Tag Archives: demons

Healing, Casting, and Praying

Sermon 5: Healing, Casting, and Praying

Text: Mark 1:29-39 – And immediately, when they had come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and immediately they tell Him about her.  And He came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered to them.

And at evening, when the sun set, they brought to Him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with demons.  And all the city was gathered together at the door.  And He healed many that were sick of various diseases, and cast out many demons; and did not permit the demons to speak, because they knew Him.

And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out and departed into a solitary place, and there [He] prayed.

And Simon and they that were with Him followed after Him.  And when they had found Him, they said to Him, “All are seeking for You.”  And He said to them, “Let’s go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for into this [work] I have come.”

And He preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out demons.

Introduction

Mark spends a good deal of time in the first part of his gospel account showing that Jesus is powerful and has authority.  He’s shown Jesus’ authority over His disciples, His authority in religion, and His authority over a single demon.  Mark’s original readers might have been thinking, “What does this matter to me?  After all, we’re not Jews, nor are we Jesus’ disciples, nor are we possessed by a demon.”  They might have even thought that Jesus’ victory over a single demon was alright, but it wasn’t as though He had to face a bunch of them.  But what comes next would overrule these objections.

The Text, part 1 – Authority over a Fever (Mark 1:29-31)

(29) Immediately, when they had come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

It is the Sabbath day, and Jesus, having exhibited His power over the kingdom of darkness, has planned to spend the rest of the day in the company of His four new disciples.  Simon and Andrew lived in the same house, not far from the synagogue (a Sabbath-Day’s Journey was around a half-mile), and invited Jesus (as well as James and John) to come there.  This is a show of hospitality and friendship that is severely lacking in the lives of many Christians and congregations.

(30a) But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever

Mark doesn’t give some of the details that Matthew and Luke do (they weren’t necessary to bring up for his readers).  But Matthew literally says she was “cast [or thrown] down with a fever,” meaning that it isn’t just that she’s laying down on her bed asleep while running a temperature (Matthew 8:14).  The fever has made her bed-ridden.  Luke says she was held by a “great fever” (Luke 4:38), which means it was a high temperature, and the fever wasn’t breaking.  But again, Mark doesn’t give these details, and if you look at the progression of healings going into chapter two, you’ll see why.

(30b) and immediately they tell Him [Jesus] about her.

Some people have scoffed at this part, saying, “Why didn’t they go tell a doctor?”  That’s an easy thing to say when we aren’t given details such as: how long had she had the fever?  Was it days?  Did it just hit her that morning while Simon and Andrew were at the synagogue?  And who’s to say that, if it had been a few days, they hadn’t called a doctor?  All of those questions and the objection are irrelevant to the discussion at hand.  The fact is, Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever at this point, and they came and told Jesus.

But why would they tell Jesus about it?  Because Jesus had just shown amazing miraculous power in casting out a demon—certainly it’s worth a shot to bring it to His attention.  We can better understand their confidence in telling Jesus about this when we remember that they’d already traveled some with Jesus and seen other miracles (John 1-4).

But the lesson we can learn from this is that when you’ve got problems, sickness, or anything else that you need help with, you go to the one with the power.  Take your requests to God who has the power to answer them.

(31a) And He came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her.

Jesus showed compassion on her, and also showed His power over sickness.  There was no long, drawn-out recovery period.  There wasn’t a “I think the fever is going down” period where they could all start to rest easily because she was starting to get well.  It was immediately gone.  Jesus took her by the hand, and poof!  The fever was completely removed—as though it had never been there in the first place.

(31b) and she ministered to them.

Simon’s mother-in-law had been tired, and the great fever would have normally left her quite exhausted and unable to do much as she was getting better.  But when Jesus healed her, she was well, whole, and felt like working.  She got up and began to serve them.  Most likely, this included preparing food, perhaps even washing their feet.  Meanwhile, you can imagine the awe in the eyes of Simon’s wife, and of the disciples, at this instantaneous healing.

The Text, part 2 – Authority over Diseases and Demons (Mark 1:32-34)

Lest one of Mark’s readers should shrug and say, “It’s only a fever, no big deal,” Mark shows Jesus taking on—and showing power over—progressively bigger illnesses.

