What does the Bible say about exorcism?

The Bible passages below can be used in sermons, prayers, pastoral care, or worship planning focused on exorcism. 

Although the word exorcism and its variants do not occur in the Bible, the practice of exorcism or driving out demons or evil spirits was a hallmark of Jesus' ministry. This ministry of delivering a possessed person from an indwelling demon was continued by the apostles in the book of Acts. The word itself derives from a term that means to adjure or to swear strongly, in the sense of commanding the evil spirit in question to be obedient. Exorcisms appear in several contexts in the New Testament: 

• Jesus' authority over evil spirits was viewed as a key indicator of his power as well as of his divine origins. See Mark 1:27: exorcism of an unclean spirit (Jesus' authority is recognized). 

• For the disciples and later the apostles, their own ability to drive out demons in Jesus' name was viewed as the key indicator that they now bore the authority and imprimatur of Christ himself. See Mark 6:7, authority to exorcise (Jesus gives disciples authority over unclean spirits) and Luke 10:17-18, authority to exorcise (demons submit to Jesus' followers who address them in Jesus' name). 

• At times, however, the disciples failed in their attempts to drive out demons, resulting in Jesus' chiding them for lack of faith and insufficient earnestness in prayer. See Mark 9:19, 27-29, insufficient faith/prayer to exorcise (Jesus casts out evil spirit when disciples could not). 

Sermon ideas about exorcism 

Church history 

How can church history inform a sermon on exorcism? Church history includes various reports of people driving out or warding off evil spirits in the name of Christ. In the early centuries of the church, there were semi-regular reports of demons being driven out by both clergy and lay Christians alike. It has also been asserted that baptism may itself be a kind of exorcism — not in the sense of casting out a demon but more in the sense that baptism into the triune name of God thereafter wards off demons and protects the baptizand from future attacks by the devil or his army. In cultures with a high percentage of baptized persons — whether or not they are particularly devout — some think that the baptisms may explain lesser demonic activity and possessions than what's seen in places with fewer baptized persons. 

Present day 

Today a popular (if somewhat inaccurate) view of exorcism was propagated by the movie The Exorcist. Although exorcism was dramatically sensationalized in the film, certain people in the Roman Catholic Church and in other traditions are known to be skilled in performing exorcisms in the name of Christ, and a renouncing of the devil and all his pomps remains a standard part of many baptismal rituals. 

In recent years, the Vatican has convened conferences for those appointed as exorcists in the church. The "Exorcism and Prayer of Liberation" conference brings together people from all over the world, though there now seems to be a heavier concentration of exorcists from Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Pope Francis in recent years has spoken much more freely than some of his papal predecessors about the devil, demons, and the need to be ready to battle these dark forces when they are encountered. 

Exorcism and mental illness 

What can a sermon on exorcism say about demon possession versus mental illness? In modern times, as the medical science of psychology developed, some have noted that many behaviors that in past centuries, and perhaps also in biblical times, would have been labeled the result of demonic possession are better explained as manifestations of diagnosable and treatable ailments like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or various dissociative disorders. Hearing voices, assuming different personalities, wild mood swings, self-inflicted wounds, and eruptions of violent behavior are hallmarks of what in the past may have been chalked up to demonic activity but today are typically seen as tragic but treatable diseases of the mind. Inevitably, this has led critics of the New Testament to question whether Jesus and his disciples/apostles encountered truly possessed people or just mentally disturbed individuals whose symptoms and behavior were owed not to demons but to unbalanced brain chemistry. Did Jesus and others cast out demons or heal mental illnesses? Exploring such questions requires caution and nuance. 

Even as it would be wrong today to tell the parents of a schizophrenic college student that their child might be possessed by a demon, so it is wrong to look at Bible stories and claim that Jesus and his disciples routinely mistook mental illness for demon possession. Today those who investigate people who show signs of mental illness rarely encounter violent anti-religious spiritual forces or claims by subjects that they are housing demonic spirits who can speak for themselves, as the truly possessed do assert. Further, when Jesus encountered people possessed by demons, it was typically the evil spirits who spoke first, recognizing Jesus as the divine Son of God (in ways other people around Jesus almost never did) and either challenging his authority over them or begging that he be gentle with them when he inevitably cast them out.  

People today who suffer from schizophrenia may hear voices and see hallucinations that seem utterly real to them, but psychological literature is hardly rife with reports that the source of those voices and hallucinations are outside forces external to the workings of the person's own brain chemistry. What's more, with proper treatment, many such persons can go on to lead fairly normal lives, including worship and service in the church. Many, therefore, both in the church and outside it, can affirm both that demon possession is real and that mental illness is real.  

Further, this affirmation of the reality of both conditions likewise means that those who suffer from mental illness ought not be told this condition is caused by sin, wickedness, or the presence of dark spirits, or that receiving pharmacological and other forms of therapy to address the illness are wrongheaded (as opposed to simply praying for the person's healing or deliverance). On the other hand, neither should demonstrable demon possession be treated with medication when the Bible and the experience of the historic church indicate that only the power of Christ is able to adjure demonic spirits in exorcist rites. 

Powers and principalities 

Sermons about exorcism can highlight the New Testament's contention that the key battles we fight as believers in the church are not against flesh and blood but against grave spiritual powers and principalities that oppose our God and Christ. In Ephesians 6:10-13, Paul introduces a theme that comes up many times in the epistles and elsewhere in the Bible: that we should put on the armor of God to withstand the attacks of the devil. For our struggle, he says, is not against physical enemies, but against "the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." 

Peter sounds a similar note in 1 Peter 5:8-9, advising believers to discipline themselves and stay alert against the devil, who prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. "Resist him, steadfast in your faith," Peter says, "for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering."  

Throughout church history, most people believed in both a personal God and a personal devil. A 2016 Gallup poll of Americans indicated that 79 percent believe in God but only 61 percent believe in an actual devil. Among active Christian believers, the percentage affirming a real devil is higher but far from universal. Pondering the realm of the demonic is not pleasant and may strike many as eerie or unsettling, but for believers there is ever the assurance of Christ's power and victory and the truth of the words of John: When it comes to recognizing the anti-Christ spirits in the world, we can be assured that we are from God and that the one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4). 

Excerpts about exorcism 

Following are sample excerpts from Zeteosearch.org sermon resources about exorcism: 

• "In a way, exorcism is a reorientation of power. It reveals and challenges the kind of power that animates our imagining, speaking, and acting." Article about Theology by Seth Richardson from Missio Alliance 

• "It is for this reason that He gave the authority of exorcism to His Apostles and also to the Church, as we can see in the baptismal service. This is not only for the sake of the person being healed but as part of the big picture project, which is to go about driving out demons from the creation and reclaiming it for God." Exorcism is Central to the Gospel by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick from Ancient Faith Ministries   

• "As a result, Jesus the Exorcist seems the only logical first ministry act for Jesus in Mark — not a sermon, not a miracle, not even a healing." Sermon Preparation by Karoline Lewis from Working Preacher