Eucharist as Deliverance from Evil

Eucharist as Deliverance from Evil

Let us begin with prayer.

Heavenly Father, we give you great thanks that by the power of your son's atoning death we have been delivered from all evil. We would now ask that this mighty deliverance be made real in our lives. In his name we pray. Amen.

As one reads Matthew, Mark, and Luke, it becomes clear that Jesus delivered the afflicted of their evil and unclean spirits. We may note, however, that no such exorcisms occur in John's gospel. John, however, was one of Jesus' disciples, and he must have seen Jesus cast out demons. Further, as one of the twelve, he was authorized to cast out demons himself and was sent out to do so (Matthew 10:1, Mark 6:7, Luke 9:1).

The absence of specific exorcisms in John's gospel does not mean, however, that John has no teaching in regard to deliverance from evil. He does, and like other themes in his gospel, he considers the work of the devil from both a particular and universal perspective. In the particular, the devil is seen in his immediate effects. He enters Judas (John 13:27), and he is the father of those who seek to murder Jesus (John 8:37-38). From a universal perspective, Jesus describes him as the "father of lies" (John 8:44) and the "ruler of this world" (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11). As the ruler of this world, he mobilizes the powers of this world for evil. Among other things, he empowered Judas and the religious and civil authorities to falsely judge and crucify Jesus. In this regard, on the eve of his crucifixion, Jesus tells his disciples that the "the ruler of this world is coming" (John 14:30). Even so, this ruler "has no claim on me" (John 14:30). The verb for "claim" in this passage is ?χει, which means to "have," "hold," or "possess." The devil, in spite of his authority over the world, has no power over Jesus himself. Rather, Jesus goes forward to his death in obedience to the Father, "... but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father" (John 14:31). Earlier, in this same discourse with his disciples, Jesus describes his impending death with the words, "Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out" (John 12:31). In other words, although John's gospel has no specific exorcisms, the crucifixion and resurrection are understood as the casting out of Satan, a universal exorcism that defeats the devil and liberates all those who believe in Jesus. A similar idea can be found in Hebrews 2:14-15, "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself [Jesus] likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery." Although Jesus rebuffed the devil in his temptations, and cast demons out of the oppressed, it was, above all, his cross and resurrection that liberated the world from the power of the devil.

In the essays, Trinity and Incarnation, as well as In Remembrance of Me, I described how the Holy Spirit takes the words and deeds of Jesus, given to the senses by such things as Scripture, preaching, and liturgy, and makes them real in a person's experience. As that happens, the person of Jesus becomes a present reality, and through him, one comes to know the transcendent and holy Father. Evil spirits work in a similar fashion. They take empirical realities, things given to the senses and imagination, and intensify their attractiveness so that they become a power in the soul. For example, the spirit of Mammon is one of the greatest powers in the world today. This spirit consumes people. It animates them so that wealth becomes an obsession, something so real and desirable that they will give way to this spirit and spend their lives amassing, spending, or hoarding wealth. Similarly, many people are animated by a spirit of fear which takes normal risks, such as driving a car or walking in their neighborhoods, and intensifies the danger to such a degree that they live in constant fear. Or the spirits of hate, rage, and bitterness can amplify minor offenses or innocent remarks, into great insults, compelling a person to lash out at others. These spirits need to be cast out in the mighty name of Jesus by believers who are gifted in this ministry.

Although the Holy Eucharist is a celebration of Christ's death and resurrection, and thereby a setting forth of Jesus' conquest of the devil, it is also the case that believers, in addition to the Eucharist, need the ministry of deliverance as described in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. At the same time, however, there are many in the Christian community who have received deliverance, but have not replaced the evil spirits with the Holy Spirit, nor have they encountered the ongoing deliverance given to them in the Holy Eucharist. This leads to instability in the Christian life, constant struggles and a lack of peace. It can even lead to a worse condition as Matthew 12:43-45 makes clear. When evil is driven out, it needs to be replaced by the good, and there is no greater good than to receive the love of God made known in Christ Jesus, and for that, the Eucharist is vital. It brings peace and stability into the Christian life. As one who has been delivered of evil spirits and who takes the Eucharist weekly, I can attest to this.

