Jesus Casts Out the Demon from Boy

“Believe” in Matthew, Mark & Luke - Part 15:

(Demon Possession/Spiritual Wickedness - Part 2):

We have begun a study of the incident when Jesus cast a spirit-demon out of a young boy after His disciples were unable to do so. This account is found in all 3 gospels, Matthew 17:14 - 2114 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,

15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

; Mark 9:14 - 2914 And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.

15 And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.

16 And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?

17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;

18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.

19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.

20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.

21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.

22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.

23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.

27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.

28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?

29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

14 And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.

15 And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.

16 And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?

17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;

18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.

19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.

20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.

21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.

22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.

23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.

27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.

28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?

29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

and Luke 9:37 - 4537 And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him.

38 And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child.

39 And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.

40 And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not.

41 And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.

42 And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.

43 And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples,

44 Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.

45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.

, however Mark gives the most complete description of the event:

“And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.” Mark 9:14 - 29.

Our last study identified 6 elements in this event to examine and today we will consider the first; the nature of the demon-spirit that inhabited the boy. But before we continue we will briefly consider the record of demon-spirit possession in human history, as recorded in the Bible. It appears it was relatively prevalent in Israel during the 3 years Jesus ministered there as the record clearly indicates He cast demons out of people. He also gave His 12 Apostles the authority to do so but He instructed them to only go to Israel, Matthew 10:5 - 85 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

, until after His resurrection when He gave them authority to go to everyone, Mark 16:15 - 2815 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

. What about demon possession prior to and after Jesus' advent? There were 400 years of silence immediately preceding Christ's advent (Faith Studies Vol 3, No 35published July 3, 2010) so such activity is unknown during that time. Prior to that we consult the Old Testament (OT) Scriptures for any record of this phenomenon. The English word “demon” is not found in the King James OT. There appears to be no evidence of men being possessed by evil spirits, with two exceptions. The first is when God allowed an evil spirit to come between Aimelech and the men of Shechem in Judges 9:2323 Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:

. But the most noteworthy case is when the Spirit of the Lord departed from King Saul and an evil spirit troubled him, 1 Samuel 16:1414 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

, 15, 16; 16:23; 18:10 & 19:9. (If anyone can cite other OT events regarding this, please let me know.) After Christ ascended into Heaven, during the time recorded in Acts, the sign gifts including casting out demons, were practiced by the Apostles until they died. In a subsequent study we will examine the Pauline Epistles for anything about this phenomenon during the ge of Grace in which we live.

Today we are going to examine the words the Holy Spirit inspired the Gospel writers to use to describe the being that tormented the boy. Mark indicates it was a “foul spirit” and Jesus calls it a “deaf and dumb spirit” in Mark 9:2525 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

. Jesus puts it in a unique category by referring to it as “this kind,” which would only come out by prayer and fasting, Mark 9:2929 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

, leaving the idea there were similar spirits the disciples could cast out without resorting to much prayer and fasting. And although Jesus referred to it as deaf and dumb, Mark 9:25, we find in verse 26 that it cried when it came out of the boy. How does a spirit cry? Was the crying in a dimension other than what human beings are capable of sensing? Was it the boy's vocal cords that made an audible sound when the spirit exited him?

It was a “spirit” and the Greek word translated “spirit” is “pneuma,” which occurs 385 times in the New Testament, found in every book except 2nd and 3rd John. It's the same word used to describe the Holy Spirit; the Spirit of God, of the Lord, of Christ, of the human spirit, as well as foul, deaf, dumb, evil spirits. The Greek Lexicon defines pneuma as: “From G4154; a current of air, that is, breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively a spirit, that is, (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, daemon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the Holy spirit: - ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind. (Compare G5590, psuche, soul, mind, etc.)” Breathing, or breath is a sign or condition of life that can't be apprehended but is recognized by its operations or manifestations. A spirit is a being or entity existing in a dimension outside human awareness; vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch, but this one inhabited the boy's body and manipulated his behavior.

This particular spirit is described as being “foul,” a translation of the Greek “akath'artos” found 30 times in the NT, primarily in Matthew, Mark and Luke. The Lexicon gives the meaning as “From G1 (as a negative particle) and a presumed derivative of G2508 (meaning cleansed); impure (ceremonially, morally (lewd) or specifically (demonic)): - foul, unclean.” In the King James it is translated “unclean” 28 times and “foul” only twice, Mark 9:25. I reviewed many of the passages in which this word is used in the Gospels and it generally describes the unclean spirits that Jesus cast out of people. It is found 2 times in the first part of Acts when the Apostles cast unclean spirits out of people. Then it is used 3 times in Acts when Peter spoke of not touching anything “unclean.” Peter was not referring to unclean spirits but to food proclaimed unclean by Moses' law. The Apostle Paul was inspired to use this word in the epistles he wrote to us, the church, the Body of Christ, only 3 times but never describing spirit possession: 1 Corinthians 7:1414 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.

; 2 Corinthians 6:1717 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

& Ephesians 5:55 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

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Mark records that Jesus called it a “dumb and deaf” spirit, Mark 9:25. The word “dumb” is a translation of the Greek word “al'alos” found only 3 times in the NT and all in the book of Mark. From the first time it is used, we know it refers to one who cannot speak, Mark 7:3737 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

. The father also called it a “dumb,” “al'alos” spirit in Mark 9:1717 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;

. In Mark 9:25 Jesus also called it “deaf,” a translation of Greek word “kophos” found 14 times in Matthew, Mark and Luke but nowhere else in the New Testament. It is translated “dumb,” “deaf,” and “speechless.” (See Matthew 8:28 - 3228 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.

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.

where Jesus cast out devils or evil spirits that evidently could speak.)

The father said the boy was lunatic and sore vexed, Matthew 17:1515 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

. The Greek word translated “lunatic” here is “seleniad zomai,” which the Lexicon indicates means “moonstruck, crazy, a lunatic.” It is found only 2 times in the NT; here in Matthew 17:15 and in Matthew 4:2424 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

. The Greek word translated “sore” is “kakos” or “kakoce,” defined as “badly (physically or morally) amiss, diseased, evil, grievously, miserably, sick with, sore.” It is found 16 times in the NT, all in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts and James. One form of the Greek word for the English word “vexed” here is “patho,” given to mean “to experience a sensation or impression (usually painful); feel passion; suffer.” The Holy Spirit inspired its use 42 times in the NT, mostly in Matthew, Mark and Luke but most often in 1 Peter where it is found 12 times.

In Matthew 17:1818 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

we read that Jesus rebuked the “devil” that possessed the boy. The word “devil” is from the Greek “daimon'ion,” meaning “a demonic being, by extension, a diety: - devil, god.” It is found 60 times in the NT, most of which are in the Gospels; 11 in Matthew; 13 in Mark; 22 in Luke and 6 in John.

By putting all this together, we learn that the being that tormented the boy was a spirit, which is something in a dimension of existence outside the contact of our human senses and it was “a demonic being, by extension, a diety: - devil, god.” This demonic spirit was deaf and dumb and foul or unclean and it caused the boy pain and suffering and left him in the condition of being a lunatic or crazy. The Word of God is silent as to what happened to it after it left the boy, just as it is silent about the demons that Jesus cast out of two men into a herd of pigs, Matthew 8:28 - 32. This leaves us wondering if they could have been some of the spirits referred to in 1 Peter 3:1919 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

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Our next study will examine references in the Pauline Epistles, which is the Scripture directed to us during this day and age of Grace.