Mark 1:29-34 | Psalm 6:2-9
Healings and exorcisms. The gospel of Mark is full of both, but particularly the latter. Let’s be honest about demons for a moment since we’ll be reading a lot about them.
Explanation for demons and demonic possession in the Bible is not completely crystal clear. It is clear that demons in the Bible would lead to a number of debilitating physical and emotional problems. But sometimes physical problems in the gospel were simply characterized as “sick.”
Regardless, a demon (or, “unclean spirit”) was a personified evil that changed one’s life for the worse. To be delivered - or healed - of the demon was freedom.
Today, few to none talk about demon possession. But those closely-related infirmities exist just as well today, if not more, than they did then.
Mark 1:29-34
After leaving the synagogue, Jesus, James, and John went home with Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed, sick with a fever, and they told Jesus about her at once. He went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she served them.
That evening, at sunset, people brought to Jesus those who were sick or demon-possessed. The whole town gathered near the door. He healed many who were sick with all kinds of diseases, and he threw out many demons. But he didn’t let the demons speak, because they recognized him.
Psalm 6:2-9
Have mercy on me, Lord,
because I’m frail.
Heal me, Lord,
because my bones are shaking in terror!
My whole body is completely terrified!
But you, Lord! How long will this last?
Come back to me, Lord! Deliver me!
Save me for the sake of your faithful love!
No one is going to praise you
when they are dead.
Who gives you thanks
from the grave?
I’m worn out from groaning.
Every night, I drench my bed with tears;
I soak my couch all the way through.
My vision fails because of my grief;
it’s weak because of all my distress.
Get away from me, all you evildoers,
because the Lord has heard me crying!
The Lord has listened to my request.
The Lord accepts my prayer.
Prayer
God,
I do not have any experience with demons, but I might be able to understand what it is to be possessed by something. Or obsessed with something. I have often had my life controlled by this thing or that thing, with little power to make my own change.
So Lord, deliver me from that which would possess me. Free me from being captured by anything other than your love. And give me compassion for the same in others around me.
By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.
Fred Wenger specializes in the study of demons.