Archive for the ‘Jesus Teaching on Demons’ Category
Posted by owner on
December 10, 2009
Each Gospel contains at least one comment made by Jesus concerning demons. In this series we look at these comments to see what we can discover.
Jesus on Satan’s Children
He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. (Matthew 13:37-39)
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God (John 8:42-47).
Background
Twice the Gospels record Jesus placing human beings in two groups. In Matthew he characterizes one group as “good seed” and the other group as “sons of the evil one.” In John, after a long dialog with the Pharisees about their failure to respond to God’s testimony to Jesus, Christ tells his opponents “you belong to your father, the devil.”
In this he seems to lump human beings into one of two groups; those who “belong to God” and those who “belong to” the devil.
This idea that God is the Father of believers and that those who fail to respond to Jesus have Satan as their father is an uncomfortable one. We rightly think of God as a Heavenly Father who loves all humankind. So what did Jesus mean when he charged the hostile Pharisees with belonging to their father, the devil?
The answer lies in a distinctive use of “father” in Hebrew thought. The Zondervan International Encyclopedia of Bible Words points out that “one OT concept expressed by “father” is that of the founder of a family or line. When the Jewish leaders angrily shouted at Jesus, “Abraham is our father,” (John 8:39), they were claiming [not only to be physical descendants of Abraham but also] to be in the religious tradition of the founding father of Israel” (p270). In the same sense the religious leaders in Israel claimed “We have one Father, even God” (John 8:41) . . . a claim which Jesus rejected saying “if God were your Father, you would love me” (John 8:42).
Anyone who is true to the religion established by God and thus belongs to God will believe in Jesus. All who reject Jesus follow another path, a path rooted in lies rather than the truth. And the founder of false faiths is none other than Satan himself.
In saying “you are of your father the devil” Jesus is rejecting the Pharisees claim to be followers of the true faith established by God in his covenant with Abraham. They have in fact abandoned that faith, which relied on God’s willingness to accept trust in him in place of righteousness (Genesis 15:6), and have chosen to rely on their own ability to gain merit with God by keeping his law. The proof they have abandoned the true faith is their failure to trust Jesus, who has shown them the loving heart of God.
It is in this sense of adherents of a counterfeit, lying religion that all who fail to trust Jesus are “of your father, the devil.” They have chosen one of the many paths blazed by Satan; paths which lead them further and further from the Savior and from a true personal relationship with God.
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Observations
1. “good seed.” In Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the sower found in Matthew 13 the good seed is defined as sons of [God’s] kingdom. In contrast the “weeds” are “sons of the evil one.” The point of this particular parable is that wheat and tares [weeds that look like wheat in early stages] grow up together in the same field, and until heads appear on the wheat the two are indistinguishable. What are we to do with this mix of God’s and Satan’s children growing in the same field? What we are not to do is go on a witch-hunt in which we take it on ourselves to label some “weeds” and others “wheat.” At the end of the age God will make that determination himself, and angels will do the sorting.
2. “If God were your father.” In John’s Gospel however Jesus provides criteria of determining what we can call “different fields.” The wheat and the tares appear similar. They are found in the same field, and we are not to seek to separate them.
But Jesus’ dialog with the Pharisees makes a different point. While some may claim that they are in the “field” founded by God, the distinguishing mark of the authentic field is belief in Jesus. Hearing Jesus and responding to him marks the faith-tradition founded by God himself. Even rabbinic Judaism, whose roots were in the Old Testament, had distorted the earlier revelation so that it was no longer the faith founded by God. The leaders’ reaction to Jesus made it clear that “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.”
3. “The harvest is the end of the age.” This comment in Matthew 13, along with Jesus explicit instructions in the context, makes it clear that we are not qualified to distinguish between “true believers” and pseudo-believers within the Christian community. God knows those who are his. And to make this kind of judgment risks uprooting some who are wheat along with the tares. Immature believers almost certainly will not live the same kind of life as those who are mature. Our approach should be to create a climate of love and acceptance within which growth in Christ can take place, and be patient with those who flaws are evident.