(32-33) At evening, when the sun set, they brought to Him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with demons.  And all the city was gathered at the door.

These people had seen (or heard from those who had seen) Jesus casting out a demon in the synagogue on the Sabbath.  Immediately, then, they went back to their houses and told their families and their friends about what wonderful things God had done through Jesus of Nazareth.  They couldn’t wait to spread the word and share their wonder and amazement with others.

Jesus, the King, who has come to announce that His Kingdom is near, now has an evangelistic army to help Him in Capernaum.  He’s still doing His work, but these people are making it a lot easier for His message to be spread.

So, at nightfall, when the Sabbath is concluded, Jesus is in Simon and Andrew’s house, conversing with them and James and John, when crowds gather around the house, standing by the door, all coming to Him for help.  They, being good Jews, waited until the Sabbath was over before doing what some might consider “work” by bringing their sick to Jesus and possibly walking more than the half-mile that constituted a “Sabbath Day’s journey.”

The ones brought to Jesus were suffering from diseases, that is, they were badly sick (the Greek word means “bad” or “miserable” or even sometimes “evil.”  The sicknesses under consideration were not minor things—people weren’t bringing their kids to Jesus saying, “Heal his runny nose.”  These were significant illnesses, usually long-term medical problems.

(34a) And He healed many that were sick of various diseases.

Mark is answering the potential challenge from his readers by progressing from Jesus healing a fever to healing multiple people of serious significant illnesses.  And lest the readers think that Jesus’ victory over a demon was a fluke, here come even more of Satan’s minions to face Him.

(34b) He…cast out many demons.

Several knights of the Kingdom of Darkness were brought to Jesus.  They had taken over people’s lives, tormenting them, hurting them.  As we’ll see later in the book of Mark, it appears that being demon-possessed was such a horrible experience that some people tried to kill themselves to escape it.  But the King, Jesus, was coming to set them free, to overthrow the powers of darkness.  It didn’t matter if it was one demon-possessed man or a whole crowd of them; Jesus stood unafraid and ready to take them all on.

Before we move on from this point, it would probably be a good time to point out that demon-possession was a first-century phenomenon, and that it does not still take place today.  Zechariah 13:2 says:

“It shall come to pass in that day,” says Jehovah of Hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.”

If you look at the context, you will discover when “that day” which Jehovah mentions took place.  The verse immediately before it says:

In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness.

Go back five verses from there (Zechariah 12:10-11a) and we see what this “day” (it’s actually a period of time, like we say “back in my day…”) means.

I will pour out on the house of David, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.  In that day, there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem…

So, in the context of the death of Jesus and the time in which forgiveness of sins would be offered to the Jews, Jehovah would cause the evil spirit (demons) to pass from the land.  If we were to keep reading in Zechariah, we would see, just eight verses after that statement by Jehovah, these words:

Behold, the day of Jehovah comes, and your spoil shall be divided in the midst of you.  For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city (Zechariah 14:1-2).

Sometime between the death of Jesus on the cross and the time in which God brought the nations to destroy Jerusalem (AD 70), demonic activity would cease.  But when Mark was writing, demons were still active, so his readers were at least familiar with the concept.

(34c) He…did not permit them to speak, because they knew Him.

Like we discussed in the last lesson, Jesus didn’t want the demons to speak because it wasn’t time for Him to be revealed as the Son of God, nor did He want the testimony of demons—which would have been counter-productive.

The Text, part 3 – Praying and Jesus’ Purpose (Mark 1:35-39)

If you were to ask someone “Why did Jesus come to earth?” you’re likely to get a lot of different responses.  One answer, though, that you probably won’t get is what Jesus Himself said in this next passage.

(35) And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there He prayed.

After a busy night of healing the sick, and casting out demons, Jesus most certainly would have been tired.  However, early in the morning, a great while before the sun rose, Jesus got up and left Simon and Andrew’s house so He could go somewhere to be alone and pray.  To Mark’s readers, this shows the King is not doing this work for the attention—He needs time to Himself to spend in prayer.

This goes along with what Jesus said in Matthew 6:6 – But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward your openly.  In other words, there is benefit to be had from (1) praying, and (2) doing it in a place where you’re alone with God.

