Mark 9: 14 – 29
The Exorcist
“14 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. 15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. 16 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?” 17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.” 19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” 20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. 21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
In addition to Mark’s version of this incident, both Matthew and Luke comment about this also. So, let’s see what they have to say.
Luke 9: 37 – 42, “37 Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him. 38 Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, “Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. 40 So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.
Matthew 17:14-21 “14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Now I want you to remember our last study. It was about the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you remember who went with our Adoni Yeshua – our Lord Jesus Christ up a ways on the mountain? As a reminder it was Peter, James, and John. Now again who gave the disciple Mark all the information the Holy Spirit wanted written down? The answer is Peter.
Matthew was left down the mountain with the other apostles and disciples. So, we will see how he picks up this special event. I think you will agree, is that when you have a mountain top experience you have to come back to the real world. Usually, all the problems are waiting for you at the bottom of the hill.
The first one who gives us more preliminary information is Peter –
“14 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.”
The Lord Jesus went up on the mountain to do what with Peter, James, and John? They went up there for the purpose of having some special prayer time. What do you think the ones left down on the hill should have been doing? Yes, they should have also been praying. However, what were the disciples doing? Look at what Peter sees - “14 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.” The disciples were arguing with the religious people.
When the multitude saw the Lord they ran to Him.
15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him
As Peter is standing next to the Lord he comments on the first thing the Lord deals with and that is protecting His disciples, so He confronts the Scribes - 16 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”
16 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”
A man in the crowd speaks up as the one who created all the controversy.
17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”
Matthew and Mark give us a little more information relative to this interaction. Matthew writes down - “a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” Mark reports Peter’s observation of this situations – “17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.” We see that this man did not just call out to the Lord but came forward and knelt before the Lord.
Now from my medical training I never heard that science had identified epilepsy in 30 AD. Translators later added this comment trying to identify what the boy was going through. In truth the boy was possessed by a demon as we shall soon see. I see also another mistranslation of the scripture and it is from Mark’s version. Do demons have specialties? You know a demon that specializes in making people mute? Or deaf? Or Whatever?
I do not believe that there are demons of this or that. I believe that demons are real and they can cause different problems for people but I do not believe they specialize in certain categories. I know some churches have prayer sessions that cast out certain specific demons, like the demons of poverty, or the demons who paralyze, etc.
I think that if we as believers play that kind of game the demons play right along with this type of ministry. Have you ever reviewed the Gospel of Mark chapter 5 regarding the two guys who were demon possessed? Have you ever had a problem when it says our Lord was casting out the demons. Here let us look at this bible story.
“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. 7 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. 14 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. 18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. 19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” 20 And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.”
Now, look at verses 8 and 9 again – “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.”
I find it quite interesting that our Lord gave the demon the command -8 For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” We know that the demon had to obey the Creator Lord Jesus Christ. Yet, the man was still demon possessed. They did not come right out of the man in response to their Creator’s command. Our Lord only addressed one demon and it came out yet there were more, Therefore, this caused the Lord to demand the name of the demon - 9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” There was the problem. Now the Lord would deal with all of them. This is why they cried out to the Lord that He would not order them to their final punishment – the abyss – as we see in verse 10 - 10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.’
The Lord warns us not to add or detract from His Holy Word. I do not recommend services for the casting out of the demon of such and such. However, if you still feel inclined to this ministry, then I would obey the Lord and fast and pray and not specialize in what kind of demon you are addressing but call upon the Name of the Holy Master, the Lord Jesus Christ’s Name to free the individual.
19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” 20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. 21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
Now, you all should somehow be asking yourselves this question, ‘How come the disciples could not cast the unclean spirit out of the boy?’ All the Gospel writers refer to the father mentioning this fact.
If we look at the Gospel of Mark we find an interesting statement when our Lord Jesus sent the disciples out in twos - “7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.’ They were doing this very same ministry when they were sent out. What happened that now they cannot do anything? Our Lord was not too pleased.
28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
Matthew gives us a little more of the answer – “19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
This is what I think was going on. Remember, that instead of praying, the disciples where involved in arguing with the Scribes due to their failure to cast the unclean spirit out of the boy. Our Lord Jesus Christ tells the disciples that they failed because of their ‘unbelief’. I believe that the scene with the boy frightened them. They lost their trust in the One Who Is Above all things. Like Peter in the boat when the Lord called out to him to walk on the water, they took their eyes off the Lord Jesus and placed them onto the scary situation. They were thus unable to deal with the unclean spirit.
This same type of over confidence also caused a lot of problems for the Israelites when they were coming into the Promised Land. The Lord was giving them victory after victory. Our Lord Jesus Christ had appeared to Joshua and told him that He Is The Commander of Heaven’s host of angels and would give the Israelites victories. The people greatly prayed and worshiped Him for the victories. That is until they came upon a little city called Ai. Here the people thought that they could take care of the foreigners themselves. Let us see what happened in the book of Joshua chapter 7, “2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the country.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few.” 4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai. 5 And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water.6 Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Lord GOD, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies? 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”
When I had the opportunity to take a group with me to Russia when they first opened their iron gates to let in missionaries, on our first trip we went and visited 5 prison camps called ‘Gulags’ that held at each location about 3000 kids. I was overwhelmed at the reaction to the sharing of the Gospel. At each camp we would not only see all the kids ask Jesus into their hearts, but also the guards, the teachers, and everyone who was at the camp responded. I had called home and told everyone I felt like Billy Graham. I told them that the fish were jumping into the nets. Well, shame on me for my over confidence. In the last camp only 8 kids responded to the Gospel message. One nice thing the Lord did like He did for the Israelites at Ai, He gave us another chance. We were invited to come back the next day. We gave everyone at the camp their own version of ‘More than a carpenter’ by Josh McDowel and the gospel of John. We all went back to where we were staying and had a very long prayer meeting through the night. The next day our Lord was very Merciful to us as He again touched the heart of everyone in this camp and we were overjoyed to pray with over 3000 new believers. Thank you Precious Lord Jesus.
There was a movie which has become popular and in fact other spin off versions have been made. It was called ‘The Exorcist” If someone else wants to deal with the expulsion of demons from individuals, they can gladly incorporate my responsibilities with there gifts. This thing is not a joke or something to be lightly treated. Let me share with you from the bible an occasion when some amateurs tried casting out demons. This story is in the book of Acts chapter 19, 11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” 16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”
