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Jesus and Demons according to Mark
Jesus and Demons according to Mark
Demons. Unclean spirits. What do they tell us about Jesus? A lot! We barely begin our reading when we are introduced to such evil spirit. IN a simple matter-of-fact way, Mark tells us of people who were possessed of various demons coming to Jesus and He cast them out (Mark 1:32-34).
Mark refers to them as demons, unclean spirits, and ‘a spirit’. There is nothing good that comes from them, hence in Luke 7:1 and 8:2 they are called evil spirits! They only bring evil and problems into the lives that they touch. We are given a glimpse of their power, a power much greater than normal men but obviously less than that of Jesus. They are a fearsome being, but themselves stand in fear of Jesus.
A brief summary:
- They had great power and could not be bound by men (Mark 5:4)
- They had the ability to take over one’s life (to possess them) (Mark 1:32; 9:17).
- They KNEW who Jesus was (Mark 1:34)
- They CONFESSED that Jesus was the Son of God (Mark 3:11; 5:7)
- They willingly submitted to whatever Jesus demanded of them (Mark 3:34, 9:25-26)
- Jesus could, at his word, cast them out and stop them from possessing people (Mark 1:34, 5:12-13; 7:29-30; 9:25-26; 16:9).
- Jesus had the authority to authorize his disciples to have power over them (Mark 6:7).
What shall we do with this knowledge? Since they had at least some experience and personal knowledge of the spiritual world, and KNEW that Jesus was the Son of God, we should believe that such is true. Since they were of greater strength and power than we can ever be, and yet they obeyed Jesus, so should we obey Jesus. Since they with one voice pointed a suffering people to Jesus the Son of God, let us love, trust, and obey Jesus.
Hugh DeLong
