A recent poll (September 2013) that surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults showed the following stats about what Americans think of the Devil:
- 57 percent of people believe in the existence of the Devil, while 28 percent deny the Devil's existence. (But in a different survey, 40 percent of Millennials said Satan is “not a real being but just a symbol of evil.”)
- 51 percent of respondents believe that someone can be possessed by an evil spirit; 28 percent disagree.
- 46 percent believe in the power of exorcism, 19 percent don't, and 36 percent aren’t sure.[1]
So, let’s take a look at what the Bible has to say about dealing with demons from Luke 8:26-39...
Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”—for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
I know that this story raises a number of questions:
- Do demons really exist as supernatural beings?
- Or is this story talking about something psychological?
- Would Jesus really give permission for the destruction of a herd of pigs? Doesn’t he care about animals?
- How does this story fit in the Gospel?
With regard to the third question let me just point out that this story originally comes to us from a Jewish context. And I doubt that the ancient Jews would have cared at all about the destruction of a herd of pigs since they considered pigs to be unclean animals.
That raises the question of whether this account is historical or not. On that point let me just say that whether or not one accepts this entire story as historical, it would be hard to deny Jesus’ ministry of exorcism as a whole.
Demons are mentioned only 6 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. By contrast, demons are mentioned 74 times in the New Testament; 59 of those appearances are in the Gospels. The devil is not mentioned at all in the Hebrew Scriptures. Again, by contrast, the devil is mentioned 35 times in the New Testament; 16 of those mentions are in the Gospels. Satan is mentioned 14 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, 33 times in the New Testament, and 14 of those latter mentions are in the Gospels. Another name for Satan, or the chief devil, is Beelzebul, and that name is mentioned 7 times in the New Testament, all of those mentions being in the Gospels.
So, we cannot simply disregard all the mentions of the devil and his demons in the Gospels. It is part of the warp and woof of the story.
Still, other people wonder whether all this talk about demons is, really, a way of talking about phenomena which we would explain today in psychological terms. That is certainly possible, and it is one way of reading the Gospels.
I, however, do not read the Gospels that way for two reasons. One reason is because, M. Scott Peck, a very reputable psychiatrist and author in the 1980s and 90s actually documented experiences he had with exorcisms, and he put demon possession in a whole different category from various psychological diagnoses. If you want to read what a professional, Christian, psychiatrist says about this, read Peck’s book, People of the Lie.
The other reason I believe that demon possession is not simply a different way of talking about mental illness comes from my personal experience…
My sister, who died in 2012, at the age of 63, was diagnosed in her teens as a schizophrenic with homicidal and suicidal tendencies. My parents were told by doctors that my sister would have to be in a mental institution for her entire life. Among other things, Madeline would often burn herself and set fires.
However, in the 1980s, a female, Methodist, minister and counselor met Madeline in a hospital and helped her to get out on her own. I had an occasion to meet this minister when I preached in my sister’s church on Staten Island when I was in seminary in the late 80s. The minister, Tilda, asked if she could meet with me after the service. I did meet with her and she asked me many questions about my family, in an attempt to fill in Madeline’s life story with accurate information.
Then Tilda, who was someone who probably never believed in the reality of demons beforehand, proceeded to tell me about demons manifesting themselves when she had a counseling session with my sister. Tilda did not know what to do. So, she called on a Catholic priest to come and perform an exorcism. He was unsuccessful and so Tilda invited a group of people from an African American church who practiced deliverance ministry to come and pray over my sister. They did so pray over Madeline, for days, and finally she was delivered from her demons. The proof of this to me was the fact that after that exorcism, Madeline no longer burned herself, no longer set fires, and she no longer made any attempt to harm herself or anyone else. My sister was still a schizophrenic, but she was no longer oppressed by demons.
