The Power of Our King Over Demonic Forces is a Witness to Salvation
Learning From the Unknown Disciples: Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 25:48
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Scene 1: Demons; let’s not make the mistake of overemphasising their power or discounting their existence, demons are real!
From the Garden of Eden in Genesis to Satan’s doom in Revelation, the pages of Scripture are filled with references to evil supernatural beings who oppose God and His purposes.
They actually appear more frequently during the ministries of Jesus and the apostles.
Jesus and Paul tell us more about them than any other Biblical characters.
The Bible makes the basic assumption that these supernatural beings exist.
Science cannot determine the existence of the demonic.
Science seeks to describe and explain natural phenomena.
Scientific inquiry can support a supernatural belief, such as the order and design of the universe points to the existence of a creator.
But science cannot answer the question of the nature and purpose of supernatural beings
Purely naturalistic explanations do not adequately account for much of the evil in the world.
The impact of sin on humanity explains most of the evil we see around us.
But some things are so abhorrent or inexplicable that they suggest a demonic origin.
The horrors of an Auschwitz, the actions of a monster who tortures and kills people over a long period of time imply a powerful force leading humanity to destruction.
Some cases of insanity are best explained as the work of a spirit being.
Most mental illness is just that, mental illness.
Just like any other sickness or injury the result of the fall has lead to a deterioration that can be explained by the corruption of the body.
Be it a chemical imbalance, a deformity of some part of the brain, severe emotional trauma or a physical injury.
Some people suffer from a mental illness
But there are some cases where illness is not the cause.
Apparently there is a category in the list of mental health diagnosis that includes “Possession Disorder.”
We need to learn from human history and other cultures.
Only in recent times in western society has the existence of evil spirits been viewed with widespread scepticism.
But when we look at non-western cultures we find that belief in evil spirits is a very real part of the worldview of all people groups.
Now we need to be careful.
We can’t be uncritical, nor should we become extremist and see a demon behind every bush.
At the beginning of C. S. Lewis’ famous book the Screwtape Letters, we are warned that we can err in two ways as regards the devil.
We can fail to take account of him or we can give him too much attention.
Scene 2: Jesus certainly understood the power of demons to harm and the challenge they present to the rule of his kingdom; that is why he cast demons out of people.
In the New Testament there are at least 8 cases where detailed descriptions are given of Jesus casting demons out of people.
In some cases they caused people great harm.
In others they harmed others.
Some caused illness and deformity.
And in every case Jesus established the rule of his kingdom and restored the person to wholeness.
Take a look at Matthew chapter 8 verses 16 – 17; this is one of a number of times when it simply states that Jesus healed many of demon possession.
Jesus drove the spirits out of many.
Note also the context of this verse.
Always Jesus’ actions are in the context of healing, of restoring a person to wholeness.
And that is the attitude that we should have towards this subject.
When it is necessary to confront the demonic, we should not do so with an attitude of superiority or fascination with the bizarre.
Of wanting to see a display of power.
Instead we must always deal with this issue in an attitude of humble dependence on God and a desire to see wholeness and restoration.
Otherwise our motive will be seen by the forces of evil and we will ourselves become a target.
Scene 3: The story of the demon possessed men at Gerasenes is a controversial story that teaches us a lot about Jesus’ power and authority over demons.
Have a look at Matthew chapter 8 verses 28-34.
In looking at this account we need to understand that Matthew, Mark & Luke all record it differently in terms of the number of men and the location.
Now whenever we find these discrepancies in the gospels we don’t need to get concerned.
Remember there are four different eyewitness accounts each told from a different perspective.
And if you do a bit of research there is usually a good explanation.
In this case the best explanation for how many demon possessed men there were is that Mark focuses on the lead demon possessed man & Luke took his material from Mark, but Matthew lists both men.
In terms of location, it appears that Matthew has a different name for the location where this happened.
Recent work by scholars has cleared up this problem
Basically Matthew names the region according to the main city in the area where as Mark and Luke names it after the actual village.
The ruin of this actual village has recently been discovered.[1]
Another thing that people struggle with is the death of the pigs.
Well I guess city animal liberation types or pig farmers might.
Jesus was not uncaring and destructive for causing a herd of pigs to die and its owners to be deprived of their property.
