Mark 9:14-29

This passage is so full of incredible insights it would easily feel like a small book. But for the moment, consider the glory of Christ expressed in this passage. To the naked eye Jesus looked like any other itinerant teacher, no halo, no shining aurora, no glittering skin. The boy for his part looked like a mad, diseased child. But the demon within the boy saw beyond the physical appearance.  What the demon saw overwhelmed it with terror. No doubt the demon manifested for malignant intent. Perhaps the demon intended to extract terror from the people. Demons desire to be adored and worshipped. If they can't have that they will settle for fear of the terrors they bring. While the demons crave glory and delight in exacting terror, in contrast, God is honored by our praise, peace, and our repose in Him.

Perhaps the manifestation was to disquiet the people. This vulgar, radical display would be used by the demon to be a wedge between the people and Christ.   It is as if the demon is saying, "Going too near to Jesus will cause bad things to happen." It may have been attempting to foster an unholy fear of Jesus.  Satan will gladly leave his own unmolested, so long as they don't draw too near into the Lord.

A third possibility is that the manifestation was to promote division and idle speculation. A carnival atmosphere of idle onlookers does no good and potentially great harm.  If Satan cannot control the people perhaps he could get them to argue, especially so that parties form.  The powers of darkness are quite content with discussions about Christ so long as no one submits to Him.

So, at the glory of the Christ the demon is still in stubborn rebellion and makes one last stand. Jesus in calm authority commands obedience and He is obeyed. Where we see the glory of Christ we cannot help but to be overwhelmed. We are either overwhelmed by love and worship or overwhelmed with rejection and rebellion. Our reaction to Him is a strong indication of what is in our heart-rebellion or submission.