Authority Over Demons
by Paul George
We have already seen that Jesus Christ can
resist Satan, for in Matthew chapter 4, Satan tempted Him
and the Lord was victorious. However, His power goes beyond
that. The primary issue is not that Christ never gave in to
Satan and his hosts; it is that He causes them to give in to
Him.
Matthew has shown us the perfection of Jesus and His
temptation, now we see the power of Jesus over demons, He
makes them obey Him. By casting out demons throughout His
ministry, Jesus was giving samples of His great power by
destroying the works of the devil.
After leaving Capernaum, Jesus and some of His disciples
crossed the Sea of Galilee in a little boat. They
encountered a storm, but the Lord calmed it. Then they
continued on to the opposite shore, where they encountered
two demon-possessed men, Mark and Luke claim there was one
demonic.
What does it mean to be possessed with demons? Some people
say that there is a difference between being obsessed,
oppressed, and possessed. However, the Bible does not make
those distinctions. Although a definition of demon
possession might be helpful, it can also be limiting.
Remember that demonic activity is a supernatural reality and
we are not able to go any further than the Bible takes us in
comprehending it. Demon possession is a condition in which
one or more demons inhabit the body of a human being with
the purpose of controlling it.
Verse 28 tells us that the demoniacs were living in tombs.
To a Jewish person, one of the worst defilements of all was
to touch a dead body.
In Luke 8:27, we are told they “wore no clothes.” In the
Bible, the only people who went around naked were raving
maniacs, who had no sense of social balance or modesty.
Matthew also says the demoniacs were “extremely violent.”
When the demoniacs saw Jesus they cried out, “What business
do we have with each other, Son of God? Have you come here
to torment us before the time?” In other words, the demons
who controlled those two men asked, “Why are you bothering
us? Why are You here?” In Mark 5:6, we are told when they
saw, a reference to the demons, Jesus; they “ran and
worshipped Him.” It is incredible that the demons should bow
before Jesus, but they did, because they knew exactly who He
was. As fallen angels who participated in Satan's rebellion
against God, they are well acquainted with Him and Jesus His
Son, the Second Person of the Trinity. Therefore, those
particular demons knew that Jesus was their antagonist as
well as their judge.
Think of it, beings that were damned for all eternity and
knew it, could not resist worshiping Him, because they knew
of His ultimate power. They realized that Jesus was there
too soon to be judging them. They knew that Jesus was
Christ, the Son of the living God and they knew that they
were to be damned forever. Therefore, they bowed the knee to
Christ, their judge.
The demons knew it was inevitable that they would be cast
out, because they also knew of Jesus’ compassion for those
whom they held captive. Consequently, they made a strange
request: they wanted to inhabit a herd of swine. Why would
they want to inhabit a herd of swine? We do not know, but
maybe the demons, desiring a home, thought that their
request to possess the swine would be acceptable to Jesus,
who did not want the demons inhabiting people. Most
probably, the demons feared being sent to the bottomless pit
(Luke 8:31). Possibly, they wanted to destroy the swine so
people would kill Jesus for having brought about the
slaughter of the herd. We can only speculate. However,
whatever the reason, Jesus told, the demons, “Go, and they
came out and went into the swine.”
When men try to cast out demons, they work hard to get the
demons to cooperate; but when Christ comes along; all the
demons want to know is where they are allowed to go.
Realizing that demons are powerful beings that men cannot
effectively deal with on the supernatural level, one can see
how ludicrous it is for people to think they can cast out
demons by their cleverness. Demons are incredibly powerful.
Therefore, the only way that man can handle them is by
putting on the armor of God and being strong “in Lord and in
the strength of His might” (Ephesians 6:10-11). Only the
power of the Lord Jesus Christ could cast demons into the
bottomless pit (Revelation 20:3), and He displayed His power
by casting them into swine.
Jesus granted the demons their request; however, not for
their sake, but for His. He allowed them to enter the herd
of pigs. In trying to determine why Jesus granted that
request, some people say that Jesus was teaching a lesson to
people who were raising pigs when they should raise pigs.
However, the primary point is that Jesus can cast out
demons, and He gave a dramatic demonstration of His ability.
The reality of His miracle was clear to those observing when
a normally peaceful herd of pigs raced toward a cliff, dove
in the water, and drowned, while at the same time, the
individuals that had previously been demonized were sitting
and clothed and in their right mind. The bystanders saw a
deliverance they would never forget. Furthermore, Jesus'
exorcism portrayed the destructive nature of demons and gave
them a preview of their coming destruction. Therefore, if
you are concerned about the pigs, you have missed the point.
We must be willing to allow the sacrifice of two thousand
pigs for Jesus to manifest His incredible power.
When the herdsmen saw that their pigs had committed mass
suicide by racing like maniacs into the water, they took off
for the city as fast as they could go and reported
“everything including what had happened to the demoniacs” (v
33).
Verse 34 – “And behold, the whole city came out to meet
Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave
their region.”
The city did not come out to Jesus to participate in a
revival, as their request reveals. Some think that they said
what they did because they were more concerned about the
pigs than the souls of the demonized men. However, that
reasoning is weak because the passage does not say a word
about the owners of the pigs. The response is that of the
whole city. Mark 5:15 says, “they were afraid.” They were
not angry; they were scared to death. Luke 8:37 similarly
says, “they were taken with great fear.”
The supernatural power of Jesus caused the townspeople to
panic because they observed the One who not only controlled
the demons, but also took the souls of two men and gave them
back to them. Supernatural things make men uncomfortable.
The people from the city were absolutely panicked by the
presence of Jesus in their midst. Instead of falling at His
feet in worship, they said, “Go away; we do not want you in
our city.”
People think that if everybody could see miracles, they
would believe. Unfortunately, many of the people who saw the
miracles of Christ did not believe, they nailed Him to a
cross instead. Some people, when exposed to the awesomeness
of a holy God, want nothing to do with Him because they love
their darkness. They are like bugs under a rock that run for
cover as soon as they are exposed to light.
The fearful people who wanted Jesus out of their country
never did break His compassion or mercy for them, for He
left them at least one missionary as living proof of His
mighty power. How wonderful that the grace of Christ is
extended even to those who do not want it.
Demons are powerful, but we need not fear them as
Christians, for the Spirit of the One who has permanently
sealed their defeat indwells us.
Has your faith been shaken by someone who seemed to know
more about the Bible than you and discredited the Biblical
account? In your Bible reading, you have probably come
across several apparent contradictions between parallel
accounts of an incident. When you encounter them, put a
question mark by them so that you can make a more detailed
study that can provide some reasonable solutions. Many
times, there are very simple explanations for apparent
contradictions that historical, cultural, or geographical
insights can help provide.
The Authority of
Jesus Series
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