Mark 1:21-28, Luke 4:31-37

21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

Mark 1:21-28

31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34“Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 35But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Luke 4:31-37 

I want to address a topic today that is not often discussed in our modern world.  This topic is at the center of our text today, demonic activity within a person.  

In the two texts we read Jesus is teaching in the synagogue and present is an unclean spirit filled person. I want to address the topic of demonic possession but first I don’t want to miss the core point of these passages.  Jesus is truth and forces a clear dividing line between right and wrong.  Satan would love for people to be lulled into thinking their sin is not that bad.  Jesus makes clear that sin is sin.  Right is right and wrong is wrong.  The demon truly knows who Christ is and where the line of division lays.  Notice though that Jesus is the ultimate authority and holds the ultimate power.  

So what are we to thinking about demonic possession in a modern context?  Are there evil spirits that bind themselves to and within modern men and women?

Today we will consider how the Bible teaches us to think about demonic activity and answer how Jesus’ command and power in believers can be used to combat these evils.  Tomorrow we will look even further into the subject.    

Question 1: Is demonic activity a reality in modern 2021 life?

Answer: According to the Bible demonic activity is very real and directly affects common everyday life in 2021

Biblical facts:

1.    Satan was the originator of sin (Gen. 3:1-6; 2 Cor. 11:3) 

2.    Demons oppose and try to destroy every work of God especially the work of Christ 

“the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4) 

3.    The Bible is clear that the era of history we live in demons are limited by God’s control and have limited power however they still seek to undo that which God deems as good 

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” (James 4:7-8) 

• Notice James reveals we have a choice to seek aid from God against demonic influence
  

I will provide an excerpt from conservative scholarship I believe is helpful on the subject.

“If scripture gives us a true account of the world as it really is, then we must take serious portrayal of intense demonic involvement in human society. Our failure to perceive a degree of involvement with our five senses simply tells us that we have some deficiencies in our ability to understand the world, not that demons do not exist.  In fact there is no reason to think that there is any less demonic activity in the world today than there was at the time of the New Testament.  We are currently in the same time period in God’s overall plan for history.  Much of our western secularized society is unwilling to admit the existence of demons - except in “primitive” societies - and relegates talk of demonic activity to a category of superstition.  But the unwillingness of modern society to recognize the presence of demonic activity today is, from a Biblical perspective, simply due to people’s blindness to the true nature of reality.” 

Wayne Grudem 

So if demonic activity is a reality in our modern world I pose a second question for consideration today.

Question 2:  Can a Christian be demon possessed?

Answer: If a person is truly under the authority of Christ he or she cannot completely be demon possessed and does have a conscious power to do right and obey God 

Scripture guarantees that sin will have no dominion over the Christ follower since a person in Christ has been raised with Christ (Rom. 6:14)  (“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”) 

Point of Confusion: The term demon possession is a term some translation of the bible use but is not the best translation of the Biblical idea

A more acute way of thinking of demonic activity within an individual is someone who “has a demon”

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’.” (Matthew 11:18)

The problem with the terms demon possession and demonized is that they give the impression of such strong demonic influence that they seem to imply a person who is under demonic attack has no choice but to succumb to it 

• While this can be true in some rare circumstances the reality is not common (Mark 5:1-20)

• After Jesus cast this demon out the text records the individual as being in their “right mind”

Reality: Sin distorts God’s plan and if left unchecked subjects all persons to demonic influence 

I believe passage such as Mark 1 and Luke 4 provide for us both a warning and help. The enemy is dangerous and stronger than you and I are in and of ourselves. Unknown and unchecked sin left loose is an open door for destruction. Again, Jesus makes clear that sin is sin.  Right is right and wrong is wrong.  The demon in our passage truly knows who Christ is and where the line of division lays.  Notice though that Jesus is the ultimate authority and holds the ultimate power. I hope that all would come to realize these truths. Our homes and world would look much different if this were the case.