4. “The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” This statement made to the Pharisees underlines the truth expressed in John 14:6. There Jesus claims to be the way, the truth, and the life, and states unequivocally that “no one comes to the Father except by me.” The common assumption today that all or many of the spiritual paths men take lead to God is declared to be a lie, a fiction of Satan who spins a host of false religions to deceive a humanity that lives in a world of illusions. Only a faith that makes Jesus the center, that is marked by love for Christ and obedience to his voice, is authentic. And only those who trust Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life become children of God, not simply followers of the faith God founded, but also dearly loved sons and daughters of the God who yearns to be the Father of all.
Posted by owner on
November 16, 2009
Each Gospel contains at least one saying by Jesus concerning demons. In this series we look at these comments to see what we can discover.
Demons as Seed Snatchers
Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. (Mark 4:15)
The Parable
Parables were popular teaching tools of first century Jewish rabbis. Christ also used parables to illuminate his teaching. He also used parables to obscure his teaching, later explaining the meaning to his disciples. One of the most familiar of Christ’s obscuring parables is that of the farmer who goes into the field to sow seed. In Mark’s Gospel Jesus focus is on the seed, which he later tells his disciples is the Word of God. (In a similar parable in Matthew’s Gospel, the focus is on the ground on which the seed falls.) In the Mark account the question is, What happens to the seed, and why?
Observations
1. Here “the word” is pictured as seed. The first century farmer sowed a field by “broadcasting” the seed. That is, he took a handful and with a sweeping motion tossed it on the ground, rather than planting it in rows. A skillful farmer could distribute seed evenly in this way. But he could not control exactly where each grain of wheat or barley fell. The goal was to get the widest as well as most even distribution of the seed possible.
2. In Mark 4:15 Satan is described as “taking away” the seed that is sown. In the general telling of the parable, Jesus pictures birds snatching up the seed as it lands on a trodden-down path.
Discussion
Jesus does not explain how Satan takes away the word. But the imagery is fascinating. Birds gather when the farmer goes out to sow, eagerly awaiting the seed to be scattered so they can dart in and snatch it away.
The implication is that whenever the word is sown evil gathers to counter God’s purposes. Satan’s demons crouch nearby, ready to intervene almost before the good news is heard.
I’m more than a little unwilling to speculate here. One certainly could come up with some speculative interpretation based on analogy. But the text hardly warrants this, nor is Jesus telling the parable with any particular focus on demons. His point simply is that there are reasons why we human’s fail to respond to a word which could, if we responded, provide a fantastic harvest. But clearly Satan’s activity is among the reasons for our unresponsiveness to God’s Word,, along with pressure from others [“persecution”] and our unremitting focus on the cares of this life.
Certainly this element of the parable reminds us to pray that God will block Satan’s efforts as we share his word, and well as pray that he will open hearts to hear what the Lord has to say.
Posted by owner on
November 2, 2009
Each Gospel contains at least one comment by Jesus concerning demons. In this series we look at these comments to see what we can discover.
Jesus on Demon’s Return
When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, `I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven more spirits more wicked than itself. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:24-26).
Observations
1. Jesus is describing a situation where an evil spirit [a demon] has been “in” an individual. This is clear from the statement, “when an evil spirit comes out of” a person. There is no indication here of how the evil spirit gained entry, the extent of its foothold in the individual’s life, or the impact of the demon’s presence on the person’s experience. Likewise, there’s no indication of what caused the demon to leave. We’re simply told that the evil spirit has been “in,” and that it then “comes out” of a person
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2. We can reasonably assume however that the evil spirit was driven from the individual. Our reasoning is that without its connection to the human it was “in,” the evil spirit is ill at ease, constantly moving, searching for “rest.” Further evidence that demons find connection to a living creature desirable is found in the story of the demoniac of Gadara. When Jesus drove out Legion (Matthew eight) the demons investing the man begged to be allowed to enter the pigs in a nearby herd.
We have no idea why this connection to a living creature is something demons desire. But clearly they derive a benefit from the attachment that seems to meet a felt need, beyond their native desire to harm those whom God loves. Fascinatingly, Jesus speaks of the demon’s host as its “house,” suggesting that demons somehow feel “at home” when they have entered a human being.
3. Jesus pictures the demon as finding no “rest” in its natural state as a spirit. So it determines to return to its original “house.” Apparently its [forced] departure was no guarantee of immunity for its victim to future demonization.
