If you read the sermon title in this morning’s bulletin, a bit of curiosity may have crept into your mind. Any time a preacher titles his sermon “An Exorcism & My Mother-in-Law”, it tends to furl a few eye brows. There is a certain amount of risk involved in choosing a title like this; especially when the preacher’s mother-in-law is sitting in the congregation.
The reason why a sermon title like this could be construed as controversial is because of the combination of the terms “exorcism” and “mother-in-law.” Some of you may be tempted to jump to the conclusion that I believe that my mother-in-law is possessed and needs an exorcism!
Although some of you may feel like your mother-in-law is possessed by a demon and needs an exorcism, I don’t think that about my mother-in-law (and I never have). My mother-in-law is actually a real sweetheart. She is kind, compassionate, and loves the Lord deeply. She has a servant’s heart and is exceedingly hospitable. I have the best mother-in-law in the world!
My sermon title simply alludes to the fact that I am going to tell you two stories today. The first story is about the first exorcism I ever witnessed. The second story is about a miracle that my mother-in-law experienced. It is rather ironic that both of these events just happened to take place on the same day.
My First Exorcism (31-37)
Many years have passed since I witnessed my first exorcism, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Back then, I wasn’t even sure if I believed in demons or exorcisms. I had never seen a demon and I didn’t know anyone who had been possessed. Like most people where I grew up, I had heard some local folktales about these things existing, but honestly, I was pretty skeptical—that is, until I saw it with my own two eyes. I have been to a number of exorcisms since then, but the first one has a way of etching a permanent memory in your mind.
I had only been a follower of Jesus for a few weeks and my hometown church was holding a special Saturday afternoon worship service. This service was a big deal for my little town because there we were hosting a prominent guest preacher, a man who had gained immense popularity in our area. He had earned a reputation for powerful and life-changing preaching!
Word traveled quickly and it seemed like the whole town showed up to hear him. The place was completely packed—I had never seen it so full. And the preacher definitely lived up to the hype. No one had ever heard anything like it before. He wasn’t like the other preachers we had heard in the past. (You know how most preachers can bore you to death by rambling on and on!) This man didn’t waste a single word. He looked us straight in the eye and he spoke with such clarity and authority. Our ears hung on his every word and his message pierced our souls.
But just as he was coming to the end of his message, the strangest thing happened. A booming male voice shrieked from the back of the room, “Ha! What do you want with us? Leave us alone!” A shocked silence fell over the whole sanctuary—you could have literally heard a pin drop. It was one of the most awkward moments I had ever experienced. As I turned around to see who it was, I felt anger bubbling up inside of me as I thought to myself, “Who in their right mind would have the audacity to interrupt a preacher in the middle of his sermon, especially one as good as this?”
But as soon as I looked at the man who so rudely interrupted the preacher, I instinctually knew he wasn’t in his right mind. It is difficult to describe—his face was contorted, his body was distorted, and his eyes were filled with evil. His voice was so deep that it didn’t even sound human. As I mentioned before, I had been pretty skeptical about demons and demonic possession, but when I saw and heard this man, I immediately knew he was possessed.
After a long pause, the man looked at the preacher again and bellowed, “I know who you are Jesus of Nazareth; you are the Holy One of God.” O yeah, by now I guess you have figured out that the guest preacher that day was none other than Jesus Christ himself!
As the man was shouting, Jesus cut him off and sternly rebuked him saying, “Be quiet!” The man immediately stopped talking and stood in a upright position. Then, Jesus approached him, looked deep into his eyes, and said, “Come out of him!” The man’s body twisted and he fell to the ground as if he was forced against his will. He laid there struggling for a few moments but was uninjured. My brother Andrew looked at me and said, “Simon, the demons have left him.”
The man fell before Jesus’ feet in worship and thanked him for delivering him from the demonic spirits. Jesus took the man’s hand, helped him up, and sent him on his way. As the service came to an end that afternoon, everyone was amazed by what they saw and heard. The whole congregation kept saying, “What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!” As people left the gathering place that afternoon, they went throughout the area and spread the news about what had happened.
As I watched Jesus perform that exorcism that day, not only did I learn about the reality of demons and demonic possession, but also I learned that Jesus had divine power and authority over demonic spirits and all of the forces of evil.
