Jesus Casts Out a Devil and Heals the Sick (Based on Mark 1 & 2)

Jesus went to Capernaum, and on the Sabbath He taught in the synagogue. A poor man was there who could neither understand nor enjoy the blessed words which Jesus spoke because this man was possessed with a devil.

In those days, Satan had great power over the bodies of men. Evil spirits often entered into them and made them wild and furious, in a way which we rarely see today. No doctor could drive away these evil spirits or heal the poor people possessed by them, but Jesus had power to subdue even Satan. In the wilderness, Jesus had conquered Satan, and He often conquered him afterwards by casting out devils from the bodies of poor afflicted people. God let Satan have great power at this time so that Christ might show His much greater power in subduing Satan.

The devil which possessed the poor man in the synagogue knew Jesus, and he spoke to Him, saying, “Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24).

Satan and all the evil spirits of hell know and fear Jesus. They know that He is the Son of God and that He came to save sinners. Therefore they hate Him, for Satan wishes to destroy the souls of men, and he would like them all to be with him where he is. The devils, too, are afraid of Jesus. They know how much stronger He is than they are, and they know that, in the end, they will be subdued by Him and be shut up in hell forever.

Jesus, in love and mercy to the poor man, spoke to the evil spirit and said, “Hold thy peace, and come out of him” (Mark 1:25), and the devil could not resist Jesus’ command. He threw the man down, but the evil spirit left the man. All the people saw what was happening; they were amazed and acknowledged the great power of Jesus.

When Jesus came from the synagogue, He went with James and John into the house where Andrew and Simon lived. There was trouble in this house; Peter’s wife’s mother was sick with a fever. The disciples were very sorry that she was so ill, and they asked Jesus to come and heal her. He took her by the hand, and the fever left her; she arose from her bed and ministered to them.

Jesus went throughout Galilee preaching, casting out devils, and healing the sick. Many poor people came to Him and told Him their troubles. He listened to them and pitied them all. Among others, a leper came and fell down and worshipped Jesus. He said, “Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean” (Mark 1:40). This leper knew that Jesus was able to cure him, for he believed Him to be the Son of God. Perhaps the leper did not feel quite sure that Jesus was willing to cure him. This was why he said, “Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.”

Did Jesus cure him? Yes; as soon as the poor leper prayed, Jesus put out His hand, touched him, and said, “I will; be thou clean” (Mark 1:41), and the leper was immediately cleansed. Then Jesus told him to go and show himself to the priests and offer for his cleansing as Moses commanded. The leper was to show himself to the priests that they might see and be quite sure that he was really cleansed, and he was to present the offering in gratitude to God for his cure.

Leprosy is a type, or picture, of sin. Sin makes us unclean in the sight of God, and until it is cleansed and taken away, we cannot stand before His holiness. Who can cleanse us from the leprosy of sin? It is only He who cleansed the poor leper of whom we have been reading—the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is able and willing to cleanse all who come to Him in faith and humility as the leper came.

After this, Jesus again went to Capernaum. When the people there heard that He had come, they hurried to the house where He was, in great numbers. Jesus preached to them there. While Jesus was preaching, some people came to the house carrying with them a poor man who was sick of the palsy. He was so weak and ill that he could not walk, so his friends brought him on a bed. They wished to ask Jesus to cure him, but they could not get in through the door. There were so many people that there was no room for the poor sick man to be carried into the room. What could his friends do? Did they give up and take him back home? No; they went up to the top of the house. There they took off part of the roof and let him down on his bed into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. They could easily do this, for the roofs of the houses in the East are flat and are made of much lighter materials than the roofs of our houses.

Was Jesus angry when He saw the sick man let down and brought before Him in this way? No; Jesus was not angry but pleased with what these people did because He saw that they believed in Him and trusted in His willingness and power to heal their friend. He turned to the sick man and said, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee” (Mark 2:5). This was joyful news to the poor man; the pardon of his sins was better, far better, than the cure of his body. Jesus was going to heal his body, too, but He gave him forgiveness of sins first because that is the best gift that Jesus can bestow.

Some of the Pharisees who were there were angry with what Jesus had said. They did not believe Him to be God, and therefore they thought that He had neither right nor power to forgive sins. Jesus knew their thoughts, and to show them that He had all power, He said again to the sick of the palsy, “Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house” (Mark 2:11). Then the sick man was cured immediately and became well and strong; so he took up his bed and departed, glorifying God. All the people wondered and praised God.

May the Holy Spirit use these wonderful stories of the power and mercy of Jesus to teach us to believe and come to Him in faith. Since the fall in Paradise, our souls are possessed with the love of the world and sin, and so we are like the man possessed with the devil. We are polluted with the leprosy of sin and guilt like the leper was diseased in his body. Our souls are as weak and helpless as the palsied man’s body was, and we are as unable to cure ourselves as he was when Jesus said, “Arise and walk.” Jesus is the way of salvation. He has come to conquer sin and death. He has said, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).

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