Spring 2020 · Vol. 49 No. 1 · pp. 92–94
Book Review
Jesus, Deliver Us: Evil, Exorcism and Exousiai
Willard M. Swartley. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2019. 406 pages.
Jesus, Deliver Us by the late Willard M. Swartley is an ambitious effort to combine both scholarly treatment of biblical theology with pastoral praxis on the controversial and concerning topic of spiritual warfare. The task of Swartley’s book is “to show from biblical study that the spate of books on the devil/evil spirits/deliverance ministry and spate of books on the principalities and powers need to be ‘incorporated’ to grasp fully the Christian call to vigilance against evil in this world” (33). Swartley is also committed to addressing this issue from an Anabaptist peace {93} perspective. His earlier book, Covenant of Peace, provides the foundation for his treatment of the New Testament texts.
Swartley’s analysis of the topic begins with a study of Israel’s warfare, described as “the God-ordered slaughter of the Canaanite nations in order to save Israel from idolatrous influences upon Israel’s worship of the Lord God” (38). How do we reconcile the “Warrior God in the OT with Jesus Christ’s cross-response to evil in the NT?” (39). While “unfolding revelation within the biblical canon” is the summary explanation, Swartley points to Christ’s willing death for sin and its consequences, which “kills enmity, not the enemy” (59), as God’s ultimate response to evil.
In addressing the controversial theme of promised land, itself a cause of much conflict, Swartley uses Elmer Martens’s treatment of “metaphors and motifs” (69–71) as a helpful aid to explain “land” in its New Testament fulfilment. The land as promise, gift, and place of God’s presence all find fulfillment in Christ and his Kingdom.
“Evil and enemy” are also examined from both Old and New Testament perspectives. Interestingly, it is Israel/Judah who, through their idolatry, become God’s enemy. Christ’s call to “love our enemies” signifies our identity as “children of the Father” (Matt 5:44–45) and also the power of light over darkness.
While these themes are common in Anabaptist writings, Swartley presses further. In the Lord’s Prayer, the petition to “deliver us from evil” points to our personal adversary, the devil. According to Swartley, “Jesus’ exorcisms were a key sign that the Kingdom of God has come and that the Spirit of God was (and is) at work in Jesus Christ” (133). This was not just a New Testament experience, but relevant for disciples of Christ today. “I believe in a healing/deliverance gospel with discipleship . . . this ministry of healing-discipleship belongs not to Jesus alone, but also to his disciples” (132).
Swartley analyses each reference to exorcism in the gospels and the book of Acts. Luke’s gospel narrative connects exorcism with peacemaking (Luke 10:5–6 with vv. 17–18). The Roman centurion Cornelius receives the gospel from Peter (Acts 10), described as the “good news of peace through Jesus Christ” (Acts 10:36). This Jesus “went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him” (Acts 10:38). This reflection on the combining of political impact (Roman centurion) with deliverance from demonic spirits is an example of Swartley’s unique Anabaptist approach to this topic.
In his comprehensive review of Paul’s writings on principalities and powers, Swartley points to Christ’s defeat of the powers of darkness as the essence of deliverance and salvation. “By the power of this gospel believers are set free from the bondages of sin, evil, devil, and demons— {94} manifested in many forms: be it personal oppression or structural, systematic manifestations of demonic power. Deliverance from the powers of evil is the precondition and gift of our peace with God and fellow humans” (149).
Further, in his survey of John’s writings, Swartley points to John’s use of the Lamb imagery in Revelation in confronting evil. He quotes Loren Johns in describing the Lamb as “a reversal in the conventional wisdom about the nature and function of power in the world” (194). Like the suffering early church to whom John is writing, the Lamb is willing to die a witness’s death in overcoming evil. “The theology of the Apocalypse can even be characterized as a theology of peace, with peace defined not as absence of conflict, but as an ethic of nonviolent resistance to evil” (195).
In his chapters on faithful responses, Swartley reminds us that the early church practiced exorcism as a normal part of the catechism preparation for baptism. It was this widely demonstrated power over evil spirits that was the chief factor in attracting people from the pagan world to Christianity (223). A response to the societal powers also receives a nuanced treatment by Swartley, where an “individual Christian’s conscience and the discernment of our communities of faith are essential guiding resources” (253).
Swartley respectfully engages Walter Wink’s “holistic” view of evil and his appeal for a more integrated understanding of “inner and outer” expressions of evil. However, he critiques Wink’s analysis as minimizing “the possibility of the powers as personally autonomous beings and thereby the scriptural witness and account of evil” (289). Swartley appreciates Paul Hiebert’s critique of the modern naturalistic worldview which has left Western missionaries ill-equipped to engage the vast “middle realm” of spiritual activity experienced in most Third World contexts (287).
While various expressions, approaches, and theories of deliverance are surveyed in the concluding chapter, the content will be found lacking by practitioners who are looking for hands-on counsel. For example, the illustrations of healing prayer listed in the appendix require more context and explanation to be of practical assistance.
For those in missional assignments wanting a primer on spiritual warfare, Swartley’s book provides a helpful first step for background reading from a uniquely Anabaptist perspective, while still requiring more practical tools as follow-up. For those in academic contexts, this book offers a detailed biblical and theological analysis of evil and the powers, which will stimulate much thought.
