Mad Among the Graves of Israel: Jesus Sets a Captive Free

The Madmen of the Gadarenes, Who Wandered Among the Graves of Israel



Since the beginning of time, the discussion of what 'mental illness' is and what it is not has prevailed, with little definitive conclusion: mental aberations have been approached in as many ways as any human issue has. Psychologists, likewise have had a very difficult time dealing with the concept of mental illness, ranging from some who see it as behaviors needing modification, to others such as Dr. Thomas Szasz who in the book, Myth of Mental Illness described it as akin to a language which one chooses to express themselves in the world. Ancient thinking, long before the discipline of psychology arose, regarding mental aberration, sometimes ascribed it to 'devils' or 'evil spirits' in many cultures or later to even 'magnetic fields' such as in 'mesmerism'.

As a former university professor who taught psychology, like many other lecturers, my introductory lecture to 'Psychopathology' or Abnormal psych used to begin with considerations of what was normal and what was not, and how those ideas had evolved over the centuries. Surely, most Psychologists have steered far from the concept that mental illness is 'demonic': not only do they not entertain that it is, they find the proposition mental illness itself. About the closest psychological approaches have gotten, were the APA Convention Keynote lecture in the 1960s called "Psychology and Satan", comparing psychological reductionism to the'nihilistic satanic spirit" or to Rollo May, the eminent existential psychologist's description of the demonic as what overpowers a person in "Psychology and the Demonic". The notion though of faith, and devils, or the Gospel are anathema to most psychologists who seek only what they consider 'scientific' explanations of mental illness, which they find and dismiss on a regular basis, never reaching either a consensus or a solution.

The 'demonic' though does exist, and is accounted for by observation in all religions of the world: the Jews speak of dybbuks, Muslims hold exorcisms as do Catholics, and many cultures worship spirits of the dead. Animism in African cults or in Voodoo cults in the Carribean deal in the demonic all the time, and surprisingly, today, no police department in any major city is without an introduction to the concept since cult worship and satanic worship often arise in the investigation of linked crimes.

Whether or not one believes there is a devil or devils, is not a function of centuries: as many believe now as in ancient times, and probably just as many do not believe. What has been very carefully documented in many instances though, is a manifestation which is beyond mere human troubling, and which responds to prayer and the word of God, and even now to casting out.

Jesus and Paul both were accused of being madmen themselves such as in John 10:20 when Jesus was accused of being 'beside himself', or in Acts 26:24 when Paul was confronted with the statement..."much learning doth make thee mad." The Scribes and Pharisees, particularly the latter, tried constantly to ascribe the great miracles ,works and healings of the Messiah as due to having a devil, or by 'Beelzebub' the Lord of the flies, literally, but referring to Satan. Jesus, frustrated with their lack of understanding, explained that a house divided against itself will not stand, and that the power of God is the greater power in overthrowing the 'strongman' of vexation, or oppression of a devil. In the above passage by Paul though, his retort is direct and to the point:

"I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak forth the words of truth and soberness" Acts 26:25"

Madness in the Bible is found from early times, usually referred to as 'madness' but later referred to as 'beside himself' or 'lunatick'. Forms of what we call mental illness such as drunkenness are seen from early: it is one of the first things that occurs when Noah plants vineyards after the flood (Genesis 9...) Dt. 28:28 mentions madness, and Judges 9:23 speaks in first mention directly of an 'evil spirit'. When Saul fails to obey the prophet, and is prematurely divested of the Kingdom, an evil spirit comes upon him (I Sam 16:14-16), and it is David's music which calms him. Isaiah notes the madness of diviners in 44:25; and Jeremiah equates idolatry as madness in Jer 50:38. Oppression is said to make a wiseman mad (Ecc 7:7). It is in the New Testament though, that the issue of madness and demon or devil possession is taken on, and Jesus and his disciples make it clear that those held in bondage by 'vexation' of devils are not nearly as insane as those who choose the wisdom of this world over the wisdom of the Word of God.

I Cor 1:20 Where is thewise? where isthe scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom ofthis world?

1:25 Becasue thefoolishness of God iswiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and God hat chose the weak things of the workd to counfound the tings which are mightly.

It is with this backdrop that the Messiah confronts those vexed with devils: clearly Jesus believed in devils and people were astounded when he cast them out: persons long held as 'crazy' in moments were sane and sober. Even in his first acts of his ministry, when a devil possessed man rises to confront Jesus in the synagogue, Jesus begins setting those in bondage free. While it may be difficult for modern Christians to speak in this parlance, the Lord and Savior who could hardly have known less than we about his creation, counted much 'madness' as the possession of devils, and not a disease to be treated or behaviors to be modified. We are often too willing to receive his teachings about heaven and salvation, and yet act as if there was not a divine warfare going on: even in the face of observed cases of demon possession in the 20th and 21st century.

Jesus confronts two Men from Gadara

There are three accounts in the Scriptures, of Jesus' healing of the madman of the Gadarenes. Just before coming to the region around Gadara, which is on the shores of Galilee, many healings had already occurred: a Leper had been healed (Mk 1:40), the centurion's servant had been healed (Luke 7:2), Peter's Mother in Law was healed from a fever in Mt 8:14-15, followed by a multitude of healings that evening, and Jesus had just finished rebuking the winds and the sea in Mt 8:26. The disciples had already in astonishment declared "What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!" (Mt 8:27)

Coming into the Gergesenes , two men encounter Jesus both of whom are mentioned as being possessed with devils, but little mention is made of the second, and only in the Gospel of Matthew.

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Map courtesy of Wikipedia

While some try and skew the 'extra' information, it is really typical of eyewitness accounts: in several passages of scripture, more than one person is mentioned as healed e.g. in the healing of Bartimaeus, and it is not a contradiction, but instead an issue of choice of report: since more detailed information was written down about a 'main' healing, some accounts in the synoptic gospels ('with one eye') some report only the main, and some include every detail.

The both are mentioned as coming out of the tombs, and "exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. Mt 8:28.

Luke describes the Mad man as one which had

...devils longtime, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. 8:27.

He is described in other passages as coming out of the city, and as spending night and day wandering the mountains and being driven out into the wilderness.

For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness. 8:29

The condition of the man is similar to other descriptions of those caught in the bondage of vexation or devil possession:
1. A loud voice: the word in Greek is Megas Phone, where we derive our english word megaphone. While 'loud voice' of the same origin is also used of Jesus' final words on the cross and others speaking merely loudly, it is of some interest in mention of devil possession as even modern clinical descriptions account some 'patients' as having 'rapid speech' which is loud, forced, and run-on speech. The devils in both the instance of the madman of the Gadarenes and in the demon possessed man in the Synagogue at Capernaum confront Jesus in the same way, and in similar voicing.
2. Adjuration- In 4 passages having to do with the same two instances just mentioned, the same pattern of encounter occurs, where Jesus is besought, or 'adjured' to not torment the devils.

...I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. Mark 5:7

3. Torment- It is interesting to note that the devils are beseeching Jesus not to torment them: for it is a slander of the Savior (he does not torment) but they do! The distress experienced by the 'minor leaguers' of Satan's armies, is the same distress persons living unclean lives have around people living pure lives: the descrepancy is painful: here the descrepancy is so wide it must feel like torment to the devils. Note also that the solution to torment is in I John perfect love, because 'fear hath torment' and 'perfect love casteth out fear.'

4. Homeless wandering- The devils drive their victim to and fro: wandering into mountains and wilderness, on the outside of the city. Their relations are broken by the bizarre nature of the vexation, and judgment is erased or impaired.

5. Cutting himself with stones-note the devils drive the man to self-destruction.

6.They fear an early destruction: Mt 8:29---"art thou come hither to toment us before the time. It is curious to note that the devils know their end: they know there is an appointed time for their destruction.

7. They KNOW who Jesus is, yet know they are not of him. They state emphatically they are not of him:

What have I to do with thee,Jesus [thou] Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. Luke 8:28

Note the four comparison verses, the first two regarding the devils at the Capernaum
synagogue,and the second regarding the madman of the Gergesenes:

Mark 5:7-And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, [thou] Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.

Luke 8:28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, [thou] Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.


Mar 1:24 Saying, Let [us] alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

Luke 4:34 Saying, Let [us] alone; what have we to do with thee, [thou] Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.

In each of these, there are shared characteristics of how the devils encounter Jesus. Note, that Jesus in cases of demonic possession addresses the devils and not the person, since the devils have often 'displaced' the person.

3. The devils are not of the Lord and Know it:
In each similar statement, the devil(s) possessing the man, ask "what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth/". They both know who he is, and are basically admitting that they are not 'of' him: they are saying they have no part in him. They also fear

4. Destruction- and they intuit that an encounter with the Messiah of Heaven means their destruction---this is so much so that it causes the torment mentioned above. We will note a little further in the study that their doom is indeed imminent, as they beg Jesus for a 'way out' of not having to return to the deep, or abyss.

