God’s Word for You

Mark 5:6-10 Legion

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Sunday, September 18, 2022

6 When he saw Jesus from a long way away, he ran and fell down on his knees before him. 7 He cried out with a very loud voice: “What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?! I beg you by God, do not torment me!”

If it were done by someone else, falling to one’s knees would be taken as an act of worship (1 Kings 19:18; Ezra 9:5; Revelation 19:10). But this was a demon, one of the former angels who fell into sin with Satan and now act as goblins, nuisances and tempters, tormentors of mankind and ruiners of God’s creation. Here his words must be taken as lies, just as every demon’s words should be regarded with suspicion and mistrust, which is why Jesus did not allow demons to proclaim who he was, since it would be doubted by those who heard it (Mark 1:24-25). The question is asked many times in Bible classes: Why didn’t Jesus let the demon speak? And this is the answer, that the devil is “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44) and the demons know no other language, either. “His mind is busy with evil. He practices ungodliness and spreads error concerning the Lord. The hungry he leaves empty and from the thirsty he withholds water” (Isaiah 32:6). So even when a devil speaks the truth, as Satan does to Eve (Genesis 3:5), it is only a half-truth, which means that half of it is a poisonous lie, spoken for the devil’s purpose and not for God’s purpose. So here, when the demon says “Most High God,” even though this is a Scriptural term (Genesis 14:18; Psalm 7:10), it sounds a sour note, an unclear message, as when Nebuchadnezzar describes “the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed” (Daniel 4:2). Nebuchadnezzar was ready to believe in many gods, and he might have implied that although God is the greatest, there are other, lesser gods. And this might have been the subtle deception behind this demon’s words.

There is also terror and madness in the demon’s begging. He says, “What have I to do with you?” and the Greek phrase (Τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί) appears many times in the Scriptures (John 2:4; Judges 11:12; 1 Kings 17:18; 2 Kings 3:13; 2 Chronicles 35:21). It often means “What do you have against me?” or something along those lines. The answer to the demon’s question is simple: “You have already been judged, demon, when you rebelled after the creation week; I’m not here to judge you again,” but Jesus doesn’t bother to argue about it, because it has no more relevance than a prisoner arguing about his sentence after he has been found guilty of a crime. And so when he asks in terror, “Do not torment me,” there is no response, either. The demon was already suffering the torment of being separated from God’s presence and from God’s mercy and love. The time to beg for mercy is not while the sword is swinging or after the bullets have already left the muzzle, nor after the platform has swung open and the noose is about to snap the neck.

8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of this man, you unclean spirit!”

These words, spoken by Christ, are all that was necessary to drive out the demon. In our time, if a demon should truly appear in a person, we do not command, nor do we command God, but we pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ to remove it.

(For the sake of some readers and listeners, I will include an example of what Martin Luther did in an exorcism, but I will include it after this devotion so that some might be able to omit it, especially if they have little children listening).

9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him over and over not to send them out of that region.

I wonder whether Jesus was attempting to speak to the man and not the demon when he said, “What is your name?” For truly the Lord would not care about a demon’s name. They are no longer worth any consideration from God, but they are just interfering goblins, damned to everlasting torment, and never again to be worthy or subject to God’s grace or concern. But the human did not speak, or didn’t speak up quickly enough, for it’s also a sign of the wicked that they lack patience. “Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 29:20). And Sirach says: “Do not answer before you have heard, and do not interrupt in the midst of his words” (Sirach 11:8).

The answer the demon gave was a mishmash of bad grammar: “My name is Legion, for we are many.” But human grammar exists to define the world around us. We have no pronouns ready at hand to account for a singular who is also a plural, nor for a plural who is also a combined and single one.

A legion is a Roman military unit of thousands. The number is not exact; the point is that many, many demons were inhabiting this one terribly suffering man. We’ve already seen that it was more than he could bear, because he cried out, breaking whatever he could, cutting his own flesh in an attempt to cause pain worse than the inner pain that he felt, so that he would hurt for some other, any other, reason.

This vast number gives us an idea of just how many demons there are. Jesus said that in an instant, the Father could “put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels” (Matthew 26:53), and John heard the voices of “ten thousand times ten thousand” angels speaking, and singing God’s praises (Revelation 5:11-12). So after one demon inhabited this poor man, even if it was because of some sinful error on his part, it was joined by several more, and then still more, until he became something like the end point of a huge funnel into which were flooded a vast number of demons. For no reason at all, they assailed this one poor man. Were they jealous of mankind’s favored position at the top of God’s creation? Mankind was not created to know death. Death only came as a punishment, the wages of sin (Romans 6:23). Man had been created in the image of God to rule over creation (Genesis 1:26); the angels had been made to be God’s servants (Job 4:18) and to watch over, not rule over, mankind (Psalm 91:11). And as one of the Fathers says: “God would not have laid the burden of law on man if he had been incapable of sustaining so great a weight. He would never have threatened with the penalty of death a creature whom he knew to be guiltless on account of his helplessness.” Adam had been able to obey the law, to choose not to sin,  but he chose sin over sinlessness, and by doing so he brought death and suffering into the world. Which of Adam’s descendants suffered as much as this wretch, screaming himself hoarse, sobbing, and cutting himself in the tombs of the Gentiles? “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). Only Christ suffered so, on the cross.

