Condition: Demon Possession

The Greek actually says “demonized” (daimonizomai) as opposed to “demon possessed.”  The idea of being “possessed” by demons leads to some unbiblical Hollywood concepts.  For example, you could get the idea that someone is just so totally controlled by demons that his free will is gone.  That is contrary to Scripture.  Consider what was probably the worst case in the Bible – a man with a couple thousand demons!  This man still ran to Jesus and worshiped him (Mark 5:6)!  Even 2,000 demons could not prevent him from approaching Jesus when he decided to do it!

In developed countries, many demonized people are locked up in asylums where you won’t see them.  However, that doesn’t mean that there is no demonic activity in wealthier countries.  Such countries may still have large numbers of people who have been convinced by demons that they are sexually attracted to members of the same sex or to children, or that they are really the opposite gender from what their chromosomes say.

Jesus delivers the demon-possessed.  There are many Scriptures about this.  He explicitly gave His followers authority over all demons.

In Matthew 4:23-24, Jesus heals those who are possessed with devils.

In Matthew 8:16-17, Mark 1:32-34 and Luke 4:40-41 Jesus casts devils out of the many demon-possessed people who are brought to Him.

In Matthew 8:28-32, Jesus casts devils out of two demon-possessed men.  In Mark 5:2-20 and Luke 8:27-39, we find an expanded account of one of these men.

In Matthew 10:1, Mark 3:14-15, Mark 6:7 and Luke 9:1-2, Jesus gives His disciples power to cast out unclean spirits.  In Matthew 10:7-8, He commands them to cast out devils.  We know that they did this in Mark 6:12-13 and Luke 10:17-20.

In Matthew 15:22-28 and Mark 7:25-30, a Canaanite woman asks Jesus to deliver her demon-possessed daughter.  Jesus tells her that she has great faith and merely speaks a word and the daughter is healed.

In Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 9:17-29 and Luke 9:38-42, a devil caused a young boy to fall into fire and water.  The disciples could not cast it out because of their unbelief.  Jesus arrives on the scene and casts the devil out, and the boy is cured.

In Mark 1:23-26, Jesus casts an unclean spirit out of a man.  Luke 4:33-36 appears to recount the same incident.

In Mark 1:32-34, Jesus casts out many devils and does not permit them to speak.

In Mark 1:39, Jesus casts out devils throughout Galilee.

In Mark 9:38-39 and Luke 9:49-50, a man who is not even an official disciple of Jesus casts out devils in Jesus’ name.

In Mark 16:15-18, Jesus says that casting out devils in His name will be a sign to follow believers as they preach the gospel to everyone.

In Luke 4:40-41, Jesus casts demons out of many people.

In Luke 6:17-19, all those who are “vexed with unclean spirits” are healed.

In Luke 7:20-23, Jesus heals many of evil spirits.

In Luke 8:2, women whom Jesus healed of evil spirits (one of them had seven) follow Jesus.  We see here that a person can have more than one demon.  Also, the text says that people were “healed” of evil spirits.  The healing that is yours includes deliverance from evil spirits.

In Luke 11:14, casting out a “dumb spirit” enables a man to speak.

In Luke 11:20, Jesus says that he casts out devils with “the finger of God” (an apparent reference to the Holy Spirit).  Jesus did all His miracles as a Man anointed by the Holy Spirit.  He did them by the “finger of God” and not by His innate deity.  He was just as divine for the first three decades of His life, but He cast out no demons until the Holy Spirit came upon Him in the Jordan.

In Luke 13:11-16, Jesus heals a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years.

In Acts 5:12-16, people bring those “vexed with unclean spirits” from cities all around, and they are all healed.

In Acts 16:16-18, Paul casts out a fortune-telling demon from a girl.

In Acts 19:11-12, demons come out when handkerchiefs and aprons that touched Paul’s body are brought to the demonized.