Demons Believe and Tremble

by Hugh DeLong

Text: Mark 5

Ok, Ok... so I start with a quote from the book of James, but it is apropos as we read about the incident involving Jesus and the demon-possessed man of Gerasenes. Here they are called ‘unclean spirits’ but Matthew calls them demons (Matthew 8:31). Some questions arise in that it is at times a single spirit (an unclean spirit in Matthew 8:2), and later it is plural: “My name is Legion, for we are many" in Matthew 8:9. I take the text to imply (or at least I infer) the one demon acts as the spokesman for the many that are aligned with him.

What do we learn about demons? I find that I yet have more questions than answers, but there are several important points to note, and they tell us who Jesus is. Remember, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Hence, whatever we make of demons and their history and identity, they had a knowledge of Jesus that was outside of our experiences. Several things to note:

• They implored Jesus, not once but three times.
• They bowed down before Him.
• They knew He had the power to torment them.
• They acknowledged that He was the Son of God.
• They obeyed Him.

Pay particular attention to these last two items. Jesus is the Son of God. So Mark will write that God the Father said so (Mark 1:11; 9:7), the unclean spirits said so (see also Mark 3:11), and then the Roman Centurion, upon seeing the events at the time of Jesus’ death in Mark 15:39. This was the point of contention that caused the Jewish leaders to have Him crucified (Mark 14:61f). Then there was Mark’s initial statement at the beginning (cp. Mark 1:1). Later, Paul writes that he is writing “… concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh and was appointed to be the powerful Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection of the dead" (Romans 1:3-4). Upon such testimony, I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

So? Then what? The demons, upon acknowledging who He is and His power and authority over them, receive permission from Him (note: Luke states Jesus commanded them, Luke 8:29), and then obey Him.

An often-sung hymn is ‘Trust and Obey’. This story of the unclean spirits confirms our faith that Jesus is the Son of God, and believing such impels us to obey. We trust and obey. He is our Lord and Savior.