Casting out Demons

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Mark 1:23–28 records the first of many exorcisms that Jesus performed during His earthly ministry.

We must note that Jesus is not the only first-century teacher to whom exorcisms are attributed; other rabbis were known for casting out demons. What sets our Lord apart is the manner in which He exorcised evil spirits. Other exorcists relied on particular procedures to help oppressed people and by no means worked on the basis of their own inherent authority.

As we see in today's text, however, Jesus simply commanded unclean spirits to leave. All the demon had to hear was the sound of the Lord's voice and the order to depart, and it fled. In so doing, the demon acknowledged who Jesus was—"the Holy One of God" sent to bring Satan's kingdom to its knees.

Although the ESV renders verse 24b as a question, it is likely that it was a statement. If so, the Spirit said something like, "You have come to destroy us!"

Regardless of the punctuation, the exorcism demonstrates that the kingdom of God at hand in Jesus' ministry had to come first in the cosmic arena.

The Lord came to break oppression, establish justice, and heal the diseased (Luke 4:16–21), but this could not happen until the forces of evil were defeated and the "strong man" was bound (Mark 3:27).

Christ came to set things in creation right, and this demanded that He conquer the devil, who had enslaved the world in sin and darkness.

This article was first published in Tabletalk, the Bible study magazine of Ligonier Ministries. Find out more at TabletalkMagazine.com or try it free for three months today at ryTabletalk.com.