263. The Sons of Sceva Got a Beating

“Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ‘We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.’

“Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.

“And the evil spirit answered and said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’

“Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” Acts 19:13-16.

Jesus I know, and Paul I know about; who are you? [Norw.].

It is commonplace for worldly people to pray and show respect for God; nonetheless they don’t want to hear about Jesus Christ. That is also how it is with demons, the spirits that work in the children of unbelief. They cannot bear to hear anyone speak about Jesus, He who in the days of His flesh conquered them. The name of Jesus either makes them flee or become furious.

God is a spirit, so they have to acknowledge Him as their conqueror. However to hear about someone in flesh and blood conquering them is something they don’t like at all. This is why we hear worldly-minded people speak magnificently about God, yet they omit the name of Jesus. They are not willing to share His reproach, and all this is because the spirit that dwells in such children of unbelief can’t bear to hear the name of the one that conquered him.

God sent His Son and condemned sin in the flesh. Rom. 8:3. Sin never came forth from Jesus’ flesh. It manifested itself as temptation, but was, as such, always defeated. Sin was condemned in the flesh—therefore He also defeated all evil spirits in His flesh. Those spirits cannot possibly penetrate into the depths of the heart except through the flesh. This is the new and living way through His flesh. Therefore, every spirit that acknowledges Christ to have come in flesh is of God. The Spirit lusts against the flesh and the flesh against the Spirit. The Spirit that lusts against the flesh is of God; but the spirit that spares and protects the flesh is of Satan. The evil spirits tried to get into Jesus, but they were defeated. This is why they said: “Jesus we know.” They knew Him as their unconditional conqueror. “And Paul we know about.” They knew Paul as one who had begun taking up a battle against them by crucifying the lusts of the flesh, which was the very entrance for the evil spirits. “But you, who are you?” The sons of Sceva were completely ignorant of the fact that demons must be opposed through the crucifixion of the flesh. They, on the other hand, had lived all their days in a human way, and thus had become religious, just as their father the high priest. When they saw others casting out demons, they must have thought they were just as good as Paul and all the others. Surely they, too, would be able to do signs and miracles; but it all ended with them being overpowered, and they had to flee naked out of the house.

Many in that day will proclaim that they have cast out demons in the name of Jesus, but Jesus will say: “Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness, I never knew you.”

In their eyes it really did seem that they had cast out demons in the name of Jesus. Nonetheless the fact is that no demon was actually cast out, but rather there was an exchange of spirits: a crude and brutal spirit was exchanged for a religious, high-minded, and pharisaical one. This also was accomplished in the name of Jesus, but it was another Jesus and another spirit. The true Jesus never knew them, since they were always seeking to practice unrighteousness—even when they cast out demons. Such evil spirits do not readily leave their prey. When they were about to be cast out, they begged Jesus to permit them to enter into the herd of swine. Matt. 8:31. They sought a dwelling place. In this instance there was not just an exchange of spirits; they were truly driven out. We see that the whole herd stampeded and plunged headlong into the sea and perished. Yet the demons did not die; they wandered around and sought another dwelling place, for Satan has forsaken his own dwelling.

The disciples tried to heal an epileptic, but they couldn’t. Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the child was cured. Matt. 17:18. “The disciples then came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’” Jesus said: “Because of your unbelief . . . this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

From this account we see that these kinds of spirits lie deeply buried in the flesh. They could only be reached by fasting and prayer. On the way through the flesh we also encounter these kinds of spirits. Jesus had encountered this spirit; but the disciples had neither prayed nor fasted enough. For them such spirits were hidden, and so the demon was spared. However, it was apparent to Jesus, and so it was cast out.

Think about the sons of Sceva and all those of like mind who are content and happy in their flesh. Such people do not have a way that is going through their flesh. Nor has the sharp sword of the Spirit divided their veil. Yet they are haughty enough to want to cast out demons. A devil cannot cast out a devil; but one devil can replace another. It takes power from another kingdom to cast out an evil spirit.

You should keep this in mind when undertaking to cast out demons. Otherwise you can reckon on getting a good beating like the sons of Sceva.