The title, if not this entire sermon, is probably not politically correct. I have entitled it – “Mercy on the Lunatic.” If I had to guess, I’d say that “lunatic” is not to be found on some accepted vocabulary lists. Both this word and the Greek word from it is translated are only found on here and once earlier in Matthew. “Lunatic” is found twice in the Bible. Matthew 4:24 says – “Jesus’ fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, AND those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.” Notice that the verse I just read differentiates between demon-possessed people and lunatics. It may be that some people with mental illness are just that – sick. But at the same time, it is more than possible that many such people are demon possessed.
Notice, too, that those people were not called “lunatics,” rather they were described as “lunatic.” The word “lunatic” was originally an adjective, not a noun. If you look up the word in your average English dictionary, you’d find that it means “moon-struck.” The root word for “lunatic” is “luna,” which in Latin and its modern children, refers to the moon. And that is the definition that James Strong gives to the Greek word in our text. Furthermore, both the Greek and the English dictionary add the word “epileptic” after “moon-struck.” The child of this scripture was prone to epileptic-like attacks. But clearly – clearly – the seizures in this child were caused by a particularly vicious demon. In Luke’s account there is nothing said about “lunacy” – rather we read – “And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.” And in Mark’s account the father says that the child had been possessed by a “dumb spirit.” Then, in describing what Christ did to help, that demon was described as “dumb and deaf spirit.” That tells us that the poor little boy could neither hear or speak. But then Christ cured the child by ordering the demon to desist and depart.
We will return to these things in a couple of minutes, but I need to digress for a moment first. Please take note that this child is the focal point of a spiritual battle. We have one of the ambassadors of Satan at work in this boy’s body and in probably his soul as well. We have the natural concern of the father for the boy’s spiritual and physical condition. But then there is the intervention of the Saviour – the Son of God. The spiritual conflict here is unmistakable, because we are given the privilege of seeing more than just the surface. But I am here to tell you that we may be near-sighted witnesses to similar battles all around us. And I am not referring to mental, emotional and social problems alone. There is a spiritual struggle being fought for our apparently healthy and “normal” children and grand-children. To one degree or another every lost child – every lost soul, including adults – is a battle ground occupied by Satan. And he has no desire to give up his territory without a struggle.
In the light of this battle, let’s briefly consider the work of the DEMON.
I am not an expert in military tactics, but it appears obvious that every battle is a little different. It seems to me that the defense of one city or hill, might be entirely different than that of another. And on the other side, the attack of one position might be slightly different from an attack on another. Let’s say that a family has 3 sons – of course they all came into the world – lost sinners, spiritually dead. One of those children may be obedient, respectful, and church-going – but still not having the slightest interest in the things of God, because the unsaved “seeketh not after God.” The second son may be rebellious, troublesome, hating church and all authority – it is a fight to get that child into the house of the Lord. While the third may be mentally deficient, possessed by demon, but not recognized as such. Spiritually speaking there is no difference between them – they are all children of Satan. They are all demon-occupied territory, but they are defended by their occupiers in different ways.
The boy of our scripture was indwelt by an extremely vicious demon. The child was “sore vexed.” That demon “taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away:” It took every opportunity to cast the boy into open fireplaces or into pools or puddles of water. “And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.” Christ asked the father, “How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, of a child.” This seems to suggest that this boy had been having these fits since he was quite small.
So who did sin that this child became demon possessed? Since we don’t have an official answer, I’m not sure if it is an appropriate question. Apparently it was not the child himself, because all this began so early in his life. But this possession could have been the parents. Perhaps for a while they were dabbling in the occult in some way. They may have opened the family door to demon possession by using mind-altering drugs. The words “witchcraft” and “sorcery” in the Bible are translations of “pharmacia” – pharmaceuticals. Then again, when it comes to the unredeemed, there is really nothing to keep a demon from taking control. It could have simply been that this particular demon chose his victim and took him. Or perhaps he had specific orders from his superiors. I fear that many Christian parents are not as concerned about their children as they ought to be. There is no unsaved child who is not vulnerable to spiritual attack, even to the point of ending up like the boy in this scripture. This demon made the life of this child miserable, and in the process, the lives of the rest of his family as well.
In the light of this Satanic attack, what is the work of the DISCIPLE?
I am referring to your work in this spiritual battle. Well, first, we must come down to earth. Three of the Lord’s disciples were so high on Mt. Hermon, they could almost see Heaven – metaphorically. For a few minutes they were in the glorious presence of Son of God. They were rubbing shoulders with saints from bygone days – God’s saints from the Old Testament. They could hear the voice of God, and were almost blinded by the glory of the presence of the Lord. To be a part of the battle to which they had been called, they had to remember their responsibilities and return to earth. As has been so often said, “Some saints are so heavenly-minded that they’re no earthly good.” Peter, James and John had work to do at the foot of Mount Hermon – they could not stay at the top.
The other disciples, were trying their best to be of help to this man and his son. The man said, “I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.” “I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not.” These disciples had been casting out demons on other occasions; they were not inexperienced in this. But this time all that they tried was ineffective – and they really did try.
