Jesus Christ, Demon Hunter

Introduction

Last week we saw the authority of Jesus through His upbringing and His word. Next, we are going to look at the authority of Jesus through His miracles. Jesus demonstrates His authority through all His miracles, but one stands out more, so much it needs to be discussed on its own. It is when Jesus exorcises demons out of the demon-possessed.

Demons seem to be all the rages in moves in the 21^st century. In this decade alone, already 35 movies involving demon-possession have been released, and 5 more are already lined up for this year. Can you name some of them? Some that come to my mind are The Possession, Paranormal Activity, The Devil Inside, The Exorcist, The Amityville Haunting, Devil and Insidious. Why do you think demon-possession is so popular today? Because of the modernist worldview during the modern age, one that didn’t really believe in the supernatural world, we’ve reduced demon-possession to something between fiction and fantasy. But in the 1^st century world, demon-possessions were very real, as real as the flu to us. Of course, if they see it like a “spiritual disease,” then they are also looking for a cure. Today we’ll talk about what the culture believed the cure, and how Jesus brought the real cure.

The Cultural Account

Here are the 4 steps the people of the 1^st century used for exorcising a demon:

1.      Address the demon or demons by name. The pagan religions believed that when you called a spiritual or supernatural being by name, you could control it and its power. So the first step of exorcising a demon would be to establish your power and authority over it by calling its name.

2.      Call upon your god for power. Ironically, some of the cultic worship back then was worship of “demon-gods,” in which people worshipped demons, in fear that, if they did not, they demons would curse them and punish them. So in order to cast out demons, these people would call demons into themselves first, in essence making themselves demon-possessed.

3.      Prayer a prayer or declare incantations. In Jewish Antiquities by Josephus, Josephus records watching Elezar, a country man, cast out a demon. Elezar claims that God gave Solomon a special, secret knowledge on how to exorcise demons. So Elezar calls on the name of Solomon, and then prays the incantation that Solomon wrote down.

4.      Use some kind of device. Most accounts use a root of the rue plant, but the accounts differ on how to use it. In some accounts, it’s a simple touch. In other accounts, the root is turned into a potion to drink. In another account, the root is set on fire, and the demon-possessed must inhale the smoke. Yet in other accounts, the root is used to sprinkle water on the demon-possessed.

According our culture on demon-possession and demon exorcism, has our views on how to exorcise a demon changed or stayed the same? How is the same? How has it changed? I think it has stayed the same, and yet it has changed. People still prayer and used incantations, but they have Christian language in them. People use objects, but it’s crosses instead of rue plant roots. People still call on God’s name to cast, and some even call the demon’s name, too.

The Biblical Account

There are 4 full stories of demon exorcisms in the Bible, and they are as follows:

1.      The mute boy (Matthew 17:14-20; Mark 9:14-29; Luke 9:37-43)

2.      The demon-possessed man in the Geresenes (Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20)

3.      The demon-possessed man in the synagogue in Capernaum (Mark 1:21-28; Luke 4:31-37)

4.      The daughter of the woman from Syrophoencia (Mark 7:24-30)

There are also a few brief statements about general demon exorcisms Jesus performs throughout the Gospels, such as Mark 1:34,39. Notice how none of them appear in the Gospel according to John, but all of them appear in the Gospel according Mark. It’s not clear why John would not mention 1 demon exorcism at all, but for Mark, it’s important to his gospel. Mark needs to demonstrate to his readers that Jesus is strong, powerful and has great authority. What a better way than to cast out a demon!

Let’s take a look at one of these accounts. Let’s look at Mark 1:21-28.

Mark 1:21-28 ESV-

²¹ And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. ²² And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, ²⁴  “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” ²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” ²⁶ And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷ And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸ And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

The Greek word for “be silence,” phimōthēti, literally means “to muzzle” or “to shut the mouth.” Figuratively, it is used to means “to silent,” but it has a stronger, more forceful connotation. The best English equivalent would probably “Shut up!”

