Mark 1:25

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(25) Hold thy peace.—Literally, be still, be gagged. The same verb is used in the calming of the winds and waves in Mark 4:39.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:23-28 The devil is an unclean spirit, because he has lost all the purity of his nature, because he acts in direct opposition to the Holy Spirit of God, and by his suggestions defiles the spirits of men. There are many in our assemblies who quietly attend under merely formal teachers; but if the Lord come with faithful ministers and holy doctrine, and by his convincing Spirit, they are ready to say, like this man, What have we to do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth! No disorder could enable a man to know Jesus to be the Holy One of God. He desires to have nothing to do with Jesus, for he despairs of being saved by him, and dreads being destroyed by him. See whose language those speak, that say to the Almighty, Depart from us. This unclean spirit hated and dreaded Christ, because he knew him to be a Holy One; for the carnal mind is enmity against God, especially against his holiness. When Christ by his grace delivers souls out of the hands of Satan, it is not without tumult in the soul; for that spiteful enemy will disquiet those whom he cannot destroy. This put all who saw it upon considering, What is this new doctrine? A work as great often is wrought now, yet men treat it with contempt and neglect. If this were not so, the conversion of a notorious wicked man to a sober, righteous, and godly life, by the preaching of a crucified Saviour, would cause many to ask, What doctrine is this?

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And Jesus rebuked him - Chided him, or commanded him, with a threatening.

This was not the man that Jesus rebuked, but the spirit, for he instantly commanded the same being to come out of the man. In all this, Jesus did not once address the man. His conversation was with the evil spirit, proving conclusively that it was not a mere disease or mental derangement - for how could the Son of God hold converse with "disease" or "insanity?" - but that he conversed with a "being" who also conversed, reasoned, cavilled, felt, resisted, and knew him. There are, therefore, evil spirits, and those spirits have taken possession of human beings.

Hold thy peace - Greek, "Be muzzled." "Restrain thyself." "Cease from complaints, and come out of the man." This was a very signal proof of the power of Jesus, to be able by a word to silence an evil angel, and, against his will, to compel him to leave a man whom he delighted to torment.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

25. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him—A glorious word of command. Bengel remarks that it was only the testimony borne to Himself which our Lord meant to silence. That he should afterwards cry out for fear or rage (Mr 1:26) He would right willingly permit.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Ver. 25,26. It is both here and in many other places observable, that when the devils made a confession of Christ, yet neither Christ nor his apostles would ever take any notice of it. Truth is never advantaged from the confession of known liars, as the devil was from the beginning. Christ needed not the devil’s testimony, either to his holiness, or his being the Son of God, nor would he have people allow the least faith to the devil’s words. Nor was he to be imposed upon by the devil’s good words; he was to make no truce with him, but to destroy him and his works, he therefore charges him to hold his peace, and to come out.

And when the unclean spirit had torn him. The Greek word here, oparaxan, is ill translated torn, as appears by Luke 4:35, where it is said it did him no hurt: the word signifies no more than a violent convulsion, or shaking; and it is observed that those possessed by devils had only their members made use of by the devils, but without any wounding or laceration of them.

He cried out with a loud voice, and came out of him. Oh how loth is the devil to part with his possession! But possibly also Christ would have him cry out with a loud voice, that his miraculous operation might be the more taken notice of.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And Jesus rebuked him,.... Checking his insolence, despising his flattery, and refusing to receive a testimony from him; and which he wanted not, lest it should be thought he had a familiarity and confederacy with him:

saying, hold thy peace; stop thy mouth, I need no such witness as thine, nor thy praises; I am not to be soothed by thy flattery, nor is my mouth to be stopped, or power restrained, by such methods: wherefore he adds,

and come out of him: I will not let thee alone, thy encomiums of me shall not prevail upon me to leave thee in the quiet possession of the man; I will give a testimony of who I am, by the dispossessing of thee out of this man. In imitation of this authoritative power of Christ, the Jewish exorcists, in their pretensions to cast out devils, use a like form: so they tell us (q), that R. Simeon ben Jochai, cast a devil out of Caesar's daughter, saying, "Ben Talmion" (which was the name of the devil) "come out, Ben Talmion come out"; and he came out of her; See Gill on Matthew 12:27.

(q) T. Bab. Meilab, fol. 17. 2.

Geneva Study Bible

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Mark 1:25 f. Αὐτῷ] to the demon, who had spoken out of the man.[56]

The demon, before he goes forth, once more gives vent to his whole fury on the man by tearing (σπαράξαν) him. Comp. Mark 9:26; Luke 9:42.

[56] To refer φιμώθητι, with Strauss, II. p. 21, following older expositors, merely to the demon’s declaration of the Messiahship of Jesus, is, in view of the general character of the word, arbitrary. It is the command of the victor in general: Be silent and go out! Strauss appeals to i. 34, iii. 12. But these prohibitions refer to the time after the going out.

Expositor's Greek Testament

Mark 1:25. φιμώθητι: vide at Matthew 22:12.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

25. rebuked him] Though he had borne testimony to Christ, yet his testimony is not accepted, for it was probably intended only to do harm, “to anticipate and mar His great purpose and plan.” Compare the conduct of St Paul in reference to the girl possessed with the spirit of Apollo (Acts 16:16-18).

Hold thy peace] lit. Be muzzled. The same word is used by our Lord in rebuking the storm on the Lake, “Peace, be still” (Mark 4:39). Wyclif translates it “wexe doumbe.” The word means (1) “to close the mouth with a muzzle, comp. 1 Corinthians 9:9, “Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn,” cited here and in 1 Timothy 5:18 from Deuteronomy 25:4; (2) to reduce to silence, as in Matthew 22:34, “But when the Pharisees had heard that He had put the Sadducees to silence,” and 1 Peter 2:15, “so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” It is also used in reference to the man who had not on the wedding garment, “he was speechless” (Matthew 22:12).

Bengel's Gnomen

Mark 1:25. Ἐπετίμησεν, He rebuked) So ch. Mark 3:12. Hence it is evident that the hidden excellency of Jesus is far greater than Socinians suppose. It belongs to THE LORD as His prerogative to ‘rebuke,’ Judges 1:9.—φιμώθητι, be silenced) This prohibition did not prevent the cry of the unclean spirit when going out of the man, but merely the utterance of articulate words, such as are mentioned at Mark 1:24.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 25. - Hold thy peace, and come out of him. It was necessary that our Lord should at once assert his absolute power over the evil spirits; and not only this, but also that he should show that he had nothing to do with them. Later on in his ministry it was objected to him that he cast out devils by the prince of the devils. Then, further, the time was not yet arrived when Christ was to be publicly proclaimed as the Son of God. This great truth was to be gradually unfolded, and the people were to be persuaded by many miracles. But at present they were not prepared for this, and therefore our Lord charged his apostles that they should not make him known. Mark 1:25

Vincent's Word Studies

Hold thy peace (φιμώθητι)

Lit., be muzzled or gagged See on Matthew 22:12.