10 – Casting out a Demon

For three years, Jesus taught about God’s kingdom around the towns of Israel. He invited people to enter into God’s kingdom. But Jesus did not just teach about God’s kingdom. He also showed people what life would be like in God’s kingdom.

Many people live difficult lives. Many people suffer in this world. We get sick. We lose everything in an earthquake or a cyclone. In the end, we all die. Imagine a world without sickness, suffering and death.

Jesus did many miracles. Jesus healed the sick. He cast out evil spirits. He calmed a storm. He brought dead people back to life. Wherever there was pain and suffering, Jesus brought peace to people’s lives.

These works showed that God had sent him. The miracles also showed what life would be like in God’s future kingdom.

Next we will look at five of Jesus’ miracles. They give us a picture of life in God’s kingdom. They tell us something more about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Mark 1:21–27

Jesus causes a bad spirit to leave a man

21 Then Jesus and those disciples went into a town called Capernaum. On the next Jewish day of rest, Jesus went into the Jews' meeting place. He began to teach the people there.

1:21The day when Jewish people rest is called the Sabbath. It is the day that we call Saturday. Their meeting place was called a synagogue. It is a building where Jewish people meet to pray. They also read the Old Testament of the Bible there.

22 The people were very surprised at the things that Jesus taught them. When he taught them, he showed his authority. That was not like the way that the teachers of God's Law taught people. 23 In the meeting place, there was a man who had a bad spirit. The bad spirit caused the man to shout. 24 He said, ‘Jesus from Nazareth, leave us alone! Do not kill us! I know who you are. You are the Holy One and God has sent you.’

25 Jesus said to the bad spirit, ‘Be quiet! Come out of the man!’ 26 The bad spirit caused the man to shake and to fall down. It shouted loudly and then it came out of the man.

27 All the people were very surprised and they said to each other, ‘This is very strange. This man Jesus is teaching us something new and he speaks with authority. He can tell bad spirits what they must do. Then they do it.’

Mark 1:21-27 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)

Did you Know?

  • Jesus’ powerful works are called ‘miracles’.
  • Capernaum was a town in Galilee.
  • This healing took place near the beginning of Jesus’ work.
  • The ‘Sabbath’ was a Saturday, and Jews had to rest on the Sabbath.
  • There is an evil being called ‘Satan’ or the devil. Satan is God’s enemy and brings sadness and destroys people’s lives.
  • Just as God has his servants called angels, so Satan has his servants called evil spirits.

The Meaning of the Story

All over the world, people live in fear of evil spirits. Sometimes these spirits enter a person and take over their life.

One day, Jesus met a man with an evil spirit. The man spoke, but the voice was the voice of an evil spirit. The spirit had made this man’s life unhappy. Evil spirits destroy life, but Jesus came to give life.

Many people did not know who Jesus was and why he had come. Here we see that the evil spirits knew who Jesus was. They knew that God had sent him, and they knew that he had come to destroy them.

Jesus spoke to the evil spirit and told him to be quiet and to leave the man. The spirit immediately obeyed the word of Jesus. We see this again and again. Jesus only has to speak and his word is obeyed.

The man finally had peace in his life.

Who is Jesus?

Evil spirits are strong, but Jesus is stronger. Jesus does not fight a battle against evil spirits. Jesus just speaks a word. He issues a command and the evil spirits obey.

Jesus is the man who has power over all the evil powers.

Thinking about the Story

  1. What was the first thing Jesus did when he went into the Jewish meeting place?
  2. Why were the people amazed at his teaching?
  3. How did Jesus make the man clean again?
  4. Have you ever known anyone with an evil spirit?
  5. What power does Jesus have over evil spirits?