The Person and Passion of Christ
The Person of Christ – Part
Five – Mark 5:1-43
Jesus Our Source of Hope
In Mark 5 we come to three scenes in which Jesus faces a man who is demon possessed, a woman who was hopelessly afflicted, and a child who had died. In each case Jesus brings hope of healing to those in seeming hopeless situations. When the demon possessed man sees Jesus it says:
Why did this man come and prostrate himself before Jesus in worship? Because Jesus embodied hope of deliverance to him.
When Jesus continues on He is met by a father named Jairus, whose daughter is “at the point of death” (5:23). Later in the chapter we will discover that the daughter does in fact die (5:35). But Jesus responds by telling Jairus:
Why did Jesus tell him to not be afraid and only believe? Because Jesus knew all hope was not lost while He was a part of this life situation equation and that Jairus needed only trust in Him to experience the benefits of that hope.
While Jesus is on his way to Jairus’ house, a woman who, “had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from physicians” came upon Him in the crowd and “touched His garment” (5:25-27). Why did she do this? Because Jesus was her only hope and by touching Him she was believed she would be made well (5:28).
In these three situations we find people in hopeless situations coming to the Source of all hope, Jesus. Jesus is our Source of hope. When Jesus is brought into a situation, no matter how hopeless it appears from a horizontal worldly perspective; when He is factored into our life equation, there is always hope.
It’s interesting that Jesus didn’t have to announce Himself as the Agent of Hope to each of these people in this chapter; they knew He was their Source of Hope. Certainly the Holy Spirit had gone ahead and prepared them with this sense of hope. The sense of hope they had led to the realization of their hopeful desires as they stepped out in faith on that Spirit-given hope in Jesus. This is a critical lesson to be learned. Hope is hopeless unless faith is added to it. Indeed, the Biblical definition of “faith” incorporate hope in it as in Hebrews we read:
Faith gives
substance, or manifests, what we hope for. God builds our faith by first giving us hope and then
bringing us to realize what we hope for by stepping out in faith trusting in
Him.
But there is something more
for us to apply to our lives in the Spirit here. Just as Jesus is our
Source of hope and He was seen as such by those in hopeless situations, we too
should be agents of His hope. When people see us, they should think of His hope
because they are used to us bringing that hope around us.
These are great truths to
mark as an action to implement in our lives.
MARK THAT ACTION: Jesus is our Source of hope. We need to hope in Him. But also, like Jesus, we should be agents of hope only our hope is not in ourselves, but in Jesus who we represent. We to bring hope to the hopeless by introducing them to Jesus and bringing Jesus into hopeless situations.
This is the summary of what we will learn in this chapter. Now lets study the details of the hope we have in Jesus.
Mark 5:1-6 - “Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains,4 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.5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.6 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.”[4]
When Jesus and the disciples weather the storm that was likely sent by Satan to deter them, and arrive at the other side of the Sea of Galilee, they are met immediately by a man who is demon possessed. (In Matthew’s account two men are mentioned – Matthew 8:28 - while in Mark and Luke only one is mentioned. This is not necessarily a contradiction or error, but may represent only a direction of the Holy spirit for Mark and Luke to focus on one of the two men who was more prominently responsive in the situation.)
Gadara was a Gentile town located on the Eastern side of the Sea of Gallilee. Some have pointed out a seeming discrepancy between Mark and Luke’s account which mentions “Gadarenes” and Matthew’s account which refers to “Gergesenes” (Matthew 8:28). However archeological discoveries of the ruins of Khersa (Gerasa) on the shore of the lake disproves such claims because the location of Khersa on the lake shore is so close to the larger city of Gaddara (they are within a few minutes walking distance of each other) that the events could be identified with either place. [5]
Here in the account of the Gadarene demoniac, we have the surfacing of the unseen spiritual war that is ever raging around us. Paul is inspired to tell us that:
While this war usually takes placed cloaked in subtlety, at times, as we have here, it surfaces to reveal the utter darkness and violent nature of the enemies of God.
These demon-possessed men were described as “exceedingly
fierce.” They terrorized the surrounding community as it states, “no one could
pass that way” (compare Mark 5:1-21; Luke 8:26-40). That these demons were able to enter these two men and that they
were able to terrorize the countryside tells us that the unsaved are at
the mercy of the demonic.
If you are unsaved; if you have not turned to God in repentance from your sin and put your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, you are deluded and under the influence of Satan. That may be a scary thought, but it is true.
