DEMONIC
AFFLICTION OR ILLNESS
The language of the NT indicates
that there is some distinction between affliction by evil spirits and normal
illness. Mark 1: 32 states, "When it was evening, after sunset, they brought
to him all who were sick and demon-possessed:' possibly suggesting that not all
illness was thought to be related to the affliction of evil spirits, although
this was a common believe even among the Israelites. However, there is a close
connection between the "unclean spirit”–pneuma akatharton-of the NT
and physical illness. Most instances where this phrase is used is marked by the
presence of physical illness in the individual. Pneuma akatharton is
used eleven times in the Gospels-seven in Mark in which the individuals
afflicted by a spirit have an "unclean spirit,,-the majority of these
indicate a mental illness rather than a physical illness. Mark 5 clearly
indicates the Gerasene demoniac was suffering from mental affliction-"Then
they came to Jesus and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had
the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind:' Mark 1:23 states
that a man was in the synagogue who was "with an unclean spirit;' while
the parallel in Luke 4: 33 describes the man as one who had "the spirit of
an unclean demon:' As the evil spirit sought to indwell the human body it would
cause various afflictions. As you will see, a great deal of illness both
physical and mental was attributed to evil spirits and their affliction of
humans. The evil spirits could take control of all physical function of the
individual at will-physical activity, speaking, social interaction. The
following examples offer ample evidence for this demonic control:
Mark 1:24-26 states, "
'Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who
you are-the Holy One of God! ' But Jesus rebuked him: 'Silence! Come out of
him!' After throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud
voice and came out of him:'
Mark 9:25-26 reads, "Now
when Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, he rebuked the unclean
spirit, saying to it, 'Mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and
never enter him again: It shrieked, threw him into terrible convulsions, and came
out'
In Mark 5: 3 the affliction of
the unclean spirit results in antisocial behavior of the individual–“Just as
Jesus was getting out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came from the
tombs and met him. He lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore,
not even with a chain. For his hands and feet had often been bound with chains and
shackles, but he had torn the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces.
No one was strong enough to subdue him. Each night and every day among the
tombs and in the mountains, he would cry out and cut himself with stones:”
In Matthew 9: 32-33 the spirit
appears to prevent the individual from speaking-"As they were going away,
a man who could not talk and was demon-possessed was brought to him. After the
demon was cast out, the man who had been mute spoke:' Matthew 12:22 indicates
the evil spirit could cause blindness and cause the person to be
mute-"Then they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and
mute. Jesus healed him so that he could speak and see:' The question
here is whether the exorcism brought about the healing.
Matthew 17:14-18 reveals that the
disease of epilepsy was connected to demonic possession–“When they came to the
crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, and said, 'Lord, have mercy on my
son, because he has seizures and suffers terribly, for he often falls into the
fire and into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they were not able
to heal him: Jesus answered, 'You unbelieving and perverse generation! How much
longer must I be with you? How much longer must I endure you? Bring him here to
me: Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy
was healed from that moment.”
Luke 4: 39 attributes fevers and
other diseases to the idea of demonic affliction. Luke 4: 39 reads, "After
Jesus left the synagogue, he entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law
was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So, he stood
over her, commanded the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and
began to serve them.”
Finally, several passages
indicate the presence of insanity among those who were thought to be demonized.
Mark 5:15 states, "They came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man
sitting there, clothed and in his right mind" ( cf. Luke 7: 33; John 8:48;
10:20 ). (Archie T. Wright, “Demons in the New Testament,” in The Oxford
Handbook of Biblical Monsters, ed. Brandon R. Grafius and John W. Morehead
[Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2025], 311-12)
