Deliverance: Thousands of Demons Cast Out

The Ultimate Exorcism

Jesus is not very impressed with the devil. The devil wants you and me to be impressed, intimidated, and fearful of him, but we don’t have to be if we see him the way Jesus does… as a defeated foe! In a conversation with His followers Jesus said:

I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Luke 10:18

The devil is defeated, and Jesus was there when it happened! Jesus was in heaven watching as Satan (Lucifer) was cast out of God’s holy presence, in the blink of an eye. He said it happened so fast it looked like a streak of lightning. Jesus witnessed the ultimate exorcism! That’s the mental picture we need to have of our enemy — a defeated wanna-be god! Father God did not allow Satan to exalt himself in heaven, and we must not allow him to exalt himself in our lives either. We must learn how to stand up to the devil and his cohorts as swiftly and victoriously as God did.

Jesus went on to say:

Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Luke 10:19

Jesus told his followers (that includes me and you) that we have received delegated authority to effectively deal with Satan. We will never be able to fight Satan in our own power with human effort, but Jesus has given the Church all we need to win the war against evil… His name, the believer’s authority, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus warned that Satan may come to bite us (as a serpent would), or create a stinging situation to surprise and stun us (as a scorpion would), but we should keep on walking and crushing him under our feet (trample him). In Jesus Christ we have a position of advantage and superiority over ALL the power of the enemy, according to this scripture.

Jesus doesn’t sugar-coat anything here. He reminds us that Satan indeed has a level of “power.” That’s the Greek word dunamis. It literally means: dynamic power, superhuman power, and it depicts the full force of an advancing army. Additionally, the word “enemy” is the Greek word echthros. It means: an irreconcilable hostility, one who is openly hostile, one with a deep-seated hatred, and one who is bent on inflicting harm.

Jesus gave us a sobering picture of our enemy and what he is capable of doing. However, when it looks like the devil has sent an entire army against us, Jesus also gave us the solution… use His name, and our delegated authority. Demons are subject to us in Jesus’ name. They must fall in line when we speak! Demons honor and respect that authority, if we will exercise it! And that’s what this series on deliverance is all about.

The Demoniac of Gadara

In our last session we looked at how Jesus handled a demonic spirit in a man who attended the synagogue (Mark 1:21-28). I’m guessing many modern churches would have put that man out of the synagogue for disrupting the service, but Jesus put the demon out of the man and left the man in the synagogue!

Today we’re going to look at another exorcism by Jesus in Mark 5:1-20. (Luke’s account of this same deliverance is in Luke 8:26-39.) To me, this is one of the most vivid and dramatic accounts in all of Scripture of someone being utterly demonized, and the pursuing struggle for deliverance. Here, Jesus had just crossed over the Sea of Galilee and entered the country of the Gadarenes.

And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains,
Mark 5:2-3

The moment Jesus got out of the boat He encountered a man living among the tombs. Three times in these passages we are told he was living amongst the tombs. That’s significant. That means the wilderness had become his dwelling place. The graveyard was his home. Tombs represent death. He was a tormented man with death on his mind. Luke tells us the man was in this morbid state for a very long time, and he lived naked among the tombs. Every word God speaks is important, but whenever God repeats something three times it’s an important point He doesn’t want us to miss. This was an especially disturbing and gruesome scene.

… because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.
Mark 5:4

Very often people tried binding this man with “chains” (Gr. halusis: chains or handcuffs for the hands or wrists), and shackles or “fetters” (Gr. pede: shackles on the feet; foot chains). But even though his hands and feet were bound with chains, he would break loose every time. That’s how demonically energized this man was! He could literally pull the wrist chains apart and break them in half, then crush the foot shackles as easily as smashing grapes. This is a perfect example of that superhuman strength demons can exhibit.

Even though men tried, no one could “tame” him (Gr. damadzo: domesticate, subdue, to bring under control). This Greek word “tame” was used to describe expert animal trainers who would capture and domesticate the wildest and most ferocious of beasts like tigers, lions, and bears. Wow. Even the best animal tamers were brought in to subdue this man, but had no success. Therefore, through this one demonized man the devil had managed to terrorize the entire region. This man was so violent that no one was able to help him.

And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.
Mark 5:5

This tormented man was in pure agony, continually “crying” (Gr. kradzo: a loud outburst of emotion, an urgent shout, scream, yell at the top of one’s voice, an ear-piercing shriek). Additionally, he was “cutting” himself with stones (Gr. katakopto: to cut or gash in a downward motion, to mutilate). No was else was able to help him, so this poor man was trying to deliver himself by committing suicide. Clearly, this man who was tortured by demon spirits was attempting to put an end to his misery. Do you see how desperate this man was? (On a side note… in deliverance, whenever you encounter a person with a “cutting” habit, it is always demonically instigated. A person in their right mind would never self-mutilate their body. Oftentimes, it is a spirit of death that must be cast out.)

And then… Jesus showed up!

Jesus Casts Out Thousands of Demons

When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, ‘What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.’
Mark 5:6-7

This tormented man made a mad dash toward Jesus for help, fell at His feet and began to worship Him. But before he had a chance to ask for help, the demon seized him (took control of him) and began speaking through him. The demons were so fearful of Jesus they began imploring Him by God. They started acting religious, and even invoked the name of God.