4. Jesus describes the state of the host as “swept clean and put in order.” In other words, the “house” is empty and ready for occupation. Getting rid of demons is an essential part of a deliverance ministry. But it is only a part of such ministry. The place once occupied by demons must be filled lest demons return.
5. Jesus warns that an empty, once demon-occupied house, is especially vulnerable. The demon who once occupied it understands all those weaknesses that it used initially to gain entry. It’s no great challenge to enter again. And, Jesus warns, this time it may bring along “seven spirits more wicked than itself.” The result is that the “final condition of that man is worst than the first.”
Insight
One of A&E network’s shows in its Paranormal States series was titled “My Name is Six.” It recorded an exorcism in Great Britain in which a priest cast a demon out of a young woman. During the exorcism the demon identified itself as “six.” In my opinion, he filming captured an authentic exorcism. But two weeks later the young woman was in a mental hospital, in worse condition than before the exorcism. The program featuring the “relapse” is titled “The Return of Six.” There was no indication in either program that the young woman or her family were believers. Again in my opinion, the young woman’s experience demonstrates what Jesus is describing in these brief verses in Luke 11.
Conclusions
Effective deliverance ministry must involve evangelism, follow-up teaching, and continuing prayer support. Areas in the individual’s life that provided the initial access points for evil spirits require healing, distorting ideas need to be corrected with revealed Truth. If we neglect making provision for follow-up ministry we may leave the individual from whom demons have been expelled vulnerable, and more destructive demons may find their way into his or her life.
The first step in filling the empty house is, of course, making sure that the individual has trusted Jesus as Savior. Beyond that new [or “old”] believers needs to be grounded in truths that provide protection from Satan’s many strategies designed to deceive and defeat [the great contribution of the Book of Ephesians]. And the new [or “old”] believer needs to be connected with brothers and sisters who will provide continuing emotional and prayer support.
Again I refer you to Charles Kraft’s outstanding books, Deliverance from Dark Angels and Deep Wounds, Deep Healing. The provide the most balanced teaching on deliverance ministries available today.
Posted by owner on
October 27, 2009
Each Gospel contains at least one comment made by Jesus concerning demons. In this series we look at these comments to see what we can discover.
Jesus on “strong man:
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, “By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.
“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils (Luke 11:14-23; cf Matthew 12:22-32)
Observations
1. As we saw in our series on Jesus vs Demons, demons can be the cause of a physical disability, and driving out the demon can effect a cure. This does not imply that all illness or disabilities are due to demonization.
2. While the onlookers recognized the demonic origin of this individual’s disability they did not conclude that God was the source of Jesus’ power over demons. His enemies argued that Jesus was empowered by Satan, the ruler of demons. Others, asking for a “sign from heaven (ie., from God)” wanted more evidence.
Given the context, which is late in a public ministry during which Jesus has been known for healings and other miracles, neither of these reaction is warranted. Much earlier a member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme religious court of the Jews, had admitted to Christ, “we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no man can do the works you do except God be with him” (John 3). The accusation was dishonest, and the request for an additional sign from God hypocritical.
3. In Jesus’ response he depicts Satan as a being who rules a kingdom. In the first century kings were absolute monarchs, standing at the top of a hierarchy. Jesus’ illustration indicates that the spirit kingdom of Satan is organized rigidly. It allows for no independent action by individuals or groups within it. Only by presenting a united front can Satan’s kingdom hope to “stand.’ All must fall in line with Satan’s intents and purposes.
4. It follows that Satan’s purposes were being fulfilled in the activity of the demon who caused the man’s inability to speak. And that Jesus’ healing of the individual was a blow to whatever purpose of Satan the demon was seeking to accomplish.
This raises a question. There are many reports of healings performed by psychics or spiritists. This is especially common in the third world, where many seek out witchdoctors or sorcerers for healing. A book I’m currently reading by Koch, which I’ll review soon on demondope, documents a variety of such incidents. The question is, what purpose might Satan have in performing healings? Isn’t relieving humans of pain and suffering out of character for demons? We can answer that question best by considering Satan’s “interests and purposes.” While benefiting any individual is far from Satan’s intent, and it might seem that healing is a benefit, the fact is that occult healings provide access to humans for demons. As Koch points out, there’s a price to pay for any healing performed by occult means.
