Casting out demons
Notes
Transcript
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
and after he created everything, it is written:
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Everything was very good. There was complete harmony in all things. In Hebrew, we would say there was Shalom - a state of tranquility or wholeness.
Everything means everything. Earth, sky, universe, humans, animals, angels, archangels - everything. All very good.
But then, rebellion. The serpent’s deception, man’s fall. The corruption of all things by sin. Death, disease, hardship. The separation of heaven and earth. A divide between a holy God and fallen man. The absence of Shalom.
But we also find in the beginning God’s Word of judgment on the serpent followed by a word of hope for man - a promise to be fulfilled.
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
The child of the woman (notice - not the man) will crush the head of the serpent, as the serpent wounds the child.
What child is this?
That question would go unanswered for thousands of years.
God enacts his plan to redeem the human race and the totality of what we refer to as the Old Testament tells the story. Every element of the story points toward this child and what He will do.
God gives a promise of blessing to a particular family starting with Abraham. All the world would be blessed by his offspring.
God takes a child rejected and betrayed by his family named Joseph to save His people from famine and to make their name great.
God rescues a people who are powerless to rescue themselves - setting the Hebrew slaves free from their Egyptians overlords. By his mighty arm, they become his chosen children.
God sets his people apart and instructs them on how to live in Shalom with Himself through His law delivered to Moses.
God promises a future kingdom with an eternal king - a son of David.
God’s sends His prophets to reveal what is to come - signs to look for when asking the question “What child is this?”
Which brings us to today’s scripture passage. The gospel of Mark doesn’t waste time - it gets right to the point. What child is this? It is Jesus the Christ. Jesus is the child that will crush the serpents head.
Mark begins his gospel with John the Baptist preparing the people for the One who is to come, the One who according to John, is “mightier than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Then we read of John baptizing Jesus and a voice from heaven proclaiming “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.”
Jesus’ is then led into the wilderness to be tested - but unlike Matthew’s gospel, Mark sums it up in 2 verses:
The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.
That’s it. Done. The serpent did his best to tempt, Jesus stayed the course.
Next scene, Jesus starts his public ministry by proclaiming “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel.”
The child who is to come and crush the head of the serpent is here. The wait is over. Repent and believe.
Jesus then proceeds to call his first disciples to follow Him and his first supernatural act recorded in Mark is the casting out of the unclean spirit that we heard read this morning.
As Ben Witherington states in his commentary on Mark,
The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary Translation—1:21–28
It is not accidental that Mark presents an exorcism as the first miracle in this Gospel. He wishes to make evident that Jesus has come to destroy the powers of darkness. His ministry involves waging war on these powers.
Where do we see the powers of darkness around us today?
And I know there is a hesitancy - even among many believers - to use such language today, especially outside of the church walls. To speak of the realm of angels and demons, of unseen forces or entities that influence or inspire human thinking and action in this scientific age we live may seem archaic and in some minds, ignorant.
And while there is a continuing decline in America of those who believe in spiritual beings, a recent Gallup poll does suggest that many still do. According to Gallup, “despite the decline, the majority still believe in each of these entities, with 74 percent believing in God, 69 percent believing in angels, 67 percent believing in heaven, 59 percent believing in hell, and 58 percent believing in the Devil.”
I would argue that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to follow Jesus without a worldview that includes a spiritual battle against spiritual beings in which we are constantly engaged.
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
We, by the very nature of belief in God, believe in a spiritual realm.
At your baptism, words similar to these where likely spoken by the presiding pastor:
On behalf of the whole Church, I ask you:
Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness,
reject the evil powers of this world,
and repent of your sin?
I do.
Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you
to resist evil, injustice, and oppression
in whatever forms they present themselves?
I do.
Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior,
put your whole trust in his grace,
and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the Church which Christ has opened
to people of all ages, nations, and races?
I do.
In doing so, you vowed (or those speaking on your behalf vowed) to change allegiance - to no longer serve the powers of this world, but to now serve Christ alone.
So Where do we see the powers of darkness around us today?
Do we not see them behind the traumas that are passed down through generations of families?
Or in the addictions that hurt people get caught up in as they try satisfy their longing for something more or to numb their pain?
Do we not see the powers of darkness at work in the divisive rhetoric of political parties and news media?
Do we not see the powers of darkness at work in ideologies that result in confusion, and shame, and isolation?
Do we not see the powers of darkness at work in the dark side of social media?
Do we not see the powers of darkness at work in the church when the focus moves from sharing the gospel, sacrifice, serving others, loving our neighbors, compassion and mercy and toward advancing agendas or providing entertainment or stirring up nationalistic fervor?
In today’s passage, Jesus encounters an impure spirit in a synagogue on the Sabbath.
And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, “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.”
What was the impure spirit doing there? The encounter seems to suggest that by teaching in the synagogue, Jesus was invading the territory of that spirit.
The doors of this church have no power to keep the demons out. Only the faithful souls gathered here can do that. When we walk in the way of Christ, each day grounded in the Word, staying close to the Lord in prayer, do we have the authority the cast out evil.
But how many times have we witnessed the powers of darkness present in the church?
Have you ever had something hateful said to you at church?
Have you been hurt by those within the church?
Have you ever acted in way that did not reflect Christ?
It happens more than we’d like to admit. It is why Paul preached for unity among the body and we read in……
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
The battle is real and in Christ, we have the power to overcome.
Jesus cast out demons - he freed people who were bound up, oppressed, burdened by evil. He also healed people from disease and even raised Lazarus from the dead - demonstrating His authority over all things and reversing the effects of the fall.
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.”
Jesus didn’t just teach God’s Word, He applied it. He took the authority given to Him by the Father and used it to right the great wrong -to proclaim good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Isaiah 61)
And then He passed that authority on to His disciples - telling them that in His name, they were to out and do likewise.
And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons.
and again we see this in Mark 6:7-13
And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
Jesus stirred up the hornets nest. Satan and his demons were losing ground. Their territory was being overrun. So the serpent struck the offspring of the women’s heel. He blinded those who should of seen the signs, he whispered in their ears as their pride, their power, their selfish ambitions took over and they had Jesus arrested, tried, sentenced and executed. The serpent thought he had been victorious. Until three days later, Jesus walked out of the grave and crushed his head.
And all who follow the Lord have received power and authority from on high. John 14:12
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Church, I share this as a reminder. If you believe in Jesus and have submitted to His Lordship over your life, then you have received the Holy Spirit and you now have delegated authority in Jesus name.
Stay connected to the Father, attend to your prayer life, pursue a holy life - and evil will have to flee from your presence.
We are called to set the captives free. Let us encourage one another on as we love our neighbor and share the good news.
Amen.