5. As mentioned, they know who He is. Some have a problem with that, and wonder how the devils would call out his name: his name then and now is Holy. They are though of a non-earthly nature: the fallen angels were once angels of heaven. James notes regarding the depth of belief required of God, that 'even the devils believe and tremble': it is not merely assenting to who He is, but trusting in the fullness of the covenant. They declare his name sometimes correctly, and sometimes in a grandiose sense (Well, God is grand, indeed, but in an exaggerated false piety), such as Jesus, thou S.on of God, and Jesus [thou]Son of the most high or most high God. In the Capernaum incident it is "thou Jesus of Nazareth", or "the Holy One of God. In Acts, with the woman with the spirit of divination (Python) it is likewise: 'these are the servants of the Most High God' repetitive, and one can only imagine, with an aberrant over-religiosity. They know him indeed, but as an adversary.

The devils also appear to know two other things: 1) that there is a time for their destruction already set (Art thou come hither to torment us before the time; and 2) that He is about to cast them out, because they beseech, beg or adjure him to grant them a preferable host of the swine, rather than to be 'hostless'. They beseech him to 'Let us alone', fearing the torment, but it is they who are on 'private property',having destroyed and vexed God's creation.It is a paradox to hear in the Word, devils begging for mercy.

The Casting Out, and the Swine Host

While their are two men mentioned in parallel passages, since the emphasis is primarily on the one we refer to as the 'Madman of the Gadarenes, or Gergesenes', references will be toward him. As he 'comes out of the city' he encounters Jesus, who has just arrived from across the Galilee. He is naked, and out of control,

Luk 8:27 And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in [any] house, but in the tombs.

It is curious that as devils 'overthrow' a person, they appear to overthrow reason, moral sense, and a sense of what some philosophers have called 'being in the world'.(dasein: as devils are mentioned to seek 'desert places' they drive their host away from normal society and healthy relationships into isolation. In this case it is literal: the Mad man of Gadara lives and wanders among the tombs and mountains. As Jesus approaches the man, though, just as he encountered the devil inthe Capernaum synagogue, he does not speak to the man, but to the devil, and reacts to what the man says, as being from them: in the extreme form then,it appears that the 'overthrow' of the person is so great, that the demonic presence has all but cast him out.

These devils, though, present a name when asked, which is not present in other times of casting out devils.

Luk 8:30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.

The giving of the 'name' of the devil(s) is interesting, and also indicates the degree of overthrow. The word 'Legion' in Greek means roughly the same as in English,

λεγιών

Vine's Lexicon describes a legion thusly:

Legion:
otherwise spelled legeon, "a legion," occurs in Mat 26:53, of angels; in Mar 5:9, 15, and Luk 8:30, of demons. Among the Romans a "legion" was primarily a chosen (lego, "to choose") body of soldiers divided into ten cohorts, and numbering from 4,200 to 6,000 men (Gk. speira, see BAND). In the time of our Lord it formed a complete army of infantry and cavalry, of upwards of 5,000 men. The "legions" were not brought into Judaea till the outbreak of the Jewish war (A.D. 66), as they were previously employed in the frontier provinces of the Empire. Accordingly in its NT use the word has its other and more general significance "of a large number.

The naming then of a legion of devils inhabiting a human host, makes it easy to see why the extremity of behavior would be seen. They had crowded out the human personality or 'self'. In the commanding out of 'Legion' though, the devils request Jesus to send them into another host:

Luk 8:31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.

Following the loud voice cry of the demoniac discussed above, the casting out is a simple command:

Go. Matthew 8:32

The demons are sent out of the man, and into a herd of swine which was grazing nearby. (Luke 8:32) It is not known nor made clear why Jesus would grant such a request, but one conjecture might be that he was 'killing two birds with one stone': swine were unclean animals, not suitable for food or product in Israel, as commanded by Torah. The Rabbi of Nazareth was in a sense giving his opinion of swine herding in the region, when he permits the devils to go into the herd of swine, which then go mad, and rush over a cliff. They essentially end up in their infernal destination, despite their 'adjuration'.

One other note, though, regarding the 'legion': it was not only the size comparison which is eminent, but also that as we have mentioned before, in the divine warfare, both the angels of God and the devils of Satan or in Hebrew 'shatan', are organized by rank, order and authority: the divine battle involves intent, rank, and reason: it is beyond most of us to comprehend the unseen to that degree, which is why obedience, trusting and unwavering, regardless of human logic is required to accomplish the work of God. The result? the whole herd runs violently down the steep place into the sea and perishes in the water. They are as violent and irrational in the swine as they are in the man.

The Gadarene

The Gadarene vexed by the devils, does one thing prior to the healing by casting out when he sees Jesus: he falls down and worships him:

Mar 5:6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,

The worship of the Lord, in humility and praise often exacts what nothing else can: a solution beyond human reasoning. Whether it is instigated by the remnants of the person, or the remnants of his will, or whether it is of the legion, the worship still shows that the incarnate nature of Jesus, God-made-man was somehow immediately recognizable to all who encountered him, even those in a dissensioned condition. While it is a little lengthy, consider the times in the New Testament, when people ran to Jesus falling on their knees in worship:

[Select for Copy; Double click to (de-)select all] Mat 8:2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

Mat 9:18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.
Mat 14:33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
Mat 15:25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
Mat 18:26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Mat 28:9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
Mat 28:17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
Mar 5:6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
Mar 15:19 And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing [their] knees worshipped him.
Luk 24:52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:
Jhn 9:38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

The worship of Jesus, such a seemingly blasphemous thing in the Jewish mind, would indeed have been blasphemy if he had been merely human: indeed in Acts, when two of the apostles heal, a whole town attempts to worship them as gods, and they hurriedly rebuke them for doing so! (Acts 10:25) The worship of Jesus though was a wondrous thing, which not even onlookers seemed to think strange, and while the Pharisees tried to rebuke him on many points of doctrine and practice, until the very end, they say nothing. (until he has laid his life down). No mere man could command worship without it being a major issue: Jews were dying rather than declare Caesar a god.

more to follow....

Publius's Father: The Healing of a Great Fever by Paul

By the end of the Book of Acts, there is little that Paul and his fellow apostles have not seen. He has been shipwrecked, brought before Kings, beaten half to death, stoned, imprisoned, and by the end of the account of the history of the apostles, the shipwrecked Paul winds up on the island of Melita with a "barbarous people" who showed them "no little kindness". The first act of kindness is to try and warm the castaways from the sea with a fire. As Paul sits before the small comfort in the cold and rain, the world adds insult to injury: as Paul gathers sticks to add on the fire, a viper jumps from the heat and fastens itself to his hand.

The people of the Island of Melita are not Christians nor Jews: like so many that Paul encountered in his travels, they are pagans, with the various gods of the region, usually of the Greek variety. Even these kindly pagans, though have the idea of divine providence or imminent justice: they expect that Paul, pulled from the sea must have done something terribly wrong,positing him to be a murderer, that "vengeance suffereth not to live". (Acts 28:4)

.there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.6Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god. Acts 28:4-6

Two aspects emerge in the thinking of the Melitans encountering Paul on the shore that day:

1. Immanent Justice: He must have been a murderer because even after having been saved from the sea, he was bitten by a deadly viper, and

2. Divine nature or Intervention: Because he survived the viper bite, which would have killed most men, he must be a god or of a divine nature.

The belief that a god could come in human form was not strange nor odd to this Mediterranean people: most of their gods were in human form such as the gods on Mt. Olympus, such as Zeus, Diana, Apollo, Mercury and so forth, or lesser divinities which took the forms of nature. Paul was bringing healing and word of the true Messiah, the Living God incarnate though, and he must have spoken with care to express true doctrine. The healing that was about to occur on Melita though, was not without a preliminary dissension in the Melitan's thinking, that because Paul escaped both the sea and viper bite that he must be a god. At least one other place in Acts 14 , the same error is made of Paul and Barnabas following a healing:

Act 14:11 And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
Act 14:12 And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.
Act 14:13 Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
Act 14:14 [Which] when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard [of], they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,
Act 14:15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:

IN Acts 14, the two are horrified at being treated as Olympian gods, and use the occasion to turn the people's attention away from idolatrous practice to the true God and his gospel, but the people quickly turn in violence and run them out of town.

In Melita though, the people are kind, and when they see Paul survive the storm and the viper, great kindnesses are extended, including an invitation to stay at the house of a 'Chief man of the island', named Publius, with whom they stay three days:

Acts 28:7 In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously.

While staying with Publius, the last healing mentioned by an apostle takes place: the healing of Publius's Father.

The Healing of Publius' Father of a Fever and Bloody flux
The kindness of Publius in inviting this charismatic stranger into his home, resulted in yet another wonder of God: Paul heals the man's father.

Acts 28:8-9 And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him and healed him. 9 So when this was done others also, which had diseases in the island, came and were healed.

