CHAPTER 42 - Why Do Devils Say Jesus Is The Messiah?
Hey, I thought there was no truth in Satan yet here his demons are able to proclaim the truth. They again tell us Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God and recognize His presence in the flesh. How a demon speaks truth is difficult to accept in light of “no truth being in them.” Yet if we are dealing with sick men who proclaim truth then that is acceptable. If we are dealing with men being delivered from their mental illness and false belief structure then we can understand the pronouncement of truth. George Lamsa was a pioneer in providing information that helped in liberating a person from their own belief system. In first century vernacular one could say Lamsa cast out many devils by introducing the seeker to a more historically and culturally correct understanding of “devils,” “demons,” and “unclean spirits.” “Devils” would unquestionably refer to a person’s condition that would be exhibited as some form of mental illness. Regarding this particular passage in Luke, Lamsa makes the following well-grounded points. According to the Aramaic version, which is based in an Eastern style of speech, when Yeshua healed someone they would cry out that He is the Mashiach, the Son of Alaha (Aramaic for Elohim/God). Lamsa points out that if Yeshua was truly dealing with a cosmic demon, said demon would not have been so willing to declare Yeshua to be the one and only “God” incarnate with all power. In the Satan is a fallen angel theory, the entire reason “Satan” and His angels were supposedly cast out of Heaven is because they were unwilling to admit to the sovereignty of the God of the Universe. This is exactly what a “demon” would have been doing in stating who Yeshua is. Why would Yeshua prevent His sworn enemy from proclaiming that He was the Messiah? Wouldn’t such a proclamation from the enemy be received by the masses as a sure testimony of the Messiah’s supremacy and the reigning power of the Kingdom of God? There is little sense in prohibiting an admission by the “demon” that He was the Messiah. Wouldn’t it make sense that Yeshua would allow a “demon” to testify that Yeshua was all powerful? The testimony of a supernatural creature would certainly be compelling evidence that Yeshua is worthy of being heeded and therefore submitted to. The short answer in deciding that a demonic entity was not present here, is that the activity Yeshua was confronted with was that of a sick man. This man’s behavior was fueled by an illness of the mind and not by a cosmic demon. However, that doesn’t explain why Yeshua disallowed an insane man who He had legitimately healed, from reporting the incident and proclaiming who his healer was. Lamsa makes the point, that if insane men who had received healing go about proclaiming Yeshua’s position, that might be a blight on the mission at hand. The indiscreet testimony of crazy men would cause untimely and unwanted confusion and opposition from the Pharisees and priests. As well, a crazy person caterwauling about some amazing healer in the streets would surely cast doubt on the validity of the healer rather than elicit intrigue and belief towards the healer. A crazy person’s testimony would not have been the most valued of testimonials in that area. There were many levels of being “demonized,” and in some of the cases of the insane men being healed, the level of appreciation was so profound that an appreciative recipient would want to tell everyone.[75] More shouting from a person known to be insane would not be helpful to the mission. Perhaps this is the reason for the mention of people being astonished when they saw the man with the “legion” sitting at Yeshua’s feet in his right mind.
A crazy man’s testimony was fairly worthless but the evidence of a significant change in a person’s behavior had great value. Yeshua was all for people spreading the word of His position and miracles. With the exception that their testimony was not going to be scoffed at by people seeing a crazy man sounding-off again with some senseless babble. Perhaps to have it done by someone who was seen as a lunatic would not have served the Messiah’s purpose to establish a credible testimony. As one seeking to build a loyal and stable following, a wise Rabbi was able to recognize if it would be advantageous or not for certain people to speak unbridled of who He was and what He had done. Removing the crazy from a person was fantastic, the harm caused by unmitigated outbursts about it from the crazy person would surely hamper the cause.
[75] George Lamsa, Gospel Light page 308 “Insane Men Confessing Jesus.”
Now for a sneak peek at . . . CHAPTER 43 - And They Were ‘Healed’… From Devils?
Standing on a plain, Yeshua was with His disciples and huge numbers of people who had heard of the man and His Message that was dramatically punctuated by healings of all kinds. Yeshua was now becoming well known amongst the commoners and the elite. People from all over the region of Jerusalem and Judea were responding to this intriguing man who preached a Message of life that was able to free the captives and give light to the blind. It is Yeshua’s message that is so avanté guard when held against the yoke of bondage found contained in the rigid observance of the religious leaders of the day. Yeshua did not fit any of the stereotypes of a religious leader. He was not pursuing a position of power in either the Roman or Jewish governing systems. Yeshua received all who came to Him with desire to be healed from their diseases. In this situation on the plain, Yeshua healed the “unclean spirits” that were vexing so many. The fact that we are told about a “healing” of these unclean spirits here is so we will be able to . . . (To read more of this chapter, request your copy of Who's the Devil Jesus Knew?)
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James R. Brayshaw