Tag: Demon

Episode NT19 – A Little Faith

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Mark chapter 9

A Little Faith! –The Demon-Possessed Boy

As Jesus and the three disciples Peter, James and John came down from the mountain where they’d seen Jesus transformed and heard the Words of God, they talked about a common belief Jews held that Elijah must ‘return’ before the Messiah could come.

‘Why do the teachers of the law say this?’ they asked Jesus.

‘Well, Elijah has already come to set everything in order,’ Jesus answered them. ‘But he was badly mistreated, just as the Scriptures predicted.’

It was then that the disciples realised Jesus was talking about John the Baptist who’d been murdered by Herod.

As they came to the foot of the mountain they saw a huge crowd gathered around the other nine disciples who were having a blazing row with the teachers of the law. The teachers of the law were always looking for something they could use against Jesus, for any weakness they could exploit to run Him down and discredit Him. And now, they thought they’d found something! Jesus’ disciples had failed to heal someone and so the teachers of the law were pressing home their advantage over the disciples – and a row had broken out.

As Jesus approached the crowd, the people ran to meet Him. ‘What’s going on?’ He asked. ‘What’s all this arguing about?’

A man in the crowd, with a desperate look on his face, stepped forward and spoke to Jesus.  ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘My son can’t speak because he’s possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. Whenever the spirit takes hold of him, it throws him violently onto the ground and he starts to foam at the mouth, grind his teeth and his body becomes rigid! I brought him to You so that You could heal him. But as you weren’t around, I asked your disciples to make the evil spirit go, (P) but they couldn’t do it!’

When He heard this, Jesus felt so disappointed. After all, He’d taught them, after all, they’d seen! Not just His disciples but also the people, still they refused to really trust Him, to believe that He had the power to deal with whatever situation they could possibly come across. And so, with a slow shake of His head He said, ‘You faithless people! How long is it going to be until you believe? How long must I put up with your unbelief?’ Then looking at the father’s worried face He said, ‘Bring the boy to me.’

At once the boy was brought before Jesus, but as soon as the evil spirit saw Jesus it threw the boy into a violent convulsion and he fell to the ground thrashing around and foaming at the mouth.

Rather than just heal the boy there and then, Jesus wanted to find out if his father still had the same belief he started with when he’d first brought the boy to see Jesus. Had seeing the disciples fail to heal the boy stopped him believing? So He asked, ‘ How long has this been going on?’

The boy’s father, desperate at seeing his child once again thrown into convulsions looked at his son while he answered Jesus. ‘It’s been happening since he was a small boy. And what makes it worse is that the evil spirit often makes him fall into the fire or into water – it’s trying to kill him! Please, if you can, do something.’

Jesus turned to look at the man. ‘What do you mean, ‘IF I can’?’ He asked. ‘Anything’s possible if a person believes.’

The man quickly shifted his gaze from his son and found Jesus’ eyes. ‘Oh but I do believe,’ he answered. ‘But please, help me not to doubt!’

Jesus had got his answer, the boy’s father did believe, even if it was a wavering and weak faith. Because what mattered wasn’t the strength of his belief, but the power of the One he believed in! And as Jesus saw other people beginning to run over and the group of onlookers start to grow, He rebuked the evil spirit. ‘Spirit of deafness and muteness,’ He said, ‘I command you to leave the boy and never enter him again.’ At this, the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and then left, just as Jesus had commanded. As the spirit left, the boy lay motionless on the ground. He lay so still that the crowd started whispering to each other saying, ‘Look, he’s dead!’ But Jesus walked over to the boy, took him by the hand and helped him to his feet.

A while later, when the crowds had gone home and Jesus was alone with his disciples in the house where they were staying, they asked him. ‘Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit like the ones we cast out before when you sent us out to preach?’

‘This kind of evil spirit can only be cast out by prayer,’ Jesus answered.

Episode NT12 – The Unclean

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Mark chapter 5

The Unclean

As the boat approached the shore after the terrible storm, the disciples saw the man running their way. He was hard to miss! Naked and unkempt from years of living amongst the tombs and wandering in the wilderness – he hurried to where their boat was landing. Even as Jesus climbed out of the boat the man ran towards Him. And at seeing Jesus, he shrieked, threw himself on the ground and started screaming! ‘Why are you bothering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, I’m begging you – don’t torture me!’ He was pleading with Jesus because already Jesus had started to tell the evil spirits to come out of the man and leave him alone.

The evil spirits had often taken control of the man. When people had tried to put him in chains to control him, he simply smashed the chains and ran out amongst the tombs or into the wilderness screaming and shrieking and hurting himself with rocks, totally under the power of the demons.

‘Tell me,’ Jesus asked, ‘What’s your name?’

‘Legion,’ replied the man, ‘Because there are many of us inside this man’. And then they started to beg Jesus again and again not to send them to some far off place. (PAUSE)

Just nearby was a very large herd of pigs. ‘Send us into those pigs instead,’ the demons begged, and Jesus gave them permission.

So, at Jesus’ command, the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs. (P) As they did, it looked as if the whole hillside was moving. The herdsmen watched in horror as the whole herd of two thousand pigs stampeded down the hillside and drowned in the lake!

The herdsmen were terrified and ran as quickly as they could to the nearby city telling everyone they met what they’d seen and what had happened to the pigs!

