Exorcisms

Expulsion of evil spirits

by Douglas Miller

Mark's Gospel, chapter 1, tells us how Jesus was baptised, and spent a time in the Wilderness, and then he began his public ministry, and so Mark states what actions were the greatest priority for Jesus.

So how did Jesus begin his public Ministry?

First he went from town to town, preaching God's message. Mark sums up that message in the words, “The Time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe the Gospel”. Basically he was saying that the life-giving presence of God has come very close.

And then what did he do? He called some people to follow him and be his disciples. We spoke last week about the call to Simon and Andrew to be disciples. At the same place, he also called James and John.

So he preached and called disciples, and then what did he do? He healed people because he had compassion on their need. So we read in today's passage that he expelled an unclean spirit, then he went to Simon's house and healed his mother in law, who was sick with a fever. A little later he cleansed a leper, and healed a paralysed man. This is a whole series of miraculous acts that Jesus did to help people in need, but first he preached the kingdom of God and called disciples.

And by putting the matters in this order, Mark is saying that we certainly pray to God for people who suffer from illness or special need, but first we hear the good news of the Kingdom of God, and know that we are loved by God who accepts us all, whether sick or healthy, as we are.

Mark 1:21-28, then goes on to tell us the first of Jesus' miracles of healing. He expelled an unclean spirit from a man in the synagogue.

First Mark sets the context: Jesus went to the Synagogue. The Synagogue is the regular place of worship for Jewish people. It is a service that normally happens on the Sabbath, on the Saturday. The focus of the service is on reading the Torah, with readings also from the Prophets and the other scriptures. It is also a service of prayer of thanksgiving and prayer for people in need and for the restoration of Israel.

And Jesus went to the Synagogue, as he normally did. And that is an important lesson in itself. We should be people who normally go to the Church, it should be a normal part pf our weekly routine. If we are on holiday somewhere we should make it our business to find a church and be part of its worship.

Now I am sure there were times when Jesus went to the Synagogue and said to himself, “I have never heard such rubbish. Who let that preacher out of Sunday School.” I have sometimes said things like that after going to church. Whether rightly or wrongly, God will judge.

Anyway Jesus went to the Synagogue. Some of the Synagogues seem to have had a quite loose organisation, and invited anyone to speak if they walked in the door. So Jesus spoke to the Synagogue, and Mark comments that people were amazed because Jesus “taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes”.

What does Mark mean when he said that Jesus “taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes”?

Now when I preach and other ministers preach, we do not preach like Jesus. We preach like the scribes. That means we may be very wrong in what we say, and you need to form your own judgment about it. It means that some Sundays you may have very good reasons to go out of Church at the end and say, “I have never heard such rubbish.”

The scribes preached by giving reasons for what they said. They would quote passages from the Bible. They would quote the views of famous Rabbis. They would give reasons why their view made sense and some other view doesn't.

Jesus, and Jesus alone, was different. He spoke with authority. He was able to say, “God is commanding you to do this”, without quoting any passage in the Scriptures. That is to speak with authority. I shouldn't do that. Other Ministers shouldn't do that. Jesus was claiming special authority as the Son of God among us. He spoke with authority, and people were amazed.

In this remarkable setting, Jesus is confronted by a man with an unclean Spirit, who recognises Jesus and calls him “the Holy One of God”. And Jesus commanded the Spirit to depart, and the spirit made a noise louder than some tennis players as it departed, leaving the man in his right mind.

Now what do we make of this story, and several others in the Gospels, where Jesus commands an unclean Spirit to depart. What do we make of these stories.

Now some Christians take a different view, but for most of us the thought that we might have an unclean spirit controlling us, is a thought that does not cross our radar screen. We don't think that way. When we go to the doctor to ask what's wrong with us, we would be amazed is the doctor said we were controlled by an alien spirit which needed to be expelled.

However the New Testament was written in a culture where people believed that certain behaviours were caused by unclean spirits. They did not think that way about physical conditions, like broken bones, or fevers or leprosy. These were simply diseases.

But people of that time did think that disorders of the mind were caused by an unclean spirit taking over the person.

This included the classic mental disorders that trouble many people. Mental disorders included various forms of psychotic behaviour. Psychotic behaviour is when the person's wishes demand immediate fulfilment. Sometimes it can take a violent form. Other times it can be devious lying, unconnected with reality. It may also involve hallucinations and delusional beliefs.

Mental disorders also included schizophrenia, where the person often has a quite mistaken view of their own place in the world. In extreme cases, people can think they are Napoleon, or the Virgin Mary, or some other famous person, and become quite disconnected with reality.

A significant number of people suffers from such disorders to some degree during their lifetime. If it happens to you, there is no shame in it. It is a disease to be treated like any other. Do not try to hide that you have it, but seek a professional assessment, and take seriously the treatment that flows from it.

People also thought of epilepsy as a form of demon possession. Epilepsy affects one person in 200, who may experience partial or complete loss of consciousness for several minutes, as a storm of neurons discharging takes over the brain, and consciousness ceases.

Now there are some Christians who will tell you, that quite apart from psychosis, schizophrenia and epilepsy, there is also a real condition of demon possession, and there is a need for exorcisms in some cases. Such a view is common in Pentecostal churches, but not confined to them. There are also sections of the Catholic and Anglican traditions which offer services of exorcism.

I respect their views, but on balance I do not agree with them.

What does Mark tell us by placing this story first among the many stories of healing that he tells? I think he is saying that God has a special compassion, expressed first to people with disordered minds. God feels compassion for people with disordered minds, whether issues of psychosis, or schizophrenia, or epilepsy. God feels compassion for people who become detached from reality at times.

That does not mean we should expect God to heal these conditions in everyone, just as a we do not expect that God will normally heal physical ailments. Many people have to live with medication to control their condition, and have to live as effectively as possible, given some limitations on their health. This is true of every other kind of physical illness, and it is true of mental disorders too.

Whatever our particular need might be, let us be willing to face it, to name it, and to seek treatment. And let us also know that we are loved by God, whatever the condition of our health.

Whoever you are, know that you are loved by God.

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