When Paul went before king Agrippa and was given opportunity to share his testimony, in Paul’s response were the following words about the mission Jesus had called him to:
These words of Jesus to Paul indicate that those who have yet to come to Him by faith are under the influence of the devil. In other portions of Scripture Paul is inspired to write further about this condition and says:
Satan “blinds” the minds of the unsaved so that they cannot even consider the truth of the gospel of God. This is why we need to pray for the unbeliever. We need to pray that God “open their eyes,” so that they can at least consider their unsaved state and be open to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Read what Paul writes to young pastor Timothy:
This last verse shows us that those who have yet to receive Jesus as their Savior are under the influence of Satan and ensnared by him.
Only Jesus can penetrate the blinding effects of Satan on the lost. Apart from Jesus, the unsaved are hopelessly lost in dark blindness. This truth is brought out in the following passage:
But what about demon possession? What is it? Does it happen today?
There are those who believe that in the Biblical accounts of instances where Jesus exorcised demons from people, that Jesus was merely accommodating Himself to the beliefs of the people of that age and that what really was happening is that Jesus was dealing with insanity or mental illness. This view implies that Jesus was less than straightforward and honest as well as denies the reality of the spiritual entities attested to by the Bible. Such a view therefore strikes a blow at the holiness of Jesus as well as the authority of the Bible.
Others believe that Jesus was mistaken in His own beliefs concerning demons and that He was really dealing with a mental illness in people. This view which is rooted in psychological theory implies that Jesus didn’t know as much as the psychologist of today. This view is rooted in a proud notion that people know more today than Jesus did in the past. This view therefore strikes at the very nature of Jesus in that it purports that He was less than omniscient. It too strikes at the authority of the Bible in that it implies the Bible is antiquated and out of touch with the “real” problems experienced by people.
That people have chemical imbalances in their brains that cause deviant behavior and illness is certain. But to admit such does not require we deny the stated truth of the Bible and Jesus that people can be and are at times possessed by demons. If we accept the Bible as the inspired, inerrant and true revelation from God, then we will accept that there are spiritual beings working against God and that at times they attack people and possess them. And if we accept this, then we must admit that this spiritual battle continues to this present day. We battle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, demonic forces of the spirit world (see Ephesians 6:10-18).
Are people demon possessed in the world today? I believe there is evidence that there are people possessed by demons today. In his book entitled Demons The Answer Book, Lester Sumrall discusses demonic possession in the world today.[11] In the first chapter of his book, Bitten by Demons, Mr. Sumrall writes of an account of demon possession which we now share in part:
On May 12, 1953, the Daily Mirror in Manila carried a highly unusual story [A story was also run in Life magazine here in the States] . . .
A city jail inmate puzzled police and medical examiners with her tale about two devils biting her . . . the girl claimed she was bitten twenty times and she shouted every time she was hurt.
In the jail . . . she talked and answered questions weakly, but sensibly, before a crowd of observers. Suddenly her facial expressions would change to anguish and horror as if she were confronted with ‘The Thing.’ She would look wildly and then scream and struggle and hit her arms and shoulders . . . Then her strenuous resistance would cease and she would collapse into the arms of those holding her, weak and half-conscious.
After regaining her senses, she said that one of the devils was big and dark with curly hair on his head, chest and arms. He had large, sharp eyes and two fangs. His voice was a deep-echoing sound. He was shrouded in black.
She was bitten for the last time on the right knee. That was the first bite on the lower part of her anatomy. Other bite marks appear on her neck, arms and shoulders [in places it would have been impossible for bites to have been self-inflicted]. Observers insist that they are within sight all the time.
The following day the Manila Chronicle reported further news of the young woman, Clarita Villanueva:
At least twenty-five competent persons, including Manila’s chief of police, Col. Cesar Lucero, say that it is a very realistic example of a horrified woman being bitten to insanity by ‘invisible persons.’ She displayed several bite marks all over her body, inflicted by nobody as far as the twenty-five witnesses could see. . . .
Villanueva was perfectly normal between fits. After talking for a while, she would shout, have convulsions and hysterics, all the time screaming, and her eyes flashing with fire. Then she would point to a part of her body being attacked, and then fall almost senseless into the hands of investigators. Teeth marks, wet with saliva, marked the spots she pointed at. . . .
