Mark 1:29-39
After Jesus and his disciples left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Lately I have been holding on to this idea, this question, “What if the incarnation of Jesus was a cosmic event that forever changed life on earth and life in the spiritual realm?” In this passage, with that question in mind, how then are we supposed to understand the statement: “he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.”? What could be inferred from that?
- Jesus had authority over the demons. But that is obvious because he was casting them out.
- The word “because” is assumptive of the question “why” So we could rephrase that statement to be, “Why did Jesus not permit the demons to speak? Answer: Because they knew him.
- Being good does not equate with knowing Jesus. The demons know him. It’s dangerous to think that the path to knowing Christ is obedience to Him.
- “Permit” intimates that they needed his permission.
In reading the gospels, it seems that demon possession was commonplace in Jesus day. But today we don’t really experience what seems to be such overt demon possession. So its really hard for us to relate to story after story of Jesus casting demons out of people. And there is nothing in any ancient literature that would lead us to believe that the Jews invited demons into their realm by practicing dark arts or the occult. These stories just seem to present what would be sensational tabloid headlines today in a very matter-of-fact way.
So if I want to explore the question, “What if the incarnation of Christ was a cosmic event forever changing life on earth and the spiritual realm?” I might be open to the idea that his refusing to let them speak was a protection against them possessing someone else. In the creation story, a talking snake(which snakes in many cultures are used to represent evil and crafitness) convinced mankind to reject God and decide what is good and what is evil because of his craftiness, then it might be possible to make the jump that Jesus was “silencing the snake”. So in this cosmic event, Jesus was establishing that demon possession was no longer a thing and from this point on and like in the story of Job, Satan needed to ask God’s permission to test us.
The day of Pentacost was all part of the same cosmic event. As evil spirits and demons were to no longer possess us physically and were no longer to even speak to our thoughts without God’s permission, it made way for God’s Spirit to be revealed in the world is such a manner that it seemed as if it were being poured out upon mankind. And as a sign that demon possession was to be a thing of the past, God allowed for a time for man to be “possessed” by His spirit and perform the same miracles as Jesus did through the apostles healing others and speaking with authority and speaking languages they never learned.
So why does Mark let us know that Jesus says, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” It is recorded and passed on to us for a reason. Maybe our minds perceive the words “proclaim the message” as his teaching, but what if the message is the whole of what he is doing. The idea that demons are being cast out, sicknesses are being healed and truth is being revealed. The whole of that is the message.
Jesus stirs things up and then leaves while it seems that there is still work to be done. Maybe that is part of His message as well. The old is gone the new is come. The idea of going to synagogue and hearing and being reminded of obedience to the law is being cast out and not allowed to speak any more. And what is being poured out is love and healing and seeing God who has been there all along in love for neighbor. This being possessed by demons of piousness and self righteousness that enslaved them to following the law were being cast out and silenced and people were being set free to love and accept love.
What I really like about exploring this idea is that LOVE is not a feeling or an ideal. It is not something that we “feel such love in our heart” therefore we are confident that we are a loving person. But I like to think that Jesus shows us love is action. And Love in action is messy. And love invites us to continue what Jesus started. Jesus may have moved on to another town but we can continue his presence by loving our neighbor, healing others and silencing the evil thoughts in our heads by not acting on them. Not that love can’t be accompanied by good feelings but in my experience love is often what I do despite how I’m feeling. It is a decision we make to not put ourselves first. Its action we take because its right despite how wrong things can go or what it will cost us. It is us perhaps at times, putting ourselves at a disadvantage, at the bottom where all the dirt and mud are, because it is where the seeds of love are planted. Planted for those who come after us. It seems that Jesus example is that love is not sitting high and lofty offering sage words to those below us. It is getting in the mix and fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves and using the power and strength that we have for the benefit of others. Its never about what we get out of it, it is always worth doing because once it is done, it can never be undone. I have a feeling that if we are loving others well, it should look messy and scary. I don’t see those who love well as those who are sitting serenely on a mountain top, legs crossed offering prayers for those “below” us who are suffering.
Those who love well are the mother Theresas and the St Francises, who give their lives to meet the needs of others. But no one has to be elevated to that status to be seen as loving well by God. It is the givers of the world. Those who bring no attention to their deeds and just give where they see needs without counting what their giving will cost them. It is those who get a call on their day off from a friend who didn’t plan well and needs help moving to their new apartment and they give up their day off to help their friend. Or those who send cards to the sick and bed ridden even if they’re not really good friends. Those who cut the lawn for their elderly neighbors. Those who call the lonely in and invite them to lunch. Those whose love is seen by how they give and not how they feel.