Jesus—God Himself in the flesh—thought it was important to find a time when He could be alone to pray.  I’m convinced that prayer is one of the most under-utilized blessings that Christians have!  If prayer was important to our Savior, shouldn’t prayer be important to us as well?

(36-37) Simon and they that were with him searched for Him. And when they had found Him, they said to Him, “All are seeking for You.”

It seems as though Jesus left the house without waking anyone, but when morning came, the people all returned to Simon’s house, wanting to find Jesus.  Were they bringing more people to be healed?  Or was it (if we want to give them the highest possible motives) that they wanted to know more about the Kingdom of God, and to hear what this messenger of heaven had to tell them?  The text doesn’t say.  What we do know is that the people were anxious to spend more time with Jesus.

The King’s mission in spreading the word about the imminent arrival of His Kingdom is working.  Instead of it being exclusively Him finding people to tell about the Kingdom, now people are trying to find Him, presumably with an open mind to what He has to say.

(38) He said to them, “Let’s go into the next towns, so that I may preach there also: for into this [work] have I come.”

The King’s mission in traveling around was not to heal the sick—it was to prepare people for the coming of His Kingdom.  His mission wasn’t to cast out demons—it was to prepare people for the coming of His Kingdom.  Make no mistake, healing the sick and casting out demons helped to convince people of His message, but those things were not the purpose of His mission.

Instead, Jesus Himself said plainly that He needed to go elsewhere and preach [the gospel of the Kingdom of God], because it is “therefore” [literally “into this”] that He had come.  We can take a cue from our Lord here, realizing that helping others is a good thing, but it is not the purpose of our mission here on earth.  Our purpose is to bring people to the King, Jesus the Christ; aiding others in their misfortunes is something we can do that can help to accomplish that goal.  Never lose sight of the ultimate goal—bringing people to the Kingdom of God.

(39) He preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out demons.

With this short sentence, Mark shows his readers that the King continued His work proclaiming the overthrow of the Kingdom of Darkness and defeating some of Satan’s minions along the way to prove His point.  It’s such a short sentence, but don’t for a moment think that means it is insignificant.  The people met in the synagogues on the Sabbath, once a week, and so this one sentence takes up potentially months of Jesus’ life.  What would you give to be able to have seen Jesus in action?  To be able to spend just one day with Him in person?  To see Him cast out demons?  Many people got to see it, and it is all condensed into the sentence, “He preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out demons.”

Application

Spend Time with Your Brethren Outside the Worship Assembly.

Jesus didn’t limit His interaction with God’s faithful children to the weekly assembly.  Simon and Andrew didn’t either, nor did James and John.  Instead, they spent time together outside of the worship building.  They went into each other’s homes, ate together, spent time together.  The early church did the same thing, “continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and eating their bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and singleness of heart” (Acts 2:46).

The church grows stronger when it spends more time together.

Peter was Never a Pope!

I’m sure you noticed it in the text: Peter was married!  Mark 1:30 (and it’s mentioned in Matthew 8 and Luke 4 as well) says Peter’s wife’s mother.  The Catholic Church makes the claim that Peter was the first pope, and that no priest, or Bishop, or Archbishop, or Cardinal, or Pope can be married.  In truth, the doctrine that the “clergy” (priests, bishops, etc…) can’t be married came about hundreds of years after Peter was dead and gone.  The doctrine was made official Catholic Church policy, and they acted as though it had always been the case, thus saying Peter wasn’t married either.  This is one of those verses that many Catholics haven’t ever heard of.

When You’re Able to Serve Others, Do It!

Look at Peter’s mother-in-law.  She’s been sick with a horrible fever that has made her unable to get up and do anything.  She’s weak and tired.  Then comes Jesus who heals her—and her healing is absolutely 100% instantaneous and complete.  Now, everyone in the room would probably have had no problem if she had spent the rest of the day sitting and resting after the ordeal she’d been through.  But she was able to work, so she got to work.  The lesson we can take from her example is that if we are able to serve others, we should be serving others.  Whether that’s your family, your employer, your church family, your friends, or whoever, we need to spend time in service to others.

Don’t Enslave Yourself to Sin!

Citizens of the Kingdom of Darkness are really nothing more than slaves, being controlled by sin.  Demons were controlling some of these people, and that’s horribly sad, but being controlled by sin is even sadder, because you’ve chosen your enslavement.  Jesus calls you to freedom from sin, and He’s cleared the path to make it easy for you.