The cry of the tormented hangs in the air, a cry unknown in the natural world. Mountains do not grieve when men climb them or dig mines in them. Trees do not shriek when felled. Stones do not object when they are shaped into useful things. Even animals do not rebel against man when they are killed for food or other resources. If an animal is slaughtered to be used, the rest of the herd or the species remains, and may even retrace that animal’s steps. They do not join together to make war on mankind. Man governs. But when man falls prey to the devil’s tortures, his cries are heard. “O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy. In your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief” (Psalm 132:1).

The righteous man wishes to live to serve God. The wicked demon does whatever it can not to be cast into the pit of hell. It begs to be left to roam “that region,” as if Jesus might reverse his divine judgment and permit them to bask in a sunlit realm on earth rather than be bound in the black and sunless dungeons of hell. There is the greatest difference between you and a demon. For all its abilities in the unseen world, power, speed, insight, and more, it is condemned without hope of any reprieve. But for you and me, God offers forgiveness through repentance. Our sin is covered by Christ. We have the hope, and even the certainty, of the blessing of everlasting life.

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How Luther handled exorcism

This has not been located in Luther’s Works, so it should be regarded as an example of what Lutherans after Luther considered the right way to handle this situation. Whether Luther himself did or said this has not yet been proved. The author, [Jodocus] Höcker, died twenty years after Luther in 1566, and was perhaps present at the time.

‘Once, during the life of Dr. Martin Luther, a young woman was brought to Wittenberg who was born in the land of Meissen, who was often vexed and tormented by the devil. And a letter was written to blessed Dr. Martin that he should save and rescue this young woman, who was eighteen years old, from the evil spirit. When this virgin was brought to Dr. Martin, he asked her at that time whether she could say [the Apostles’ Creed]. She answered, “Yes.”

‘Then the blessed Dr. Martin commanded her to say it. As she now began and came to the article [of the creed] and these words, “And I believe in Jesus Christ, His only-begotten Son, our Lord,” she could no longer speak, but the evil spirit began to convulse and torment her. Then Dr. Luther spoke, “I know you well, you devil. You would really like it if someone would set up a big ceremony with you and celebrate you greatly. You will find none of that with me.” Then he commanded that she be brought to his sermon in the church on the next day and afterwards be brought into the sacristy, and he told the other servants of the church to come into the sacristy too.

‘The virgin was obedient and came to the sermon of the doctor, but afterwards, when they wanted to bring her into the sacristy, she fell down and struck and convulsed around, so that several students had to carry her into the sacristy and lay her at the feet of blessed Dr. Martin, and they locked the door to the sacristy, and all the servants of the church with several students stayed therein.

‘Then Dr. Martin began and made this short admonition to the servants of the Church, which should be well observed by all preachers of the divine word who find themselves in the same situation, and they should do nothing different.

1. ‘He began and spoke: “Now and at our time, people should not drive out devils as it was done at the time of the apostles and shortly thereafter, when it was necessary to do miracles and signs for the sake of the gospel, to confirm it as a new doctrine, which now and at our time is not necessary, since the gospel is not a new doctrine but has been sufficiently confirmed. And if anyone wants to drive them out as was done at that time, he tempts God,” he said.
2. ‘“One should also not drive out the devils with conjurations, by commanding, like some in the papacy and even some of our own people do, but one should drive them out with prayers and contempt. For the devil is a proud spirit who cannot stand prayer and despising but desires a ceremony. Therefore, no one should make a ceremony with him but should despise him as much as possible.”
3. ‘Dr. Luther spoke further: “One should drive out the devil with and through prayer in such a way that one prescribes for the Lord Christ no rule, no means and manner, no time or place when and how he should drive out the devils, for that would be tempting God. But we persist in prayer so long, knock and rap [at the door] so long, until God hears our prayer, as He Himself says, Matt 7, ‘Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.’ But like Uzziah, he tempts God by setting and prescribing the time for him, in which he should help him, Judith 7. Therefore he is rightly rebuked by Judith, Judith 8.”
4. ‘Dr. Luther laid his right hand on the head of the virgin, just like one lays hands on those who are being ordained and consecrated to the preaching office. And he commanded the servants of the gospel to do the same, and commanded further that they speak after him: First, the Apostles’ Creed. Next, the Our Father. Third, Dr. Luther spoke these words, John 14. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, that will he give to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” After these words, the blessed doctor called on God mightily and prayed that he would rescue and save the poor young woman from the evil spirit that was in her for the sake of Christ and of his holy name, that thereby he would be praised, honored, and glorified. After this prayer and admonition, he stepped away from the girl and shoved her with his foot, and mocked Satan, saying, “You proud devil, you would gladly see me set up a ceremony with you, but you will not experience that. I won’t do it. Do what you want, I will not give up.”

‘After this procedure, they took the young woman the next day back to Meissen from Wittenberg. And afterwards they wrote and reported several times to Dr. Luther and others that the evil spirit after this no longer tormented and convulsed the girl as previously.’

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In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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