Victory over Evil powers – 10th February 2016

 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”(Mark 1:24).

Among the other Jewish teachers who worked in the first century, Jesus stands out for the ways in which His practices differed from those of His contemporaries. Jesus Christ spoke with an authority that was unparalleled. He possessed divine authority to reveal the true meaning of the Scriptures: “For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say” (John 12:49–50). Jesus also stands out in His calling of His disciples. As we can read in Mark 1:16–20, Jesus called His disciples to follow Him; they did not seek Him out. Other first-century rabbis did no such thing. Instead, men who wanted to be their disciples would seek out their rabbi of choice. In keeping with His authority, Jesus commanded men and women to follow Him; He did not wait for them to find Him.

We read of yet another way in which Jesus differed from the other Jewish teachers who were popular in first-century Palestine. We can learn from Mark 1:23–28 that records the first of many exorcisms that Jesus performed during His earthly ministry. We can read of an occurrence in Mark 1: “Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. 27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee”(Mark 1:23–28).

We must note that Jesus is not the only first-century teacher to whom exorcisms are attributed; other rabbis were known for casting out demons. What sets our Lord apart is the manner in which He exorcised evil spirits. Other exorcists relied on particular procedures to help oppressed people and by no means worked on the basis of their own inherent authority. As we see in today’s text, Jesus simply commanded unclean spirits to leave. All the demon had to hear was the sound of the Lord’s voice and the order to depart, and they fled. In so doing, the demon acknowledged who Jesus was—“the Holy One of God” sent to bring Satan’s kingdom to its knees. “You have come to destroy us!”

The Lord came to break oppression, establish justice, and heal the diseased:“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor”(Luke 4:16–21). But this could not happen until the forces of evil were defeated and the “strong man” was bound: “In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. It is only then he can plunder the strong man’s house” (Mark 3:27). We can read in the bible of a number of times where Jesus Christ carried

out many exorcisms. As Christians we know that He is the light in this dark world. He came to set us free from sin and evil and offers the possibility of salvation.

During His ministry Jesus brought the Good News of salvation for mankind, taught people and His disciples, healed and even resurrected from the dead. But His main mission was to set things in creation right…find the lost and save them from perils of eternal damnation. Within this mandate, it also required that He conquer the devil, which had enslaved the world in sin and darkness. But His atoning sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection teaches us as Christians that He defeated death and won over the powers of darkness and the evil one.

We can read in Romans 8:19–21, “For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God”. This indicates that the salvation that Jesus brings will encompass even the physical order. That did not happen until Christ dealt with the evil powers that held creation hostage... beginning with the sin of Adam and Eve. Jesus dealt the decisive blow of victory on the cross, and now He sets people free from the devil’s tyranny as the gospel teaches and strengthens us all over the world. As Christians we are called to pray for this gospel to succeed wherever it goes that God’s elect will be freed to serve Him in gladness...

 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?

Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”(Mark 1:24).