Mark wrote how a man with a son who was mute and possessed with a spirit said to Jesus, “Master, I have brought unto you my son, which has a dumb spirit. And wheresoever he takes him, he tears him: and he foams, and gnashes with his teeth, and pines away: and I spake to your disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not”. Jesus answered the man, “and said, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.” Mark continued, “And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it has cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if you can do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help my unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, You dumb and deaf spirit, I charge you, come out of him, and enter no more into him”, and in chapter nine and verse twenty-six of his book, Mark shared how,“the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him” where we read:
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.
The verse reads, “And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him:” Mark began with the words, “and the spirit cried” which means “and the essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding and acting shrieked, exclaimed and screamed loudly”, “and rent him sore” or “and convulsed the boy greatly with and epileptic attack”, “and came out” which means “and exited, emanated and forsook” “of him” or “the boy”. Mark shared how the “evil spirit” “shrieked” as it “convulsed” the boy greatly and “exited” him.
The verse continues, “and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.” Mark added the words, “and he was as one dead” which means “and the boy was like a lifeless, without breath, inactive and destitute of force or power person”; “insomuch” or “so, therefore and wherefore” “that many said” which means “a lot of people uttered, declared and proclaimed”, “He is dead” or “the boy is lifeless, without breath, inactive and destitute of force or power”. Mark shared how the boy became as a “dead” person, and he appeared so lifeless that people who saw this miracle proclaimed that he was “dead”.
When we think through Mark's words in this verse, we see the reaction of the “evil spirit” when Jesus commanded that he leave the boy. The “demon” “screamed loudly”, caused the boy to have one last “epileptic convulsion” and left him. God is more powerful than any “evil spirit”, and when they attempt to take up residence within a person, He is able to cast them out. God loves people, and although people may believe they are not “demon possessed”, they may be greatly influenced and persuaded to be and do evil by an “evil spirit's” presence. God wants to “save” people from the power and influence of the “devil”, and when they believe and trust in His Son Jesus, God will “cast out” the “evil spirit” and will Himself take up residence within them.
Next time Mark shares how, “Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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