Note that this healing, like so many of the others, including those of Jesus, sets the stage for the preaching of the Gospel. Healing is a sign of God's power and imprimatur; while the Jews looked for and required a sign, the wonders of God were also a draw to gentiles as well. When one sees the power of God in a magnificent way, one is very likely to at least listen to what is said next by the people of God who are the conduits for the wonder, in this case a healing. Almost every healing is accompanied by the preaching of the Gospel, also in power, explaining the source of the power, the healing virtue, which is the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

The Healing
Not a great deal of description is given regarding this healing by Paul. Paul enters in, prays,and lays hands on Publius' father. We have seen in other healings that the laying on of hands is taught as foundational, along with the basics of doctrine:

font color=blue>Hbr 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Hbr 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

We have also seen that even the merest touch is not required when it is the voice of God who heals: the commands of the apostles and Holy Spirit filled disciples, filled with 'living water' carried the weight and authority of Christ: even today, when modernity snubs Holy Spirit healing, a servant of Christ walking in belief, obedience and power speaks a healing, he or she does it with the Lord's permission: this is no "Heroes" type power owned by the person, but the power of God working through the person to touch those who are infirm.

It is only a fever, so common an ailment which confronts the father, but it is stopped as is the hemorrhaging, both end. A simple healing before an unbelieving group of islanders, turns into requests for healing, and belief, as well as honor for God's apostle:

Acts 28:10 Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary.

Nothing else is mentioned of the healing or the ones that follow, but it must have been quite a harvest among the islanders, for Paul and the others stayed a full 3 months before moving on th Syracuse, Rhegium and Puteoli, and finally to Rome.

Some last thoughts on the healing: Implications for faith

In summary, a few observations are notable regarding how the pagan people of Melita encountered Paul and his survival, and later his healing of the Chief man's father:

1. Assimilation and Accomodation: When the pagan people of Melita did not understand what they saw was divine power ; without knowledge they could only attribute it to a 'god'. When people see something not in their experience, most first try to draw it into constructs they already have, e.g. a 'power' belonging to one of the 'gods'; only when they can conceive of the thing being a brand new thing outside their understanding, do they then attempt to bring it as a new idea into their understanding, and 'make room' for it.

Paul played on this a bit when he spoke in Greece and pointed to their 'unknown god', a god that was supposed to sort of 'cover' them in case they had forgotten any. Paul did not endorse the worship of pagan or Greek and Roman gods, but instead, uses the pagan construct, to bring the living God into view, for those who had no concept of the slain Lamb of God who rose from the dead. He never endorses nor aligns with idolatry nor does he or the others allow themselves to be seen as 'gods', but quickly rebukes them, but he understood how to begin to speak of Messiah to non-Jewish people.
2. Immanent Justice-We referred before to the idea of "Immanent Justice": these terms are often found in 'Developmental Psychology' when explaining how young children think. The 'barbarous people' of Melita, have the idea of 'just punishment' or 'immanent justice', that if something bad happens to someone, they are being judged for some unseen evil deed. When they see Paul bitten by a viper right after a shipwreck involving prisoners, they must feel that he really did whatever crime with which he was charged. He shakes it off, unharmed, as promised. (they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover (Mark 16:18). Some Appalachian churches even today use practices like 'snake handling' believing that true believers are tested by whether venom affects them, but that is not the spirit of the passage: Jesus refers to the event not harming believers, because the sovereign life of walking in Christ is above the natural life. To deliberately have snakes bite worshipers is to tempt or test God, to put him on trial, which we are not to do, and there is a difference between trusting his promises, and daring him to be right. In any event there is providential thinking.

3.When Paul lives the attribution is that he is good. Regarding the healing:

4.-It is immediate, as with the healings of Jesus

-It involves laying on of hands with prayer

-Multitudes show up on the island to receive healing after hearing of it. The apostle is blessed and honored in departing Melita.

This last healing in the Book of Acts in the last chapter of Acts bears the marks of all the other healings: some claim healings lapse and wane, and are only in the time around Pentecost, but this is certainly not true: this healing is in power, and in order, and leads to the salvation and healing of many. Though many today count the end of Acts to be the end of healings, tens of thousands can attest to the healing power of Jesus Christ, Yshua Ha Meschiach, Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah, through His presence in the Holy Spirit which indwells believers. Before ascending in a cloud into Heaven, Jesus , Emmanuel,"God with Us" promised that He would be the author of a Temple which could not be destroyed. The Power of God, in Healing and Prophecy, prophecy being the Testimony of Jesus Christ, is still alive today for the health and well being of His bride, the Church. Belief and the Power of God is not a dispensational age.

Till next time,
Elizabeth K. Best

What a Word is this?!.....The Demoniac in the Synagogue in Capernaum

Compose

The First Devil Jesus Casts Out: At The Synagogue at Capernaum

While the casting out of devils is often included among the healings of Jesus and his disciples, the expulsion of demonic forces in a person is in a sense different from the other healings because it involves the process of freeing the person from a form of captivity involving mental and emotional status, although the distinction is somewhat arbitrary, since both physical healings and the casting out of devils involve spiritual, emotional , cognitive and physical healing. Certain physical 'symptoms' go with devil possession: blindness, deafness, and dumbness, for example, as the devil 'overpowers' the faculties of a person, blocking, as John Bunyan once pointed out the 'Ear gate, the Eye gate, and the gate of the mouth' commandeering the person's abilities for a satanic habitation. Still, though the lines are somewhat blurred, the casting out of devils remains a more eminent evidence of the divine battle which Jesus fought: he was taking back what was rightfully his: the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel.

The time and place of the casting out of this devil, is also remarkable: Jesus is at the beginning of his earthly ministry, and while it is not the first time he has taught in the Synagogue at Capernaum, it is one of the first as he begins the path to Golgotha: right before the casting out of the devil at Capernaum, he has announced in Nazareth, that He is the fulfillment of the promise of Messiah. Luke 4 shows Jesus teaching from Isaiah 61 in what may be seen as his 'Inaugural Address' declaring the words of Isaiah the prophet fulfilled:

Luk 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
Luk 4:17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
Luk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luk 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Luk 4:20 And he closed the book, and he gave [it] again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
Luk 4:21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

Nazareth is where Jesus grew up, and as He would teach, " a prophet is a prophet everywhere but in his own country", and the crowd was taken with wrath as He declared the fulfillment: they ran him out of town, by first trying to throw him over the nearby cliff! Coming from one of their own this must have sounded disturbing, and over and over throughout his ministry, as Israel saw the wonders and miracles and healings of God, they were awestruck, they thronged him seeking healing and teaching, and yet they also were afraid at something so opposed to the ordinary, to the natural, that they could not reconcile the 'new thing' and became terrified. (e.g. the casting of devils into the herd of swine).

Jesus moves soon after to Capernaum, his home town, where he once again begins at the Synagogue, preaching the Kingdom of God, but a few things have already occurred: Simon, Andrew, James and John have been called (Mk 1:16,19-20), and it is after the Holy Spirit as a dove descends in the ensign of Baptism by John the Baptist. (Mk 1:9-10) This is after the temptation in the wilderness (MK 1:13), and as mentioned above, directly follows the heralding of his ministry, and the attempt to destroy Him by throwing him off the cliff at Nazareth (Luke 4:29-30).

Jesus enters the Synagogue in Capernaum on Shabbat. (Mark 1:21) In the Synagogue, among the other believers, their sits a man with what is described as an 'unclean spirit'.

And there was a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out; Saying Let us alone; what have we to do with thee thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. Mk. 1:24

This confrontation with the Lord and Savior, before more is known is astounding: the devils know who Jesus is, and are afraid of him. They cry out, "...Let us alone; what have we to do with thee thou Jesus of Nazareth...". Someone once tried to suggest that if the devils knew who he was, then maybe he was not of the Lord. Time and again, during his ministry, the Pharisees tried to ascribe his works to the devil but invariably showed a lack of knowledge about the scriptures. The devils are AFRAID of Jesus: they demonstrate the knowledge of his utter sovereignty, and that He is the Holy One: "...art thou come to destroy us? I NOW THEE WHO THOU ART, THE HOLY ONE OF GOD. (1:24). They are of an uncomfortable, but divine realm: they know who Jesus is: the long awaited and promised, the 'covenanted' Holy One of Israel. It is interesting to note that the term 'Holy One of Israel' is used 31 times as an exact term in the Old Testament, and not in the New Testament, save for this passage. The shorter term "Holy One" is used 6 times in the New Testament, but mostly in quoting the Old, and always referring to Jesus. The devil also uses the name "Jesus of Nazareth"- pointing to the location he was raised and has just been: most do not realize that before the days of Jesus, there is no city named 'Nazareth'---which means 'Branch', and no doubt comes from nazarim, which was, of course, a holy one, set apart for the work of the Lord.

