Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples. A large number of people [followed] from Galilee and from Judea. 8 Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon. 9 He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. 10 He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him. 11 And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, “You are the Son of God.” 12 He warned them sternly not to make him known.
People were drawn to Jesus through the power of his teaching and his miracles. Large crowds from Galilee, throughout Palestine, and beyond, followed him with the hope of being healed. To avoid being crushed as those with diseases tried to touch him to be cured, Jesus ministered from a boat. Some in the crowd had unclean spirits which recognized Jesus and they paid him homage, but he ordered them not to reveal his true identity. By casting out the unclean spirits Jesus showed that the Kingdom of God had come (Lk. 11:20) and that he was mightier than Satan (Mk. 3:27). The evil spirits recognized Jesus and now referred to him as the Son of God (v. 11).
When Jesus first began his public ministry and cured a demoniac, the unclean spirit that came out of the man referred to Jesus as the Holy One of God (Mk. 1:24). The unclean spirits now made it clear that Jesus was the Son of God. Most of the self-righteous religious leaders were too spiritually blind to recognize him or even acknowledge that he did the work of God.
Almighty God, your Son Jesus Christ is our door to salvation and our hope for eternal life united with you. We pray that your sanctifying grace will open the eyes of our hearts and fill our minds with the light of your truth. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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