Invitation

Jesus cleared the way to lead you to freedom through His death on the cross, His burial, and His resurrection from the dead.  All you have to do is take that path.

Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?  Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that from here forward we should not serve sin.  For he that is dead is freed from sin (Romans 6:3-7).

God be thanked that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heard that form of doctrine that was delivered to you.  Being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness (Romans 6:17-18).

Be set free from the powers of sin by accepting Jesus Christ as the Son of God, making the choice to follow His path, acknowledging Him as the Savior, and being buried with Him in baptism so that you can be made free from sin.

Jesus the King pleads with you, and so do we.

-Bradley S. Cobb

Teaching the People and Casting out Demons

Sermon 4: Teaching the People and Casting out Demons

Text: Mark 1:21-28 – And they went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath day, He entered into the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His doctrine: for He taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.  And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, “Let us alone!  What do we have to do with you, you Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know you, who you are, the Holy One of God.”

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Hold your peace, and come out of him.”  And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.  And they were all amazed, insomuch that they asked among themselves, saying, “What is this thing?  What new doctrine is this?  For He even commands the unclean spirits with authority, and they obey Him!”  And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.

Introduction

The King, Jesus of Nazareth, overcame a forty-day battle with Satan.  Afterwards, He began preaching that people needed to repent—to change their loyalties from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God, which was very near.  He called His first disciples, four men who were ready to join the kingdom and follow their King wherever He would lead them.   But Jesus didn’t stop there; His mission of calling souls to join His side had only just begun.

In the remainder of chapter one, Mark presents Jesus as an authoritative King, a caring King, but most importantly, a powerful King.

The Text, part 1 – Authority in Teaching (Mark 1:21-22)

(21) They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath Day, He entered into the synagogue and taught.

Jesus and the two sets of brothers (Andrew and Simon, James and John) went to Capernaum, which was most likely the nearest town, and was also where Andrew and Simon lived.  We’re not told what Jesus did between His arrival in Capernaum and the Sabbath Day (remember, Mark’s readers were interested in action), but we are told that once the Sabbath Day came, He made a point to be at the synagogue (which, in today’s language, would be the “weekly worship service” for the Jews).

The synagogue in Capernaum was “a beautiful structure, built of white limestone, show[ing] by its architectural features that it was built in the time of the Herods” (McGarvey, Fourfold Gospel, p 271).  And it was built by an officer of the Roman army—a Gentile.  Mark doesn’t mention this fact, but Luke does (Luke 7:1-5).  The first recorded synagogue sermon in Mark’s gospel written to a Roman audience, was preached in a synagogue built by a Roman Centurion.

The synagogues, according to most biblical historians, arose out of necessity while the Jews were captives in Babylon.  They had no access to the temple (for it was destroyed), and so these “meeting places” sprung up in various Jewish settlements where they could meet and devote time to learning God’s word each Sabbath.  Even after they returned from captivity, they continued to have synagogues (the Greek word being a compound of three words literally meaning the “coming-together-place”).   Jesus’ frequent visits to these synagogues showed that God approved of the set-up.  During the synagogue gatherings each Sabbath, they would pray, read the Scripture and hear a portion expounded to them.  It’s almost as though the synagogues were part of God’s plan to prepare the Jews for the worship assemblies of the church.

It was into this gathering of devoted Jews that the King went that Sabbath Day and taught.

(22) And they were astonished at His teaching: for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

This is the same reaction that the people had after hearing the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 7:28-29).  Their astonishment wasn’t necessarily at the content of the message (we’re not told by Mark what He taught), but at the way in which He taught it.  He taught them with authority.

Don’t let this escape your notice, Mark is presenting Jesus as the King, spreading the word about His Kingdom—announcing that the Kingdom of Darkness is going to be overthrown.  His teaching in the synagogue would have absolutely included a discussion of this topic.  The King has gone to the people, in person, and is making the case for them to prepare themselves for His Kingdom.  People aren’t going to follow a weak leader, and Jesus was absolutely not weak—He taught them as one who had authority.

