Smoodock's Blog

Jesus and the Healing of the Demoniac: An Examination

An interesting point made by some scholars about Jesus healing the demoniac is that Jesus cast out the man’s demon by speaking to him. Jesus did not, for example, cast out the leper’s leprosy by “speaking” but he touched him (Matthew 8:3), and those who were sick with various diseases were healed by the laying on of Jesus’ hands (Luke 4:40), not by anything Jesus said. Diseases don’t speak back, but men possessed of a demon do speak back. In fact, demons can be cast out of a person and enter the body of another, as demonstrated by the herd of swine in the Decapolis (Matthew 8:31-32).

While these things may generally be true, there are exceptions. The centurion’s servant was healed over a distance by Jesus’ word, not by the laying on of hands. Additionally, Naaman’s leprosy was cured in the waters of the Jordan River (2 Kings 5:10-14), but his leprosy was also transferred to Gehazi by the word of Elisha (2 Kings 5:25-27), similar to how the evil spirit(s) of the demoniac leapt into the herd of swine.

Thus, care must be taken against being dogmatic about matters that cannot be seen, heard, touched, tasted, or smelled. We are unable to witness spiritual matters directly, yet we can observe the results of spiritual works. For instance, while I can examine a man’s brain and understand its functions, I cannot physically see or touch a man’s mind. However, I can witness its effects—what a man’s mind causes him to do or say. A demoniac represents someone with a diseased mind; there is a disturbance within his spirit that influences his behavior or inhibits his normal capabilities.

In our study of Matthew, we note that after the blind man was healed, others brought someone who was possessed by a demon and unable to speak (Matthew 9:32). Many instances today reflect individuals who once spoke but have lost their ability due to the shock of witnessing traumatic events. Medical professionals might say that speech may return when the individual is “ready” to speak, even though there is no physical ailment requiring medical treatment. This type of shock could be the same experience as that of the man brought to Jesus.

Upon Jesus casting out the demon, the man immediately regained his ability to speak, and the gathered multitude exclaimed that such a thing had never been seen in Israel—no one had ever cast out a demon merely by speaking to it (Matthew 9:33). During that time, Jewish authorities performed exorcisms as well, often sensationalizing the event. Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, recorded that God had endowed Solomon with knowledge about casting out demons. He noted an individual named Eleazar, who learned this skill from Solomon’s writings and once demonstrated his abilities before Vespasian and his Roman army, proving his powers by commanding a demon to overturn a cup placed some distance away.

This suggests that there was a deliberate “art” of casting out demons, but unlike the performers, Jesus simply spoke the word, and the evil spirit departed, leaving the crowd astonished at the absence of theatrics. The true power lay in Jesus’ word, rather than in any exorcist’s performance.

Consequently, the Pharisees present who witnessed these events claimed that Jesus possessed no power except through the prince of demons, implying that Jesus utilized evil demonic forces to astound the audience (Matthew 9:34). To maintain their own authority over the people, they sought to demonize Jesus, instilling fear among the multitude by labeling the divine power of God as intrinsically demonic.