The Greek verb daimonizomai means to be possessed by a demon, to be under demonic influence or control. It appears about 13 times in the New Testament, exclusively in the Gospels, always describing people afflicted by unclean spirits whom Jesus encounters and delivers. The word is a passive form, indicating the person is acted upon by external spiritual forces.
Daimonizomai is significant both for what it reveals about the spiritual world and for how Jesus responds to it. The Gospels consistently portray demonic possession as real, not merely a metaphor for mental illness. Jesus never merely counseled the demonized — He commanded the spirits to leave, and they obeyed (Mark 1:25–26; 5:8). His authority over demons is proof of the Kingdom's arrival: 'If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you' (Matthew 12:28). The healing of the demonized is a foretaste of the total liberation Christ brings.