12. A Power Greater Than Sorcerers And Demons
Chapter 12 A Power Greater Than Sorcerers And Demons Jesus Gave The Apostles Special Power To Drive Out Demons
We have already looked at several stories that show that Jesus had power and authority over all evil spirits, including Satan. While he was on the earth, Jesus drove out many demons simply by speaking. Then later, when Jesus chose his apostles, he gave them authority over demons too. In that way people could see that the apostles were true messengers of Christ (Hebrews 2:3-4). And even though there were several hundred people that followed him, Jesus didn’t give all of them that authority. He only chose certain ones like the 12 apostles to have that special authority.
Mark 3:13-15 says: “Now Jesus …appointedtwelve (whom he named apostles), so that they would be with him and he could send them to preach and to haveauthorityto cast out demons.” (NET) So Jesus gave 12 disciples the authority over demons when he first chose them as apostles. Later he sent the apostles out by twos to preach God’s word, and again he gave them that power to drive out demons.
Mark 6:7 says: “Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two andgave them authorityover impure spirits.”
Even after Jesus left the earth, his apostles still had that authority or power, and it was recognized as evidence or a sign of a true apostle of Jesus (2 Corinthians 12:12). But consider for a moment; what specifically was it that gave the apostles the authority to drive out demons? It was Jesus’ words! The disciples themselves didn’t have the authority to drive out demons. The thing that gave them that authority and power was Jesus’ specific command. But what about other religious leaders? Could they drive out demons just by claiming to be a disciple of Jesus? Let’s look at Acts 19 and find out.
Some Religious Leaders Tried To Drive Out Demons
During the time of the apostle Paul, there were some religious leaders who were exorcists and they were the sons of a chief priest. Exorcists would often make money by going around and trying to drive out demons. These men weren’t true believers in Jesus, but they had heard about his amazing ability to drive out demons. So they tried to use Jesus’ name to drive out some demons.
Acts 19:13-16 says: “A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, "I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!" Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, "I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?" Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.” (NLT) The Religious Leaders Didn’t Have Authority To Drive Out Demons This story may seem a bit funny to some people, but it also holds an important lesson for all of us. The father of these seven men was a chief priest who had a lot of authority and respect in their community. So his seven sons would also have that respect. But just because they had deceived other people into believing they had some spiritual authority, their religious authority and honor among the people meant nothing to God. God was not fooled, and neither were the demons. These men weren’t real apostles like Paul was, so they didn’t have authority to cast out demons. They were just false apostles, so they were not protected by God, and the demon inside the man was able to quickly overpower them. It would have been better if they had humbled themselves and not tried to deceive the people. They shouldn’t have thought that they could just get this authority on their own just by using Jesus’ name. Christ alone was the one who decided who would get that special authority and power.
Demons Know Who Is A Believer And Who Is Fake The evil spirit in this Bible passage knew exactly who Jesus was, and recognized Paul and other believers as well, because the Holy Spirit was living inside of those believers. And that is also true today for those of us who have already believed in Christ. The demons know if we are children of God because they recognize the Holy Spirit that is living within us and they are fearful of him. But some people are not true believers in Christ, so they should at least have a healthy fear or respect for the power of demons. Some people still try to drive out demons by yelling and doing all sorts of things. They do it in order to get rich or famous, but it is still a dangerous thing to try as we have seen. Demons are not something to be toyed with. They are powerful. We’ve just read the story about these seven men and how they nearly got killed because they thought they could drive out a demon. If you are not a believer, you are still in Satan’s family and he wants to destroy you. You do not have the protection of the Holy Spirit living in you. But those of us who are children of God have no need to be afraid of demons because God’s Holy Spirit lives inside of us and protects us against demons.
Now let’s finish the story:
Many Sorcerers Turn To Christ
Acts 19:17-20 says: “When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this waythe word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.”
God’s Word Has The Power To Change Lives In the city of Ephesus where this event happened, many people practiced sorcery through the power of Satan and the demons. Once those sorcerers heard the news about the seven sons of Sceva, they were “seized with fear” because they realized that Christ was much stronger than the evil spirits they worked with. But what was it that took away their fear and changed the lives of these sorcerers to become lovers of God and believers in Christ? It was “the word of the Lord.” The Lord’s words are much more powerful than any of Satan’s magic. Christ’s words are the powerful force that changes people’s lives, even if they are sorcerers. Those sorcerers heard the word and they were convicted and wanted to repent. They believed in the death and resurrection of Jesus to save them and God began to change their lives. He gave them a new kind of power—the Holy Spirit who came to live inside them and began to change their hearts and minds. They didn’t mind letting go of all their demons and the miracles of Satan, even if it meant losing all their business and the money they made doing sorcery. They wanted the truth instead, and God’s word accomplished great changes in their lives.