What do you suppose that they did to try to help? Did they command the demon, in the name of Christ Jesus, to depart? Did they lay hands upon the boy? Did they pray over him? Later, after asking the Lord analyze their technique, the Saviour said, “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.” Apparently, they had not had the opportunity or gone that far as yet, but they might have later. But the Lord also said that they were deficient in faith. Perhaps the disciples had been successful often enough with lesser demons than this one. Perhaps they had been successful often enough to become complacent. They were going through the religious motions, as they had done many times before. They had gone to church, they had sung the selected hymns, they bowed in prayer when they were told. But their hearts were not properly engaged. They may have been trying to cast out this demon in the strength of their oratory or their ecclesiology. The Lord spoke to them of their lack of faith – because through this lack in their lives, they were disconnected from the source of power that they needed.
Are we really doing enough to win our children, grand-children and our friends to Christ? To one degree or another, the lost are property of the wicked one – they are children of disobedience. It is not just about doing enough; are we doing the right things in the right way to win them?
Perhaps I should skip over thoughts about the BOY’S FATHER.
Apparently the man was not a child of God. But it is hard to know the man’s spiritual condition for sure. Mark says, Christ “answereth HIM, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.” Can the Christian learn something from the lost man – any lost man? In this case, there are some general lessons for everyone.
The man brought his son to the right place and the right Person. I wonder about from where they had come, and how far they had to travel to meet the Saviour? Was the man an Israelite or a foreigner? Was he from northern Israel or had he come all the way from Judah? The man had heard the fame of Christ and His disciples, and he had tried everything else available. He had seen the general practitioners. He had taken his son to the local psychiatrists – perhaps to the nationally renowned experts. They had proscribed their sedatives, their seizure meds, their Lyrica and Prozac, but nothing worked. No wonder they didn’t work, because the problem was spiritual. Finally when all the other options had been exhausted the man brought his boy to Christ. We cannot fault the man for that. But he may not have realized that he needed the Saviour as much as his son.
A part of what we can see and praise in this man is the sacrifice that the made to make this journey. He didn’t wait until the Lord returned to Israel, or to wherever the man lived. There was definitely effort involved and perhaps some expense. I wouldn’t be surprised if the demon within this boy fought against every step they took to come to Christ. But the effort and the struggle were worth it all.
Another commendable thing which we see in this man is his plea. It may not have been as respectful as it should have been; it may not have been sufficiently humble. But we have to remember the spiritual condition of man himself. “Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son…” This father has still a lot to learn about Christ – He is the Son of God – not just another rabbi. This father should have called Christ “Lord” as you might have done. But you have been blessed with teachers and with the Holy Spirit. This man lacked those blessings.
Still we see him bringing his son to the right Person.
And that brings us to the Victor and the victory in this battle – CHRIST JESUS THE LORD.
“Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.” The first thing that Jesus did was point this man to the root of his own problem. You might not like to be described as “perverse;” that is definitely not a PC sort of thing to say. But it refers to something distorted and turned aside from its original purpose. So this is a perfectly good term to use to describe all of us – before our encounter with Christ. This is a simple, one word summary of what Paul tells us in Romans 3 – “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.” This man, and basically all that generation of his country-men, were spiritually perverse – they were all as sheep which had gone astray. And this generation of ours is no different from them.
And we are all corrupt in our faith as well – we are faithless unbelievers. Oh, we believe in all sorts of things, but not in the right things – not in the right Person. We have our imitation Gods, and our fake Christs, in whom we trust – but sadly not the God and Christ of the Bible. The first thing that Jesus did in this spiritual battle was rebuke us all.
And then he “suffered us.” “Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.” The word “suffer” means something like “to put up with us” – to “bear with” – to “forbear.” What an appropriate term for the Lord to use. We are not worthy of the least of God’s mercies – even down to the air that we breathe. But He suffers and puts up with us time and time again. We refuse to believe Him – we disbelieve Him and disrespect Him; we ignore or reject His Word; and spit on His grace. We feast on His bountiful goodness every passing day, but we reject His counsel, rebuke and salvation. And still, when we are brought low enough, we bring our lunatic children to Him for a cure. Praise the Lord, He is patient, gracious and merciful.
After the rebuke of the MAN, the Lord rebuked that demon – ordering it to depart from the child. There is nothing which can resist the command of the Son of God. He can tell the wind to stop, and it stops. He can order a tree to stop growing, and it is instantly dead. He can bring Ananias down dead in his tracks and his wife to boot. Then Christ can order any devil, even to the Devil himself, and there is not a demon who can resist. That boy was instantly cured.
In the same sort of way, about half a century ago, I was instantly cured. Oh, I’m not talking about polio, or epilepsy, or a head cold – or even demon-possession (as far as I know). I am talking about a spiritual disease more deadly anything a human body can suffer. The Lord Jesus Christ forgave me of my sins. Christ Jesus applied the blood which He shed on Calvary, covering and effectively removing all my transgressions against God. When I was dead in my sin and my transgressions against the law of God, the Saviour gave me life – His life – the life which He had sacrificed on Calvary. In this boy there is a picture of me, and of thousands of others just like me.
Oh, how I hope that this is a picture of you as well. If the Holy Spirit of God has made you to see your lunatic condition, cast yourself down before the Saviour. Humbly trust Him for His eternal cure. If pleading will make you to understand your true condition, then beg for salvation with all your heart. But you must believe Him and trust Him – you must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be delivered from the insanity of your sins.