Jesus & Demon's

The Demoniac Approaches Jesus

Jesus is getting out of the boat into and a demoniac meets him. Jesus had just calmed the storm. Now they are walking into another one.

Characteristic of this demoniac

He was possessed by an unclean spirit. This man had been overtaken by an evil spirit. The evil spirit has taken control over this man’s life. This demon was residing within the man and controlling his will, mind, and actions. This is possession. There is a difference between possession and oppression. Possession is an internal occupancy that controls a person. Oppression is a demonic force that influences a person. Christians cannot be possessed by a demon but can be oppressed by a demon.

21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Because the Christian has the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, a demon cannot take up residency. The Holy Spirit and a demon cannot co-habitate . Though a Christian cannot be possessed they can be oppressed.

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.

So what are we to do when we are oppressed. Put on the full armor of God and pray!

2. His dwelling place was in the tombs. This is most appropriate place for demons to reside. In Jewish culture the most vile thing a Jew could do was come in contact with a dead body. A burial place was the most unclean place a person could be. Demons were believed to reside in these places because of their uncleanness. They were isolated. We see this man lived in the tombs and no one could be around him. He was so violent that he passed a danger to anyone around him.

3. He had supernatural strength. They would try to bind him with shackles and chains, but could not contain him. He had supernatural strength to break free from any chain or shackle. Demons give their host supernatural strength to terrorize other people and do them harm.

4. He was on a path of destruction. He would scream and cut himself with stones. Demons not only want to do harm to others but also their host.

It is obvious that this man is demon possessed. Jesus recognizes it immediately and goes into action. Though it is easy for Jesus to see the demon possession it may not be as easy for us. How can we know the difference between demon possession and mental illness? I know this is a sensitive subject but one that affects many people.

Differences in demon possession and mental illness

In my research this week I found a consistent list that describes the differences. Please understand that I am not a medical doctor and this is not an exhaustive list, but this list is written by Dr. Steven Waterhouse who has a brother that suffers from schizophrenia and has done extensive research in this area . Anyone exhibiting symptoms of mental illness should always see a doctor first before presuming demon possession.

1. Attraction to vs. Aversion to Religion. Demons want nothing to do with Christ. Conversely, people with NBD are often devoutly religious.

2. Irrational Speech vs. Rational Speech. In New Testament accounts involving demons, the demons spoke in a rational manner. Untreated people with schizophrenia will often speak in nonsense and jump rapidly between unrelated topics.

3. Ordinary Learning vs. Supernatural Knowledge Demons in the New Testament would speak through people to convey knowledge that otherwise could not have been known to the possessed individuals. Those with NBD have no such ability to know facts which they have not acquired by normal learning.

4. Normal vs. Occultic Phenomena. There is an aspect to demon activity that is just plain spooky (ex.: poltergeists, levitation’s, trances, telepathy). These have an impact on others in the room not just the possessed. With schizophrenia, the effect of the disorder is only on the disordered, not others.

5. The claim to be possessed Authors who have clinical experience both with demon possession and mental illness, believe those who claim to be possessed are very likely not possessed. Demons wish to be secretive and do not voluntarily claim to be present.

6. Effects of Therapy. If prayer solves the problem, then it was probably not schizophrenia. If medicine helps alleviate the problem, it was not demon possession.

Read more at: https://mentalillnesspolicy.org/coping/demonic-possession-mental-illness.html

Jesus Addresses the Demon

The demon begins to implore Jesus not to torment him. The reason he is asking Jesus is because he knows who Jesus is and what his destiny is. It is the lake of fire where they are tormented day ad night forever.

10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

This demon knows Jesus has authority over him. This demon knows Jesus is the Son of God. This demon disobeys Jesus command to come out of the man.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 5

8 For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”

This demon was defiant. So Jesus ask the demon his name. This is interesting because it was understood that if you knew a demon’s name you had authority over them. So why did Jesus ask for the demon’s name? I believe Jesus knew the demon and by giving his name was the only chance he had to go into the swine.

The demon’s name was legion. I don’t know that it was his real name but it was indicative of what he was. A legion was 6000 roman soldiers that would go through towns and destroy, kill and plunder people. This demon was many spirits that was seeking to destroy.

Jesus gave the demon permission to go into the swine. This shows Jesus power over demons. When he says they have to go, they have to go!

The Crowds

The herdsmen went and told everyone in the region what had happen. The people came out to see for themselves. The Bible says they saw the demon possessed guy clothed and in his right mind. One would think that they would be elated that such a miracle had occured. You would think that they would want Jesus to stay with them and heal other people. But they implored him to leave the region. Why? I want to give you 3 reasons why.

Jesus disturbed their comfort. These people were perfectly content with the way they were living. The possessed man was in the tombs away from them. They had agriculture to supply them physically. Everything was just fine and then Jesus showed up and changed everything.

You see we can get comfortable in the way we are living, but it may not be healthy. We just accept it. This is why some people do not take Jesus seriously. They know that if they do then He is going to radically change things in their life. Some people don’t want this change because they are comfortable just the way they are.

2. Jesus disturbed their possessions. Jesus just impacted their economy. He allowed the demons to plunge 2,000 pigs into the sea. They didn’t care about the man being healed. They cared more about the impact of losing the pigs.

This is why some people refuse to go to church. They say all the church wants is their money. This tells me what their true god is. They want their possessions more than they want to follow Jesus. A person that is following Christ sees giving as a worship opportunity to advance His kingdom!

3. Jesus disturbed their religion. These people were just fine believing what they wanted to believe. They didn’t know how to deal with demons. They would rather just keep them away from everyone. Now they have someone that can get rid of demons. So they are going to have to change their beliefs.

Some people are that way when it comes to their own beliefs. They are not open to truth, but would rather just believe what they have always been taught.

I see the saddest scripture after they ask Jesus to leave.

18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him.

Jesus honors their request and leaves. Imagine what he could have done if they invited him to stay. Jesus will not force himself upon anyone.

Jesus Addresses the Man

The man who has been healed want to follow Jesus. Jesus tells him that he cant. He must stay behind and share with people what the Lord had done for him.

Although the people had rejected Jesus, he did not give up on them. He instructed the healed man to stay behind to serve as a witness to the people who asked him to leave.