Which Side Are You On? (Mark 9:38-41)

In 1973 a movie came out called “The Exorcist.” The definition of exorcism is, “the expulsion or attempted expulsion of an evil spirit from a person or place.” I never watched the movie because it was more about the evil spirit than it was about the expulsion. Paul teaches in Romans that we are to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. Paul goes on say that “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20).

The problem I’ve observed with the subject of exorcism is that there seems to be two groups of people. One group becomes obsessed with the power of Satan, and their minds become focused on evil spirits. The other group refuses to accept that there is such a thing as being possessed by an evil spirit. However, if you read the Gospels you clearly see the spiritual contest between Jesus and evil spirits that have inhabited people. In each case the emphasis is on Jesus’ authority in the spiritual realm.

In Mark 9 the disciples had been arguing about which of them was the greatest, and Jesus had ended that argument by telling them that the greatest among them would need to be a servant of all. Their jealousy then turned to someone they had seen casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Because this man hadn’t been following them, they tried to make him stop. Jesus told them not to stop him, because no one could do a mighty work in Jesus’ name and then speak evil of Him. This reminds me of an attempted exorcism that took place after the resurrection.

In the book of Acts there is the story of seven sons of a high priest named Sceva who were itinerant exorcists. After they had seen the miraculous way God was using Paul, they decided to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits. “The evil spirits answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?’ The man who was possessed with the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded” (Acts 19:15,16).

Whether we acknowledge it or not, there is a spiritual battle going on. The question is, which side of the battle are you on? Jesus said, “For the one who is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:40). However, it is clear from the story in Acts that to be for Christ involves more than just being aware of the battle with evil. So again I ask the question, which side are you on?