69. And in the synagogue there was etc. After the communication of Christ's teaching, there follows here its authentication through the power of a miracle. This admirable power is shown in Christ teaching in a threefold manner: first, with respect to the male sex; second, with respect to the female sex, at that place: And Jesus rising; third, with respect to every sex and age, at that place: And when the sun had set.
Again, there is another difference on the part of nature, because the first consists in the liberation of a man from a demon; the second, in the liberation of a woman from a fever; the third, in the liberation from both indifferently.
Again, the first is in a place of instruction, namely in the synagogue; the second, in a place of refreshment, namely in the house of Simon; the third, in a place of rest, namely after the setting of the sun.
Finally, the first of these is shown to have been done around morning; the second, around midday; the third, at the end of the day. And through this, from all these things it follows that Christ has power over every person and over every nature and in every place and in every time; and through this, the authentication of his teaching through the power of manifold miracles is sufficiently shown.
Concerning the cure, therefore, of a man from a demon, four concurrent things are to be noted which serve to manifest the power of Christ: on the part of the demoniac, a condition of manifest misery; on the part of the demon, a perception of the divine presence; on the part of Christ, an operation of immense power; on the part of the people, an exhibition of due reverence — all of which are most fittingly described by the Evangelist for the magnificence of the present miracle.
70. (Vers. 33.). On the part therefore of the demoniac there is shown the state of manifest misery, when it is said: And in the synagogue there was a man having an unclean demon, because it appeared to all in common that he was possessed by a demon: whence he was in a common place, because in the synagogue, where many gathered together, according to that passage in John 18: "I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together." In this place there was a man having an unclean spirit, so called from its effect, because it makes one unclean: Zechariah 13: "I will remove the unclean spirit from the land." This spirit is called Unclean because it always suggests uncleanness: whence in Revelation 16: "And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits in the form of frogs."
71. On the part of the demon there is shown the sense of the divine presence, when it is said: And he cried out with a loud voice, so that by the force of the cry there might be shown in the demon the passion of pain: Isaiah 65: "Behold, my servants shall praise from exultation of heart, and you shall cry out from pain of heart, and from crushing of spirit you shall howl"; whence it is gathered from the cry that in the demon there was pain and trembling from the sense of Christ's presence. Whence Augustine says: "Would that as the demons recognized God as judge, so men would recognize the Savior! The demons saw and trembled; men, however, saw and killed. O how great a misfortune, that men are found worse than demons!"
72. (Vers. 34.). Whence this very fear compelled him to confess the truth, namely, that Christ was the destroyer of demons and the sanctifier of men. On account of the first, it is added: Saying: Let be, what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? Let be, that is, cease from affliction and our persecution, because it is unbearable: Job 13: "Remove your hand far from me, and let not your dread terrify me." Or: Let be, that is, permit me to go far from you, because what have you to do with us? as if to say: there is no agreement, and therefore we cannot be together: Second Corinthians 6: "What accord has Christ with Belial, light with darkness, righteousness with iniquity?" And that there is no communion or accord, he shows when he adds: Have you come to destroy us? Proverbs 24: "Suddenly shall their destruction arise"; whence First John 3: "For this purpose the Son of God appeared, that he might destroy the works of the devil."
73. And note that the destruction of demons is twofold: one, namely, on account of the sin of pride, by which they were destroyed from the beginning: Ezekiel 28: "I destroyed you, O Cherub, proceeding from the midst of the fiery stones"; the other on account of sins added thereto, by which they will be destroyed at the last judgment, when all power will be taken away and every penalty due will be inflicted: concerning which, Deuteronomy 32: "The day of destruction is near." And this destruction will not come about entirely before the day of judgment: whence Mark 1: "Have you come here before the time to destroy us?" But nevertheless it began from the time of Christ: John 12: "Now is the judgment of the world; now the prince of this world shall be cast out."
74. Moreover, he confesses him not only as the destroyer of demons, but also as the sanctifier of men, when he adds: I know you, that you are the Holy One of God—he indeed of whom Daniel 9 says: "The Holy of Holies shall be anointed." He did not know this with certain knowledge, since it is said in 1 Corinthians 2: "If they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory"; but he knew by conjecture: Proverbs 23: "Like a soothsayer and diviner, he estimates what he does not know." For he surmised this through the torment that he was experiencing.