The devil also knows that Jesus is capable of their destruction: no such interchange, even with the greatest of prophets has taken place before in Israel. So here we have, a Sovereign Holy One of God, who is capable of destroying the demonic. He is anathema to them: they cry "let us alone; what have we to do with thee?; the implicit response being 'nothing'.

Jesus Responds to the Devil

Jesus, while willing for the time of his sojourn here, to teach any who asked, never spends time in dialogue with devils: he casts them out. It is no less true here:

Mark 1:25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him."

He silences the devil, perhaps not wanting it to even speak of the things of God, and commands the devil to let go of the man in the Synagogue driven to disrupt the service and his purpose. The Authority of God is clearly seen, and is shortly to be remarked upon here: the presence of God is seen and felt. He speaks directly to the devil, to the 'unclean spirit' though and not to the man per se. Why? because oftentimes in possession, the devil has crowded out the free will of the person. It is easy when we see a person who has such a bizarre and anti-social countenance, acting in unholy ways to feel ill towards the person: if the reason though is demonic, the person is as much the victim or more than those offended by his actions.

Casting Out an Unclean Spirit

The unclean spirit "akathartos" (compare to the idea of un-catharted) ἀκάθαρτος and spirit, pneuma, πνεῦμα is described in Thayers as having to do with the idea of moral uncleanness, but also as of an uncleanness pertaining to ritual law described in Leviticus. In the one mention of an unclean spirit in the Old Testament, in Zechariah 13:2 the unclean spirit is associated with false prophecy: true prophecy is in line with a healthy and pure lifestyle.
Unclean spirits in the New Testament are associated always with a devil or demonic activity and always in the context of casting out the devil from a person. In one instance we will study later, the unclean spirits are allowed into a herd of swine which violently run off a cliff.

Violence characterizes the casting out of demons. ('Devil' and 'Demon' are used interchangeably, though in the KJV, only devil is used, the word for devil is δαιμόνιον or daimonion (demon). Devil when referring to Satan is 'diabolos'. In the cases of casting out demons or devils, the meaning is clearly, 'an inferior spirit', obviously not of the Kingdom of God. The violence of a devil letting go of a human host is seen here:

"And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice he came out of him". Mark 1:26

In more than one healing, two we have already seen (e.g. Father with the son with a dumb spirit who is thrown in the fire) the unclean spirit has no love of its human host. Examples in scripture of the violent behavior of devils while possessing their host or exiting their host include throwing the person into fire or water, gnashing, foaming, a loud voice or cry, and similar characteristics. This healing is no exception: the spirit TEARS the man, right there, on Shabbat in Synagogue in Capernaum(Luke 4:35) and cries with a loud voice, and throws the man, but then exited, leaves him alone:

And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him and hurt him not. Lk4:35

Once the devil is cast out, there appears to be no further harm, unless the person willingly lets down the defense of a pure life and mental/spiritual state, in which case it is Jesus himself who teaches and warns, that the process of letting down that defense opens the person up for an even more powerful overthrow (7 times).

The devils Jesus or his disciples cast out also appear to have a hierarchy and rank: for example in Daniel, there is a mention of 'principalities' when referring to the 'prince of Persia', or in the New Testament when we speak of withstanding the powers of darkness:

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].

And Jesus is referred to as having 'spoiled principalities' in triumphing over the devil on the Cross.

Col 2:15 [And] having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Principalities alone are neither good nor evil: they are a level of reign or rule, but devils in the divine battle appear to have 'offices' or rank. Satan has 'minions' of the 1/3 fallen angels. Lucifer is a created angel who is allowed for an uncertain reason and season to operate before the end, not a 'bad or evil god' but a created being gone bad who must like all the rest of creation bow before a Holy God, and the Name of the Lord and Savior. Phil 2:10

What a Word is This...the 'New Doctrine'

The people in Synagogue that day, in Jesus's hometown, had already been astounded: can you imagine the depth of sermon Jesus must have just preached! And from Jesus, the son of Joseph and Mary whom all know! And following, a remarkable event: a devil cries out in terror at the presence and sound of the Savior's voice. A devil cries that he knows who Jesus is---not the hometown boy, but the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel: the Messiah. Devils do not know everybody---in Acts, when Sceva and the vagabond Jews try to use Jesus's and Paul's name to cast out devils, the devil cries

Act 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?

Even more astounding, Jesus casts out the devil in the presence of his most difficult audience: those who saw him grow up, and the man is thrown by the devil into the midst of them! They had never seen a devil called out! They thought it was a new doctrine and commented on the word, of the Word of God:

Mar 1:27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine [is] this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.
Luk 4:36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word [is] this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.

The Word says they were 'all amazed' and talked among themselves as to the new teaching. They are dumbfounded at his authority, not only over people, but over the unseen. They comment on his power, crying 'What a Word is this?'

The Result

As with most of the wondrous works and healings, the immediate result is found in Mark 1:28

Mar 1:28 And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round

about Galilee.

The parallel passage regarding the casting out in Luke adds only that the location and time was directly at the time of his 'fulfillment' address' but the time after in Capernaum. Nonetheless the casting out of the unclean spirit in the Synagogue comes

1. after he reads Isaiah 61 in Nazareth and declares it fulfilled
2. After he rebukes Capernaum in the Nazareth Synagogue for unbelief (4:23), and
3. After the violence already mentioned.

Jesus's ministry, the sojourning of Yshua among us, comes from a number of silent years, then comes in power: God, Emanu-el is back face to face in Israel, and he is beginning to make a few things clear, about the Kingdoms of this world vs. the Kingdom of Heaven. His Son is no minor Prince, but Sar Shalom, with authority over all other kingdoms, not only of this world, but of unseen realms. The Word of God (John 1:1) delivers the Word (Is 61) in power, and with His Word, puts Satan on notice that his dark kingdom has no ultimate authority over the Kingdom,reign and rule of God in his Messiah. What a Word is this? What a Word is this,indeed!.

Till next time, much healing and many blessings. ekbest

Be of Good Cheer; Thy Sins be Forgiven Thee: Jesus Heals a Man with Palsy

Early in his ministry, after Jesus heals Peter's Mother in Law, multitudes throng to their doorstep, desiring healing. From then until the cross, much of Jesus' ministry will be healing every disease known (only a few are described in the New Testament). Shortly before , he has healed a leper and the centurion's servant, and delivered from devils the madmen in the Gergesenes. (Mt 8:28-34). He has crossed Galilee by then, and comes to what is described as 'his own city (9:1), in a crowded house where he preaches to them. (Makr2:2; ) 'His own city' is Capernaum.

Whatever size the crowd, he is surrounded so much so, that the one in need of healing in these passages, a

"a man sick of palsy, lying on a bed;..."(Mt 9:2)

is lowered through the ceiling. In those days, even in stone or brick houses there was a section of roof, somewhat like a large skylight, which would be left open during pleasant weather and allow quick access to the roof, which was covered over other times by woven thatch or branches. Rooftops often were akin to rooftop 'patios' now, albeit more practical, where small gardens were grown or where people would talk house to house or even make announcements. [Recall in another place in scripture, Jesus refers to what is done in secret being shouted from the housetops]

Since the crowd is so great, and his friends cannot bear his bed close enough, they devise an ingenious plan to have him appear front and center at the feet of the Lord, by carrying him to the top of the roof and lowering him down. (Mk 2:4). It took a reasonable amount of faith to go to that trouble: they had to believe there was a real possibility Jesus could heal their friend. Rather than merely moving a few branches aside to lower the fellow, it is noted the 'break up' the roof:

Mar 2:4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken [it] up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.

Jesus remarks on the faith they demonstrate:

Mar 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. (also Luke 5:19; Mt 9:2)

Those standing around were dumbfounded: they were rather expecting a healing, perhaps, following what was probably the best teaching they had ever heard, and rather than the laying on of hands, or a word speaking healing, Jesus, Yshua, says
"thy sins be forgiven thee".

So often in Jesus's ministry, the large crowds were attracted not initially by a hunger for the things of God, but for seeing 'wonders'. Signs and wonders were indeed suppose to follow the Messiah (wonder-ful, Is 9:6) Isaiah notes in 8:18 that signs and wonders follow the 'rock of offense', and Jesus speaks himself to the reason many follow:

Jhn 4:48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

It was not that the signs and wonders were not good: they were works of God, it was merely that he wished a faith which would withstand a brutal world without signs and wonders. In the healing of the man with palsy, in response to a great faith that would tear open a tile roof and lower a friend on a bed, believing he would be healed, Jesus does not say: 'be made whole initially as in so many other healings, instead he says

...Son, thy sins be forgiven thee; Mk 2:5
...Son be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee Mt 9:2
...Man, thy sins be forgiven thee Lk 5:20

The requisite faith had been shown, not spoken, and a gift greater than earthly healing had taken place, the forgiveness of sins.

