A few notes first

• I am treating deliverance here as deliverance from demons, evil spirits, or satanic bondage.
• I am using the standard Protestant canon.
• Where the same event appears in more than one Gospel, I group it as one event.
• The categories are based on the outcome described in the text:
  • Full deliverance = the spirit left and the person was clearly freed.
  • Partial deliverance = relief is given, but not final or lasting freedom.
  • No deliverance = the attempt failed, or no freedom occurred in that moment.

1. Full deliverance

Old Testament

No clear, explicit exorcism account

• In the Old Testament, there are evil spirits, spiritual oppression, and divine judgments involving spirits, but there is no clear exorcism account like we see in the Gospels and Acts.

New Testament – individual named or clearly described cases

1) Man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue at Capernaum

• Mark 1:21–28
• Luke 4:31–37
• Jesus rebuked the spirit, and it came out.
• Category: Full deliverance

2) The Gerasene/Gadarene demoniac

• Matthew 8:28–34
• Mark 5:1–20
• Luke 8:26–39
• Matthew mentions two men; Mark and Luke focus on the main spokesman.
• Jesus cast out the demons (“Legion”), and the man was later seen clothed and in his right mind.
• Category: Full deliverance

3) Mute demoniac

• Matthew 9:32–34
• The demon was cast out and the mute man spoke.
• Category: Full deliverance

4) Mary Magdalene

• Luke 8:2
• Mark 16:9
• We are told that seven demons had gone out of her.
• The actual moment is not narrated, but the deliverance is clearly presented as real.
• Category: Full deliverance

5) Blind and mute demoniac

• Matthew 12:22
• Jesus healed the man so that he could both speak and see.
• Category: Full deliverance

6) Demon-oppressed man who was mute

• Luke 11:14
• Jesus cast out the demon, and the mute man spoke.
• Some see this as parallel to another Gospel account, but Luke presents it as a clear deliverance.
• Category: Full deliverance

7) Syrophoenician/Canaanite woman’s daughter

• Matthew 15:21–28
• Mark 7:24–30
• Jesus delivered the girl at a distance.
• Category: Full deliverance

8) Boy with a deaf/mute spirit

• Matthew 17:14–18
• Mark 9:14–29
• Luke 9:37–43
• The disciples failed first, but Jesus cast the spirit out and restored the boy.
• Category: Full deliverance

9) Woman bent over by a spirit of infirmity / satanic bondage

• Luke 13:10–17
• Jesus said Satan had bound her for eighteen years and then loosed her.
• Not a classic “come out” exorcism formula, but clearly a deliverance from satanic bondage.
• Category: Full deliverance

New Testament – summary statements of multiple deliverances

10) Many delivered during Jesus’ Galilean ministry

• Matthew 4:24
• Matthew 8:16
• Mark 1:32–34
• Mark 1:39
• Luke 4:40–41
• These are broad summaries saying Jesus cast out many demons.
• Category: Full deliverance

11) The Twelve cast out many demons

• Mark 6:7, 13
• Luke 9:1
• Jesus gave authority, and they cast out many demons.
• Category: Full deliverance

12) The Seventy return with victory over demons

• Luke 10:1, 17
• The demons were subject to them in Jesus’ name.
• Category: Full deliverance

13) Many delivered through the apostles in Jerusalem

• Acts 5:16
• People with unclean spirits were brought, and the text says they were healed.
• Category: Full deliverance

14) Many delivered in Samaria through Philip

• Acts 8:5–8
• Unclean spirits came out of many with loud cries.
• Category: Full deliverance

15) Slave girl at Philippi

• Acts 16:16–18
• Paul commanded the spirit to come out, and it left that very hour.
• Category: Full deliverance

16) Many delivered through Paul’s ministry in Ephesus

• Acts 19:11–12
• Evil spirits went out from people through extraordinary miracles associated with Paul’s ministry.
• Category: Full deliverance

2. Partial deliverance

1) Saul’s torment eased by David’s music

• 1 Samuel 16:14–23
• When David played, Saul found relief and the spirit departed from him for the time.
• But later the troubling spirit is seen again:
  • 1 Samuel 18:10–11
  • 1 Samuel 19:9–10
• This is the clearest case of temporary relief without lasting freedom.
• Category: Partial deliverance

Comment on this category

• This is actually a very small category in Scripture.
• When Jesus or the apostles successfully ministered deliverance, the result is normally presented as decisive, not partia 

3. No deliverance

1) The disciples fail to deliver the boy before Jesus intervenes

• Matthew 17:16
• Mark 9:18
• Luke 9:40
• The father brought the boy to the disciples, but they could not cast the spirit out.
• Jesus later did deliver him, but their attempt resulted in no deliverance.
• Category: No deliverance in that attempt

2) The sons of Sceva fail completely

• Acts 19:13–16
• They attempted to cast out an evil spirit using Jesus’ name without truly belonging to Him.
• The evil spirit answered them, overpowered them, and no deliverance occurred.
• Category: No deliverance

3) Elymas the sorcerer

·         Acts 13:4-12

·         Though the demon was bound from doing anything, and the man became blind for a time, the man was not delivered from the demon.

4. Simple summary by category

Full deliverance

• Capernaum synagogue demoniac — Mark 1:21–28; Luke 4:31–37
• Gerasene/Gadarene demoniac(s) — Matt. 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–20; Luke 8:26–39
• Mute demoniac — Matt. 9:32–34
• Mary Magdalene — Luke 8:2; Mark 16:9
• Blind and mute demoniac — Matt. 12:22
• Mute demoniac — Luke 11:14
• Syrophoenician woman’s daughter — Matt. 15:21–28; Mark 7:24–30
• Boy with deaf/mute spirit — Matt. 17:14–18; Mark 9:14–29; Luke 9:37–43
• Bent woman loosed from satanic bondage — Luke 13:10–17
• Many through Jesus’ ministry — Matt. 4:24; 8:16; Mark 1:32–34, 39; Luke 4:40–41
• Many through the Twelve — Mark 6:13; Luke 9:1
• Many through the Seventy — Luke 10:17
• Many through the apostles — Acts 5:16
• Many through Philip — Acts 8:5–8
• Slave girl at Philippi — Acts 16:16–18
• Many through Paul’s ministry — Acts 19:11–12

Partial deliverance

• Saul temporarily relieved by David’s music — 1 Sam. 16:14–23; 18:10–11; 19:9–10

No deliverance

• The disciples’ failed attempt with the afflicted boy — Matt. 17:16; Mark 9:18; Luke 9:40
• The sons of Sceva — Acts 19:13–16
• Elymas the sorcerer – Acts 13:4-12

5. A final biblical observation

• In the Old Testament, demonic oppression is present, but formal deliverance ministry is not prominent.
• In the Gospels, deliverance becomes a major sign of the Kingdom of God breaking in.
• In Acts, that authority continues in the name of Jesus.
• The striking pattern is this: where Christ truly acts, deliverance is full.