Exorcism without power
Spiritual warfare as worship?
Casting out demons (exorcism or spiritual warfare) isn’t the sort of thing you will probably find in your typical Sunday morning worship service. And yet, some churches feature it. We find examples in the New Testament, but with massive limits. It’s not the kind of thing that church goers might brag about:
“How many demons did you have?”
“Seven.”
“Whoa, many we should call you, Mary Magdalene.”
“Cute. And you?”
“Twelve.”
“Wow, maybe we should start calling you, Legion!”
With that picture in mind, imagine how the people felt when Jesus cast out demons from their synagogue attenders (Mark 1:23-26, Luke 4:33-41). In the same way, I wouldn’t be surprised to find demons regularly attending our churches. We welcome both sinner and saint. The sinners constantly pretend to be saints. The saints remind themselves that they are just sinners, too.
How do we recognize demons? Basically, we can’t. They mostly disguise themselves and rarely make themselves obvious like Legion (Mark 5, Luke 8). Instead, we detect them by discerning irrational decisions, attitudes and behaviors. His critics accuse Jesus of having a demon because they thought He was acting irrationally in what He said (John 8:48-59). Thus, I believe many of our politicians, judges, economists, educators (including board members, administrators & teachers) and corporate executives are influenced, oppressed and perhaps even possessed by demons (Ephesians 6:12). They got this way from prior drug use, pornography, false worship, etc. Once one abandons Christian protections, one opens themselves to the powers of darkness. (Scripture never tells us how one becomes possessed.)
Not a general prediction
Our key verse for this devotional is found in the last few verses of Mark’s gospel:
These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues (Mark 16:17, NASB)
Before examining the contents of the verse, remember that verse 9 through 20 don’t appear in the earliest manuscripts. Therefore, it’s probable that the entire passage was added by some well-meaning scribe centuries after Mark completed his writings. That said, we can find confirmation of the existence of miracles performed by Christians elsewhere in the Gospels and the book of Acts.
Without a confirming prophetic verse, though, we have no idea whether this verse predicts the events recorded in Acts, spiritual warfare in our present generation or both. Thus, we should keep in mind the possibility that this activity does not occur frequently today as part of the Lord’s plan. It doesn’t mean that we are weaker or any less spiritual than previous generations. It could be that God doesn’t need this function in the twenty-first century as He did during the first century.
On the other hand, Let’s not readily dismiss those who regularly perform exorcisms as false Christians, charlatans, etc. My initial points is simple. We can’t depend on this verse (in Mark 16) to prove much of anything. Furthermore, the more we look at exorcism in the Scriptures, the weaker its evidence as a regular Christian activity (and act of worship) will appear.
Not a universal authority
I can back up my statement regarding the support of exorcism with the limited authorization seen in the Bible. Just because Jesus authorizes Peter doesn’t mean we can claim His authorization for ourselves. This is a fallacy of many theologians, preachers and false teachers. If they see it in the Bible (no matter how tenuous or trivial), they claim it and everything else they want as biblical and personal.
Instead, we see Jesus authorizing the twelve apostles (Luke 10:17):
Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
(Matthew 10:1, NASB)And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, and to have authority to cast out the demons.
(Mark 3:14–15, NASB)
Elsewhere in the Gospels, we see seventy disciples sent out by Jesus in pairs to announce His coming as He travels to Jerusalem. When they report back to Him, they include exorcism in their list of accomplishments, but we never see Jesus authorize them. The seventy include the twelve disciples, so they could have simply been reporting their own experiences as part of the larger group of seventy. The distinction is a fine point, but every detail appears (or does not appear) in the Bible for a reason.
We don’t find a general authorization for all Christians, or even a subset of us, to cast out demons. So, we’re stuck with just these two passages given to the twelve disciples rather than to all of Jesus’ followers. BTW One of these twelve, Judas Iscariot, betrayed Jesus and entertained a demon inside of him (Luke 22:3, John 6:70; 13:2, 27). We can certainly prove that the twelve are empowered, but we can’t generalize their authority to other believers. Or even ourselves.
Not a spiritual gift
I’m trying to work inti this devotional all the mentions of demons in the New Testament. So, let me add three other incidents where Jesus (Mark 1:34) or Peter (Acts 5:16; 8:7) cast out demons. All told it’s just Jesus, the twelve disciples/apostles and the Apostle Paul (once) from among Christians who cast out demons in the New Testament. Like the missing authorizations for believers, we never see any hint of casting out demons explicitly states, mentioned or even hinted at in any of the spiritual gifts passages. Spiritual warfare stands alone as an activity that doesn’t seem to relate to any other activity.