They were used to the teachings of the scribes.  These scribes were known for their teaching style of “probably” and “maybe,” and “it could be…”  That is, they were rarely firm on any matter of doctrine or practice, often quoting competing rabbis and leaving it up to the people to decide which one they liked best.  Not Jesus, though.  He taught them with authority: “This is how it is,” and as He so often did, He would have proven it from Scripture.  And don’t forget that He called His first disciples (the two sets of brothers) with an authoritative, “Come!” (Mark 1:17).

The Text, part 2 – Authority over Demons (Mark 1:23-28)

Jesus presented Himself as one who should be heeded by means of His message and delivery.  Next, He proceeds to prove that the Kingdom of God is at hand (and thus, He should be heeded) by His authority over the demonic world.

(23) There was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit

To put this in modern language, he was demon-possessed.  The word “unclean” literally means impure or defiled.  Some believe that these demons are fallen angels that God permitted to torment mankind.  I tend to agree more with Alexander Campbell, who made a pretty convincing case that the “unclean spirits” or “demons” (“devils,” KJV) were the souls of those wicked men who died in the flood (but that’s a completely different lesson).

This demon was there with the worshipers, in the same building during their worship!  This demon was a representative of the Kingdom of Darkness that Jesus was planning on overthrowing.  Let no one for a moment think that Satan doesn’t attempt to get at us even when we are gathered together to worship!  Think back to Job 1, where the “sons of God” (followers of God) came together to present themselves before God—and Satan was among them.  Think about Nadab and Abihu, offering worship to the Lord—but in a way that Satan wanted done.

Among most ancient cultures (and even many present-day ones), there was a fear of being taken over by an evil spirit.  And in the first century, when it was actually happening, that fear increased.  Later, Mark will record a demon-possessed man who would roam among the tombs and shattered the chains that they tried to bind him with, cutting himself and crying throughout the nights and days (Mark 5).

(24a) He cried out, saying, “Leave us alone!  What do we have to do with you, you Jesus of Nazareth?”

This demon recognized quite clearly that Jesus was different.   Most humans, the demons didn’t fear.  They could tell the demons “leave that man” and the demons could refuse—or as in the case of the seven sons of Sceva, they could turn on the pseudo-exorcists and attack.  But not Jesus.  The demon knew who Jesus was, and what He was there for.

Jesus is the King, announcing the establishment of His kingdom, taking citizens out of the Kingdom of Darkness, and now He comes face-to-face (so to speak) with part of the army of darkness.  It’s like the King we’ve mentioned before, traveling into enemy territory, telling the citizens that He is about to overthrow their ruler, and now meeting face-to-face with one of the powerful knights of the realm, sword in hand.  The knight says to the king, “Get out!  You have no business here!”  If the king backs down, all of his work is lost, no one will follow him.  He has no choice but to engage the knight in battle.

(24b) “Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”

Depending on the inflection of one’s voice as he reads this passage, it could be read as a combination of fear and pleading, something like in Luke 8:28, where Legion begs Jesus not to torment him.  On the other hand, it could also be read in a scoffing tone of voice, the demon chuckling at the thought that this Jesus could hurt him.

Again, imagine that knight, armed with a heavy, sharp sword, facing the king who has been trying to turn the hearts of the citizens to him.  He sits atop his horse and scoffs at the king before him, “Have you come to destroy us?” and laughs in derision.  “I know who you are.”

The demon identifies Jesus as “the Holy One of God,” or it could also be translated, “God’s Holy One” or “God’s Saint.”  For Mark’s readers, this was a reference back to the very first verse, where Jesus is identified as the Anointed One, Son of The God, as well as verse 11, where God spoke from heaven saying, “Thou art my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.”  They would have seen this as the Kingdom of Darkness acknowledging that Jesus is the Son of the God.  They also would have seen this as a challenge to Jesus.

(25-26) Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Hold your peace and come out of him.”  And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.

There was no long, drawn-out battle between Jesus and this knight of darkness.  There was simply Jesus opening His mouth, ordering the demon to be silent, and commanding him to depart.  The demon fought against it, trying to harm the man in the process, but his power was pitiful compared to the power of Jesus.

