#33 Unclean Spirit Cast Out
Please
first read: Mark 1:21-28; Luke: 4:31-37
In the preexistence, when 1/3rd of our
Father’s children openly rebelled and followed Satan, they were not only cast
out of heaven, but were specifically sent to this earth. They therefore
continue to be the force of opposition to God’s plan here on earth. They will
never be able to have bodies of their own. In this dejected state they seek to house
themselves in the mortal bodies of others, and under certain conditions are
able to do so. When this happens the devil, the evil spirit, takes control and
overpowers that individual’s agency.
The Lord exercised his power over such devils on
numerous times during his earthly life here. This was a Messianic promise, “And he shall cast out devils, or the evil
spirits which shall dwell in the hearts of the children of men.” (Mosiah 3:6)
Jesus had full power over these devils and they knew it. They knew him and he
knew them from the dealings in the preexistence. Unlike mortals on this earth,
evil spirits here do not have a veil drawn over their knowledge of the
preexistence. They have full memory of the great council in heaven and their
time there. They recognize who Jesus is, that he has power to destroy them, and
that he eventually will destroy their kingdom. They want nothing do with him,
but they must obey him.
Jesus refuses to allow them to testify of his
divinity. To do so would only lend credence to future accusations that “he does
his works by the power of Satan.” Other similar instances occurred and Jesus’
reaction was the same; testimonies that he is the Christ should only be borne
by the power of the Holy Ghost. Here, when Jesus says, “come out of him,” the
evil spirit steps literally out of the possessed one’s body. To mortals, this
is a miracle. In 1830 Joseph Smith cast a devil out of Brother Newell Knight
and they “saw the evil spirit leave him and vanish from sight.”
Christian scholars today generally seem to agree that
demonic possession in the time of Christ was more prevalent than in recent
history. This could possibly be that with the Lord physically on the earth Satan
would be moved to be a stronger presence here as well. The spiritual state of
the Israelites was at a very low ebb. Several centuries of being enslaved by
stronger nations had taken a toll on them. Also the Jews believed in only two
sources of supernatural power; God or Satan. When Jesus comes claiming to be
the Messiah, and exercising miraculous powers, they must decide which of these
two sources he is using. When they reject him as God the Messiah, the only
other choice is from Satan. Jesus’ miraculous powers are very much in evidence
and will continue. The dilemma here is a very difficult and uncomfortable
position especially for their leaders … the Sadducees - those who control the
temple and all its activities … and the Pharisees/ Scribes – the primary
teachers of the law and members of the Sanhedrin.
Like most eastern and ancient nations the Jews
attributed any evil happening to demons, spirits of the wicked. Sudden
sicknesses, mental breakdowns, unusual changes in a person’s behavior, negative
happenings, etc. When things like this occurred they believed the Lord was punishing
a person or peoples for something they had or had not done. They believed the
same for a married woman who was barren. (Example: John the Baptist’s mother
and her “reproach” among women.) The Jews will eventually try to claim that
these healings and miracles of Jesus are being done by the power of Satan,
which Jesus will point out to them is totally illogical.
“[T]hey were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught
them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.” (Mark 1:22) “What
thing is this? What new doctrine is this? ... the unclean spirits… do obey
him.” (Mark 1:27)
There should have been nothing so startling new to
them in the healings and miracles of Jesus. Their ancient prophets had cured
diseases, cast out devils, and raised the dead. Israel had been, by their own
actions, without prophets for over 400 years, and thus had not recently seen
these things. There were magicians and exorcists at work in the first century
in the Hellenistic world, of which Israel was a part, but these could not
easily be confused with the actions of the Savior.
It is interesting to look at the range of several
Greek word translations:
- “Destroy: the cry of the possessed is the language of terror, a declaration of Jesus’ avowed intent.”
- “Amazed / astonished: very strong, deep, in feeling and meaning.”
- “Silence: to muzzle, bind, very strong meaning; for stifling evil spirits with a magic spell.”
Glenn R. McGettigan
December 2014
References:
“Behold the Messiah.” Matthews
“Doctrinal New Testament Commentary.” McConkie
“The Miracles of Jesus the Messiah.” Howick
“Jesus the Christ.” Talmage
“The Mortal Messiah.” McConkie
“Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ.” Holzaphel
“The Life of Jesus Christ.” Farrar
“Bethany Commentary.”
“The Gospel of Mark.” Mann
“The Gospel of Luke.” Fitzmyer
