God’s Word for You
Acts 16:16-18 The Demon of Philippi
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Monday, September 28, 2020
16 Once, as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had an evil spirit through which she predicted the future. She earned a lot of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation!” 18 She kept doing this for many days. Finally, Paul became so irritated by her that he turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very instant.
Evil spirits were commonly seen in the early days of the church. I believe that there is a rise in occurrence of evil spirits troubling people and homes today as well. The slave girl was possessed by the “python-spirit” (Greek pneuma pythona). This doesn’t mean that she was a snake-charmer, but that she had the same fortune-telling ability as the famous oracle at Delphi. Legend had it that the Delphic Oracle had been guarded by a python and was slain by Apollo. This type of possession is sometimes referred to by the Greek term for ventriloquist. That is to say, like a ventriloquist’s doll, this slave girl had no power over what she was saying; her words came from the demon that possessed her. She was a slave to the devil as well as to men.
For some reason, probably the fear of the demon itself, she began to follow Paul and the others around. Notice that Luke is still saying “we” and “us” as he writes. Like the demon-possessed man in the cemetery (Mark 5:7; Luke 8:28), she refers to God as “the Most High God.” Curiously, she adds, “they proclaim to you the way of salvation!” Why would she, or her demon, declare Paul’s message to be the way of salvation”? We hear something like this from the condemned rich man in hell in Luke 16:27-28, wanting someone to go and warn his brothers about the coming judgment. This is a question we can’t really answer, but we can learn this about the gospel from her words and the related passages:
1, Unbelievers on earth don’t care about hell or their loved ones.
2, Unbelievers in hell care about the souls of their loved ones (Luke 16:27-28).
3, Believers on earth care about the souls of their loved ones.
4, Believers in heaven care about the souls of their loved ones.
5, The devil and his demons despise God and hate us and our loved ones.
The girl was speaking for the demon and not for herself. Therefore, the demon was not helping the gospel by speaking the truth. By speaking the truth through the lips of this possessed girl, he actually threw doubt on her message. How? The Jews of Philippi would know that God absolutely forbids contact with magic, sorcery, or necromancy of any kind (Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-12). King Saul was condemned for being unfaithful to the Lord and especially for consulting a medium (witch) for guidance (1 Chronicles 10:13). For this reason, what she said would be doubted by the Jews and perhaps even by the new Christian converts. The Gentiles would also think that it had nothing to do with them, since it did not involve any of their gods.
After “many days” of this, Paul lost his patience and drove the demon out in the name of Jesus Christ. We do well to notice the ritual and words Paul used. As to ritual, there was none at all. Casting out a demon is not a matter of rituals or spritzes of so-called holy water, oil or incense. Paul had faith in Christ, and he simply invoked the name of Christ Jesus to command the demon. That is all there was to it. The demon left her at once.
The devil does not have your good in mind, ever. He is never your friend, nor a friend to the gospel. He might speak words that are true, but in such a way that he still lies. This was the way he spoke to Eve in the Garden, and this is the way he spoke to Jesus in the wilderness, and this is the way he speaks to you in your own home. Run back to Jesus, let the words of Jesus defend you, and fear, love and trust in God above all things.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.