The Scribes and Pharisees among the crowd are immediately taken aback. It is interesting to note that the Scribes and Pharisees are present, indicating that at least some took him seriously, even this early and were present if not to believe then to attend to closely. There is often a mistaken notion that all Pharisees were opposed to Jesus, but the truth is, a few were followers such as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea, and others invited him after hearing him preach in synagogue to dine with them, e.g. the healing of the man with the withered hand. In any event, positive or negative they took Jesus seriously, constantly confronting him about doctrine and regulation, some of genuine interest and some to 'catch him in his speech'.

This healing of palsy though is unique because it points to :

1. Jesus as the Son of Man, Ben Adam, the Messiah
2. Jesus 's ability to remit or forgive sin.

If Jesus were not the Messiah, then saying to the paralyzed man 'thy sins be forgiven thee' might have even been construed as cruel, yet rather then dismissing or forgoing the healing, Jesus shows that with true faith, a greater healing is possible: the healing of salvation and forgiveness of sins, by God, the only one who could truly forgive and remit sin. If he were not the Messiah it would be blasphemous! The Pharisees and scribes though immediately confront him:

Mt 9:3 And behold,certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth."

Mk 2: 5-7 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their own hearts 7 Why doth this man speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?

Lk 5:21 And the scribes and the Pharisees , began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sin, but God alone?

We have mentioned before that a 3 fold mention of words or an event in scripture is significant. (In research we talk of statistical significance, here it is 'scripturally significant'.) In both Mk 2:5-7 and in Luke 5:21, the teachers of the Law answer their own question without knowing it: "Who can forgive sin but God alone?" and then they have the difficult task of comprehending 'what Messiah ought to be". ²

Jesus though perceives their hearts: He knows and can tell that they carry a sinister thought; he confronts them before they can respond, while still reasoning:

Mt. 9:4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say,Arise and walk?

Mark 2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? 9 Whether it is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee;or to say Arise, and take up thy bed and walk?

Luke 5:22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts he answering said unto them What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?

The healing will pursue the above questing which Jesus addresses to the Pharisees and Scribes. Note that they were willing to see Jesus do a miracle of healing, which had to be from God, but not to hear him forgive sin. Some of the 'nabe' or prophets had healed, but none before had done more than either make a sacrifice for the people, or warn of sin. So I suspect they already had to know that Jesus was or at least possibly was the Messiah, because of signs, healings and miracles, but they were not prepared for the dept and breadth of Messiah incarnate, Messiah in the flesh: that he could forgive sin, or later put away and atone for sin, and still do the astounding act of making straight the limbs of one with palsy.

The Command of Healing

The great act of forgiving sin is unexpected and leaves the crowd baffled, but Jesus' next act is the healing itself, to help all understand (for all time,) that while healings are wondrous works of God, the far greater work is the forgiveness of sin, the breaking of the Edenic curse. In the healing Jesus declers himse by the Messianic title 'Son of Man' (also used of prophets), shows that he has power on earth to forgive, and that he can command his creation, before or after being made whole:

Mt 9:6 But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

Mk 2:11 I say unto thee Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine own house.

Lk 5:24 ... I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.

As in many healings, the command to 'ARISE' is used, a literal command lifting the person out of a static state, and taking hold of the thing that has so long taken ahold of him: the bed that bound him, a symbol of the palsied condition that held him in bondage. The son of man in healing, forgives sin, and delivers from bondage.

The Man with Palsy Arises
The healing is immediate, and the description simple:

Mt 9:7 And he arose and departed to his house.

Mark notes that it was seen of all:

Mk2:12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all;...,

and Luke 5:25 adds that he "...departed to his own house, glorifying God.

The healing is so complete that even atrophied limbs are no obstacle: he arises and goes forth as soon as the words are spoken and the healing is in full view even of doubters. The reaction is praise and amazement: God is real; His Son is real; His power is infinite: no one can think to do more than praise and glorify God.
Matthew 9:8 and Mk 9:12, as well as Luke 5:26 note the glorifying of God, but also remark on
A. The power given unto men
B. The uniqueness of it : 'never saw it on this fashion.'
C. The fearfulness at the new thing in Israel: 'We have seen strange things today."


All are amazed at 1) the novelty, 2) the power, 3) God, and Luke notes fear: not an unusual reaction to something out of ordinary experience.

The forgiveness of sin though, Jesus implies is an even greater miracle and gift of God which Messiah offers and marks Messiah: they can stand healed bodies, but they bulk at the healing of souls. The power of God forgiving sin, and curing the incurable with merely a word, leaves several present afraid, and unable to comprehend the height of what the Son of Man is doing.

As the man returns home walking for the first time in years, having dominion over his bondage by carrying his bed, his sins forgiven in the deliverance of the Messiah, what a day that must have been. Faith had been rewarded far above what man expected, but the power of God was terrifying to those of little or no faith. They had never, in Israel "seen it on this fashion". Upon leaving, Jesus calls his disciples, who will be empowered with the 'terrifying' and marvelous power of God.

The trying of Faith and the Casting Out of the Dumb Spirit in an Only Son

Jesus has just been on the mount of Transfiguration with his disciples, Peter, James and John. What they saw there was so astounding, that Jesus commanded them to say nothing until he would rise from the dead. This encounter with heaven so indescribeable at the time, was the backdrop for a healing yet to come: the Casting Out of a Dumb Spirit.

Coming down from the mount, Jesus encounters a father who is distraught about the condition of his son. The man pleads for Jesus to attend to his child, who has a deaf spirit, and calls for Jesus to attend to the vexed son.

And behold, a man of the company cried out, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son; for he is my only child,39 And lo, a spirit takes him and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again and after bruising him hardly departeth from him. Luke 9:38-39

While this healing is referred to as a casting out of a 'dumb' spirit, it is quite literally the casting out of a devil, and though these days one seldom hears a discussion of such things, deafness or dumbness on more than one occasion accompanied or was manifested in devil posession or 'vexation'. This grieving father is so overwrought with his son's condition, that he pleads with Jesus for the son's relief, since it is the father's only child. The healing bears such significance that it is written of in all three synoptic Gospels.

What Devils Do: The Torment of Possession

When we speak today of 'devils' or 'demons' or use concepts such as 'demonic possession' or oppression, we are often cast off as being given over to mythological concepts far too obscure for the sophisticated 'modern mind', and yet throughout all cultures, and at all times in history, there has held both the concept and reports of demonic possession. Even from a very unbelieving and unlikely source, a book, by humanistic psychologist Rollo May comes the idea of the demonic in a treatise called "Psychology and the Demonic" in which Rollo May posits the existence of a 'force' which overwhelms and overcomes a person. May uses the idea more as an 'archetype' but applies it to ideas of addiction or mental illness, e.g. depression, which so overtakes a person that it controls them, instead of them controlling it. So while most today scoff at the idea of 'devils' or demonic possession, many others are aware that even in the 21st century there are documented cases of 'devil possession' and that they follow suit the descriptions of demonic possession described in the Holy Bible.

One of the primary goals of anything to do with Satan in general, is the process of 'overthrow'. Satan sought to overthrow God's sovereignty and purpose in Heaven, and was cast out. He is noted as taking with him 'the third of the stars', and the doctrine most often taught is that the rebellion and division in heaven was so serious as to cast down Satan and his evil minions, and to condemn them for ever: but war occurs first. The war is not a war of this world, where God and his angels fight against Satan and his devils, nor the common concept of good and evil: this war never challenges God's Sovereignty, but until the appointed time, the battle for men's soul's continue, though the outcome was settled 'since the foundation of the world'. The battle for men is one of belief vs. unbelief, more than the battle for 'good'vs. 'evil' for the depth of wisdom to discern the two, belongs to God.

The presence then, of the 'demonic' or 'devils' or 'vexation' while dismissed in the current zeitgeist, nonetheless has been observed, described and met by theological investigations throughout all ages of recorded history. While today the most a humanist can muster is a psychological 'metaphor' for the demonic, most world religions even apart from Christian belief address and report it, and there are even several major motion pictures which have dealt with Roman Catholic accounts of 'demon possession'. Apart from what the world thinks, though, in an age of unbelief, the Holy Scriptures describe in detail Jesus's encounter with those possessed with devils, and his reaction in every case is to bring them under authority and cast them out. He never leaves a vexed or possessed person in the same condition, and the outcome is always the wholeness and wellbeing of those who had demons cast out, including the SyroPhenician Woman's daughter in the last study, the man from the Gadarenes, the possessed in the Synagogue at the beginning of his ministry, Mary Magdalene, and several others.

The Condition of Devil Possession

As Jesus encounters the father of the boy with the 'dumb spirit' (devil possession sometime has the accompanied characteristic of deafness or dumbness), the father, is in distress due to the terrible nature of the boy's condition:

Mark 9:17 ....Master, I have brough unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit and wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him; and he foameth and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away. and I spaketh to thy disciples that they should cast him out and they could not.

