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33 In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon,(A) and he cried out in a loud voice, 34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?[a] I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”(B) 35 Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm.

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Footnotes

  1. 4:34 What have you to do with us?: see note on Jn 2:4. Have you come to destroy us?: the question reflects the current belief that before the day of the Lord control over humanity would be wrested from the evil spirits, evil destroyed, and God’s authority over humanity reestablished. The synoptic gospel tradition presents Jesus carrying out this task.

29 They cried out, “What have you to do with us,[a] Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?”

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Footnotes

  1. 8:29 What have you to do with us?: see note on Jn 2:4. Before the appointed time: the notion that evil spirits were allowed by God to afflict human beings until the time of the final judgment is found in Enoch 16:1 and Jubilees 10:7–10.

23 [a]In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; 24 [b]he cried out, “What have you to do with us,[c] Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

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Footnotes

  1. 1:23 An unclean spirit: so called because of the spirit’s resistance to the holiness of God. The spirit knows and fears the power of Jesus to destroy his influence; cf. Mk 1:32, 34; 3:11; 6:13.
  2. 1:24–25 The Holy One of God: not a confession but an attempt to ward off Jesus’ power, reflecting the notion that use of the precise name of an opposing spirit would guarantee mastery over him. Jesus silenced the cry of the unclean spirit and drove him out of the man.
  3. 1:24 What have you to do with us?: see note on Jn 2:4.