Peripherals, A Brief Look At Exorcism

Today I would like to begin a new series I am calling Peripherals. To explain, as opposed to my Molehills series, Peripherals will deal with issues within Christendom that are not necessarily doctrinal items, but an observational commentary on something that has become entrenched in the church or even popular culture. For the first entry I would like to have a brief examination regarding the history of exorcism. Mind you, this is hardly exhaustive, but rather a glimpse into the concept of exorcism.

Exorcism, according to Oxford’s English Dictionary, is defined as, “drive out a supposed evil spirit from a person or place.” The Greek word our English one is derived from is, “exorkistes,” and means, “one that binds by an oath or spell (by implication) a conjurer.” The idea of an exorcist appears to originate from Mesopotamia, the cradle of human religion, idolatry and rebellion. A prominent city in Mesopotamia was Babylon, where Nimrod encouraged the tower where the heavens could be worshiped and the command of God to spread out through the earth thwarted. Exorcism in many forms infiltrated human religion since the time of Babel and customs to perform them may be found in Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and pseudo-Christian cults such as Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Mormonism.

Exorcism tends to be formulaic in nature in these religions. A common technique was to adjure the evil spirit, preferably by name, through the power of a god or gods to depart the one possessed. Herbal concoctions, amulets and incantations are part of most exorcism formulas. This may be demonstrated, even in Jewish culture during the 1st century AD by the singular verse that mentions exorcism by name. Luke records, “Then some of the itinerant (nomadic or wandering) Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches,” Acts 19:13.

It bears noting that the singular mention of exorcism by name is found only in this verse in the entire Bible. And this citation is in fact a poor one to support the concept of formulaic exorcism. It was the act of unsaved men, invoking the name of a Person they did not have personal faith in, in a formulaic manner. And the result was woefully unsuccessful, Acts 19:16.

The Roman Catholic Church, claiming to be Christian, has turned exorcism into a ritual that implements the equivalent of magical items from Babylonian times such as blessed salt, holy water, relics or the cross, invoking the name of multiple deities such as Christ or the Virgin Mary. Many times an exorcism may occur numerous times to the same individual over an extended period as well, to remove deeply entrenched demons. But is exorcism, depicted in this manner and method, Biblical?

Only once in the New Testament does Jesus mention any criterion for driving out a demon, found in Mark 9:29 when He said, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” So then, even that criterion did not involve a universal application so as to become the basic formula for driving demons out, but what to do in a particular instance. The Greek employed when describing the act of removing demons in the gospels is “ekballo,” and means, “to eject.” When the father of a demon possessed boy approached the Lord, he implored Jesus to cast out (ekballo, eject) the demon from his son, Mark 9:18. This Greek word is the same one Jesus employs when He asks the Jewish leaders , “And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?” Matthew 12:27. The term “ekballo” is used many times in the Synoptic gospels to describe when Christ our Lord drives out demons.

Neither the Lord Jesus, nor His disciple Paul, seemed to require long litanies, icons, blessed water or the like, or perform incantations to drive demons out. Exorcism was a power granted to all believers in Christ’s name, by virtue of the indwelling Holy Spirit, Mark 16:17, Luke 10:17. There was no elite class trained for such matters, nor was there a formula or sacraments necessary. Now an argument may be raised about our Lord, being God manifest in the flesh and capable of an exorcism with ease, as was the case with the Legion (see Luke 8:32, 33). But what of Paul? When he became irritated by a demon who had possessed a girl, he simply turned and told the demon, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her,” Acts 16:18. The result was the expulsion of the demon and the deliverance of that girl from her spiritual bondage. No ritual, prayer, sacrament or icon was needed.

With sensationalized films such the The Conjuring series abounding, it is good to get to the heart of what is true regarding exorcism and demons. A Christian, indwelt by God the Holy Spirit, has power. Not of his own, and not manufactured by priestcraft, but from the Lord Jesus Christ as He initially gave the 70 He sent out, and then others like them such as Paul. Because we, who belong to Jesus, have the Holy Spirit indwelling us we may know with certainty that possession is not something a demon may do to a saint. Jesus explained, “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils,” Luke 11:21, 22. The Holy Spirit is the person, “stronger than he (a demon).” 

In the NT we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and He abides in us, rather unlike the Old Testament times when He could (and did) depart a saint, as in the case of King Saul. Only then could Saul be possessed by an evil spirit, after the Lord departed from him. Such is not our case in this dispensation. And in that we may take comfort. We may also know that every believer, placing their faith in Christ as their Savior, may plead in His name to repel and drive out the power of the enemy should it ever be encountered. Where religion offers complicated and convoluted rituasl that impresses the flesh, the Bible offers a simplistic answer: one found in the person and power of the God whom we serve.