Not many Christians like to read or think about demon possession. Either we fear the possibility or belittle the situation. For those who fear, many have frightening scenes or images in our heads from creepy entertainment that make us uneasy about the thought. There are enough horror movies and Halloween decorations that attempt to spook us that we may lose the severe nature of reality.
While the commercialization of such a concept has created false scenarios, that doesn’t mean that evil spiritual forces don’t exist. When you look at this passage, you realize that the demons Jesus encountered weren’t trying to startle anyone but to stifle them. The tactic was not to create fear and panic. The goal was to impede an individual’s ability to behold Jesus and confess Him as Lord.
The enemy seeks to deceive, distort, and destroy what God has made. In another encounter with a demon-possessed man, as soon as Jesus redirects the demons into a herd of pigs, they run over the cliff. It’s a vivid picture of what the enemy is trying to do in the lives of those made in God’s image.
In this encounter, the demon has been chipping away at the man’s essential functions on the way to total defeat. In his blindness, he could not see what Jesus was doing. Without the ability to speak, he could not cry out for help when Jesus passed by. The enemy had the man limited and helpless.
22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to him. He healed him, so that the man could both speak and see. 23 All the crowds were astounded and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
Matthew 12:22-23.
What did Jesus do? He healed him! Jesus reversed the power of the enemy upon this poor man. With this change, the man could see Jesus with his own eyes, confess that Jesus was Lord, and believe in Jesus for salvation (Rom. 10:9).
We often believe that demon possession creates the potential for a creepy scenario in the present that would cause us to fear “what goes bump in the night.” In reality, it is meant to secure a condemning scenario for eternity. Satan has come to keep us from beholding Jesus, but Jesus has come to thwart his work.
Have you ever considered that some people who refuse the gospel have been blinded by the enemy (2 Cor. 4:4)? Allow that thought to intensify how you pray for them.
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.
