There are several instances of individuals being delivered from demons in Jesus’ ministry. He delivered many others, but these were the ones that are explained in detail.
Luke:7:21: And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.
The demoniac in the synagogue healed
Mark:1:21-28 21: And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. 22: And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. 23: And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24: Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. 25: And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. 26: And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. 27: And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. 28: And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.
In this chapter we are told that this happened right after several very important things happened in the life of Jesus. Verse 1 to 11 we see the baptism of Jesus by John. Verse 12 to 13 we see Jesus in the wilderness being tempted of the devil. Then in verse 14 to 16 we see Jesus picking some disciples. This is the first miracle of Jesus that Mark declares. He says it is right after teaching in the synagogue, but he does not tell us what the teaching was. He only said it was with great authority and power. We have to go to Luke to find out what the teaching was. But let’s explain what a synagogue was.
By the first century, a synagogue was found in most of the towns and villages of Galilee. The Gospels specifically mention those of Nazareth (Matt.13:54) and Capernaum (Mark 1:21). Typically, they were built on the highest point in town or on a raised platform. Inside there were benches on three sides of the room. There was a small platform where the speakers or readers would stand. The floor was usually dirt or flagstones, and common people probably sat on mats on the floor, while the important people sat on the stone benches (Matt. 23:6).
There was a seat for the reader of the Torah called the Moses Seat (or the Seat of Honor), because the Torah recorded the words of Moses so the reader was taking Moses place (Matt. 23:2). The Torah scrolls and the writings of the prophets were either kept in a portable chest and brought to the synagogue for worship or were kept in the Synagogue itself in a permanent Torah cabinet (called the holy ark). Outside was a Mikveh (ritual bath) for the symbolic cleansing required for entrance into the synagogue.
Local elders governed the synagogue, a kind of democracy. While all adult members of the community could belong to the synagogue, only adult males age 13 or older could be elders. A local caretaker, called the hazzan, was responsible for maintaining the building and organizing the prayer services (Mark 5:22, 35,36, 38; Luke 8:41-49, 13:14). The hazzan was sometimes the teacher of the synagogue school, especially in smaller villages. He would announce the coming Sabbath with blasts on the shofar (ram’s horn). Although the hazzan was in charge of worship services, the prayer leader, readers, and even the one who delivered the short sermon could be any adult member of the community. The hazzan also cared for the Torah scrolls and other sacred writings and brought them out at the appropriate times (Luke 4:1-20). Priests and Levites were welcome to participate in synagogue life, including worship, but they had no special role except that only priests could offer the blessing of Aaron from the Torah (Num. 6:24-27) at the end of the service.
While the synagogue building functioned as a community center, school, court, and place of study during the week, on the Sabbath it served as the place where the assembly met for prayer. When the first three stars could be seen on Friday evening, the hazzan blew the shofar to announce that the Sabbath had begun. The people gathered at twilight to eat the Sabbath meal in their homes. All the food was already prepared because no work was permitted during this time in most traditions.
The following morning, the community gathered in the synagogue building. The service began with several blessings offered to God. The congregation recited the Shema: “Hear, 0 Israel: The LORD our God, the Lord is one”(Deut. 6:4). The Torah scrolls would be brought out by the hazzan and would be read in several portions, sometimes as many as seven. Different people were scheduled to read a portion each week. The readings were determined according to a set schedule, so the reader would have no choice of the passage read.
Following the Torah portion, a section from the prophets (called the Haphtarah) would be read by the same or another reader. After all readings, a short sermon would be offered, often by the reader of the Torah or Haftarah. Any adult member of the community was eligible to speak the sermon called the derashah. The sermon was frequently quite short (Jesus spoke only a few words, Luke 4:21). The service ended with a benediction using the Aaronic blessing found in the Torah (Num. 6:24-26), if a priest was present to offer it.
Jesus spent much time in synagogues (Matt. 4:23). He taught in them (Matt. 13:54), healed in them (Luke 4:33-35; Mark 3:1-5), and debated the interpretation of Torah in them (John 6:28-59). Clearly, he belonged to the community of the synagogue, because when he visited Nazareth, he was scheduled to read the Haphtarah (Luke 4:16-30) and may have read the Torah as well as he concludes with a provocative derashah. This is a remarkable example of God’s preparation, as the passage Jesus read was exactly the passage that he used to explain his ministry.
Luke:4:14-37 14: And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. 15: And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.16: And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 17: And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,19: To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20: And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21: And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. 22: And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son? 23: And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. 24: And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. 25: But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;26: But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. 27: And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. 28: And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29: And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. 30: But he passing through the midst of them went his way, 31: And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. 32: And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power. 33: And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, 34: Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. 35: And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not. 36: And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out. 37: And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.
Here as in Mark we see that before this happened, Jesus was baptized in Luke 3:2-32, and Jesus goes into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil in Luke 4:1-13. Then we are told Jesus starts his teaching ministry, and what he taught in verses 18-19. Notice in verse 17 he chose the verses to read when they handed him the book of Isaiah.
Isaiah:61:1-3 1: The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2: To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3: To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Jesus stopped in the middle of verse 2 and told them that this scripture was fulled before them that day. They were astonished at his teaching. This simple reading could not have been the reason, but what Jesus told them following. He probably continued to proclaim what John tells us in First John.
1John:3:8: He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Jesus was telling them that he had power to free those bound by the devil, and then he proved it by casting the devil out of a man in the synagogue. The second thing we see is that Jesus told the man to shut up when he was declaring that Jesus was the Holy One of Israel. Why would Jesus do this?
Perhaps the laws of the Old Testament gives us light on this.
