Defeating Demons

 

Now after he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.

After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table; and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.

Many, many years ago we were having a prayer service and I found myself led to lay my hand on the head of a woman who was present. The moment I did so her face contorted in an awful grimace, her body twisted as she slid to the floor, where she writhed and wriggled in the manner of a snake, and then with slow deliberation began pounding her head on the ground. It took four strong men to hold her down and stop her from hurting herself.  

Not very experienced in matters such as these at the time, I did the only thing I could do — I prayed along with all those present — and in a few moments she quietened down, but then to my dismay, another woman started manifesting similar behavior. What made the incidents really incredible was that both women were very prayerful, devout people with a great love for Jesus. 

That was my introduction to demons, and in the years that followed I have met innumerable people suffering under oppression. In countries like Africa, this is so commonplace, you can’t preach a sermon about Jesus without people manifesting. One time, as I preached at a crusade in Tanzania — the subject was ‘The Blood of Jesus’ — there were literally hundreds of people writhing on the ground. 

How does this happen? This is a question for another time, but what I want us to realize is that there is nothing that Jesus cannot fix. Mary Magdalene is one case in point. Jesus delivered her of seven demons. ‘Seven’ is a number indicating completeness, which meant she was utterly demonized. But Jesus set her free. Another case is of a man who lived in the region of the Gerasenes (see Mark 5:1-20). The demons get counted in his story too, except here they are “legion”. Jesus set him free too.

Do you know what they both became after they had been delivered? Evangelists! It is definitely not a pleasant thing to be oppressed by demons but good can come out of it. Many of us may not realize the wreckage of our lives has been because of the forces of darkness that come against us, but it is true. “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy,” Jesus says, and that is what the devil does. But he doesn’t have the last word. Jesus has that with the abundant life he brings. 

So, let us follow him, and use whatever once stood against us as an opportunity to testify about the greatness of our God. And let us never forget that we have the authority to trample over the forces of darkness (see Luke 10:19). Happy trampling!