At the time, I [Lester Sumrall] was founding a church in Manila . . . . a forty-five minute radio program [giving the account of Clarita’s condition] drew me into it personally . . . . It was impossible for me to sleep after listening to the program . . .. After praying until morning, God spoke to my heart: ‘If you will go to the jail and pray for her, I will deliver her.’ . . . At my request, we visited Mayor Lacson and gained permission for me to pray for Clarita, but on one condition. Dar. Mariano Lara, chief medical adviser of the police department, must also grant permission. . . . Dr. Lara had not intended to be drawn into the Clarita Villanueva affair . . . . [But] this baffling Filipino girl had changed Dr. Lara’s philosophy of life. He turned to me and said, ‘Reverend, I am humble enough to admit that I am a frightened man.’. . . I turned to the Gospel of Mark and read, ‘’And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name they shall cast out devils’ (Mark 16:17). Do you believe this?’ I asked. Dr. Lara looked at me and said, ‘I believe, but who will help us?’ . . . I told him I would be glad to go and pray for the girl if he would permit it. He said I would be welcome. I requested that no medication be given her during the time I would be praying for her and that no other groups be permitted to pray for her or offer assistance in any way. If Jesus healed her, He must have all the glory. He agreed, and an appointment was made for me to return the following morning. I fasted the rest of the day, spending the time in prayer and reading the Word of God.
On the first morning, . . . upon seeing the police officers, newspapermen, and photographers who were gathered, I could almost hear the devil whispering, ‘Just as I told you! Now you have made a fool of yourself!’ . . . We . . .assembled in a small chapel for women prisoners, there must have been a hundred spectators including prisoners . . . . After we all gathered in the chapel, Dr. Lara asked that Clarita be brought in. She observed each person slowly and closely as she entered the room. When she came to me at the end of the line, her eyes widened and she glared at me saying, ‘I don’t like you!’ These were the first words the devil spoke through her lips to me. The demons used her lips constantly to curse me, to curse God, and to curse the blood of Christ. She did this in English, yet after she was delivered I had to converse with her through an interpreter, as she could not speak English.
‘Clarita,’ I said, ‘ I have come to deliver you from the power of these devils in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.’ . . . . She went into a fit of rage, screaming, ‘No, no! They will kill me!’. . . Taking hold of her head with both hands I cried, ‘Come out of her, you evil and wicked spirit of hell. Come out of her in Jesus’ name!’ Immediately she began to rage again. . . With tears flowing down her cheeks she begged me to leave her alone; she showed me terrible marks on her arms and neck where she had been bitten that moment. I was shocked . . . . The devils would curse God and I would demand them to quit and tell them God is holy. Then they would curse the blood of Jesus and I rebuked them, reminding them that he is the Master over every evil power and that His blood is holy. Then they cursed me in the vilest language. They declared they would never leave. It seemed like the powers of darkness and the powers of righteousness were in deadly conflict. I was just the mouthpiece for righteousness. Clarita was the mouthpiece of the devil. Undoubtedly the noise could be heard for some distance in the prison.
Finally it seemed that the girl was relieved. The devils refused to talk to me or bite her. Some of those present thought she was delivered, but I told them she was not. It was nearly noon and I was soaked with perspiration and nearly exhausted. When I looked around I saw several of the people with tears in their eyes, moved with the things they had seen.
I told Dr. Lara that I desired to go home and fast and pray for another day, and then return the following morning. That day was spent in communion with God. It was precious. I could feel God’s presence hovering over me, urging me not to be afraid . . . . That night, Rev. Arthur Ahlberg and Rev. Robert McAllister visited us at home and offered to go with me the following day . . . .
Upon arrival at Belibid the following morning, the
captain of the prison said Clarita had not been bitten since the prayer. But I
knew she was not yet delivered. This became evident as soon as the devils saw
me. Through her lips they cried, ‘Go away! Go away!’ . . . . I sat on the same small chair in front of her and spoke
back with a thrilling feeling of authority. ‘No, I am not going away, but you
are going away! This girl will be delivered today!’. . . Then I requested every
person present to kneel . . . The battle began again. They cursed and held on
to their victim, begging permission to stay in her . . . . That additional time
of fasting and prayer had made the difference . . . . . I felt the release and
knew they had departed. Clarita relaxed. The demon look departed from her eyes.
She smiled. I looked around and noticed that reporters were weeping; there were
tears in the eyes of doctors; hard-boiled jailors were also weeping. I could
now see how terrific the battle had been. Softly I began to sing with brothers
Ahlberg and McAllister:
Oh, the blood of Jesus, Oh, the
blood of Jesus, Oh, the blood of Jesus,
That washes white as snow!