While God transforms evil to accomplish his good purposes, Satan and his demons transform apparent good to accomplish evil purposes.
5. Jesus characterized the demon causing the man’s muteness as a “strong man” who was guarding “his own” house. Many have used this analogy to generate a title for Satan, “Strong Man.” In this passage, however, the strong man is a demon who has such a grip on an individual that the man can be called the demon’s “own house.” The only hope for truly being freed is if someone stronger attacks and expels the “strong man.”
This reminds us that dealing with demonization is a power issue. No matter how powerful a demon may be, Jesus is far more powerful. He and he alone is able to expel demons, and we cast out demons in his authority, relying on his power.
6. Jesus cast out the demon by “the finger of God.” The OT frequently uses the image of a hand or arm as a symbol of power. Jesus’ power is so great that just a finger is needed to deal with demons, however strong they may be.
Conclusions
In this incident Jesus revealed several important facts. First, Satan rules over a kingdom, and maintains control over the demons who are his subjects. The demons are committed to carrying out Satan’s purposes. We can’t imagine that there are “good” demons and “bad” demons who sometimes find themselves in conflict. All spirit beings in Satan’s kingdom are essentially evil, hostile to human beings, and committed to achieving Satan’s purposes.
The view of modern neopagans, that the majority of spirit beings in the unseen world are beneficial and benevolent, has no basis in Scripture. And any “good” such spirits may perform are self-serving [actually, Satan-serving] and intended, in Jesus’ words, to “take possession” of the person “helped.”:
The incident and Jesus’ remarks also make it clear that no matter how strong demons may be, Jesus has more than enough power to overcome them. We are to respect the power of evil. But we are not to have such a fear of evil spirits that we fail to stand against them.
Posted by owner on
October 19, 2009
Each Gospel contains at least one comment made by Jesus concerning demons. In this series we look at these comments to see what we can discover.
Jesus shares his authority
“He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness” (Mathew 10:1).
“Calling the twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.” (Mark 6:7))
“When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” *Luke 9:1).
Observations
1. All three synoptic [chronologically organized] Gospels report that at a point in his ministry Jesus “called the Twelve” together and “gave them authority over evil spirits.” Jesus had demonstrated that he himself has such authority. Now we see that he also can delegate that authority to his followers
2. At this point the authority to drive out evil spirits was limited to the Twelve. It might be argued that authority over evil spirits [demons] was limited to the original apostles But later Jesus gave similar authority to 72 “others” (Luke 10:1), and Acts portrays Philip exercising similar authority in Samaria (Acts 8:7).
3. Two of the Gospels also include authority “to heal every [kind of?] disease and sickness” or “cure diseases.” It is perhaps suggestive that the Gospels also relate various diseases and sicknesses to demon possession. In all such cases the exorcism of the demon lead to physical healing as well. Even so, we should not limit the authority Christ gave the disciples and others of his followers to physical ills caused by demons. Christ himself healed many of illnesses where Scripture provides no link to demonic activity.
4. All three passages describe this ability to drive out demons as “authority.” Only Luke adds “power” to “authority.” This helps us see an important point. “Power” is different in nature from “authority.” The Greek word translated “authority” while at times translated “power” in our English versions does not point directly to God’s intrinsic strength or might. Instead the root meaning of “authority” is “freedom of action.”
Because Jesus has “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:27), Jesus has ultimate freedom of action. Nothing in heaven or on earth is capable of limiting what Jesus is free to do. When this freedom of action is exercised by one who is omnipotent, the result is ultimate and absolute freedom to act in any situation..
5. While Jesus’ authority is complete, what he gave to his followers was a limited authority. Jesus followers were granted authority “over evil spirits.” This grant is further limited by the phrase “to drive them out.” No follower of Jesus has freedom to control other actions of evil spirits, or to manipulate them to carry out his or her wishes.
6. Those who practice exorcism today rely on this grant of limited authority by Jesus. Most believe that this authority is not restricted to ‘professional ministers” but is granted to any believer in Jesus; that is, that the relationship of the believer with Jesus through faith in him includes the “freedom of action” to drive out evil spirits” [demons.].
For a thorough development of this position, see Charles Kraft’s book, “I Give You Authority.”
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