Top 7 Bible Verses About Casting Out

Demons
Here are my top 7 Bible verses about casting out demons, sometimes referred to as devils.

Mark 1:34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many
demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Interestingly, the first ones to acknowledge that Jesus was God were the demons which is why
Jesus didnt permit them to speak because they often declared You are the Son of God!
(Luke 4:41) to which Jesus would silence them. By doing so, Jesus shows that He has all
authority over the demons including the Devil. Jesus once conquered the Devils three-fold
temptations during the temptation of Christ in the wilderness (Matt 4:1-11) proving that Jesus
has authority over all the demons and even Satan himself. This also shows that the demons,
who are fallen angels, beheld the glory of Jesus Christ before He came to this earth for His
earthly ministry and so they knew Him before He entered human flesh and very possibly
before there were even humans created.

Luke 10:17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are
subject to us in your name!

This is what the disciples whom Jesus had sent out said when they returned. He gave them
the authority to cast out demons. They didnt necessarily have that authority of themselves
because no human is a match for a demon but when Jesus gives you the authority, then you
have His authority.

Acts 19:13-16 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the
name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, I adjure you by the
Jesus whom Paul proclaims. Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were
doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but
who are you? And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of
them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

I would imagine these itinerant Jews were surprised. They had apparently been seeing or
hearing of Jesus casting out demons and maybe some of His disciples had been doing the
same thing so they wanted to try it. They got part of it right; they used Jesus name but
apparently they were not known by Jesus because the possessed man beat them all and they
ran out of the house naked and bleeding, showing you dont really want to fool around with
demons if you are not a child of God and thus, dont have Jesus authority.

Luke 8:30, 33 Jesus then asked him, What is your name? And he said, Legion, for
many demons had entered him. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the
pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

This was not just one demon but a whole legion of demons and a Roman legion during Jesus
day could have been anywhere from between 3,000 and 6,000 troops. This could not have
been done by any single individual.
It took God Himself to cast out so many demons because of the tremendous power that they
had collectively. This casting out of demons was even more impressive because the man was
so possessed by demons that he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles,
but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert (Luke 8:29).

Mark 1:39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and
casting out demons.

Apparently, Jesus didnt waste much time casting out demons for from the very beginning of
His earthly ministry, he was casting out numerous demons in at least twenty different
circumstances that we know about in the New Testament. We see this verse as being part of
the same ministry; preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.

Mark 3:13-15 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he
desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles)
so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority
to cast out demons.

This is clear evidence that Jesus gave the disciples the authority to cast out demons meaning
that by themselves, they had no such authority. Remember what happened to the Jews who
were trying to cast out demons in their own authority? They were beaten badly and ran for
their lives. Jesus gives the authority. It is not something that we take up for ourselves as
many try to claim.

Luke 4:41 And demons also came out of many, crying, You are the Son of God! But
he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the
Christ.

The final verse about casting out demons was again when Jesus was confronted by demons
and they already knew Who Jesus was which is why they once cried out, What have you to
do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time (Matt 8:29)
showing that they know that they are headed for torment someday as it says in Revelation
20:9 where they will be thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false
prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. They didnt want
that to come before the time indicating that the Devil and the demons know their time is
coming and they seem to know when that time will be.

Conclusion

We have no fear of demons or the Devil because he has already been defeated by Jesus at the
cross for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Besides,
Jesus already had this authority over them long before He went to Calvary and even before He
came to be born as a babe in a manger so I would caution anyone that believes he or she has
their own authority over the Devil or demons because some of them gave those who tried this
such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

Related reading: Bible Study on Demons

Resource Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV),
copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.