When the Holy Eucharist is received in faith and with an open heart, the Holy Spirit takes the sights and sounds of worship, all directed to the living Lord Jesus who died and rose again, and makes them present, powerful realties that feed the soul with love. Then, and only then, are the evil spirits fully conquered because, as the Holy Spirit makes Christ real in worship, it can readily be seen that the objects of our desires, formerly made appealing by the devil working in us, have no love in them at all. They are shams, sorry imitations of our soul's sincere desires. For this reason, it is vital that Christians be taught the meaning of the Eucharist, and that they regularly receive the Eucharist in faith. From the beginning, weekly Eucharist on the Lord's Day was the practice of the Church (Acts 20:7).

In this context, John 6:51-59 is surely relevant.(1) This passage proclaims that "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:53-54). In John's gospel, life and eternal life, refer to the life given by Jesus through his cross and resurrection. It entails the forgiveness of sins, conquest of the devil, and above all, a relationship with God and others founded upon love. The verb "has," in the phrase "has eternal life," is in the present tense, meaning that believers begin to experience eternal life now, and in the life to come, will possess life in all its fullness when Christ raises up believers after their deaths. For that reason, the Holy Eucharist is a great blessing, the "bread of immortality," to use a phrase of the Church Fathers.

More could be said on this vital topic. The point here is to encourage the church to understand the Holy Eucharist as, among other things, the conquest of the devil. In conjunction with Christian ministries that help deliver us from evil, it is a constant source of comfort and peace, protecting us from the evil one since the Eucharist manifests the victory of the Lord Jesus, thereby giving us a foretaste of heaven where the devil and his angels can never go. This is the place we all long for, and God in his mercy has given it to us in the Holy Eucharist. Let us praise and bless him forever.

Questions for Discussion

1. Have you ever been harassed by the devil and then, in celebration of the Holy Eucharist, experienced the liberating power of the risen Lord?
2. Have you ever known those who receive deliverance again and again and never seem to reach a point of stability? Were they receiving the Eucharist on a regular basis? There are many factors that may enter into such matters, not simply the demonic or a lack of the Holy Eucharist. For example, there are persons who have mental problems that lead them to believe they are possessed by the devil. In these cases, if such means are available, medications can be helpful. Like any of us, they can also be afflicted by evil spirits, but beyond normal prayers for deliverance, repeated attempts at deliverance can harm such a person, confusing them by addressing a medical problem as if it were demonic influence. In this case, as in others, discernment is important.

Endnote

1 See the essay, A New Heart and Soul.
2. There have been various interpretations of this text. A number of the Church Fathers interpreted this passage as referring to the Eucharist. See, for example, Thomas C. Oden and Christopher A. Hall, (editors), Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture, New Testament, IVa, John 1-10, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006), pp. 238-243. Among the Reformers, Cranmer taught that eating and drinking Christ's body and blood referred to feeding upon Christ, not literally as physically eating flesh in the Eucharist, but assimilating his life, whether in the Eucharist or by other means such as Bible study, worship, prayer, or otherwise. Griffith W.H. Thomas, Principles of Theology, (London: Church Book Room Press, 1951), p. 390. Raymond Brown, in his commentary on John's gospel, believes this passage refers directly to the Eucharist. Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel According to John, I-XII, The Anchor Bible, (New York: Doubleday, 1966), pp. 281-294. Brown believes that John 6:51-59 is a rewrite of the teaching of John 6:35-50 in which the writer took the material from 6:35-50 and reformulated it in Eucharist terms. In addition to the reasons Brown gives for this interpretation, it can also be noted that John's gospel understands Jesus as the incarnation of the eternal Word, a Word that was present and active in the lives of Old Testament figures (John 5:39, 8:56). At one point Jesus said to his contemporaries, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). The decisive moment in Christï¿½s life was his crucifixion and resurrection, and therefore, that moment was not only inherent in Old Testament figures, but in Christï¿½s prior deeds and words such as his feeding the five thousand. Therefore, it would be appropriate for John to interpret Christï¿½s feeding of the five thousand in light of his impending death, while locating the foot-washing at its place on the Passover night. Eucharist is a feeding upon Christ, and therefore, satisfies the teaching of John 6:51-59.

The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D.
August, 2013