Miracles - Demons

No discussion of miracles would be complete without talking about demons.

Demons into Swine

Mark 5:1–5 NKJV

Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.

Jesus and His disciples travel across the sea to land of the Gadarenes.

And what did they find?

A demon possessed man.

(In Matthew’s version, there were two demon possessed men.)

This man was dwelling among the tombs,

He was an outcast from society.

No one could bind him.

The demons gave him strength to break chains and shackles.

And he was tormented,

Crying out and cutting himself.

Mark 5:6 NKJV

When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.

Even the demons worship Jesus.

What does that say about the billions of people who do not?

What does it say about the millions of people who claim to worship Jesus, but instead act more like demons?

Mark 5:7 NKJV

And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”

A demon, a spirit that left Heaven and followed Satan, starts by asking what he has to do with Jesus,

Then implores Him, by the very God the demon has abandoned, not to torment him.

How many people have lived their lives asking what God has to do with them,

Then quickly invoke His name when they need help?

Mark 5:8–9 NKJV

For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”

Jesus tells the demon to come out, then asks his name.

Apparently this man was not possessed by one demon, but by many.

Mark 5:10 NKJV

Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.

The demons begged Jesus not to send them away.

The word translated “country” means land or territory.

What we’re seeing is that these demons are afraid.

Afraid of Jesus,

Afraid of being tormented or sent away.

Mark 5:11–12 NKJV

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.”

I’ve heard several sermons about these swine.

Were these Jews raising swine?

Was it because the swine are unclean that the demons asked to enter them?

The point is, the demons were looking for a place to stay.

But the grass was not greener on that side.

Mark 5:13 NKJV

And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.

What is more important than what happened to the swine was the reaction of those who were there.

Mark 5:14–16 NKJV

So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.

Glorious day, no?

The demon-possessed man is now healed.

Sitting clothed and in his right mind.

This should be a time for celebration.

Instead, they were afraid.

Then they found out about the swine,

And what was the people’s reaction?

Mark 5:17 NKJV

Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.

Get out of here Jesus.

When they see the power of Jesus, they want nothing to do with Him.

Is that how we react when we meet the True Jesus?

Not the watered down, pandering Jesus of story, but the almighty Son of God?

Well, at least that was the reaction of most of the people.

Mark 5:18–20 NKJV

And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

The man wanted to go with Jesus,

But He had plans for him.

Go, tell your friends what the Lord has done for you.

Quite different than all of the times Jesus told people not to tell what He had done for them.

How would you react to the healing of a demon-possessed man?

Would you fall at Jesus’ feet and beg to join Him?

Or would you fall and beg Him to leave?

Demon Possessed Son Delivered

Then we have another encounter with a demon,

This time, we start with the disciples.

Mark 9:14–16 NKJV

And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”

Have you ever come upon a crowd and wondered what was going on?

Jesus asks the scribes, what’s going on?

Mark 9:17–18 NKJV

Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

Another father with a child to be healed.

Not that different at first, but there’s a problem.

This child has a demon,

And the disciples cannot cast him out.

Mark 9:19 NKJV

He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.”

I’ve often said, there are only two stupid questions in the world,

The one you don’t ask, and the one you ask three times.

Here, Jesus seems frustrated, because no matter how much He teaches the disciples, they show so little faith.

Mark 9:20–22 NKJV

Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

This seems to be a pretty bad case.

Jesus wants to know how long this has been going on.

Can you imagine the scene,

All eyes on Jesus, to see if He can do what His disciples could not.

Mark 9:23–24 NKJV

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

What does Jesus do?

He tells the father, if he can believe it is possible.

The Father’s reaction.

I believe; help my unbelief!

We all have faith, but as limited, created beings, that faith is limited as well.

It’s one thing to say we believe, quite another to live it.

This father is not too proud to ask for help with his unbelief.

Mark 9:25–27 NKJV

When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

Jesus sees the crowd coming, so He gets to work.

Rebukes the unclean spirit, and all is done.

But the boy looks lifeless.

Until Jesus helps him to his feet.

Quite the miracle, no?

Mark 9:28–29 NKJV

And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

Hey Jesus, why couldn’t we cast this demon out?

I’m sure we’ve all had times when we weren’t able to do what we thought.

And I’m sure we’ve all asked God why things happen.

In this case, Jesus gives the disciples the reason why they failed.

This one takes a very strong faith.

One built on prayer and fasting.

Demons Cast Out

This next casting out of demons came early in Jesus’ earthly ministry.

Mark 1:21–24 NKJV

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

Jesus is teaching in the synagogue,

And people were amazed at His teaching.

Then we see a man with an unclean spirit.

And this spirit is NOT happy.

“Let us alone!”

“What have we to do your you?”

“Did you come to destroy us?”

Mark 1:25–28 NKJV

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

A simple rebuke, and the demon is gone.

And the people were amazed.

Not because of the demon, or so much the healing,

But HOW Jesus healed him.

With authority, Jesus told the spirit to go, and the spirit obeyed.

This reminds me of another biblical story about demons.

Playing with Jesus’ Name

Acts 19:13–14 NKJV

Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.

Can you just image these men?

Spirit, we ORDER you out,

By the name of this guy Jesus that Paul is preaching about.

Sounds to me like a child threatening to have his older brother take care of things.

So how did the evil spirit react?

Acts 19:15–16 NKJV

And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

I can just picture it...

Jesus I know, and Paul I know,

Now, just who are you?

Then the spirit beats the tar out of them.

Neither Jesus’ name, nor demons, are things to be trifled with.

Conclusion

What can we learn from these demonstrations of the casting out of demons?

Today, we look for a medical diagnosis for all maladies,

But how many of them are truly demons in disguise?

Look at the state of the world today,

Those possessed by drink, drugs, or pornography.

Those controlled by unnatural desires.

Or those crying out and harming themselves.

Could these be instances of an evil spirit?

There are several things I think we should learn from these examples.

Demons and evil spirits, are real.

But how can we tell if someone’s troubles are spiritual or physical?

I think it is closed-minded to ignore either possibility.

Dealing with evil spirits, whether demons or merely the state of fallen man, is not something to be taken lightly.

Discernment takes prayer.

The courage to help others with their demons takes faith.

And faith comes from prayer and fasting.

While we, as fallen creatures, may not be able to deal with all of these problems,

Our Lord Jesus is more than capable.

If we believe. Lord help our unbelief.