the apostles, though they acknowledged the apostles as servants of a greater power. When the sons of Sceva tried to cast out a spirit, it answered:

The spirit knew Paul, but its fear belonged to Jesus. In His presence the demons panicked, and the reason is plain: they understood that they stood before the One who held power over their destiny. Scripture says that everlasting fire is "prepared for the devil and his angels," and that the devil will be cast into the lake of fire at the judgment of God.² The demons in Matthew 8 feared that this judgment was already beginning. Their plea, "before the time," shows that they knew the timeline, and that they recognized in Jesus the authority to carry it out. The evidence indicates, then, that they were speaking not to a prophet, an angel, or a representative, but to the Judge of all spirits, who is God Himself.

We come now to the point on which the question turns. If the demons were speaking to God, why did they call Him "Son of God" and "Holy One of God"? Our answer is that they addressed Him by the titles under which He had revealed Himself at that time. These are not lesser identities; they are revealed titles pointing to the same divine Being.

The title "Son of God" is commonly read today as naming a second divine person. In Scripture, and especially in the Gospels, we hold that it refers to God visibly manifested in flesh. "The Word was made flesh,"³ and the Son is "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person."⁴ The Son of God is not another God, but God revealed in a particular form.

Likewise, "the Holy One of God" is a messianic title drawn from Psalm 16:10, "neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption," and Peter applies that verse directly to Jesus.⁵ When the demons called Him the Holy One of God, they were not wrong; they were using the language of His earthly manifestation rather than the language of His eternal identity.

But even if the meaning of "Son of God" were disputed, the conduct of the demons would settle the question. They begged. They trembled. They asked for mercy. They obeyed at once when rebuked. Evil spirits do not behave so before any man, however great. They behaved so before Jesus because they knew He had power to command them, to torment them, and finally to judge them. James sums it up:

The devils did not merely believe that Jesus existed. They knew exactly who He was.

One further detail adds weight to the argument. When the unclean spirit in Capernaum called Jesus "the Holy One of God," Jesus did not welcome the confession.

Mark tells us that this was His regular practice: He "suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him."⁶ We may ask why He silenced them, especially when what they said was true, and we offer three reasons.

First, the time had not yet come. Jesus worked on a divine timetable: "My time is not yet come."⁷ The full revelation of His identity was to unfold in its season, not through premature proclamations by demons.

Second, God does not need Satan to testify for Him. Even when demons speak the truth, the source is polluted. Jesus neither needed nor accepted the endorsement of fallen spirits; their confession was neither righteous nor welcome, but an intrusion.

Third, Jesus controlled His own revelation. By silencing them He showed that He, and not they, determined when and how His identity would be made known. Not even the truth may be spoken unless the Lord allows it.

In each respect, the silencing of the demons further confirms His deity. We may fairly ask who else commands spirits with a word, and tells them when they may speak.

We may now answer the question with which we began. Though the demons used the titles "Son of God" and "Holy One of God," they were addressing God in the flesh, and they knew it. Their words revealed awareness, their actions revealed terror, and their obedience revealed submission to divine power. It is not only what they said, but how they acted and to whom they submitted, that establishes the point.

The demons were not confused, and they were not guessing. They stood before the same divine presence that had cast them from heaven.⁸ They were not reverent; they were terrified. And when Jesus silenced them, it was not to deny His identity but to assert His authority, for even the truth must yield to the timing of the Most High.