So why is Jesus so stern about the demon not talking? It goes back to the cultural understanding of casting out demons. One of the steps of removing a demon is calling out the demon by name. Remember that this reasoning came from the pagan belief that calling out the name of a god or demon would utilize its power. The demon, or demon-possessed man, might have attempted to get upper hand on Jesus. He thought he could call Jesus “The Most Holy God” and take control of him and his power. Jesus quickly denies that by silencing the demon and casting the demon out.

Is it the same or different from how the culture would exorcise demons? Very different. How is different? There’s no addressing the demon by name, no calling upon a god or deity for help, no incantation spoken, nor is there a device used. Jesus uses none of the above. No special prayer or incantation is spoken. No object is needed. His words are enough. He doesn’t need to call the demon by name. He doesn’t need to call upon a deity for power. To me, that’s the most important one. Why is that so important? It proves Jesus is God; it proves his deity. When the apostles cast out demons in the book of Acts, even they call on the name of Jesus. Jesus doesn’t call on any other name because He’s using His own power, His own godly power.

Let’s take a look at another passage. Let’s look at Mark 5:1-20.

Mark 5:1-20 ESV-

¹They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. ² And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. ³ He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, ⁴ for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. ⁵ Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. ⁶ And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. ⁷ And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” ⁸ For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹ And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. ¹¹ Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, ¹² and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” ¹³ So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea. ¹⁴ The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵ And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. ¹⁶ And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. ¹⁷ And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. ¹⁸ As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. ¹⁹ And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” ²⁰ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

Why does the demon call Jesus “The Most High God”? Once again, the demon or demon-possessed man might be trying to get the upper hand on Jesus by calling him by his name. He might be trying gain power or authority over Jesus. Why does Mark states in Mark 5:8 that Jesus had already said, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit”? Because in Mark 5:9, Jesus asks for the demon name. Mark wants to make it clear that Jesus never needed his name to cast him out. The deed was already done.

One thing I do want to point out is the people’s reaction. The best way I can do it with is with an analogy…

 

Imagine you are in a city, in one of the parks. There’s a madman in the park, going off on crazy ramblings. All of a sudden, a homeless man, with shaggy hair beard, ragged clothes, and a shopping call full of junk, walks by. All of a sudden, the madman begins freaking out, screaming and yelling even louder, begging this homeless man for his life! Then the homeless man yells something at him and walks way. Now, the madman is dressed in a 3-piece suit, speaking perfect English, perfectly sane and acting like everyone else.

That is what is happening in Mark 5:1-20. Jesus most likely came from a lower class family, and he probably looked like it too. And here comes that average, lower class man, and the demons freak out when they see them. And he has the power to rid people of demons. It leaves the people amazed, astonished, and even scared. They don’t know how to deal with him, so they just send him away.

Let’s look at one more passage. Let’s look at one of those general mentions of a demon possession, and pay close attention to the Pharisees’ reaction. The passage is Matthew 12:22-32.

Matthew 12:22-32 ESV-

²² Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. ²³ And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” ²⁵ Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶ And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. ³⁰ Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ³¹ Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³² And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Where did the Pharisees got the idea that Jesus must be Beelzebub, the prince of demons? It goes back to cultural idea of how to exorcise demons. According to the culture, you need to call upon a higher being for the power to cast out a supernatural being. Sometimes this call was on demons to take out other demons. Ironically, this person would make himself or herself demon-possessed to de-demonize someone else! This was a common practice of witch doctors. The Pharisees might have known of this practice, and accused Jesus of it. In essence, they were accusing Jesus of being a witch doctor and being demon-possessed. How does Jesus respond? Jesus not only denies it with pure logical argument (division only tears down), but he uses that against the Pharisees! The Pharisees also practiced demon exorcisms, even using the common formula stated above. If Jesus was demon-possessed to cast out demons, then surely the Pharisees must be as well! But if the Pharisees are not demon-possessed, then neither is Jesus.

Conclusion

Jesus truly displayed His authority every time he cast out a demon. He never needed any help from an object. He never had to say any magic words. He didn’t even need to know the demon’s name. Just being Jesus, by being God, it’s all Jesus needed to cast out demons. For some, it struck fear, so much they just wanted Jesus to leave. For others, it struck awe and amazement, so much that they wanted to follow Jesus. I hope the next time you read or hear about Jesus casting out a demon, you’ll be struck with the awe and amazement.