. . . We were ready to leave when suddenly, like a flash of lightening, the devils reappeared. The girl screamed and her eyes changed. I said to them, ‘Why have you returned? You know you must go and not return.’ . . . they replied, ‘But she is unclean. We have the right to live in her.’ I answered them in a determined voice. . . .They had no power to resist. They left, and she became normal again. I explained to her what had happened and got her to pray with me for the forgiveness of her sins. . . . I explained to her why they had returned and demanded her to tell them to leave and not return. This she did. Then I taught her to pray and plead the blood of Jesus against them. . . . As I was leaving I told Clarita that I was sure these devils would return. . . . ‘they will come. Then you must demand them to leave without my being present. You must say, ‘Go, in Jesus’ name,’ and they will obey.’ . . . .
I went to visit her twice [later] and found her overjoyed at our coming . . . This was [now] a perfectly normal Filipino girl who had recovered from the nightmare of demon possession.’” [12]
This is a true story and it occurred in our day.
What are the symptoms of demon possession? How can we know if someone is demon possessed? When we look at the Biblical accounts of demonic possession we see the following symptoms:
These are characteristics gleaned from observations of God’s revealed accounts of demon possession. Judas is another example of demonic possession and was apparently demon possessed at some point (John 13:2, 27).
In his book entitled Demons In The World Today, Merrill F. Unger distinguishes between demonic influence and demonic possession by saying:
“In demon influence, evil spirits exert power over a person short of actual possession. Such influence may vary from mild harassment to extreme subjugation when body and mind become dominated and held in slavery by spirit agents. Christians as well as non-Christians can be so influenced. They may be oppressed, vexed, depressed, and hindered, bound by demons.”
“Demon possession is a condition in which one or more evil spirits or demons inhabit a body of a human being and can take complete control of their victim at will . . . . The inhabiting demon(s) come and go much like the proprietor of a house who may or may not be at ‘home.’” [13]
Is there any doubt that Satan has a hand in such horrific activity as abortion, partial birth abortion, serial killings and genocide? Within the last month of this writing a mother systematically drowned in the bathtub her five young children. The press is linking the act with post par tem depression, but can there be any doubt that Satan has had a hand in this?! In these instances we have demonic influence if not demonic possession at work.
Satan’s goal and ambition is to destroy God and anything or anyone associated with Him.
The Bible does not teach that believers can be possessed by demons, but demons can influence believers from without. Suffice it to say that the indwelling Christ is greater than the attacking demonic forces in regards to the believer (1 John 4:4). The Bible says that if the believer resists the devil, he must flee (James 4:7). God will crush Stan under the feet of the believer (Romans 16:20). We need not fear being possessed by demons if we are in a saving relationship with Jesus. We do however; need to always be aware of the spiritual attacks of the enemy.
Remember Job; his life was greatly influenced by the attack of the devil (see Job). Jesus warned Peter that Satan was after him, but comforted him that Jesus was praying for him:
Peter later was inspired to write of our need to be cautiously aware of Satan’s devices. Peter wrote:
Have you ever awoke in a bad mood? Ever been depressed for no good reason? Perhaps demonic spirits are assailing you. We need to guard against finding demons under every rock, but we also need to be aware that demons are real and they want to influence people against God.
Paul tells us to take our thoughts captive, or bring them under control by way of our relationship with Jesus. He is inspired to say this in his letter to the Corinthians where he states:
We need to comment here on mental illness. Mental illness in this teacher’s opinion is not the broad expansive network of conditions that are constantly proliferating at the behest of psychologists. Mental illness here is defined as a physical cause of abnormal thinking processes. Much of what is classified, as “mental illness” today is nothing more than sin and the flesh. Mental illness is a physical non-volitional condition whereby a chemical imbalance or injury or other physical defect results in the inability of the brain to process correctly thoughts leading to actions. Therefore, what is the difference between a person who is mentally ill and a person who is demon possessed? A few observations can be made here. If one prays in the presence of a mentally ill person, they will usually calm down. Whereas, when in the presence of a demon possessed person, prayer in the name of Jesus will elicit a violent response. A mentally ill person may respond to chemical or surgical intervention, whereas, a demon possessed person will not. (The demon may give the appearance of responding to medicine or surgery to cloak their presence – see John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15.) A demon-possessed person may exhibit seeming clairvoyant ability to expose inconsistencies in the one ministering to them. A mentally ill individual does not have this capacity. Keep in mind that Jesus is able to heal either the mentally ill person or the demon-possessed person. We need to rely on the Spirit to help us discern between the two in order to minister to their needs effectively and in love.