Note the nature of the demonic hold, is hell like, and forceful, and always harmful:

1. The demonic spirit 'takes him'
2. The demonic spirit 'tears him'
3. There is foaming at the mouth
4. There is gnashing of teeth (driven behavior)
5.There is pining, despair

We have learned from other studies in the Word that a demonic spirit or devil seeks to overpower and overthrow its 'host' and sees persons as 'hosts': Jesus tells of how devils when cast out, must stay out, or should they enter in again, bring back an even greater 'overthrow'

Luk 11:26 Then goeth he, and taketh [to him] seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last [state] of that man is worse than the first.

A few other things are noted about this little boy in this terrible state: he is described as lunatic and vexed:

...Lord have mercy on my son for he is a lunatik and sore vexed: for oft time she falleth into the fire, and oft into the water...17:14

The severity is not just emotional pain or 'oddness' but involves real physical assault by the controlling spirit: the child is being either cast into the fire and water, or at least toppled into them and with the previous symptoms of gnashing teeth, and pining, with an inability to speak in a normal fashion. It is interesting also, that the elements of fire and water appear, which still bear mention today in satanic cults.

The torment the child suffers effects all around him: it is apparent that his father is beside himself with anguish over the child's condition.

The Failure to Cast Out the Devil

The father does not go first to Jesus, he goes to the disciples who have been empowered with his Name, the Word, and his anointing. The disciples though are unable to cast out the devil, and the father, as well as the disciples are perplexed. Jesus though brings it all back to the primary issue of faith:

...and I spaketh to thy disciples that they should cast him out and they could not.

Mt17:16 And I brought him unto thy disciples, and they could not cure him

Jesus's direct response in the three Gospels that contain the passage is:

Matthew 17:17 O faithless and perverse generation,howlong shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

Mark He answered him saying "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him to me.

LUKE 9 And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.

Jesus's responses always bear an element of surprise: he does not often answer predictably. Throughout the healings while the Lord of love is after the wholeness of his creation, he is also after one premiere goal: faith, by which Salvation may be attained. This young man in question had been a long time in the condition. In Mark Jesus asks his father:

How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. Mk 9:21.

It was a lifelong affliction. The disciples responded to the affliction without finding out how severe the affliction was. The child was the father's only child. Yet all of this aside,and the remedy yet to come, the disciples are rebuked for being 'perverse' and 'faithless'. The word 'perverse' is diastrepho, which means to distort, turn aside,oppose, etc, or in this instance, to overthrow the plan of God and revert back.[BLB] Jesus's exasperation is with their lack of faith, and missing the target, so to speak. He later notes that "this kind comes only out by prayer and fasting." As in other healings, Jesus is after their wholeness, but the first order of wholeness is faith.

The Healing of the vexed Son

Matthew 17:18And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him and...the child was cured from that very hour.

MARK When Jesus saw the people come running together he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee come out of him, and enter in to im no more. 9:25)

LUKE And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean Spirit, and healed the child, delivered him again to his father.

Jesus in Mark 23-24 takes the issue of faith further for the father, and the father responds in the way of those genuinely desiring to have saving faith:

Jesus saith unto him If thou canst believe all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out and said, I believe, help thou my unbelief.

This is a classic statement of those whose heart longs for God and the things of God,but whose faith falls short: I believe,help thou my unbelief. It is not that we sometimes, like father of the vexed son do not have faith, only that our faith is insufficient to meet what confronts us. Jesus is out to save lost sheep, he is out to bring back the house of Israel, the children of Israel to the everlasting covenant and way of God. To have Abraham the father of faith, as one's father, one must walk in faith, for the true children of Abraham are not children of the flesh only. Abraham did not only give physical birth to a nation of 12 tribes, he gave birth to a nation who would walk in faith in relationship with their God and Messiah: a nation that would see what the world could not see, and which would win every war in which that faith was strong. So when Jesus calls the father of the child to a faith which makes all things possible, to belief that strong, the father, like Peter in the boat, takes the first step out, calling for the completeness of faith in Messiah.

The result is saving faith for the purpose in this case of curing the boy whom had been beset since birth with torment. The child was cured by Jesus immediately. Jesus healed the child and delivered him again to his father.

...the child was cured from that very hour. Mt 17:18
Luk 9:42 And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare [him]. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.

Note again the devil appears to know his time of tormenting and inhabiting the child is drawing short, and one cannot help but believe it is because as in other manifestations of the demonic that even they know who Jesus is and what he can do (e.g. Gadarenes). Before Jesus rebukes the spirit, the devil tears him violently one last time. Jesus speaks, Jesus rebukes the devil and the child is restored whole to the father, ending years of pain for both.

The people who see the wondrous cure become "amazed at the mighty power of God". Who else in Israel had ever delivered a child vexed with a devil? Who had cured the 'mentally ill' (a term used today). None: not even the prophets. This healing singles out the unique and sovereign power of the LORD.

The disciples did not deliver the child because of an underestimation of what they confronted. The war between God's children in this world, and the forces attempting to overthrow them, their families and their faith is strong and without mercy. Time in the Word, time alone with God, clearing oneself of everything of this world including food through fasting is sometimes necessary to block out all the impinging 'noise' and confusion which may abrogate the power of God in our lives. The disciples had to learn the depth of the battle.

More about Vexation

In the study on the SyroPhenician woman's daughter, we spoke a little of the idea of 'vexation': here it is only mentioned in Matthew 17:14 when the child is called 'sore vexed'. The word here is the Greek "pascho"

πάσχω

which means "to be affected, have a sensible experience, suffer sadly, to have a bad plight or be sick,and is used regarding a possession to healed of.) It goes with the idea of a peril to be delivered of. The scriptures speak of the enemies being vexed (Ps 6:10; Saul being vexed Ps 6:3, bones, or the stranger,fatherless ,widow,poor and needy. THe notion is that intense suffering is present which exhausts the ability of the sufferer to overcome by themselves. As the devil takes control of this young son, he displaces the personhood of the child, and we see not the child, but the bedevilment or demonic manifestation.

Another point of interest is the phrase 'cast into the fire': the word for cast is 'ballo' and fire is pyre, but the more fascinating note is that the kind of casting is a careless 'tossing' as in not caring at all where a thing falls ¹ and fire is noted in Thayer's lexicon as certainly the obvious element, but something that tears asunder, takes apart, and destroys. The insane vexation of devil possession is a horrible foreshadowing of what hell does to a person, such that the person in the end is so 'out of the way' that Jesus describes hell as a place 'where the worm dieth not', referring to the utter degeneration of the person when out from the presence of God.

"Casting into the fire" is an expression used to indicate total destruction and total judgment, since anything cast into the fire is totally destroyed. Things in the bible spoken ofas cast into the fire are Idols, (Is 37:19) enemies (Ps 140:10), the 'roll' in Jeremiah (Jer 36:23) theruin of resources (Jer 22:7), wood consumed for no work (Eze 15:4), trees which do not bring forth fruit (Mt 3:10, Mk7:19; Lk 3:9), Hell, and fire that shall never be quenced. (Mk 9:43,5;Jn 15:6) BLB (Thayers) notes its symbolism of dissension.

Following the healing of the father's son with the violent spirit, the child restored whole to life, Jesus expounds of his betrayal into the hands of men, and what will befall him. What Jesus teaches right after a healing is always worth noting for it is likely a direct reference to the healing that has just occurred and it's critical lesson. It is noted that the spirit 'cries out', and that it had so overpowered the child that he looked dead at deliverance:

Mar 9:26 And [the spirit] cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.

Mar 9:27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.

As they leave the scene of the healing, discussing why the devil did not come out at first, and then Jesus explaining what must befall the son of man for their sakes, the eminent presence of this healing remains: Jesus holds a child up promising his special blessing and protection and noting that any who touches a child would be better to have a millstone tied around his neck. He begins upon passing through Galilee then, to teach on hell, and how it is better to even cut a limb off rather than use it to sin, and miss the mark of entering into God's Kingdom. The little son was delivered from a shadow of hell on earth: Jesus calls for a greater deliverance, which only he AND NOT EVEN HIS DISCIPLES can wrought.

cool stuff. ekb

The Syro-Phenician Woman's Daughter: Devil Vexation

In Tyre and Sidon, (Zidon) after leaving Gennesaret, Jesus is encountered by a woman of Canaan regarding her daughter who is vexed with a devil. The setting of Tyre and Sidon is an interesting backdrop for a healing which involves the casting out of a demonic spirit, because these were the 'twin cities' on the coast which were known for riches, world trade and a host of decadent practices and lifestyles, including slavery. In the Old Testament, Ezekiel warns Tyre and Zidon that they are to be so judged for the degree of their wickedness that only fishing nets left out to dry will remain, and other prophets note their wickedness as well such as Isaiah and Joel:

Eze 26:3 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.


Eze 26:4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.


Eze 26:5 It shall be [a place for] the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.

Yet it is here in the remnants of the once great cities, that a non-Israeli woman seeks and finds the healing for her daughter from the Savior who was the answer to the wickedness of those cities long before.