75. (Verse 35.) But on the part of Christ, the operation of immense power is shown, when it is added: And Jesus rebuked him, saying: Be silent. For as the Omnipotent One, he imposes silence on the demon by rebuke alone; Zechariah 3: "The Lord showed me Jesus the high priest"; and it follows: "The Lord rebuke you, Satan, and the Lord rebuke you." Although he was speaking the truth, nevertheless he imposed silence, because, as it is said in Sirach 15, "praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner"; whence also in the Psalm: "God said to the sinner: Why do you declare my justices?"
Or he forbade it because the demon speaks deceitfully and frequently mixes falsehoods with truths: whence also in Mark 1: "He did not permit the demons to speak," the Gloss says, "lest, while they saw him speaking the truth, they would follow him when he led astray." And therefore in the Psalm: "Let deceitful lips be made mute, which speak iniquity against the just one." Moreover, he shows here that vainglory is to be avoided, so that we should not seek to be praised by the vain and the false. The example of Paul, Acts 16.
76. Not only, however, does he impose silence by rebuking, but he also expels by commanding, when he adds: Come out of him. Now is fulfilled that word of Habakkuk 3: "The devil shall go forth before his feet." And therefore there follows: And when the demon had thrown him into the midst, he went out of him: in which is shown the wrath of the devil, because he went out unwillingly and with protest; whence also in Mark 1: "And tearing him, he went out of him." The devil does this when he sees that he is losing what he wrongfully possesses: Revelation 12: "The devil has come down to you, having great wrath," etc. But his wrath did no harm, the Lord preventing it; whence is added: And he harmed him not at all; Isaiah 11: "They shall not hurt nor kill in all my holy mountain." — From this, moreover, it is gathered that the devil always has the will to harm, because this he has from himself; but he does not always have the power to harm, except insofar as and when he is permitted by God in a just manner; whence Romans 13: "There is no power except from God." And therefore 1 Peter 3: "Who is he that shall harm you, if you be zealous followers of that which is good?"
77. (Verse 36). Lastly, on the part of the people, there is shown the display of due reverence, when there is added: And there came fear upon all. This is said with regard to reverence according to the act of the heart. Nor is it a wonder, because, Job 26, "the pillars of heaven tremble and are afraid at his nod"; whence Job 4: "Fear seized me and trembling, and all my bones were terrified." And this at the sight of so great a miracle: Psalm: "I will praise you, for you are fearfully magnified; wonderful are your works"; and Jeremiah 10: "Who shall not fear you, O King of the nations?" — But with regard to the act of the mouth, there is added: And they spoke among themselves, namely, one conferring with another: What is this word? that is, a thing worthy of speech, as is understood in 4 Kings 20: "There was no word in my house that I did not show them."
For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits: with authority commanding, and with power effecting. Nor is it a wonder, because, Job 25, "power and terror are with him who makes peace in his high places." But this command is not human nor even angelic; whence in the Epistle of Jude it is said that "Michael the Archangel, when he disputed with the devil about the body of Moses, said only this: The Lord rebuke you, Satan."
78. (Vers. 37.). And because this was great and unusual, it was not to be kept silent but was to be spread abroad with reverence: therefore there follows: And the fame of him spread into every place of the region. So of Solomon it is said in Ecclesiasticus forty-seven: "Your name was spread abroad to far-off islands"; this was by reason of wisdom. This was prefigured in David, First Chronicles fourteen: "The name of David was spread abroad in all regions, and the Lord gave dread of him upon all his enemies"; similarly Second Chronicles twenty-six: "His name was spread abroad even to the entrance of Egypt on account of his frequent victories."
Note that the name of David was spread abroad by reason of justice: the name of Solomon, by reason of wisdom; the name of the Romans, by reason of power: the name of Christ, by reason of all excellence and dignity or supereminence.
79. Jesus, rising from the synagogue. After the miraculous healing of the male sex from a demon, there follows here the miraculous healing of the female sex from a fever: which is described by the Evangelist in this order. First is noted the distress of the fever itself; second, the aid of intercession: third, the remedy of healing: fourth, the sign of perfect liberation. For these four things concurred in the demonstration of this miracle.
