The Dread of Demons

    When it comes to demons, people often fall into two extremes. On one hand, some people overemphasize them by constantly seeing the work of demons behind every event and sin. For them, spiritual warfare is fighting demons in various ways. On the other hand, others ignore demons. They don't consider that they are real and active. Perhaps they think that demonic activity belongs to the past or to some far off country. The truth is that demons are active in our world, and likely more than we think even in our so-called civilized Western culture. Demons are incredibly powerful and wicked. But an awesome and comforting truth is that the Lord Jesus is infinitely greater than the demons. To show this, I will look at Luke 8:26-27, Mark 5:1-17, Mathew 8:28-34.


The incredible power of demons

   The Lord Jesus has just shown that He rules over wind and wave by calming the sea of Galilee during a violent storm. He and His disciples landed at the shore of the region of the Gadarenes. There they are met by two demon-possessed men. One of them seems to be the most prominent of the two and is the focus of Luke and Mark. We are told that these men were extremely violent, so much so that no one could pass in that area due to their violence. It seems that the people in that area had at times tried to capture these men and bind them with shackles and chains. But incredibly, the demons had given such strength to the men that the chains and shackles were broken. No one was able to subdue the demon-possessed man. Nor was this man indwelt by just one demon. The name of the demon-possessed man was Legion because he had many demons in him. A legion was a military unit of 6000 men. So this man had many demons, although maybe not 6000. Legion and his lesser companion must have been a great terror to the people in that area, causing fear and worry. This account shows us the great power of demons. On our own, we could do nothing against them. They could, if God allowed, utterly overwhelm us by their might. It is foolish to toy with the occult and is extremely dangerous.

The incredible wickedness of demons

   The demons are very powerful and they use that power for evil purposes. The demons in Legion tormented him. They caused him to live among the tombs, where he lived without clothes on. He was always screaming and cutting himself with rocks. At other times, the demons drove this man into the desert. All this had gone on for a long time. Poor man! Consider as well, the case of the demon-possessed boy whom Jesus healed, in which the demon cruelly tried to destroy this boy. These demons used their cruelty to bring pain and suffering on these people. There is no goodness in a demon. There is not one drop of kindness or goodwill. There is only a black evil heart that delights in doing wickedness.

   Such power! Such wickedness! The demons are a dangerous and terrifying enemy. If that is where it ends then we have no hope against such beings. But there is hope for those who love and know the Lord Jesus.

The Dread of Demons

   Perhaps as the demon-possessed man saw the boat approach, they ran out as usual to drive off these invaders. but as they got closer, they realized Who was in the boat. Even from a long distance away they knew it was Jesus. And when Jesus got on shore the demon-possessed man ran up and bowed down before Jesus. The demons begged Jesus not to torment them. Throughout the interaction between Jesus and the demons, Jesus shows He is in total control of these powerful beings. They are afraid of Him. They know He has the power to torment them and judge them. He asks the questions and they give the answers. They can't demand anything and can only beg before him like a dog before its master. He commands they leave, and leave they must. The demon must even ask permission just to enter some pigs, which they drown in the lake, showing again their wickedness. There is no good versus evil struggle. God doesn't need to struggle against His foes. The infinite power of the Almighty is not even close to a match for the demons. Jesus is Master over all, even over the demons.

  This is a great comfort for us. This is a world filled with demonic activity. They are much more powerful than us and very wicked. And yet for those who have been forgiven by Jesus and follow Him, they are no longer objects of dread. The power and presence of Jesus protects us from them.With Him at our right hand, we will never be shaken even with demons all around us for they must bow before The Dread of Demons, Our Lord and Savior Jesus.

Brad

The Compassion of A Tired Messiah

    As I study the scriptures and see glorious truths, I often want to write about it. However the problem I have in regard to this blog is that, when I start working on a blog post in my head about the text, I tend to develop a sermon rather than a blog post. The text deserves more than just a few paragraphs. I don't have the time or space to be writing sermons. But I decided to try to write a post about a text I had considered.

    The text I want to consider is Luke 9:10-11 and related verses in Mark 6:30-34 and Matt 14:13-14.

     Jesus needed a break. His disciples needed a break. Mark says that they hadn't even had time to eat because the crowds were swarming around them desperate for Jesus' help. The disciples had just returned from a tour of ministry as they preached, healed and cast out demons in the Jewish countryside and villages. Also around this time, Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist. All these events prompted  Jesus to wisely take a rest for Him and His disciples. They were worn out mentally, emotionally, and physically. So Jesus took His twelve disciples on a boat across the lake of Galilee to a deserted place. I am sure that they were all looking forward to some rest and relaxation.

   But look! As they reach the shore, there was a small crowd of people waiting for them, and perhaps as they looked in the distance they could see more people streaming to the spot. It is not hard to imagine what they were thinking as they saw these crowd which meant the end to all their plans to relax and refresh. Some perhaps groaned at this change in plans. Others may have complained and grumbled about the crowds. Still others may have shot an angry look at those miserable people that never seemed to leave them alone. I know if I was in their place, I would have had something of the same feelings. But what did Jesus think and feel when He saw the crowds?

  Luke tells us He welcomed them. Mark explains that He had compassion on the people. Why? Because they were like sheep without a shepherd. The leaders of Israel were to be the spiritual shepherds of God's people. They were to teach them faithfully and accurately God's word. But they failed to do that. In fact they used God's people for their own selfish purposes. They taught lies instead of truth. They led them into error instead of wisdom. They gave them a bad example. The leaders of Israel cared nothing for the people. So when Jesus saw the crowds, He saw a people who were spiritually hopeless and lost and it moved Him to compassion. His first response is not the expressions of a selfish heart, but of an unselfish heart that cared deeply about the welfare of others.

    The spiritual needs of the crowd moved Him to compassion which resulted in Him laboring to meet those needs even though He must have been tired and weary. Jesus met their needs by teaching them about the kingdom of God. He didn't only seek to meet their spiritual needs as the Good Shepherd, but He also sought to meet their physical needs. He healed their sick and later, created enough food to feed all of them with some left over. Notice that Jesus doesn't just say, 'well, I'll teach them for an hour and then shoo them away.' No, He spends all afternoon and some of the evening ministering to the crowds. Consider also that many in this crowd didn't care about Jesus at all. Many were there only to get healed or to see some excitement. Yet Jesus still feels compassion for them. How amazing is Jesus! How unlike us! What a Savior! What a God!

Brad