Mark 5:7-13 – “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.”8 For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!”9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.11 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.”13 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.” [18]
This passage in Mark 5 shows us that Jesus has authority over demonic forces. This demon possessed man was fierce but had to submit to Jesus. Earlier in the gospel of Mark Jesus made an interesting comment about dealing with the devil. He said:
We have already seen the influence of Satan in the world
and especially in the life of the unbeliever. Through prayer Satan’s
influence must be bound before a person can be freed to accept the truth of
God. It is in prayer that we utilize the authority we have in Jesus to knock
down the strongholds of the devil and take the ground that is promised to us by
God. Followers of Jesus, His disciples, need to appropriate through prayer the
authority and power of Jesus over the enemy.
In the Bible we are given many verses about the authority of Jesus over the demonic realm:
Notice, we do not fight the devil in our own strength but in the authority and strength of Jesus. In Christ, (i.e. in our saving personal relationship with Jesus) in the authority that He possesses, because of His work on the cross, we can resist the devil and his dominions victoriously. This is made perfectly clear by Paul’s inspired words to the Colossians where he states:
While we are given authority over devils through our relationship with Jesus Christ, we should never seek to proudly pick a fight with the devil. In the authority of Jesus’ name we can do battle with Satan. On our own we would be in big trouble with this fierce foe.
A word of caution here, it would not be advisable to go demon hunting or to face these dark forces apart from having a saving relationship with God in Christ. Our protection and power against such dark legions comes form our Savior Jesus Christ. Someone has wisely said, when Satan comes knocking at your door, ask Jesus to answer it.
On one occasion in the Bible we are given an account of some itinerant exorcists who tried to exorcise a demon from a man by using the name of Jesus without having a personal saving relationship with Him. Read what happened:
Jesus has authority over the forces of evil led by Satan. In the case of the two possessed men from Gadara, the demons even had to ask to enter the herd of swine, (the first production of deviled ham!) But something is interesting here, why would the demons want to enter the pigs?
Satan and his demonic hoards will always try to get the eyes of people off of God’s work and onto things. He’ll even try to get disciples distracted with the things of this world. And Satan and his hoards will use many other devious devices to sidetrack and undermine the work of God in the world. How can the disciple prepare to fight this spiritual battle? Here are a few things we should do and be aware of to fight in this spiritual war.
Any good soldier who plans battle strategy includes as much information about their enemy as possible. In war, battles are won and lost based to a great extent on the knowledge of the opponent’s strength, weaknesses and tendencies. If you don’t know your enemy, you may under or over prepare for the battle. In sports teams prepare for their opponents by watching films and becoming aware of their strengths, weaknesses, tendencies and match-ups so they can construct an effective game plan. A weaker team can overcome a stronger team with the right amount of preparation. While we are not weaker than Satan because of our strength and authority in Jesus, we still need to know our adversary so as to plan an effective strategy to take back the souls of the lost who he holds in a death grip. We need to know our enemy. What do we know about Satan? [27]
First, Satan is not equal with God; Satan is no match for God. Satan is a created being and as such is no match for the omnipotent Almighty God who has no beginning or ending (Isaiah 57:15). Satan must submit to the authority of God and must get permission from God for all that he does (see Job 1-2).
Second, Satan is not omnipresent; he cannot be in more than one place at a time. This means that it is more common for us to be attacked by Satan’s demonic representatives than by Satan himself. It’s doubtful we will ever meet Satan, other than to see him at the Great White Throne Judgment and comment about how such a little being could have caused so much trouble (Isaiah 14:16-17).
Third, Satan is not omniscient; he does not know everything. Satan can battle us in our thoughts, but he does not know everything and we can guard our thoughts by the authority of Jesus (Proverbs 16:3; Isaiah 55:7; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Philippians 2:5; 4:6-9; Hebrews 4:12). Because of this Satan makes mistakes. God thwarts Satan’s plans. Satan does not know the future. This is why occult prognosticators are so often wrong when they predict the future. God is able to take what Satan meant for evil and turn it out for His good (Romans 8:28).
Fourth, Satan is not omnipotent; he is limited in what he can do. Whatever he does has to be permitted by God (see Job 1-2). He cannot go beyond his created nature as an angel.
Fifth, Satan is normally invisible. Because he is invisible, he (and demons who are similarly invisible) can enter a being and not be seen doing so such as was the case with Judas (Luke 22:3). But, if holy angels can materialize and be seen (Matthew 28:2,3,5-7; Luke 1:11-20; John 20:12), it is likely that Satan and demons can do the same as well. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians that Satan “transforms himself into an angel of light”:
This is a very important aspect of Satan’s nature and plans given the next truth about him.