80. (Vers. 38.). As regards, therefore, the distress of the fever, which compelled Simon's mother-in-law to lie in the house, it is said: But Jesus, rising from the synagogue, entered into the house of Simon, so that his power, which had been publicly manifested before all, might be more secretly manifested in the house before the simple and before his followers. The woman was to be healed in the house, not in the synagogue, to intimate what is said in First Timothy two: "But I do not permit a woman to teach." - Mercy moved him to this entrance for the sake of relieving the woman's misery, which he expresses when he says: But Simon's mother-in-law was held by great fevers, in which is designated the gravity of the illness, which disposes to grace, according to that saying of Ecclesiasticus thirty-one: "Grave illness makes the soul sober." But although it was grave, nevertheless that saying of John eleven could be said of it: "This illness is not unto death, but that the glory of God may be manifested"; which glory he was bound to show not only in one sex but in both, because, just as each had fallen, so each pertained to the redemption. Whence at the nativity of Christ, Joseph was with Mary; at the preaching of Christ, disciples and women, as is said below in chapter eight; at the passion, Mary and John, John nineteen; at the resurrection, the disciples and Magdalene, John twenty. Thus man and woman are healed for the showing forth of God's glory, and the woman from a graver illness than the man, because she is subject to more penalties: Genesis three: "I will multiply your sorrows and your conceptions; in sorrow you shall bring forth children, and you shall be under the power of your husband."
81. As for the aid of intercession, it is added: And they asked him on her behalf, the disciples and those who were present. For although the Lord wishes to give, he nonetheless wishes to be asked, according to that word of the Psalm: "In the day of your tribulation, call upon me: I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me"; Isaiah fifty-eight: "You shall call, and the Lord will hear; you shall cry out, and he will say: Behold, I am here," "because I am merciful, the Lord your God."
82. And note that the Lord healed someone without prayers, as the demoniac previously; another by the prayers of others, as here; another by his own prayers, as below in the fifth chapter, the leper. In this it is signified that the grace of the Savior heals sinful souls in a threefold manner: now through the intercession of the sole benignity of his clemency; Romans two: "Do you not know that the benignity of God leads you to repentance?" Now through the intervention of the prayer of the Church: James five: "Is anyone among you sick? Let him bring in the priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick man." Now indeed through the intervention of one's own groaning: Exodus six: "I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel"; 4 Kings twenty: "I have heard your prayer and seen your tears, and I have healed you." And therefore the holy soul said in the Psalm: "But I cried out to the Lord, and the Lord saved me."
83. (Verse 39). As for the remedy of healing, it is added: And standing over her, he commanded the fever, and it left her. He commands, moreover, as lord and king, as in Ecclesiastes five: "Moreover, the king of the whole earth commands the one who serves"; and because "no word is impossible for him," therefore "he spoke, and it was done." Whence at his command the fever departed, according to that word of the Psalm: "He established a decree, and it shall not pass away." Nor is this surprising, because "all things whatsoever he willed, he has done in heaven and on earth, in the sea and in all the depths"; and Jeremiah five: "Will you not therefore fear me, says the Lord, and will you not tremble before my face? I who set the sand as a boundary for the sea, an everlasting decree which it shall not pass beyond." Whence in a wondrous manner the obstinacy of the human will is hereby convicted and shown to be reprehensible, in that every sensible creature, and what is more, even penal affliction obeys the divine commands, which miserable man resists.
84. Finally, as to the sign of perfect liberation, there is added: And immediately rising, she ministered. For this is a certain sign of perfect healing, that no remnants of the illness remained, because she was immediately made capable of movement and capable of service. Whence she arose and ministered as a good matron and as another Martha, of whom below in the tenth chapter: "But Martha was busy about much serving." And such women merit the divine benefit: in Fourth Kings, chapter four, Elisha says to the Shunammite woman: "Behold, you have diligently ministered to us in all things; what do you wish that I should do for you?" The Apostle said that such a widow should be chosen, in First Timothy, chapter five: "Let a widow be chosen who is not less than sixty years old, having testimony in good works, if she has raised children, if she has received guests, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has ministered to those suffering tribulation, if she has followed after every good work."
85. Moreover, it should be noted here regarding the allegorical sense that the healing of the man from the demon signifies the healing of the gentile people from error; in figure of which it is said in Isaiah, chapter thirty-four: "Demons shall meet there; the onocentaur and the hairy one shall cry out one to another." This is said of Idumea under the figure of the gentile nations. This demon is cast out through faith in Christ, according to that passage in Mark, the last chapter: "In my name they shall cast out demons, they shall speak in new tongues, they shall take up serpents," etc.: those serpents spreading the poison of error, as the serpent of whom in Second Corinthians, chapter eleven: "I fear lest, as the serpent seduced Eve by his cunning, so your senses may be corrupted and fall from the simplicity which is in Christ."
By the healing of Simon's mother-in-law from the fever is signified the healing of the synagogue from the burning heat of carnal concupiscence, with which that carnal people burns: Hosea, chapter seven: "All of them committing adultery, like an oven heated by the baker." And therefore the healing of the man is placed first, because, as it is said in Romans, chapter eleven, "when the fullness of the gentiles shall have entered, then all Israel shall be saved."