While I cannot argue from silence to prohibit it, we see no indication that Christians are empowered or directed to cast out demons as a regular part of their ministry. I know preachers and teachers who have tangled with forces of darkness once or twice in their ministry (like Paul). It makes sense that it can come up, but not as a normal occurrence.
Given the lack of scriptural evidence for modern exorcism, one might ask whether Christian exorcists could be deceived into thinking that they have cast out a demon when they have not. I suppose it could be possible, people will fake just about anything to gain notoriety. But some stories seem beyond the natural. I don’t want to cast doubt on every case or deny that demon possession occurs today. Instead, I think we should maintain a healthy amount of skepticism. Why? Because this type of spiritual warfare just doesn’t have the scriptural support expected for it to occur all the time or to be of overall significance. And that’s my focus – what the Bible says – rather than discredit anyone.
Not always automatic
Three of the Gospels record the incident of a young boy possessed by a demon which the disciples could not excise (Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 9:17-29, Luke 9:38-43). An exasperated Jesus casts out the demon Himself. Given their past successes, the disciples were shocked. It had been so easy before. Just mention Jesus’ name and the demons flee. The disciples wondered why they couldn’t do it this time. Jesus tells them to pray (or pray more). Apparently, they had not sought God’s recharging of their spiritual batteries. They hadn’t lost their authority but had abused the privilege by taking it for granted.
Not necessarily empowered
While trying to understand the dynamics behind exorcism, we need to address how non-Christians approach the same problem:
If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. (Matthew 12:27, NASB)
And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges. (Luke 11:19, NASB)
John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” (Mark 9:38, NASB)
We have three verses confirming that Jewish leaders (and their sons) successfully cast out demons. They did this without the power of the Holy Spirit or the authority of Jesus. Don’t fight the Scriptures, just accept it and try to understand it.
How could they do this? Perhaps the demons just got tired of the nonsense and the exposure. Perhaps they were misdiagnosing demons for some other explanation. The point is that Christians don’t have an exclusive corner on the market. Even non-Christians can demonstrate success in spiritual warfare.
In the uncertainty of spiritual warfare, we know one thing for certain. Demons are deceptive – we can say this without any doubt. It is the most important and singular truth concerning them. Jesus doesn’t even trust them to identify Him as God’s Son. We can’t make any doctrine based on their behavior or speech. The thing about Jesus which makes Him special is how easily He casts them out. Just a word usually does the trick.
We also cannot assume that once a demon is removed, he stays away forever (Matthew 12:43, Luke 11:19-26). Those who have suffered from demonic powers should remain wary of falling back into the same habits that allowed the demon entry in the first place.
While we’re on the subject, the Bible doesn’t really tell us how/why demons inhabit humans. I assume that the Holy Spirit indwelling a Christian makes that person immune to possession. But demons exert control, power and influence over people in many different ways. Spiritual warfare is multi-layered and complex like most everything else. At the elementary level, worldly thinking is the same as demonic thinking. We need to purge ourselves of that thinking daily by aligning our priorities to God’s kingdom.
Not a high priority
Although spiritual warfare sounds thrilling and appealing (like a spiritual version of James Bond), we need to maintain a simple balance in our spiritual lives:
The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” (Luke 10:17–20, NASB)
Eternal life beats everything we think about everything that happens in this life. If you think that casting out demons makes you something special, remember that all Christians are even more special because of eternal life awaiting us when Jesus returns. Spiritual warfare is a temporary victory, but living forever is a triumph that never diminishes.
Not always welcome
As surprising as it may seem, not everyone welcomes exorcism (Acts 16:16). Some people welcome demons more than they welcome Christians. For all the examples of demons and casting them out, I can find only one brief example where people praise God (don’t blink as your read it):
And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”
(Luke 9:43–44, NASB)
Even then, Jesus uses the opportunity to predict His death to the disciples. In the midst of a great victory, Jesus focuses on the coming work of God (which is a greater victory). The demon is a temporary problem, but His salvation lasts forever.
Overall, casting out demons is not the greatest example of spiritual power. We see some limited examples among Jesus and the apostles. These probably provide evidence of their authority from God and authenticate their message of the gospel. While Christians may find themselves facing similar spiritual powers, we conquer each situation by God’s power rather than our piety. “Put on the full armor of God to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11, NASB).