<p>4:41 <i>And demons also came out from many, crying out and saying: You are the Son of God- </i>The &quot;many&quot; had &quot;various diseases&quot; (Mk. 1:34). The &quot;various diseases&quot; demonstrated His wide ranging power; for healers tended to specialize in specific diseases, claiming power over particular supposed demons. But the Lord could heal all kinds of diseases. The purpose of the healings was not simply to meet human need, but to elicit a belief in Him as &quot;Son of God&quot;. His miracles were always to back up His preaching.</p><p><i>But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ</i>- &quot;Allow / permit&quot; is the same word translated &quot;send forth&quot;. The idea could simply be that the Lord didn't send out these converts as 'sent forth' missionary apostles. &quot;The demons&quot; are put for the supposedly 'demon possessed' people. The focus is ultimately upon the person and not upon whatever was thought to be possessing them. Note how it was the Egyptian people who were judged (Gen. 15:14); their idols (&ldquo;gods&rdquo;) are used by metonymy to stand for those who believed in them. Likewise &ldquo;demons&rdquo; is sometimes put by metonymy for those who believed in them.</p>