Theological term
Demon Possession
6 sermons · All terms
The Authority of Christ Over the Demons
Matthew 8:28–34 records Christ's encounter with two demon-possessed men whose condition — violence, self-destruction, nakedness, and ceaseless torment among the tombs — exposes the wretchedness of Satan's kingdom and the glamorization of the occult as godless deception. The passage stands within Matthew's sustained demonstration in chapters 8–9 that the same authority with which Christ taught is confirmed in His works: one word, 'Go,' expels a legion. The city's request that Jesus depart reveals that the fear of God drives men either toward Him or away from Him, never to indifference. The sermon closes with the application of 1 Timothy 1:15 — that these two men are exhibit A that Christ Jesus came into the world to save even the chiefest of sinners — and an exhortation to parents to raise children who flee to the cross rather than to self-righteousness or the occult.
The Conversion of the Philippian Jailer
Acts 16:16–34 presents the arrest and imprisonment of Paul and Silas as the God-ordained means by which a Roman jailer was brought to saving faith in Jesus Christ. The sermon traces two movements: the exorcism of a python spirit that provoked false charges and a severe beating, and the subsequent earthquake and gospel conversation that issued in the jailer's conversion and household baptism. Paul and Silas's midnight prayers and hymns amid unjust suffering demonstrate that Christ is worth all suffering, while the jailer's question — 'What must I do to be saved?' — receives the apostolic answer: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The sermon closes with three baptisms that embody the same gospel the Philippian jailer heard, illustrating that believers' baptism by immersion is the fitting public sign of union with Christ in His death and resurrection.
The Lord Jesus and the Demoniacs
Matthew 8:28–34 presents Christ's authority over demonic powers as a ground for confident trust in him as the Son of God. The demons' own confession — 'You Son of God' — exposes what the disciples have not yet grasped: that Jesus holds sovereign dominion over every spiritual power, including the devil himself. The exorcism at Gerasa is set within Matthew's sustained demonstration, across chapters 8–9, that the one who teaches with authority also acts with authority. If Christ has conquered death and the devil, every lesser affliction that threatens the people of God lies well within his sovereign reach.
The Faith of the Canaanite Woman
A Canaanite woman — an ancestral enemy of Israel — confronts Israel's Messiah in Gentile territory and refuses to accept silence, rebuff, or unfavorable parable as the final word. This exposition of Matthew 15:21–28 traces her persistent petitioning through two encounters with Christ, showing that great need demands great earnestness and that true faith worships even when heaven appears silent. The sermon draws out three lessons: the triumph of faith expressed through dependence, humility, and persistence in prayer; the Christological display of Christ's mercy and sovereign power over demons; and the benefit of affliction, which drove a pagan mother to the Son of David and teaches parents to pray without ceasing for children under the power of sin and Satan.
Christ and the Demoniacs
Matthew 8:28–34 presents two men so thoroughly dominated by demonic forces that no human restraint could subdue them — yet Jesus casts out an entire legion with a single word. This exposition works through the description of the demoniacs, their confrontation with Christ, the exorcism itself, and the city's fearful rejection, arguing that the passage is Matthew's sustained demonstration of Christ's absolute authority over the powers of hell. The demons' own testimony — confessing Jesus as the Son of God and acknowledging a coming day of judgment — stands as a rebuke to all who withhold that confession. The sermon closes by calling hearers to flee to Christ rather than away from Him, pointing to the restored men clothed and in their right minds as a picture of what sovereign grace accomplishes.
The Amazing Son of David
Matthew 12:22–23 presents a man who is demon-possessed, blind, and mute — and whom Jesus heals instantly and completely, prompting the crowd to ask whether he could be the Son of David. This sermon argues that the miracle is not merely a historical curiosity but a divinely ordered proof of Christ's messiahship and a living picture of every sinner's spiritual condition before grace: blind to God, mute in his praise, and enslaved to Satan. The exposition moves from the messianic significance of the healing, to the spiritual blindness and muteness that characterise all natural men, to the sufficiency of Christ's atoning work to deliver the most desperate of sinners. Hearers are called to come to Christ without delay, assured that no case is too hopeless for the Son of David.