Do We Know Who Jesus Is?
The man of the unclean spirit declares, "Jesus of Nazareth, ... I know who you are - the Holy One of God!"
In the understanding of the people of the time, this action of calling out Jesus by name would have given the man "a certain authority over" Jesus. [1] (We see this in the various renaming of people in the Bible, for examples, Abram became Abraham, or Jacob became Israel).
This act of trying to control "the Holy One of God" gives us some food for thought.
First, do I know who Jesus is? Maybe a good new year resolution would be getting to know him better by reading and meditating on the Gospels and talking with Jesus in prayer regularly.
Second, do I sometimes want or try to control God and have God follow my lead?
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[1] Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002; p. 54.
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