Driving out Demons

Sometimes you can’t.

“…also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out.” - Luke 8:2

“And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.” -Matt 10:7-8

The ministry of driving demons out is a complex issue to wrap our minds around today. 

How does one read these passages in one hand and hold the realities of mental health, disease, abuse, addiction and trauma in the other?

Some Christian circles deny the presence of demons in postmodern life, others see them in everything. 

Science has thankfully dispelled much ignorance, superstition and exposed the error of worldviews that trust in magic and sorcery. 

Yet, the gospels reveal clear teaching from Jesus that there is a reality of evil that is at work in the souls and bodies of humans too. 

How do we navigate such complex and personal stories and experiences that doesn’t ignore scripture but doesn’t mishandle or incorrectly diagnose people’s ailments, sufferings and ongoing battles?

Some are satisfied with very simplistic answers that quickly define situations with a black or white response. I’ve never been comfortable with the self-assurance of either extreme. 

Jesus' stories reveal moments that reflect the reality of people’s lives that I witness. Immediate manifestations of evil, lifelong testimony of troubles, horrors and tragedies that have roots in demonic influences. Ministry moments that end without deliverance, healing or satisfying conclusions. Particular facts that involve the numbers of demons involved. Admonitions that certain “kinds” require more spiritual action and the element of time. In some situations Jesus rebukes unbelief and others he doesn’t mention faith at all. 

Sometimes even Jesus kept praying for people until the healing fully arrived: 

“He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” -Mark 8:23-25

When I’m working with people I allow all these examples to undergird my expectations and conclusions. I rest in the directives and limits of the unfolding restoration of lives. I rejoice in immediate breakthroughs and long mendings. I trust in power, truth, medicine, doctors, good food, exercise, sleep, fresh air, and ongoing relationships to be part of people’s rescue and recovery.

I allow room for my own inability, lack of spiritual insight, faithfulness or maturity. 

“And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”” -Mark 9:14,16-18

I recognize that the trauma and drama of people’s lives have histories and deep roots that only Jesus fully knows. I also rest in His ability to put the puzzle pieces together in His timing and in His way. We are never the last word in anyone’s story. 

“And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”” -Mark 9:20-29

Did Mary have every devil leave at one moment? I think so, since it was Jesus doing the word and work. But I’ve also seen people evict devils from the rooms of their house as they discover them. 

Are they “possessed Christian’s”? I can’t come to that conclusion from the evidence of Scripture, but I can see matters of truth and time at work in some scripture references. That leads me to believe that recovery is complex and I don’t have all the facts in every situation. 

A claimed by Christ soul is a freed soul, we are given the keys of the kingdom to liberate captives, even when we are those captives. These keys are the truth of God’s word and ways. The Holy Spirit is active in leading people into the full and abundant life Jesus has purchased for them. Some slaves seem to not know they have been liberated and equipped with the keys to their prisons. Some have never encountered the truth that can set them free. Some don’t want to “get well” and linger in the same habitations of their bondage unwilling to obey or respond to the commands of Christ. 

I choose to see the sons and daughters and the parents around me as precious and perilous souls in need of the truth and power of Jesus. I choose to continue to seek a greater understanding of the keys Jesus has put into my own hands. I seek to drive out anything that reeks of devils and deception. Compassion and gentleness is my posture with the suffering and faith and conviction with the dark powers at work in people's lives. 

In the end I trust that Jesus knows how to rescue, redeem, release and restore every Mary I meet. Because His love is greater than anything that separates us from the love of God in Christ. 

Roman’s 8:38-39 “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow, not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below, indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”