Sixth, Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44). If he can transform himself into a seemingly good being (i.e. “angel of light”), then we must not trust apparitions, materializations, or beings that say they are “God,” “Jesus,” “Mary,” a saint, a ghost or spirit of the dead, or someone else, (see 1 Samuel 28:4-25). Everyone one and everything has to be scrutinized through the lens of God’s word. Paul said:
Seventh, Satan seeks to usurp God’s authority and Lordship over the universe. Satan wants to rule the universe and for this cause he was cast out of heaven (Isaiah 14:12-15). On earth, he seeks to rule like a tyrant over anyone who does not submit to the Lordship of God in Christ. And as we have seen, Satan does have authority over anyone who does not receive Jesus as Lord and Savior (Ephesians 2:1-5). Satan wants to put people into bondage to do his evil and sinful will.
Eighth, Satan must be a proud maniacal being. The prophet Ezekiel was inspired to write of Satan and described him as having been created a beautiful, “model of perfection,” angelic being. But rather than be satisfied with his position of closeness to God, he was lifted up in pride until he lost reason and sought to rebel against God. Only a maniacal being drunk with pride would attempt to fight against Almighty God, Creator of the universe! Once fallen, Satan is described as violent, sinful, disgraced, expelled from heaven, corrupted (Ezekiel 28:11-17). Satan may have a genius like intellect, but he is mad with pride and living under delusions of grandeur.
Last, Satan is a defeated foe. Satan is defeated; he was defeated on the cross of Christ. What we are fighting now are the left over battles of a defeated despot who doesn’t want to go off the scene easily. Satan will fight to the bitter end, but the war has been won. We can look forward with certainty to Satan’s judgment as it states in the Bible:
In his book entitled Satan’s Devices, Robert Morey states that Satan and demons are capable of and characterized by the following:
If all of this can be done by Satan and his demons, how can the disciple withstand such forces?
The only way to fight this spiritual fight victoriously is
to trust God and use the “spiritual” weapons He provides us. Earlier we quoted from Paul’s second letter
to the Corinthians in which he was inspired to write:
We must rid ourselves of the view of Christianity as a
passive monastic-like life where one sits quietly as the world crumbles around
us and souls pass over the edge of a cliff of destiny into eternal hell fire.
No, the Christian is a soldier at war for the Lord. We do not fight with
“carnal” or worldly, fleshly methods or tools, but we do fight. We fight with
the weapons God provides which are “mighty in God for pulling down
strongholds.”
What are the weapons God provides the Christian soldier? We have to look to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians where Paul was inspired to describe such spiritual weaponry. In Ephesians six it states:
Without relying on the Lord and putting on His armor, we will be susceptible to the deceptions and devices of the enemy. Notice first Paul exhorts believers to “be strong in the Lord.” We do not enter this battle in our own strength for to do so would be suicide. We fight in the power of God and His authority.
When it comes to putting on the armor, we need to put all the armor on for leaving anyone one piece off exposes the believer to a satanic swipe (6:13). God has provided truth to hold all of His armor in place like a belt that holds all of our clothes in place (6:14a). To “gird” oneself meant to prepare to move quickly. You see the garments of the people of the day were long robe-like pieces. To run in a long flowing robe would be like a bride on her wedding day trying to run in her gown, a disaster waiting to happen. Therefore, the man girding up their loins reached down between their legs and grabbed the read bottom portion of their robe and brought it up to their front waist and tucked it into their belt. The belt of truth is the piece that holds all the other pieces of armor in place. It is essential for the warrior of God to speak truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) because without the truth in love the other pieces of armor are greatly weakened.
God protects our hearts with a breastplate of righteousness in Christ. Satan aims his “darts” or fiery doubt missiles directly at our hearts (6:14b) Satan and his demons want to discourage you by attacking your righteous standing before God. He’ll shoot you with impressions in your heart that you are a dirty rotten sinner unworthy to be used by God. Satan will try to separate and isolate you from the body of Christ with such notions. If he can divide the body of Christ, he can if not conquer it, greatly limit its effectiveness. But the believer is not righteous because of anything he or she does, a believer is righteous because of what Jesus has done on the cross and that is what needs to cover the heart of the soldier of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:21).
God protects our feet with gospel boots so that we can march in peace thought the battle rages around us (6:15). Satan will try to strewn shards of glass and tacks of trials along our path and if we are not walking in the gospel of God’s peace in Christ we’ll be hopping in pain (See Romans 5:1f.). We also need to understand that the gospel of peace is not only for us, but it is to free the lost souls held prisoner by the enemy. We need to be prepared to share the gospel with the lost to liberate them form the clutches of the enemy (Acts 28:16). March on with the gospel!
