Perspective: Disturbing the Demons

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.
Comments are always welcomed.
If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

Disturbing the Demons

For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:12 (NRSV)

I'm gonna pray until they tear your kingdom down
Pray until they tear your kingdom down
I heard the voice of Jesus say
Satan, your kingdom must come down

From "Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down," a traditional spiritual

In the Gospels, we read that, on one Sabbath day, Jesus teaches in the synagogue in Capernaum.  Evidently, He teaches with a kind of authority that the congregation is not accustomed to hearing.  At one point, Jesus is interrupted by a man who is possessed by a demon.  Through the man, the demon shouts at Jesus, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are.  You are the holy one from God."  Jesus silences the demon and commands it to leave the man.  With a protest, the demon obeys.  The people in the synagogue that day are amazed by the authority with which Jesus teaches and casts out demons.¹

This story highlights both the power of Jesus' teaching and Jesus' dominion over the forces of evil.  That said, I think this story can also be read as a warning.

Note that, though the Gospel writers tell us that the people in the synagogue are amazed that Jesus teaches with authority, they do not explicitly tell us that the people like what He is saying.  It is quite possible that their reactions to His teaching are mixed.  Some people in the congregation might be troubled by what Jesus is saying.  Others in the congregation might have had certain inklings for which Jesus is finally giving them the words to express.  Some might simply be amazed that Jesus can get away with saying the kinds of things He is saying.

When one person in the congregation hears what Jesus has to say, something possesses him to start shouting at Jesus as if He is some sort of existential threat.  I suspect that, when we encounter this particular story, we tend to think that the man possessed by a demon just happens to wander into the synagogue on a day Jesus is teaching.  Perhaps the demon has been lurking silently in the congregation for some time, completely unbothered by the teachings of those who normally speak in the synagogue.  Perhaps Jesus teaches so provocatively that the demon simply cannot remain silent any longer.  In either case, the demon has to go.

Our world is infested by insidious, invisible forces that oppress and control people.  Sadly, our communities of faith are not immune to such "demons," and far too often they live in our faith communities completely unbothered and unchallenged.  People who proclaim truly prophetic words as Jesus did have a way of stirring up the "demons" that have been lurking silently.

The story of Jesus' casting a demon out of the synagogue is a warning that if we rock the proverbial boat, as Jesus did when he taught and healed with authority, we will invariably be met with opposition.  In the words of scholar N.T. Wright, "When the church learns again how to speak and act with the same authority, we will find both the saving power of God unleashed once more and a similar heightened opposition from the forces of darkness."²  People who dare to challenge the status quo must be ready to stand up to the forces that want to preserve it.


Notes:

1. Mark 1:21-27 or Luke 4:31-36 (CEB)
2. N.T. Wright.  Mark for Everyone.  2004, Westminster John Knox Press.  p. 12

The Possessed Man in the Synagogue was painted by James Tissot in the late 1800s.