Wrestling with Evil

In our story of the only son of his father who is plagued with an evil, unclean spirit, a demon, I found two more symptoms of his condition, making it a total of 15. Add to the list that the boy was also deaf, not just mute (Mk.9:25) and that he was thrown into convulsions (Mk.9:26). Let me repeat that this is perhaps the worse case of abuse by evil that Jesus has seen in his time on earth. This confrontation of pure righteousness and pure evil was like the shoot out at the OK Corral with the exception that Jesus was much better armed than the evil demon. Here is how the wrestling match occurred.

As Jesus approached the scene, the father with his son separated from the crowd and went toward Jesus. This is a good first step for all who would be healed. Separate from the crowd and go toward Jesus for your healing. Jesus wanted to have some privacy in casting out this demon, so he went into action quickly before the crowd of curiosity seekers got there. When people are going through deliverance too often there are folks who just want to see a show. Jesus was not about performing for the crowd. Thirdly, Jesus "rebuked" the spirit. Jesus brought His authority to bear on this situation. We too much seek to help people with the rebuking authority of Jesus. Fourthly, Jesus not only commands the spirit to leave, he forbids him from returning to the body of this boy. Surely this was a great comfort to the father to know that this was over. As an aside, it seems that some spirits were "deaf and dumb" spirits. It seems that this means that the spirit made the person deaf and mute, thus isolating the person from the outside world. Was this a means of control so that the only voice in the head of the person was the demon's voice? This boy could not hear the comforting words of his father. He could not communicate his pain in this situation. Too often those who are traumatized have no voice and are so cut off from others that they cannot hear. When Jesus spoke he did not speak to the boy, he spoke to the spirit.

Fifth, when Jesus was driving out the spirit, the spirit decided to get one last punch in by throwing the boy into a terrible convulsion. The spirit did not leave peacefully. This spirit detached from the boy violently. It is my experience that when you try to help those who have been traumatized that the traumatic memories do not let go easily. Often the counseling is dramatic and involves a struggle for deliverance. Perhaps this is why we often do not go there. "Letting go" is painful. But, hope is present because we do not wrestle with evil alone. The power of healing is in the room. Jesus is there and He is able and willing to restore our ability to hear and talk. When we hear Him and find our voice healing can begin. Jesus taught us to pray, "Deliver us from evil." Evil will not let go willingly but if rebuked by Jesus it will let go.