Encountering Spiritual Warfare: Jesus Casts Out a Demon

Jesus Casts Out a Demon
When we begin to talk about spiritual warfare, Christians either overemphasis it, or underemphasize it. It is important to have a balanced and proper understanding of spiritual warfare, which is what the last lesson in “The Life of Jesus” tries to do in a lesson entitled, Jesus casts out demons. In this blog, I would like to quickly look at the deeper meaning of one power encounter between Jesus and an evil spirit in Capernaum, as recorded by Mark 1:21-28.
Mark tells us that a man “cried out” in the presence of Jesus, saying that the man has an “evil spirit.” Luke’s parallel says he was “possessed by a demon, an unclean spirit.” Just a few verses prior to this text, Jesus battled Satan himself in his temptations, now he battles Satan’s demonic forces. The battle takes place in the synagogue, the place where the people of God went to pray and worship God.
The demon tries to overpower Jesus in two ways. First, he says, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” What we often fail to understand is that this was a confrontational way of trying to get the other person to have nothing to do with you. It could be translated this way, “Go away and leave me alone!”
Gerasene Demon
The demon then says, “I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” In the first century, they thought that if you knew someone’s name, you had power over them. So, it appears that the demon is trying to overpower Jesus by stating that he knows Jesus’s name. Of course, neither of these attempts works against Jesus. This demon has run into a more powerful foe.
The demon then asks, “Have you come to destroy us?” Judaism expected the Messiah to come and destroy Satan and demons at the end of the age. This demon is scared and knows he is in trouble.
Jesus takes command of the situation, “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” Let’s look at each of these phrases, as we can easily miss the deeper meaning.

The Deeper Meaning in Spiritual Warfare

Jesus Exorcises a Demon from a Man
“Be quiet!” can be translated as “Be bound.” Jesus is binding the demon from being able to do anything, including speaking. Jesus has absolute power and authority over the demonic realm.
“Jesus said sternly” was a technical phrase that was used to bring evil powers into submission. The NASB translates this phrase, “Jesus rebuked him.”
He then commands the demon to “Come out of him!” The word translated “come out” is from a Greek word from which we get the English word exorcism. While the English word exorcism often brings with it connotations of crazy possessed madmen who are foaming at the mouth (perhaps from the influence of Hollywood films), this term simply means “coming out.” So, Jesus is casting this demon out, or doing an exorcism.

What Made This Miracle Special?

Often the demons come out with no physical sign, though in this case, we see that the demon shook the man before it came out with a shriek. Luke’s parallel adds that the demon came out “without injuring him.” Jesus brings deliverance and freedom over the unseen demonic forces that bring suffering.
The text ends by saying that the Jewish people in the synagogue are not only amazed at Jesus’s authority in teaching, but also with his authority in casting out demons. Why were they amazed? Perhaps it is due to the fact that Jesus cast out the demon with a word; without using magical formula or magical “props” or calling upon other higher powers.
This exorcism is unlike other exorcism accounts known to the people of Jesus’ day: there is no long struggle between Jesus and the demon, there is no uncertainty in the outcome. Jesus authoritatively commands the demon to come out, and it did—immediately. Jesus came to set the prisoner free from demonic bondage. No demon has a chance before Jesus.
Jesus makes it clear that he will build his church and all the powers of Satan cannot overcome it (Matthew 16:16-18), but, that does not mean that Satan is powerless! To ignore him is to invite trouble. We must fight this battle by relying on prayer, tapping into the authority and power of Jesus—so that we “can take our stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11).
Want to learn more? Check out the Life of Jesus DVD Bible Study from the Deeper Connections Series by Hendrickson-Rose Publishing!

Dr. Matt Williams, Biola University — the associate professor of New Testament at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, La Mirada, California. A former missionary to Spain, Matt preaches and teaches at churches throughout the United States and Spain. He is general editor of Colección Teológica Contemporánea, a series of theological books in Spanish, and is the author of two books on the Gospels. Click here to learn more about Dr. Williams’ new DVD Series The Life of Jesus DVD Bible Study.

The Life of Jesus: 6-Session DVD Bible Study

The “Life of Jesus” in the Deeper Connections Bible study series is the fourth DVD and participant’s guide to be released by Rose/Hendrickson Publishing. Along with “The Last Days of Jesus” DVD, one has a 12-study overview of the main events and teachings from the life of Jesus, one of the most popular Bible classes in any Christian University. These studies, taught by top New Testament scholars, are now available for personal, church, and small group use. These studies are unique among many other DVD Bible studies in that they really emphasize three important aspects of good biblical teaching:

  1. Historical and cultural background
  2. An engaging, close look at the biblical text, and its meaning
  3. Accurate, encouraging, and challenging applications of the Bible’s message to life today

Here is the list of teachers:

  • Dr. Darrell Bock, Dallas Theological Seminary
  • Dr. Gary Burge, Wheaton College
  • Dr. Scott Duvall, Ouachita Baptist University
  • Dr. Susan Hecht, Denver Seminary
  • Dr. Mark Strauss, Bethel Seminary
  • Dr. Matt Williams, Biola University

The Life of Jesus DVD and participants guide covers the first six main lessons on Jesus’ life and ministry:

  1. Birthday Surprises—Birth of Jesus (Luke 2:1-16)
  2. John Prepares the Way—Baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:11-17)
  3. The Victorious Son of God—Temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11)
  4. Fishing with the Master—Jesus Calls Disciples (Luke 5:1-11)
  5. Diseases Conquered—Jesus Heals the Sick (Matthew 9:27-34)
  6. Defeating the Enemy—Jesus Casts Out Demons (Mark 1:21-28)

Dr. Matt Williams: Forgiveness of Jesus DVD Bible StudyEach of the lessons begins with an introduction filmed on location in Israel in order to better understand the cultural and geographical background. Then the lesson switches to a creative location in the United States that helps bring out the main emphasis of the passage. So, for example, the baptism of Jesus is filmed next to a river in Little Rock, Arkansas; Jesus heals the sick is shot in the mountains of Colorado Springs, in a location that was thought to contain magical healing waters by native Americans.
I have successfully taught these studies to groups of people from the ages of junior high school all the way up to 80-year olds. I highly recommend these creative studies for any group that you might lead—and they are easy to lead: they are truly plug and play. Let the New Testament scholars teach your lesson with all of their experience: your group simply follows along in the participant’s guide, which allows one to take notes and highlights important points. The participants guide also contain a five-day personal Bible study to help one to reflect further on each lesson during the week.

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