God’s Word Is More Important Than Miracles
Powerful miracles and the ability to drive out demons are wonderful, but they are just a temporary fix to help the body. Jesus wants to help our spirits too, which are eternal. We know that even if an evil spirit leaves a man, and God doesn’t help him spiritually, then his life won’t really be changed much in the end. If the Holy Spirit doesn’t come live inside the man, then the evil spirit could even come back and indwell the man again (Luke 11:24-26). The real change must come from Christ. His word (the Bible) really does change people’s lives for the good and gives them a totally new way of living—just like those sorcerers in Ephesus. After believing in the Gospel, they turned their backs on Satan’s ways. They brought their sorcery books together and burned them in public for everyone to see. They could have sold them for a fortune, but they didn’t want those scrolls (which were filled with Satan’s lies) to deceive other people—so they burned them. By doing this in public, it also became a warning to others not to play around with Satan’s lies. The Holy Spirit Lives Inside Us So We Should Not Fear
These sorcerers were not afraid to turn away from the spirits they once served, so we too don’t have to fear the spirits or the power of sorcery or magic. The Holy Spirit lives inside us and is able to watch over us. Satan and the demons cannot overcome the Holy Spirit. Look at this verse again:
1 John 4:4, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, becausethe one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” The Sorcerer Who Could Not Put A Curse On Israel
Let’s look at another story about another sorcerer and how God watched over Israel. In Numbers 22, 23 we see a man named Balaam who claimed to be a prophet, but he practiced sorcery and divination with the power of evil spirits. He was greedy and charged people money for his sorcery (2 Peter 2:15). Later in his life he was killed for his sin (Joshua 13:22). But in Numbers 22-23 we see a king named Balak, who called for Balaam. Balak was an enemy of Israel and wanted to destroy them, so he tried to hire Balaam to curse Israel. King Balak summoned Balaam, but Balaam didn’t want to go because God had strongly warned him that he must not curse Israel or practice sorcery on them. But King Balak kept insisting and he promised to pay Balaam really well, so he finally went. But along the way, God warned Balaam again that his life was in danger if he cursed Israel. When he arrived where the Israelites were camped, King Balak asked him again to look over Israel and then put a curse on them, but Balaam told the king he would only be able to say the words that God had told him. And so instead of cursing Israel, Balaam ended up actually blessing them instead! Of course, this made King Balak very angry, but Balaam told him he had no choice. He just simply wasn’t able to curse Israel. Here’s what he said:
Numbers 23:23 says: “There is no divination against Jacob, no evil omens against Israel.” No Need To Fear The Sorcerers This story shows us again that God can prevent any plan that Satan has against us. If God doesn’t want Satan to do something, Satan won’t be able to do it, just like this story of King Balak and Balaam. It proves again that we don’t need to fear sorcerers, witchcraft, diviners, and anything connected to idols. Those things are all from Satan, but God is much more powerful than Satan. We can totally trust God and we need not fear the things of Satan. God is not the least bit afraid of Satan or his sorcerers and other people who want to frighten us, so we shouldn’t be frightened either. God the Holy Spirit lives inside of us! All those curses, omens, and magic fetishes, etc. are nothing in God’s eyes. God watches over his children and we don’t need to be afraid of those things. We can rejoice in the all-powerful God who protects his children! Does The Bible Condemn Sorcerers Now?
It is true we don’t need to fear sorcerers, but how should we deal with them? In some countries, sorcerers can be put in prison because it is against the law, and as believers we should abide by the laws of the country and speak out against the practice of sorcery. But what about the laws of the Old Testament that God gave Israel? If we were Israel and followed their laws, then we would stone sorcerers to death! And some people today think we still should. It is true that God gave those laws to the Israelites long ago for their protection, but as we saw earlier in this book when we talked about sorcerers, there were other laws also that called for people to be stoned to death. Here’s a reminder of the list again:
Someone who worked on Saturday—the Sabbath (Exodus 31:15-16).
A stubborn or rebellious son who was a drunkard (Deuteronomy 21:18-20).
Someone who committed adultery (Deuteronomy 22:22 : Matthew 5:28).
Taking God’s name in vain (Deuteronomy 24:16).
False prophets and those who told false dreams (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).
….and many other laws.
Under the Old Testament law of Israel, there were several reasons why people deserved the death penalty in God’s eyes—-not just sorcery. In fact, we are all guilty in some way in God’s eyes. I’m sure most of us have worked on Saturday (the Old Testament Sabbath day) or been rebellious to parents or used God’s name in vain, or committed adultery in our minds (Matthew 5:27). We all have been rebellious and disobeyed God’s law in some way, so in his eyes we are just as guilty as those who have done witchcraft or sorcery, divination or idolatry.