Like me, there may be someone here today who is skeptical about demons and demonic possession, but I beg you to believe. They are real and they actively work to destroy people’s lives. And if you ever have an encounter with a demon, I hope that you will always remember that these forces can only be overcome through the power of Jesus!
Also, in this one event, Jesus showed such compassion and control, meekness and might, pity and power! Even though I had already learned so much about Jesus, I realized that there was so much more to know! I hope that you will remember that too and actively seek to know him more!
My Miraculous Mother-in-Law (38-41)
Well, now that I have told you the story of my first exorcism, let me tell you a little story about my mother-in-law. After the exorcism that afternoon, I invited Jesus, my brother Andrew, and my fishing buddies James and John, back to my house for supper. My mother-in law lived with my wife and me at the time, and she loved taking care of us. She always wanted to do the cooking and cleaning and would hardly let us do anything, which I didn’t mind all that much. She was a good cook too! I gained 15 pounds the first year she lived with us. She always had food cooking and she loved when we brought people over for supper. So, even though I didn’t check with her ahead of time, I knew it would be alright.
When we got back to my house, my wife met me at the door in a panic. She said, “Simon, mama’s sick. She’s been running a high fever since early this morning and I’ve never seen one this bad. I’ve tried everything I can think of to bring the fever down, but nothing seems to work. I don’t know what else to do and I’m getting really scarred!”
As I saw my mother-in-law lying on the bed in sweat and misery, I tried to think of something I could do for her. As a fisherman, I didn’t know much about medicine and I knew that there weren’t any doctors in Capernaum. Then, all of the sudden, it hit me! How could I be so thick-headed? I had just seen Jesus cure a man from demon possession; perhaps he could do something to help my mother-in-law.
I went back outside and explained the situation to him. The tenderness in his eyes told me that he would help and he asked me if he could go in and see her. Everyone else stayed there, while Jesus and I joined my wife at my mother’s bedside. He very calmly bend over her, took her hand, and just as he did with the demon earlier that afternoon, he rebuked the fever and commanded it to leave her.
In an instant, the fever was gone and strength returned to her body. It was a genuine miracle. She was perfectly well. She sat up, kissed Jesus on the cheek, and thanked him. Then she said, “You boys must be hungry; let me fix you something to eat!” My wife tried to protest, but Mama said, “Girl, don’t you tell your Mama what to do! You set the table and leave the cooking to me!” As she said it, she gave Jesus a wry wink out of the corner of her eye. Jesus just smiled back at her without saying a word.
Man did we eat that night! Fresh baked pita bread! Rich mazza ball soup! And for dessert, the best date and fig bars I ever tasted! Mama really outdid herself. That was a dinner I will never forget.
As we enjoyed the food and shared in delightful conversation together, I thought about how Jesus displayed his power disease. Did you know that Jesus has the ability and authority to cure any disease or physical ailment by just speaking a word or touching someone’s hand?
The Crowd and the Cure (42-44)
As we finished our desert and mama began cleaning up the dishes, we heard a knock at the door and some voices outside. I opened the door and saw a large group of people. Somehow the news of the day’s events traveled all over the area, and now a large crowd of people came to Jesus seeking a cure. I had no idea what to do with all of those people, but Jesus quickly came to the door and surveyed the situation. He showed incredible compassion by dealing with every one of them personally. He talked with them and touched them. He healed every one of them from all kinds of maladies and delivered more from demonic possession. Meanwhile, the rest of us did what we could to help.
As the night wore on, it seemed like people kept coming out of the woodwork. When we saw the sun peak out over the eastern horizon, Jesus said that it was time for him to retreat to a solitary place. He had ministered to people all night long, and even he needed to take a break. After a while, the people tracked him down and begged him to stay there with them, but he said that God had called him to preach the good news of the kingdom in the other towns too. And with that, he came back to the house, thanked my mother-in-law one last time, told us disciples to gather some supplies, and we headed off for Judea.
As we walked toward Judea that day, I began to reflect on a few of the things that I had just learned about Jesus. I learned that Jesus’ preaching has the authority of heaven. I learned that Jesus has power over demons and diseases! I learned that Jesus has incredible compassion for people. I learned that even Jesus needs a break and retreat from ministry sometimes! And I learned that his utmost ministry priority was to preach the good news about the kingdom of God.
By sharing these stories, I hope that you all have learned some of the things that I have learned about Jesus!