Most importantly he tells us that we need to hold up the shield of faith, which enables the soldier of God to ward off the fiery spears thrown by Satan (6:16). The Roman army was one of the most effective and victorious armies in history. The tactics of the Romans military were incredible. One tactic pertinent for us was that of the turtle formation. Romans soldiers had shields that were nearly as tall as a soldier and wide enough for a soldier to hide behind in battle. But even the best designed shield left a soldier who stood alone vulnerable from above, behind and from either side. The Romans therefore designed a formation to march into the battle with that brought full protection to the soldiers. Soldiers would form a tight line at the front of this formation linking their shields together so that no arrows could break through to reach them. The row of soldiers behind them would hold their shields over the heads of the soldiers. Soldiers on the sides of the formation would also link up their shields, as well as those in the rear row. The soldiers would stagger their places so that all the men in the turtle formation were covered with a shell of shields that protected them from the enemy archers. As long as they stayed together in this formation, the arrows shot at them would glance off the shields and they could march on and storm the enemy lines in the turtle formation. In the same way, Satan wants to divide and separate the soldiers of God’s army church so as to put them in a position of being vulnerable and exposed to his arrows. The church, as long as we stand together with our shields of faith, we are impregnable to the fiery arrows of Satan. Do you see how important the shield of faith is and how important it is that we stick together and not give in to the attempts of Satan to divide and conquer us?
Our minds are protected and assured by the helmet of salvation (6:17a). It is important that we not only know about Jesus (demonic type of assent – see below), but that we know Jesus, have faith in Jesus. Salvation involves our understanding of the teachings of God’s word. Salvation enables us to know Whom we believe in (2 Timothy 1:12). In Christ we take every thought captive so that we can march on with a “good conscience” (1 Timothy 1:5) and a “sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). Clarity of thought and alertness is essential to the soldier marching in battle.
Until now our weaponry has been mostly defensive, now we are given an offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit, His holy Word (6:17b). God has not called his army to be on the defensive, but to go on the offensive. When Jesus first described His church He said, “and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Now think about this, does Satan attack us with the “gates of Hades”? Does he come at us with gates? Have you ever been attacked by a gate or had to defend against someone with a gate in hand? No, of course not, the army of God is to go on the offensive and storm the gates of hell with the sword of the Lord, His word. Disciple, with Jesus description of the church He is sounding the trumpet blast that means CHARGE! With God’s word in hand and heart and mind, we can attack the enemy with assurance of victory.
Once the armor is on, the soldier of God needs to keep in touch with His Commander in prayer (6:18; Joshua 5:13-15). There is no war like this war because we know who wins this war, Jesus. We can therefore be confident as we fight. There are still pockets of the enemies’ resistance who need to be exposed and dealt with, but their hope of victory is gone for Jesus has overcome them (Colossians 2:14-15).
But there is one last thing we can learn from this incident in Matthew 8 involving the demon-possessed men.
Notice the demons speaking from the possessed man recognized the power and authority of Jesus to throw them in the pit of hell. In Mark it states:
They believed Jesus was the “Son of the Most High God,” (5:7), but would have ripped His head off if they could have. The demon possessed man ascribed authority to Jesus and His ability to “torment me” (5:7). Matthew’s account adds that the demons said, Have You come here to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29). The “time” referred to by the demons is the end time when Jesus throws Satan and his demons into the pit of hell (Revelation 19:20).
What is interesting here is that at this point the demons seem to have a more informed faith than the disciples do. Prior to this, the last words of the disciples expressed astonishment regarding Jesus’ identity as they said, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (4:41; Matthew 8:27). The demons know who Jesus is, the “Son of the Most High God.” But the belief of the demons about Jesus and who He was only led to there further attempts to manipulate the situation and deceive people.