Leviticus:19:30-31 30: Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. 31: Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
Here we are told not to listen to those who have familiar spirits. This is why Jesus rebuked him. So the unclean spirit left the man, and the people in the synagogue were astonished at Jesus’ authority. They spread his fame throughout all of Galilee. Not only this man was delivered but many more as seen later in Mark.
Mark:1:32-34 32: And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. 33: And all the city was gathered together at the door. 34: And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.
Mark:3:10-12 10: For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues. 11: And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. 12: And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.
Jesus knew that if the demons declared who he was, people would say he cast out demons in the power of the devil.
Mark 3:22-27 22: And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. 23: And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? 24: And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25: And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26: And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27: No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
And in Luke we are told that some women followed Jesus who had been delivered from demons.
Luke:8:1-3 1: And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, 2: And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, 3: And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.
Demoniacs in the land of the Gadarenes
Matthew:8:28-34 :28: And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 29: And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? 30: And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. 31: So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. 32: And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. 33: And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. 34: And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.
Mark 5:1-20 1: And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 2: And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3: Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: 4: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. 5: And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. 6: But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, 7: And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. 8: For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. 9: And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. 10: And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. 11: Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. 12: And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. 13: And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. 14: And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. 15: And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 16: And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. 17: And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts. 18: And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. 19: Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. 20: And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
Luke 8:26-39 26: And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. 27: And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. 28: When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. 29: (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) 30: And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. 31: And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep; 32: And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. 33: Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. 34: When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. 35: Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 36: They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed. 37: Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again. 38: Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39: Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.
This is one of the few miracles that is listed in all three gospels. There is one major difference. Matthew says there were two men. Mark and Luke both say there was one. Matthew also does not give as much detail as the other two do. Apparently there were two men, but only one man was delivered.
All three gospels tell us that his dwelling place was the tombs along the shores of Galilee in the country of the Gergesenes or Gadarenes. There is a town called Gadara, but it is different than the location that Matthew mentions. Also Mark mentions Decapolis. The name is to indicate ten cities of the area. And apparently the people were called either Gergesenes or Gadarenes. The reason he could have lived in the tombs is because tombs were caves in that time.
This “the country of the Gadarenes” is a region controlled by the town of Gadara, one of the ten cities of the Decapolis. This is an area inhabited primarily by Gentiles . We know this to be the case because pigs are being raised nearby (v. 30), and no old covenant Israelite would ever be so closely associated with these animals. We also know it because there is no evidences of Jewish synagogues there into hundreds of years after Jesus was there.
Leviticus 11:7-8 7: And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. 8: Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.
Matthew says that the men were exceeding fierce, and no man would come near them. Luke tells us that he had devils a long time, and that he did not wear any clothes and was in chains. But Mark’s description of the man is the most intense. Here he explains that the man was chained and in fetters many times, but he always broke his chains and fetters. Here is an example of fetters from the time of Jesus.
The man declares who Jesus is. Matthew says What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? Mark says, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. And Luke says, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
All three declare Jesus to be the Son of God. Mark and Luke add “the most high”. All three tell us the man said to Jesus not to torment him, but Matthew says “before the time” This indicates the man is really not speaking but the demons. The man would not know who Jesus is, and would not understand the tormenting before time. You many wonder why would the devils declare Jesus. James tells us.
James:2:19: Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Now the demons knew that they were in for torment, but that their time was not yet.
Revelation:12:7-12 7: And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8: And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9: And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10: And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11: And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 12: Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
Jesus asks the man his name, and he says Legion. Mark says they went into about 2000 pigs, so this legion must have been about 2000 demons.
In the early Roman Kingdom “legion” may have meant the entire Roman army but sources on this period are few and unreliable. The subsequent organization of legions varied greatly over time but legions were typically composed of around five thousand soldiers. During much of the republican era, a legion was divided into three lines of ten maniples. In the late republic and much of the imperial period (from about 100 BC), a legion was divided into ten cohorts, each of six (or five) centuries. Legions also included a small ala, or cavalry, unit. By the third century AD, the legion was a much smaller unit of about 1,000 to 1,500 men, and there were more of them.
The amount of swine show us that this was a large farm. Also the fact there were several men tending the herd also show us. But it was also a very prosperous farm, because the men tending the herd of swine did not own them. Mark and Luke both proclaim that they ran into the city and country and told about the events. I can just see them running to the city as fast as they could. The city was 5 miles away, so they must have passed many people on the way, whom they told as well as the owner or owners of the swine, in the city.
When the men of the city came, they found the man clothed. It would have taken several hours for them to get there, so it would have given the man time to get some clothes and put them on.
The reaction of the men of the city was twofold. First they were afraid. They were not afraid of the man who was now well, but of Jesus. They were afraid of the power he had, to make a man who they regarded a nuisance to society into a sane man. Secondly, because of this fear, they told Jesus he had to leave their country.
Now the man that was delivered wanted to follow Jesus, but Jesus commanded the man to return home to tell others what God had done for him. The territory to which Jesus sent the man was certainly one of the most challenging mission fields to which he ever called anyone. Later, crowds from the Decapolis followed Jesus. This crowd of followers was a testimony to the effectiveness of the healed man’s witness.
Mark:7:31-37 31: And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32: And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33: And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 34: And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35: And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36: And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 37: And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
In closing, Jesus sent the man to do the same thing as he tells us to do as believers.
Matthew:28:18-20 18: And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
With these two examples of men being delivered from demons, Jesus is showing that his deliverance is not only for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles. The first man had to be a Jew, because he was in the synagogue. The second man was a Gentile, because he lived in the area of Gentiles. We are to preach deliverance to all people.
Acts:10:38-39 38: How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. 39: And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:
Goode Christian: learning how to be a good Christian in today's world. 