“And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.”
The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek — the spirit's departure is not peaceful compliance but reluctant, violent, noisy eviction. The shaking and shrieking communicate the spirit's resistance even in defeat: it cannot disobey the command but makes the departure as dramatic as possible. The violence is directed at the man, not at Jesus, who is unaffected by the spirit's protest. The shriek is the demon's final act in the synagogue, a public inarticulate expression of its defeat. The departure is complete and irreversible — the man is free, and the spirit is gone, demonstrating that Jesus' authority over the demonic realm is absolute.
Church Fathers on Mark 1:26
Since by the envy of the devil death first entered into the world, it was right that the medicine of healing should first work against the author of death; and therefore it is said, 'And there was in their synagogue a man, &c.'
Moreover, how great is the power which the lowliness of God, appearing in the form of a servant, has over the pride of devils, the devils themselves know so well, that they express it to the same Lord clothed in the weakness of flesh. For there follows, 'And he cried out, saying, What have we to do we Thee, Jesus of Nazareth, &c.'
For to come out of man the devil considers as his own perdition; for devils are ruthless, thinking that they suffer some evil, so long as they are not troubling men.
Read all 8 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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