First, the destruction was caused by the demons, not directly by Jesus.
Second, though the intrinsic value of animals is taught in Scripture (e.g., Pr 12:10), the surpassing value of humans as made in the image of God is more fundamental.
Jesus cast the demons into the pigs for the greater good of saving the demon-possessed man (see Mt 10:31).
Pigs were the most unclean of animals and, by Jewish kosher laws, were not to be raised for food.[2]
This was a Gentile area which is why the pigs were there.
Ancient stories about demons suggest that they liked to negotiate the least difficult terms if they were going to have to leave one whom they possessed.
Remembering that Matthew wrote to a Jewish audience his Jewish listeners would respond, “But of course demons would want to inhabit unclean pigs.”[3]
Scene 4: This is an amazing account demonstrating the absolute power of Jesus, one word and there is instant obedience from demons.
Jesus has travelled across Lake Galilee to get a break from the crowds.
Instead he is faced with a personal encounter with evil.
He didn’t yell or carry on.
He didn’t need any magical words.
All three gospels tell us that Jesus simply asked them their name and then told them to go.
It was the demons who were making a fuss.
They feared that Jesus was going to send them straight into the abyss, a place of punishment from which there is no escape.
Now it’s not surprising the demons tormented the two men, for they’re hostile to both man and God.
What is surprising is the reaction of the residents.
Human beings are to value the health and well–being of others more than material possessions.
But the local population could not sense the wonder of Jesus’ works, nor his intent.[4]
All they saw was immense power, something they did not understand or expect.
So in fear they pleaded for Jesus to leave.
When we are dealing with the demonic we need to realize two very important things.
Firstly “The gospel is for the defeated, not the dominant. It’s for those who realize they’re unable to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders–those who’ve figured out that they’re not gods.” – Pastor Tullian Tchividjian, Surprised by Grace (CrossWay Books, 2010)
Therefore we need to remain humbly dependent on God not ourselves
Secondly “We may talk about Alexander the Great, Charles the Great and Napoleon the Great, but not Jesus the Great. He is not the Great–he is the only. There is nobody like him. He has no rival and no successor.” – John Stott, The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects of Our Calling (InterVarsity Press, 2010)
Therefore we need to remember that it is in Jesus name and by his power that the forces of evil are to be defeated.
A simple phrase that we need to remember when dealing with the forces of evil is this.
“By the name and in the power of Jesus leave this place”
It is only because of Christ that this man was freed.
His response was naturally one of immence gratitude and devotion to Christ.
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. 19 But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.” 20 So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.
Think about this, we have been freed from the same fate that the demons faced, eternal seperation from God, eternal condemnation.
Shouldn’t our response be the same as that of the man.
Let’s learn from another of the “unknown disciples”.
This man became a powerful witness to Christ.
The area where he witnessed to Christ was known as the Decapolis.
It was a region of 10 cities to the South East of the Sea of Galilee
This region was mainly gentile in nature and was a direct administrative district of the Roman Empire so it didn’t answer to Jerusalem
It experienced rapid growth in the time shortly after Christ.
It’s first evangelist was a man whom had been possessed by a legion of demons, yet had been saved by Christ.
A man whom we know so little about yet a man who stood for Christ.
An unknown disciple, a witness, someone we can learn from.
This is a man who only knew Christ for perhaps a few short hours.
Yet that was enough to enable him to tell of what Christ had done.
He hadn’t spent a lifetime in church.
He didn’t have the “advantage” of 2000 years of church history, and doctrine to draw from.
He simply knew what Christ had done for him and he went about telling people.
I think this is a lesson for us.
We don’t need to know more.
We don’t need more skills.
We don’t need some divine revelation and special empowerment.
We simply need to know what Christ has done for us and tell people.
Has Jesus saved you?
Then that is enough to tell people.
Has jesus worked in your life in some way?
Then that is enough to tell people.
[1]Robertson, A. T. (2009). A Harmony of the Gospels (Lk 8:26–39). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[2] Cabal, T., Brand, C. O., Clendenen, E. R., Copan, P., Moreland, J., & Powell, D. (2007). The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (1475–1476). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Keener, C. S., & InterVarsity Press. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Mt 8:31–32). Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.
[4]Richards, L. O. (1991). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (610). Wheaton: Victor Books.