This shows us that mere assent or head knowledge
about Jesus does not save, saving faith is more than mere assent. The demons
knew who Jesus was and the pig farmers of Gadara knew what Jesus had done, but
in neither case did the belief result in any redemptive end. Demonic
faith believes something about Jesus; saving faith trusts in Jesus. (FAITH – Forsaking-All-I-Trust-Him)
The distinction between demonic and saving faith is made clear in the epistle of James. Indeed, James writes in his epistle:
The faith that saves is characterized by a holy-inclined life changing impact on the recipient. We need to look at the context in which James is inspired to make this statement about demonic faith. James’ teaching on the relationship between faith and works (i.e. application of God’s word in life) is as follows:
Now this is not to say that our works save us; Paul lays this notion to rest when he writes:
We are not saved by anything we do. We don’t have to jump through religious hoops to earn salvation from God. Indeed, this is an impossibility that only leads to frustration and failure. We all, in our own strength and effort, fall short of God’s glory, His standard and requirement to enter heaven (John 16:8-11; Romans 3:23). But God does have a purpose for works. Notice that Paul follows these verses with the following statement:
God has created us to do “good works.” Therefore, if we are truly created by God, this will be evidenced by partaking in the good works God has created us to do. You see works are the evidence that prove the authenticity of our faith. Martin Luther is believed to have said, “We are not saved by our works, but the faith that saves works.” The Salvation Army stalwart William Booth echoed the sense of the relationship between faith and works when he stated:
Faith and works should
travel side-by-side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking.
First faith, and then works; and then faith again, and then works again --
until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other. [41]
In light of this we can assert that saving faith
is more than mere assent to a proposition about Jesus. Demonic faith
assents to a belief but does not have any impact or effect toward altering
one’s actions or life practices to submit to Jesus. Saving faith connects a
person personally with God so that a change of life takes place. Saving faith
opens the door for the new life of Jesus Christ as Lord to enter a person.
This is shown in the following verses:
Now let me add one more comment that brings our consideration of demonic assent versus saving faith all the more relevant for our day. In Paul’s first letter to Timothy he is inspired to give the following forewarning:
The point of application I would like to make here can be posed in a question saying, “What better demonic doctrine to deceive people with could there be than to get them to entrust their salvation to a demonic assent rather than a life-changing genuine saving faith?” I fear that many have been deluded by demonic strategy so that they come to rely on a mere assent or acknowledgement and agreement that Jesus is “The Son of the Most High God” but are indeed falsely converted or actually unsaved and still dead in their sins. Remember the parable of the Sower in Mark 4; some gospel seed fell on the surface and was quickly snatched away, some penetrated only superficially as in an emotional response and still other gospel seed was choked off by the things and cares of this world. The second and third soil type (which represent the heart responses of people to the gospel) involve some kind of “belief” in the gospel and it is likely a demonic type of assent, for it certainly is not a saving faith as in the fourth heart soil type represented and validated by spiritual fruitfulness and measurable growth in a saving relationship with God in Christ by the Holy Spirit.
How is your faith? Is it more like demonic faith or saving faith? Have you been deluded into thinking that you can merely repeat a few words in a sinner’s prayer and march on your merry way with salvation while experiencing no change within or without you? The parable of the Sower showed us that saving faith is more than an outward emotional expression; it is a matter of an actual change in the heart wrought by God. If a work has been truly done in the heart of a person via saving faith, that inner work will show itself with outward fruitfulness and change.
Mark 5:14-17 – “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.15 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.16 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.17 Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.” [45]
Why did Jesus allow the demons to enter the pigs? Some might ask this question sympathizing with the pigs. But there is possibly good reason for what Jesus allowed. Pigs were animals often bred for use in sacrifices to pagan gods. Jews sacrificed lambs, Gentiles sacrificed pigs. By allowing the demons to enter pigs bred for pagan worship, Jesus was merely allowing the dead to bury the dead so to speak.
Why would the demons want to enter the pigs? It is possible that the demons had a motive for entering the pigs. Their strategy may have been to negatively impact the pig farming industry of the area and created negative public opinion for Jesus amongst the farmers. Now pork was absolutely forbidden and absolutely illegal for Jews and so this was probably a black market type of setup. If this were the strategy of the demons, why would Jesus play along with it? Perhaps Jesus allowed this to present the people of the area with a situation of decision. They would have to decide between Jesus and their pig industry. Unfortunately they chose the pigs.
Once given permission to enter the pigs, the demons ran them over a cliff and killed them all. Even though a terrifying demon-possessed man was liberated and the security of the area restored, the benefactors of the work of Jesus cared more about their financial losses. They begged Jesus to leave before any more of their precious pigs were lost.
They were probably also concerned that this great work of God would bring attention to their illegal business. This is a sad statement on the people of this area. They cared more about pigs than the power of God. They cared more about possessions than the prophetic fulfillment in Christ. This situation brings to mind the words of Jesus at the Sermon on the Mount when He said:
What a sad state of affairs when people will choose pigs over Jesus! We see therefore, that the people of Gadara have a similar faith to that of the demons in that they saw, assented to and accepted for themselves what Jesus had done, but rather than repent and turn to Jesus for salv