“For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.” (1 Samuel 15:23)
It might be easy for us to point a finger and condemn the sorcerers and say that they deserve to be stoned to death for their sins, but it’s harder for us to admit that we all have broken laws worthy of death in God’s eyes (Romans 3:19-20). God’s word says it plainly:
“...whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumblesat just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10) We Live In A New Age Of Grace
Thankfully, you and I now live in a time of grace (John 5:24; Romans 8:1; Galatians 5:18). We now live in the church age, and the New Testament guides us to a new understanding of the law. As Gentiles and Christians we are no longer under all the religious rules of the Israelites, such as taboos on pork and other meats and foods (Acts 10:9-16; Mark 7:18-19). We are no longer required to give sin offerings, or go to the temple in Jerusalem for special religious feasts or worship on a certain day like the Sabbath (Saturday) and observe the Year of Jubilee. We are also not under all the ritual laws of washings and taboos on many other things like the Israelites were. The Old Testament is full of laws for the Israelites and it would be hard to count them all. But the New Testament shows us that those laws didn’t make people righteous. Instead, their purpose was to show us how sinful we were (Romans 3:20). And also the laws were a temporary shadow or picture of real things to come. They all pointed toward Christ. (Galatians 3:19; Galatians 3:24-25).
Jesus Fulfilled The Law
Colossians 2:14-17 says: “He (Christ) has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed indecrees opposed to us. he has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. Disarming the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days --these are only the shadow of the things to come, but the reality is Christ!”(NET)
Praise God! Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law where we have failed. Jesus became our Sabbath (Hebrews 4)—meaning that Jesus himself has become our “rest” so that we don’t have to live under the weight of all the Old Testament laws. We can “rest” by faith in the finished work of Christ because Jesus is the fulfilment of all the laws that had previously condemned us, and his Spirit is the power within us to live godly lives in a wicked world.
We Are No Longer Under The Taboos And Laws Of Israel
Jesus fulfilled the laws concerning all the Levitical system—the festivals and sacrifices at the temple and the Sabbath and the taboos and all the other laws. He died on the cross to disarm the power of the law that stood against us. So if we believe in the work Jesus did on the cross to save us, then we are no longer under the Jewish laws of the Old Testament.
Romans 6:14; Romans 7:4 say: “you are not under the law, but under grace.”… “you also died to the law through the body of Christ...”
Romans 8:1 says: “Therefore, there is nowno condemnationfor those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 5:1 says: “It is forfreedomthat Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Before, we were all under the law, and just like the sorcerers, we were all guilty. But by the grace of God and Jesus Christ, we are now free. By faith in Christ we are saved and receive new life and a new power—the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can even change sorcerers! Did The Apostles Stone The Sorcerers? In Acts we saw that many sorcerers were in the town of Ephesus. But did the apostles stone them to death like they did in the Old Testament? No! Instead they shared the Gospel with them, and many of them repented. They believed on Christ and left their former way of life and began a new life in Christ, which they proved by burning all their sorcery books. So we see a new pattern here. God doesn’t tell us to stone people to death now. Now we live under God’s grace and we can show that same grace to others just like God showed grace to us as sinners. We need to spread the Gospel so people everywhere can believe in Christ and leave their evil ways and live under God’s grace.
Using Diviners And Accusing People Of Sorcery In some countries people think they still need to have “witch hunts” or hunt down sorcerers and kill them, the way their ancestors did. But they usually don’t have any real proof of witchcraft or sorcery or know who might actually be guilty because they didn’t see it happen, so they just accuse someone they are suspicious of or dislike. Sometimes they just hear a rumor and if lots of people agree, then they condemn the person and kill them—without proof. Sometimes people go to diviners to find out who practiced sorcery. But the diviner can accuse anyone without proof, so he lies about them. Some religious people read the Old Testament and insist that the Bible allows these accused people to be killed, but we’ve already seen in God’s word how the apostles didn’t do that with the Ephesian sorcerers. They didn’t apply that law anymore because of God’s grace. So it is also very important that we should not go around accusing innocent people. If we do, then we could be guilty of worse sin than sorcery in God’s eyes.
It Is God’s Job To Judge The Sorcerers
We know that some sorcerers will never repent. They might continue to do sorcery in secret, but they can’t hide from God. We can be assured that God sees everything they do and he alone will repay this wrong.
Romans 12:19 says: “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” This verse shows us that God is the one who will judge and avenge all sin (including sorcery), so we have no right to rush judgment by accusing someone we’re not sure of. It is God’s job to deal with them, sooner or later. God has also put governments in place to judge people under the law of the country in which we live. If someone really is practicing sorcery, then the government is the proper authority to deal with them, and we should not take the law into our own hands. So we need to let God and the government judge and deal with them.
Romans 13:1-4 says: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities…the authorities that exist have been instituted by God. So the person who resists such authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment… if you do wrong, be in fear, for it does not bear the sword in vain. It is God’s servant to administer retribution on the wrongdoer.” (NET)
Some evil people will be judged for their wrongdoings even while they are still here on earth, but all of them will be judged after they die, in God’s final judgment. But no matter where or when, all their sin will come out into the open sooner or later and they won’t be able to hide anymore. So we can rest in the fact that God will take care of it. Remember the verse we read earlier:
“Do not take revenge...leave room for God’s wrath...“I will repay,” says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)