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DAVID'S EMAIL BIBLE STUDY:
DEMONS + Devil?
A.BACKGROUND
... Jesus had a three-year public ministry before the crucifixion. He made his name by his teachings and miracles, including dealing with "Demons". Much of the world then, and today, believe that we are surrounded by unseen good and bad spirits who seek to influence, guide, and control us for good or ill. They can "possess" us. People believed that bad things are caused by demons manifested as physical ailments, anti-social behavior, or mental illness. I've heard people refer to the "demon" of racism, cancer, addiction, and abuse. Or we might say that someone is "beside themselves" or "don't seem themselves", or "they're out of control". Such behaviors were/are often blamed on demons. Modern medicine and psychology have given us a better understanding of behavior. But in Jesus' world demons explained the inexplicable.
C. SUMMARY.
Jesus meets a man who cannot speak. When Jesus "drives out a demon" the man speaks, amazing onlookers. But critics claim Jesus could only control demons because he was in league with the devil. Jesus' response is the quote made famous by Abraham Lincoln, "a house divided against itself cannot stand" (vs 17). In other words, good produces good; evil produces evil. No mixing. In these verses, and on through verse 32, he reminds them that Judaism had a long history of accessing wisdom that could help people against evil. He cites the wise King Solomon, and the successful effect that Jonah had when he transformed the people of Nineveh. Exercising power over evil in all its forms was part of their religion. So why are they complaining about him?
D. KEY POINTS
- "The DEVIL made me do it," was the popular excuse made famous by TV Comedian Flip Wilson. It's a funny take on an ancient human weakness for blaming others, pointing fingers, avoiding personal responsibility. Yet it is based on the eternal spiritual battle between Good and Evil. The idea of God vs The Snake in the Garden of Eden, Jesus vs Satan in the desert, or little angels and little demons sitting on our shoulders vying for attention, and the reality of Good and Evil as forces, as personalities, and with agents are longstanding. Why? Because we are looking for answers to why bad things happen; and we prefer answers that let us off the hook. And, yes, some bad things are so evil that there must be something at work stronger than mere human will, or sin. The impersonal term for such a "something at work" is evil. We personalize it as the Devil and his disciples, demons. The Biblical truth, and the purpose of Jesus, is to stand 4-square against all evil, whatever it is called, however we perceive it. Thus St. Paul writes, "hate what is evil, cling to what is good."
- Public Enemy #1: Jesus! How did that happen? By the end of this chapter (next week's study) there's a full-blown, coordinated attack against him as some religious leaders "began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him... waiting to catch him..." (vs 53-54). It's not just Jesus. Gandhi, MLK, Jr., Old Testament prophets (Elijah, Jeremiah, Daniel), modern advocates for simple social justice, reformers - mocked, attached, even killed. Why? Fear of competition. Fear of change. Fear of "the other". Those are the BIG 3 reasons for hating something. Regarding Jesus and the prophets in general, they challenge the status quo. That is never popular with those in charge of the status quo. For Jesus, his first opposition came from within his own religion. That disruption made the Roman government nervous. So the two "status quos" felt threatened by Jesus whose emphases on love, righteousness, justice, character, and personal action ran counter to their calls for plain obedience. Jesus' call to "love God (fully) and our neighbors as ourselves" left little room for church or state to rule our lives. So the church and state of Jesus' time turned against him.
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