The woman is of Canaan, and she approaches the Lord with pleas for mercy:

....And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is greivously vexed with a devil. Mt 15:22

Jesus's response though, is initially one of non-response. It says he 'answered not a word', but the persistence of another gentile, would be used for an illustration to Israel, just as had the faith of the Centurion in the last study. She was apparently making quite a stir, begging for the well-being of her daughter, for the noisome woman caused the disciples to come to Jesus to send her away:

Send her away; for she crieth after us.

The clamoring and crying though showed the requisite faith which Jesus sought in all those he healed: she KNEW that Jesus could heal her daughter. In true form though Jesus does not give an expected answer, but answers from the depth of Heaven, saying

"....I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" 15:24

Is this an unkindness by the Lord? Is He telling the stricken mother that only Jews can be healed? There are a couple times in Scripture where it seems on the surface that Jesus is being less than kind, but that is a serious misunderstanding. The woman is a Canaanite: they were even in the day of Jesus idol worshippers. The woman is seeking healing from a Jewish man, a rabbi, a prophet (nabe), so her faith has already carried her over one boundary, for neither the Canaanitish people nor the Jews cared for a great deal of commerce among one another. Jesus's response though is very telling, because he does not first attend to the healing, but addresses his purpose, of being sent to Israel, and being for the sake of Israel. It is not that Jesus is unconcerned with the suffering of her daughter, but instead the passage emphasizes his concern with the lost of Israel. Salvation was of the Jews. The prophecies were of the Jews, the Jews were the oracles of God: the faith she had was being trained a step further.

The woman responds not with outrage or rebuke but enters into faith further, showing

1. worship

2.faith, and

3 supplication.

Then came she and worshipped him, saying 'Lord, Help me.' Mt 15:25.

This humility and heartfelt plea to the Lord, showed that she believed he was the Lord, or at least divine, because she fell in worship! While certain pagan groups occasionally treated a rare few as 'gods', such as Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:12) most did not fall in worship at a man's feet, yet this happens over and over in encounters with the Lord.

Some think this interchange between the Syro-Phenician woman and Jesus indicates prejudice or insensitivity but that is also not true. One must remember the predicament of first century Israel. The Syro-Phenicians with others farther north had:

1. Changed the ways of God
2. Intermingled with the Jews which was forbidden
3. Had a false system of worship, and
4. Were characterized by idolatry.

They were enemies of the Jews who hardly treated them well. Here though is not a political issue, but a grieving mom, begging for the true Lord's help and worshipping him. Yet Jesus replies what seems curtly:

"...It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs." vs 26

While the word 'dogs' may seem abusive,and the word means exactly that, it was used in that day for 'evilworkers' and sorcerers (Ph 3:2; rEV 22:15) to refer to those to avoid who would ruin the faith of Israel, and were equated with murderers, adulterers and idolators who are kept outside the gate. He was noting that healing and the Gospel were for the more faithful Jews, at least first, but the woman continues in her plea for mercy:

And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbswhich fall from their Master's table.

She is tenacious and will not let go. She never rails, never takes offense, never ceases right humility before the Lord, but reasons with the Redeemer that she is aware of Truth, and that she will settle for the smallest crumbs of what the Lord will offer.

The Reward of Persistent Faith

Does Jesus turn away and ignore her? No, it was never the way of Jesus to ever turn away those begging to be let into fervent faith. Faith as we have seen time and time again, was what Jesus was after, even requiring for healing. He immediately turns away from the sharp response, to a reward of the woman's faith, who is pleading not for herself, but for her child:

"O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt"

The reward of faith for this non-Jew, this Greek-Canaanite-SyroPhenician woman isgreat and immediate:

"...And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. Mt 15:28"

This healing takes place right before the great multitudes are healed on a mountain beside Galilee.

The Vexation of a Devil

The parallel passage in Mark (7:25) speaks to the vexation as an "unclean spirit". The term appears 11 times in the Bible, 10 of which are in the New Testament and the Greek reads,
akathartos pneuma. Pneuma, as we have spoken of before in other bible studies is spirit with the connotation of air or breath; akathartos is rendered 'unclean' but applies to ceremonial uncleanness and/or moral uncleaness. The possession by 'devils' or demonic possession often carries with it a lewd characterization as well: whatever those walking in light and love and holiness are comfortable with, the demonic is equally uncomfortable with those things. Unclean spirits seem to love desert dry places (Mt 12:43) and are ferocious and violent, sometimes causing thrashing and unusual strength such as in the son who threw himself into a fire, or as in the Man of the Gadarenes whom chains could not hold, and found tombs a suitable habitat. An unclean spirit also, if cast out, wanders around dry places but with opportunity will return to a 'host'. The host we see in the New Testament is usually a person, and sometimes a child, but in one case, Jesus casts demonic spirits into a herd of swine who go charging over a cliff.

"Unclean Spirits" attend to the periphery of Jesus's ministry: from the announcement in the Synagogue of his ministry by the reading of Isaiah 61, his 'inaugural address' unclean spirits begin to occasionally cry out with howlings of 'i know who you are' but Jesus silences them.

In this healing, the daughter is not present, one of the few healings where merely the word of the Lord is spoken afar off, and the person is healed. This is one of the few where a devil is cast out without being directly in contact with the person. The mother BELIEVES and trusts, and the little Canaanite girl is completely well when her mother returns:

And when she was come to her house she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed. Mk 7:30

Immediately following the casting out, Jesus departs to the coasts of Decapolis.

Sidon was the first city founded in Phenicia: and was know for breathtaking views, fruits and a fertile plain. There were many ruins and even today the 'King of the Sidonians' tomb may be found verifying the location. It was a place of Asthoreth worship, and Dagon and Baal worship---so that a history of demonic activity cannot be thought of as unusual, and either the mother's practices or that of relatives or acquaintances may have set the stage for the 'vexation'. However, in 1860 an expedition to the area found little verifying the curse of the prophets: the great story of the daughter's healing has lasted far beyond the one of the wickedness of the cities. The Lost Sheep of the house of Israel had but to wait momentarily for Jesus to return to healing Israel: the cause of healing for this woman from pagan surrounds was her humility, love and faith combined with trust and supplication, to provoke Israel to what was rightfully theirs.

Till next time: many blessings in the Name of Yeshua:
ELizabeth K. Best
----------------------------
note: this study is an updated version of an earlier study from 2005

Faith, In Israel: The Healing of the Centurion's Servant

Most of the healings done by Jesus were healings of the children of Israel. A few times though, and quite distinctly, Jesus heals non-israelis, even enemies of Israel, both in compassion, and to make a divine point. The healing of the Centurion's Servant is one such occasion.

The healing of the Centurion's servant takes place after the healing of the Leper, after the Sermon on the mount and before the healing of Peter's Mother-in-Law following teaching on Shabbat in the Synagogue. The healing is in Capernaum, Jesus' 'hometown' when he descends from the mount where He has taught the beatitudes.

The Roman Centurion who encounters Jesus seems an unlikely person to humble themselves before the Lord and Savior and ask for mercy for a mere servant. To begin with, the fellows chosen as centurions, were hardly chosen for their affability: they were brutal, strong and totally dedicated to Rome, and among the least likely who would ever approach a Jewish Rabbi and ask in faith for him to aid a suffering servant. On this day in Israel though, near the early part of Jesus' ministry of healing and preaching, the encounter both brought the Roman guard to trusting in the Redeemer, and to show all Israel, what God required in a people of faith, to exact the power and work of God in the nation .

This healing also bears another distinction: it is one of the few where the one who is healed, does not encounter Jesus. Yet ironically, the healing is one in which the Messiah points to the nature of faith behind all the healings: trusting in the Son of God.

The fact that the healing took place in the town Jesus lived is also remarkable, because even the divine Rabbi himself had pointed out that "a prophet is a prophet everywhere but in his own country". The Centurion, without us knowing why he was there on that particular day (they were all over Israel, but could have been sent to 'assess' this itinerate teacher), saw something in the Lord that impressed him so, that he confronts him about the healing of a servant sick at home. The request was simple:

"Lord my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented."

and the Savior's reply was equally simple:

"And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. Matt 8:7"

The Centurion's Act of Faith

Men of war rarely are concerned with the tender affection for a servant's suffering: they most often have a more brutal outlook on life, a 'matter-of-fact' approach to daily trivia. They also rarely see themselves as less than anyone, save for a superior officer, a higher 'order', and it was hardly a Roman stance to humble oneself before the Jews in general, much less before a 'country' preacher from Nazareth and the surrounds. The humility of the Centurion before God is eminent in this gentile soldier. Rome, most likely including himself, had been crucifying Jewish men, imprisoning others and some years before had set a group of zealots afire, burning them alive for protesting and taking down the Roman eagle insignia on the Temple, a sign of idolatry. The emphasis here on the man's humility needs to be seen in the context of the 'zeitgeist' of Israel in that hour. If one may speculate, it is not unlikely that the Centurion was of a slightly more humane sort, since he is noted in Luke as having built a synagogue for the Jews, and and that having most likely seen or heard of Jesus healing others, sent Jewish elders to Jesus on his behalf. (Not all of the healings Jesus did are recorded in the Scriptures). When the Centurion then espouses his 'unworthiness' for the great honor of the healing of a servant, it must be seen as the exceptional act that it truly is, and why Jesus later commends it.

