Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 1:24

"saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus thou Nazarene? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God." — Mark 1:24 (ASV)

Although v.23 states that the man cried out, it was really the demon who had the man under his control who shouted. The “us” in his question shows that the demon was speaking for his fellow demons as well. They clearly seemed to recognize Jesus and his mission of judgment.

The utterance of the name of Jesus and his title “the Holy One of God” (cf. Lk 1:35) may have been an attempt by the demon to get control over Jesus, since it was widely believed that by uttering a person’s name, one could gain magic power over him or her.