So, that is why I believe in the spiritual reality of demons. Furthermore, some of the wisest words I think I have ever read on this subject come from the pen of C. S. Lewis, who wrote in his Preface to The Screwtape Letters,
There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.[2]
So, with that preface in mind, what can we learn from this story in Luke 8 about dealing with demons? I believe the first thing we need to do is step back from this individual story and see how it figures in the whole of the Gospel. This story is part of a larger narrative that runs from Luke chapter 8, verse 22, to verse 56. This entire passage shows us how Jesus has authority over:
- Disaster (he calms the storm on the sea; 8:22-25)
- Demons (8:26-39)
- Disease (8:40-56)
- Death (8:40-56)
Not only does Luke portray Jesus in this way, but Matthew and Mark also tell these four stories together and in this same sequence. Thus, the bottom-line message to all of us is that Jesus can calm the storms of our lives, whether those storms be in the natural or the supernatural realm. Jesus can heal all of our diseases, and Jesus can even reverse death and give new life. Luke uses one word that really describes all of these layers of the ministry of Jesus. The Greek word that Luke uses in verse 36 is ἐσώθη. It means to save, heal, preserve or rescue. And so, I wonder: how do we need Jesus to save, heal, preserve, or rescue us today?
How are we to deal with demons today? I believe the answer is that we need to lay all of our problems, demonic or otherwise, at the feet of Jesus. Jesus alone has the power to heal and deliver us. And once we have spiritually received Jesus into our lives, we too have power over the demons. In Luke 10:19 Jesus says,
See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
How do we deal with demons? Corrie ten Boom once wrote a very practical piece of advice on this subject. She said,
We very definitely read that there are two strong weapons available—the blood of Jesus Christ and the authority of His name.
What does “the blood of Jesus Christ” mean? It points to the finished work on the cross. When Jesus gave His blood in order to save us from sin—and not only us, but the whole world—He bought us when He died that terrible death and said: “It is finished!” (John 19:30).
However, it means more. “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
That means now. We know that Jesus did not only die for us, but that He lives, and He still wants to cleanse our hearts with His blood, if we confess our sins to Him.
The devil is afraid of the blood of Jesus and even of His Word. That is not surprising! In the book of Revelation, it says: “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb” (12:11) …
The second strong weapon we have in our hands is the wonderful name of Jesus. Jesus told us what we can and must do in His name. “In my name shall they cast out devils” (Mark 16:17). In the name of Jesus, not Christ. Christ is His title. But the name that is above every name is Jesus.
If we ask for the blood and the name of Jesus to cover and protect us, then we need never fear the devil or his demons, and we can tell them where to go, just as Jesus did.
I think we can also learn something from the different people in this story. First there was the reaction of the Gerasenes to this exorcism.
The Gerasenes asked Jesus to go away. Jesus disturbed their economic life when he allowed the demons to enter the swine. Many people are interested in Jesus until he threatens to disturb their economic life. William Barclay has written,
More people hate Jesus because he disturbs them than for any other reason. If he says to a man, “You must give up this habit, you must change your life”; if he says to an employer, “You can’t be a Christian and make people work under conditions like that”; if he says to a landlord, “You can’t take money for slums like that”—one and all are liable to say to him, “Go away and let me be at peace.”
But then there was the reaction of the man who was healed. Jesus had changed his life for the good. Jesus removed from his life a legion of spirits that were causing him pain. So of course, this man wanted to follow Jesus wherever he went next. Intriguingly, Jesus sends this man back home instead. That is where our Christian life must first be lived out, within the circle of our home, our neighborhood, our community. “Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.”
As you may know, my father moved into the slums of Spanish Harlem in New York City in the late 1950s. The first gang member who came to faith in Christ through my father’s ministry was Eddie Suarez. He was so excited about his newfound relationship with Jesus that he was dying to tell everyone he knew. My father gave to Eddie unexpected instructions just as Jesus gave to the man of Gerasa. My father said to Eddie, “Don’t tell anyone about Jesus.” Instead, my father gave to Eddie some Bible verses to memorize and my father urged him to live out his faith. “Then wait,” my father said, “until someone asks you what is different about you.”
Weeks went by and Eddie did just as my father instructed, but he was bursting to tell someone. Then one day a local police officer came up to my father and said, “You know, there is something different lately about that Suarez kid. Do you know what has happened to him?”
My father said, “Why don’t you ask him for yourself?”
The police officer did just that, and finally, Eddie was overjoyed to have the opportunity to tell someone else about Jesus.
As Lloyd Ogilvie once said, “Every Christian should live a life that demands an explanation.”
Or as St. Francis supposedly put it, “Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.”
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