hear and obey. Their king had been conquered, and they knew their
Master. The strong man had been bound, and this is the spoiling of
his house. The question of the wondering worshippers in the
synagogue goes to the root of the matter, when they ask what they
must think of the whole message of One whose word gives law to the
unclean spirits; for the command to them is a revelation to us, and
we learn His Godhead by the power of His simple word, which is but
the forth-putting of His will.

We cannot but notice the lurid light thrown by the existence of such
spirits on the possibility of undying and responsible beings
reaching, by continued alienation of heart and will from God, a
stage in which they are beyond the capacity of improvement, and
outside the sweep of Christ's pity.

II. Verses 38 and 39 show us Christ in the gentleness of His healing
power, and the immediate service of gratitude to Him. The scene in
the synagogue manifested 'authority and power,' and was prompted by
abhorrence of the demon even more than by pity for his victim; but
now the Lord's tenderness shines unmingled with sternness. Mark
gives details of this cure, which, no doubt, came from Peter--such
as his joint ownership of the house with his brother, the names of
the companions of Jesus, and the infinitely tender action of taking
the sick woman by the hand and helping her to rise. But Luke, the
physician, is more precise in his description of the case: 'holden
by a great fever.' He traces the cure to the word of rebuke, which,
no doubt, accompanied the clasp of the hand.

Here again Christ puts forth divine power in producing effects in
the material sphere by His naked word. 'He spake and it was done.'