"The Centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." mt 8:8

A Roman soldier noting his own 'unworthiness?' Think of how phenomenal that was to the crowd who attended. Rome did not bow to Israel, Israel was being required to bow to Rome. His request of the Lord was also one of utter trust: he was not looking for a sign or a miraculous act, or a feeling, but placed his faith in the WORD of the Lord. "Speak the Word only..." was the apex of his faith. It was faith in the Word of the Lord without requiring His presence or even his touch.

The Rationale of Rank and Order in Heaven and Faith

Faith is so critical among the virtues, in heaven's eyes, that nothing really surpasses it, save for Love itself: we are saved by faith, and faith alone, and the healings of Jesus are for the purpose of faith and salvation. The word 'faith' in the Greek is:

πίστις or 'pistis'

and it means belief, fidelity, or trusting in the truth, particularly of God. He is after our trust as He is after our Love. We can actually love God without really exercising life-giving faith: what's not to love? He saves, protects, keeps, provides and comforts. He is always there. But do we trust him? Even in daily life, we can love some one but not trust them, yet that is because people are not always trustworthy. God is. So to go to the depths of Love for God, the very thing He saves us for, is to go to the depth of faith and trust.

One of the reasons that the Centurion trusts the Lord is not merely because he saw other healings, but because he sensed the power of the Lord, and the authority of the Lord. Power and authority are two commodities which Roman soldiers understood. The Centurion understands implicitly Sovereignty, rank, order and leadership, as he conversely understands surrender to authority obedience and the necessity or quick obedience in battle. He is able to apply 'soldiering' to the divine order and battle as well. The Roman officer shows his understanding of sovereign authority and being under authority:

Mt. 8:9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

The Centurion expects obedience from those below him, so he expects to obey those above, and in Jesus he recognizes such power and authority, that it illicits utter trust, to the point that he does not even feel worthy to have him under his roof, this great Sovereign whom he has encountered in Israel this day. This happens elsewhere in the scriptures. When Jesus stands before Pilate, Pilate's premiere question is whether He is a King. Another Roman Ranking leader says

Mar 15:2 And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest [it].

Isn't it noteworthy that there is such a sense of kingship about Jesus among the leaders of Rome and the leaders in that day of the Jews (in Roman collusion). Those men knew authority and what makes a leader. Herod in Jesus' infancy sends to kill the newborn infant king, sensing his eminent overthrow. The leaders of Israel when Jesus is 12 listen to him attentively in the Temple. I used to wonder why Jesus was only questioned and not arrested or killed when He overthrew the moneychangers: the reason: it was His house, His rule, and they could sense it. They question him instead about WHERE his authority comes from, not whether he has it:

Mat 21:23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

And by the time He is given over to the death on the Cross, Pilate sets his charges over His head much to the consternation of the Pharisees who have just crowned him with thorns, placed a scepter of reeds in his hand

Mat 27:29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put [it] upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

and Pilate in unalterable Roman edict posts His crime:

Mat 27:37 And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

He does so in every language of the time and area. That the Roman Centurion then, recognizes immediately the greater authority of Messiah and the veracity of his word (the way, THE TRUTH and the life..), so much so that his entire trust is place in Jesus' word and command. It is such an impressive display of faith by a gentile, much less a Roman officer, that Jesus commends his faith and clear understanding of the divine nature of authority, rank order and obedience to Israel when he says,

When Jesus heard it, he marvelled and said to them that followed Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel.

Now, it is not unlike God to use Gentiles to provoke Israel to jealousy!

(".... I will move them to jealousy with [those which are] not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation." Dt 32:21)

Jesus certainly in the line of Jacob does not mean to 'supplant' Israel with Gentiles, but to invoke them to jealousy, that they may follow what is excellent in faith and other matters. He was sent first to Israel, to the '...lost sheep of the house of Israel' as had been all the prophets, because the Jews were sanctified and called out, set apart for a purpose to bear the Word of God, the Oracles of God, the Messiah, and the glory of God. The Jews were supposed to, at that point in history have been the leaders in faith, so when an excellent spirit in the form of a Roman Centurion exhibits that life-giving faith, not even for himself but for another at a much lower level of society, Jesus holds up his example before all Israel, that they might not be replaced by it, but take their rightful place in the doing of it.

Jesus Commends the Faith of Gentiles

Following the commendation of faith Jesus commends another well known account in the Tenach of great faith in a gentile woman encountering a prophet of God in the Widow of Zarepheth (Serpta) who was obedient to a prophet:

Luke 4:26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Serepta, a city of Sidon unto a woman that was a widow. (Her son was brought back from death,)

and the healing of the Syrian King Naaman:

...and none of them [Israeli lepers] was cleansed, saving Naaman, the Syrian.

Naaman the King of Syria was OBEDIENT. He was a little particular in obedience to get rid of his leprosy, in that he wanted to wash in 'better rivers' in Syria, but he obeyed the prophet and was healed. Likewise, the Widow encountering the Prophet of God obeyed and her son lived. Jesus commends the FAITH of these two non-Israelis, not to replace Syria for Israel, but for Israel to learn to take the lead. In the New Testament he also commends the faith of the Syrophoenician woman and seeks the faith and understanding in Samaria of the woman at the well. He was interested in faith above national and ethnic boundaries.

That faith is such a pre-eminent value is self-evident: Jesus commends it above even the Chosen status of the Chosen people, and the apostle Paul notes in Romans that 'they are not all Israel that are of Israel'. Love is the greatest value, but real love is integrated with faith. The Jews are His first and Chosen people, but the ways of God are eminent and not compromised. Right order is faith in the hands of the Jews, to teach the nations, but the Lord is not above a topsy-turvy example to rebuke Israel.

The heartcry of the Chosen is to have fulfilled the eternal covenant, the everlasting Covenant and be the children of Abraham Isaac and Jacob before God in Heaven. It is the end of faith. Jesus commends faith in a Gentile though over no faith in a Jew, who is one only of the flesh: that is his point, not 'replacement'. The Jews are being instructed to 'own that part of their inheritance.

Mt. 8:11 And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven.

In the Kingdom of Heaven, faith is first. The Jews are called the "Children of the Kingdom" and warned of eternal judgment in turning away from the God of Israel.

But the children of the Kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 8:12

Rebellion and carnal living is anathema to faith. They lead to separation from God and both lead to a diminishing or even eradication of faith, needed for salvation, healing and a walk with God.

The Reward of Faith: The Servant with Palsy is Healed

We have barely mentioned the 'type' of healing here, which is critical: it is 'palsy'. In an earlier study we looked at the healing of palsy by one of the apostles in the Book of Acts, but it is the 'incurable' Palsy, with muscular deformity and atrophy that makes this act of faith even more prominent.

And Jesus said unto the Centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, So be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed the same hour. 8:13

Here again among the healings of Jesus we note the 'immediacy': not weeks, days and hours of the palsy beginning to disappear with stiff limbs loosening up, but an immediate cessation of the condition and all symptoms. All because someone intervened and begged for mercy for another! Not even the Centurion had to enter his own house for the healing to occur. There is no mistake that Jesus was the agent of healing: this is not some mustering of faith as a sort of 'mind over matter' as New Agers would like to believe, but FAITH in the Healer, the Lord God. The Centurion trusted the 'King of the Jews' sensing His power and authority over even the 'unchangeable' things of the world, such as palsy. His word was enough.

The implications of this healing are varied:

1. Jesus speaks, and is not even present, but the man is healed, noting the ubiquitous power of God.
2. Jesus heals a Gentile's servant noting that God is no respecter of persons, or of lowliness of the state of a human being in his beneficence.
3. Jesus stresses faith over race and nations, while keeping the Jews first, as a separated and sanctified nation.
4. Jesus uses this healing to teach of eternal life and judgment
5. Healing can be as in this instance, by word, without touching, metting faith
6. Jesus points to rank and order in Divine authority and surrender, and
7. Vicarious requests for healing in faith are honored.

This healing of a palsied servant, without the request of the servant, without Jewish heritage, without even the faith of the servant (eminent in most healings) shows the power and authority of divine healing. Jesus is healer, but he is also 'Commander in Chief' and nothing is too hard for him, or beyond the loving touch of his healing, including the atrophied condition of a servant in Israel, nor the hard heartedness of a Roman soldier, of the order who would later crucify the healer.

Speak the word only, Lord, and we shall be healed.


Till next time.
Elizabeth K. Best
Judah's Glory Bible Studies
Healing of Christ Series: The Centurion's Servant.

(will post a pdf copy shortly).