Within no time at all a crowd gathered around Jesus, the people wanting to see for themselves if what the herdsmen had said was true. And what they saw filled them with fear, for as they came to Jesus, there in front of him sat the man they’d always know to be demon possessed. Before, he’d been like a madman, screaming and shrieking and running around the tombs, but now, although they recognised his face, it was almost as if a new man was sitting there. For he was no longer controlled by demons, but completely sane, clothed and sitting quietly at Jesus’ feet. As the crowds gathered, those who’d seen the whole thing happen told the newcomers how Jesus had healed the demon possessed man and what’d happened to the pigs. (PAUSE)

How should the people have responded to have amongst them One so powerful? Surly they should have welcomed Him into their homes having decided to turn away from all their evil deeds. They should have begged Him to teach them, to show them how they could become children of the Most High God. But instead, in their fear and because of losing their pigs, they begged the One who had come to heal them – to go away and leave them alone. (P) And so Jesus started to leave.

As Jesus got into the boat, the man who’d been possessed begged Him, ‘Lord please, let me come with you.’ But He refused to let the man come, and instead told him, ‘No, you stay here and go home and tell all your friends what wonderful things the Lord has done for you and how merciful He’s been.’

And so as Jesus and His disciples set sail for the other side of the lake, the man stayed and did just as Jesus had commanded. Travelling to all the towns and cities of that area he told everyone about the great things Jesus had done for him, and all who heard these things were amazed. (PAUSE)

When Jesus’ boat arrived back on the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around Him on the shore. News of all that Jesus had done was well known in the region, so it wasn’t too surprising when someone came to Him, begging Him to heal their daughter. This person, Jairus, was the leader of the local Jewish meeting place, the synagogue, and he was terrified that his precious daughter, his only child was about to die.

‘Please,’ he begged, ‘come to my home, put your hands on my daughter and heal her so that she can live.’ (PAUSE)

It wasn’t exactly easy to go with Jairus, as it seemed that everyone and their neighbour wanted to see Jesus, and talk to Jesus, and be near Jesus. The narrow streets couldn’t cope with such a huge number of people and so their progress was slow. (P)

The woman didn’t know what to do – she was desperate! Something was wrong with her. She’d been bleeding constantly for twelve years! Numerous doctors had tried all they could to heal her, but they’d only made matters worse, and now she had a permanent flow of blood making her ritually unclean, unable to play any part in the life of her people – she wasn’t even supposed to touch another person in case she made them unclean as well. Not only that, but she’d used every last penny she had to pay the doctors – with nothing left, she had nowhere else to go.

This woman had also heard about Jesus, of all He’d done, that there was nothing to difficult for Him and that the power of the living God was at work in Him and through Him. But how could she go to Him with THIS problem, it was too private, too painful and yet somehow she knew that He was the only answer. The crowds were almost overwhelming. Normally she kept away from them for fear that someone would recognise her as the ‘unclean woman’ and she’d be disgraced. But she had to see Jesus, to touch just the hem of his clothes for she knew that He was the One through whom God would heal her. So covering her head, hoping that no one would recognise her, she pushed her way into the crowd, heading for Jesus.

Jesus was making slow progress to Jairus’ house with the crowd pushing and shoving and getting in each other’s way. Meanwhile, the woman worked her way through the crowd, came up behind Him, and reaching out her hand she touched the fringe of his robe, and at once, the bleeding stopped and she knew she was healed. But her joy was momentary for no sooner had she received His healing power than Jesus stopped and started to look around the crowd.

‘Who touched me?’ He asked.

‘What do you mean ‘who touched you’ his disciples replied. ‘This crowd’s pushing against you from every side, how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’’

But Jesus wouldn’t move, He kept looking around and asking ‘who touched me?’  The woman was terrified, people would recognise her as being the ‘unclean woman’, what was she to do? All she could do was fall on her knees before Jesus in front of this huge crowd and tell Him what she’d done.

Would Jesus be angry? Would He scold her for being unclean and touching other people? No, instead He looked at her, and for all to hear, so that everyone would no longer be able to call her the ‘unclean woman’, he gently restored her, saying. ‘Daughter, your faith had made you well. Go in peace. You have been healed.’ Not only had Jesus healed her, but now He’d made sure everyone knew she was clean – she was healed and restored, she could take her place once more amongst God’s people. (PAUSE)

The healing of the woman had taken precious time. Jairus had looked on not knowing what to do. His daughter was dying, every moment was precious as her life hung in the balance and here was Jesus dealing with someone else. Then Jairus saw his servant approaching, ashen faced. ‘There’s no point bothering the teacher now sir,’ he said, ‘your daughter’s died.’

Jairus didn’t know what to think, but Jesus was by his side. ‘Don’t be afraid.’ He said, ‘Just trust me.’

It was then that Jesus stopped the crowd from coming any further, only allowing Peter, James and John to follow him to Jairus’ house. Already the mourners had gathered and the weeping and mourning for the dead had begun, but Jesus went in and said to them, ‘What’s all this racket? The child’s not dead, she’s only sleeping.’ The mourners laughed at Jesus, they knew the difference between someone who’s dead and someone who’s sleeping.

Jesus told everyone to leave the house except his three disciples and the girl’s parents. Then taking them into the girl’s room, Jesus walked across to where she lay on her bed and took hold of her hand. ‘Little girl,’ He said, ‘Get up.’ At His command, the twelve year old girl immediately stood up and started to walk around!

Completely overwhelmed her parents looked to Jesus who told them, and His disciples, not to tell anyone what had happened, but instead to give their daughter something to eat.