Demons—Part 4
August 21, 2006
Dear Friends
With the background we have established so far, we can now reexamine as a whole the casting out of demons by Jesus. Jesus was teaching us about human nature, the cure for spiritual illness and idolatry. His message in healing was that he was the answer to the problems of mankind and would cast out all of the world’s diseases and idols. It was the same message of John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Every time he healed someone, he was proclaiming himself to be the cure of all mankind’s ailments IF they would only cast out their idols and worship “in spirit and in truth.â€
There are many passages that go from disturbing, confusing anecdotes to beautiful lessons if we understand the meaning behind demons. For example, the story of Legion is very understandable if we look deeper. First, we need to understand that this episode was prophesied in Ps. 107:10-16 along with Jesus calming the sea (see vs. 23-32). The crazy men living among the tombs, cutting themselves, naked and in chains are all easily identifiable types of uncleanness and sin (see Is. 65:2-4, Lev. 11:7; 19:28 and Num. 19:16). He was a man that could not be bound which is a direct reference to sin (see Mt. 12:29). Even the casting the “demons†into the swine can easily been seen in type for Micah 7:19 says “he will have compassion upon us, he will subdue our iniquities, and thou will cast all their sins into the depths of the seas.” In the end, the men are clothed (2 Cor. 5:4) and in their right minds after falling down before Christ and recognizing him as the promised Messiah.
So using this account of two crazed men in the Gadarenes as an example, which is more plausible based on what we know?
Option #1: Jesus meets two insane men. They demonstrate a basic level of faith by acknowledging him to be the Son of God and falling down before him. The inspired Gospel writers use specific details of the story to highlight the connection between these two men and spiritual lessons on both sin and idolatry. Jesus even encourages this connection by sending forth the mental illness into a herd of Biblically unclean animals and destroying them. In the end, the simple faith of these two men and the love of Jesus result in the healing of the two men from insanity, idolatry and uncleanness. In parabolic form, the same offer is made to all mankind that Jesus will heal us of our sin and idolatry by faith.
Option #2: Jesus meets two men possessed by the departed souls of 2,000 men (remember, the “fallen angel†theory of demons had not been invented yet). Oddly, Jesus negotiates with the evils spirits and does them a “favor†by not destroying them. Instead, he sends them into some local pigs. Despite their pleadings for not being destroyed, the demons then do to themselves exactly what they asked Jesus not to do and kill themselves. The curious little details of the story (the nakedness, cutting with stones, being bound, being in the tombs, etc.) are not really spiritually significant except perhaps to tell us that demons are bizarre.
In the end, we all need to decide what we think about demons. Is the real problem in ourselves (our sinful tendencies) or external to ourselves (demons)? Jesus has told us his take on the subject plainly. “And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man.†(Matt. 15:16-20)
Have a great week,
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