For He said to him, ‘Come out of the man, unclean spirit!’
Mark 5:8

Jesus began commanding the spirit to come out. But then something significant happened. Unlike most all of Jesus’ other deliverances, the demon didn’t immediately obey. Usually Jesus cast out demons with just a few words. It was always extremely quick and easy. But this demon wasn’t budging. Therefore, Jesus had to repeat Himself. In fact, the Greek tense behind “He said” indicates that Jesus “kept on saying.” So then Jesus had been repeatedly ordering the unclean spirit to leave.

The commands likely went something like this: Come out of the man. I said come out of the man. I’m not leaving until you come out of the man. Come out of the man, I said come out! Jesus was not leaving until this man was set free. Consequently, the commitment of Jesus to actually stay the course and use His authority was torture to the demons. That’s why the unclean spirit said, “I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”

Then He asked him, ‘What is your name?’ And he answered, saying, ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’
Mark 5:9

Another unusual circumstance. Jesus did not typically have conversations with demons. In fact, most times he commanded them to be quiet and not speak at all. But these demons were defiant. They openly resisted Jesus’ commands to come out. So Jesus asked what their name was. The demon answered and said, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” A legion is a military term that denotes at least 6,000 Roman soldiers. The chief demon, speaking on behalf of the others, told Jesus there was a vast multitude of spirits indwelling this man. A literal infestation of up to 6,000 demonic spirits! That’s difficult to even comprehend, but that would explain the challenging deliverance situation Jesus was up against.

Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.
Mark 5:10

So the demon spokesman, the ringleader, began begging Jesus not to send them out of the country. Demons are very territorial. And once they find a home (whether in a person, a building, or an object) they do not want to leave. The Bible says once demons are cast out they go through dry places, seeking rest. They have to search for another home.

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, ‘Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.’
Mark 5:11-12

Now, suddenly all the demons began speaking. Up to six thousand voices speaking simultaneously through the mouth of this one man! Can you imagine that? What a supernatural experience Jesus was facing!

And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.
Mark 5:13

Absolutely amazing. Apparently the demonized man was able to resist death, to a certain degree, for all those years. But when the unclean spirits entered into the swine, they immediately drowned. The demonized swine self-destructed. That’s what happens when pigs, unlike humans, have no mind to resist. The demons were able to have their way… to steal, kill, and destroy!

So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demonized and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.
Mark 5:14-15

This was a dramatic and total deliverance. This naked, demonized and violent man, who was not able to be physically subdued by any other human being, was set free by the power of the spoken word! No handcuffs, no fetters, no chains of any kind. That’s the authority of Jesus Christ! That’s the authority you and I have available to us.

A Few Take-a-ways from Mark 5:1-20

Remember those demon characteristics that we listed in a previous session? Now is a good time to go back and review them, for the purpose of identifying how many of those 18 behaviors were manifested in this biblical account. But in addition to the obvious, I wanted to make mention of the following:

Notice, once again, Jesus spoke directly to the demonic spirit, not the man.
It’s amazing how much satanic power a person is able to cope with and somehow remain standing. Up to 6,000 demonic spirits had taken up residency in this man. Once a spirit enters a person, it will try to bring others in so there will be a cluster of them, making the problem worse. (We’ll talk about demon “groups” later.)
Jesus dealt with these evil spirits as persons — He spoke to them as persons, and they answered as persons (persons without bodies, as we discussed previously).
It is not recommended to talk with demons conversationally, but it is scriptural to ask questions and compel them to answer. Jesus did not hold a long conversation with this demon, just long enough to obtain their identity.
Even though the demon addressed Jesus by name and “Son of the Most High God” they will never acknowledge that Jesus is Lord because Satan will not permit them to call anyone lord but him.
The demonic realm is always provoked or agitated whenever the Spirit of God is near them. They become fearful of the power of God, knowing they have to submit (that’s why they began speaking through the man).
Deliverance can be a real challenge whenever many demons are involved (or when dealing with higher-level spirits) so it’s important to stand firm in the believer’s authority and not give up, just like Jesus did in this account. Command… then keep on commanding!
As with all warfare, the key to defeating demons is intelligence — we must know who the enemy is. Jesus made them identify themselves. Some demons refuse to come out unless addressed by their correct name. This is why we must depend on the Holy Spirit during deliverance. Oftentimes He reveals needed information, including demon names, through a word of knowledge (1 Corinthians 12:8).
Demons can reside in animals (swine in this account).

One Final Thought…

One final thought regarding this dramatic deliverance. Have you ever wondered why Jesus allowed those demons to enter into the swine? The Bible doesn’t specifically tell us, but my personal opinion is this…

In allowing the multitude of demonic spirits to be granted their request of entering the swine (Mark 5:12), they came out willingly. If there was ever a violent, forceful struggle upon exiting (as seen in other biblical accounts of deliverance), the man possibly would not have been able to endure the physical struggle of that many demons, up to 6,000 of them. Jesus’ permission was likely for the man’s sake. Every time Jesus ministered to hurting people, He did so from a heart of compassion.

This man was so totally set free that he wanted to travel with Jesus. But Jesus said:

Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.
Mark 5:19

The ministry of deliverance, just like the ministry of healing, is accomplished through a heart of compassion. We must be moved with compassion in order to set the captives free!