Many have asked, “Why did Jesus tell the demon to be silent when it was proclaiming the truth about Him?”  There are multiple reasons for it.  First, Satan is a liar, and the father of lies (John 8:44).  Thus, when a demon (a servant of Satan) proclaims the truth about Jesus, it can actually have the opposite effect of making people doubt the truth.  It’s like people say from time to time when they hear a story, “consider the source.”  Basically, you don’t want a chronic liar on your side, because it will make you look bad; the Pharisees could have used this event as evidence that Jesus was in league with Satan (as in Mark 3:22).  Second, though the statement from the demon was true, Jesus’ plan did not involve a public declaration to everyone of who He was (the Son of God) at that point.

(27a) They were all amazed.

And why wouldn’t they be?  Obviously, they knew that this man had an unclean spirit, and though Mark doesn’t describe for us the way the man had acted before (remember, Mark does very little in the realm of backstories), there must have been an incredible difference before and after Jesus spoke.  Before, the man may have been writhing in agony, moaning and crying, having seizures, or any number of other symptoms of his being overwhelmed by the dark knight.  After, the man would have been normal, in his right mind, most likely smiling, perhaps even having tears of joy running down his face.  The transformation would be amazing for certain!

(27b) they asked among themselves, saying, “What is this thing?  What new doctrine is this?  For He even commands the unclean spirits with authority, and they do obey Him!”

The devout Jews who gathered at the synagogue were amazed first because Jesus taught with authority, but now they are even more amazed, because His authority is even over the demons.  The demon said, “You leave us alone!”  And Jesus basically said, “No, you leave.”  And then the demon obeyed.

Mark’s readers couldn’t help but be surprised by this exchange between Jesus and the demon.  Like the people in Capernaum, they would have been amazed, wondering just how powerful this Jesus must be.  In the mythological stories of the Greek and Roman gods, there were always long, drawn-out battles, epic battles between the gods which sometimes lasted for years.  Yet this Son of the God won this battle by speaking a single sentence, a simple sentence.  It’s hard to place ourselves in their position, understanding it from their point of view, but what you’re reading right now in Mark is a description of sheer power.

Jesus, the King, had been promising that the Kingdom of God was “at hand,” and if there was any doubt as to His message, this absolute victory over one of Satan’s evil knights silenced them.

(28) Immediately His fame spread throughout all the region round about Galilee.

The people in Capernaum told their friends and family about Jesus, they in turn told others, and Jesus because very famous very quickly in that area.  And how could He not be?  Imagine that a doctor moves here, and he has the ability to genuinely cure cancer in one day—without chemotherapy, without surgery, without any of that stuff.  He heals a person who everyone knows is suffering horribly from that awful disease—it’s gone completely, and the person who before was weak and frail from this cancer is now healthy and energetic.  And not only that, people watched as this doctor did it.  Word would spread very quickly, and thousands of people would be pounding at his door begging to be healed in the same way.  It would be a very big deal.  This is what happened to Jesus after He healed this demon-possessed man (see verse 32).

Mark records this miracle of Jesus to show his readers (both then and now) that God’s Kingdom was indeed coming, and clearly had the power to overthrow the Kingdom of Darkness.

Application

Jesus Attended Worship Services, Do You?

Do not let this point escape your notice.  On the Sabbath Day, the day in which the Jews gathered together to study God’s word, to pray, to read the Scripture, and to hear a lesson from God’s word, Jesus was there in the synagogue with them.  To put it in modern language, Jesus “went to church.”  We can learn a lesson from that.  Jesus attended the worship services, and so should we.  And if you keep reading the gospel accounts, you’ll see that Jesus was frequently found in the synagogue on the Sabbath.  It wasn’t an isolated incident.

When Jesus died on the cross and was raised again, establishing His eternal Kingdom on the Day of Pentecost, He did away with the Old Testament Law.  From that point forward, the Lord’s Day, the day when citizens of the heavenly kingdom meet together in worship, is on the first day of the week.  It is a day to honor our King, remember His death, and celebrate each week the day that He came out of that grave, victorious over the king of Darkness.  Our King thought assembling for worship was important—do you?

Demons Confess Jesus, Do You?

Regardless of the motivation behind the demon saying “I know you, who you are, you’re the Holy One of God,” the fact remains that the demon openly acknowledged Jesus before others.  Still, how many people claim to know Jesus, claim to follow Jesus, claim to serve Jesus, yet outside of the church building, they never mention Him?  Can we really claim to be a follower of Jesus if the demons themselves do a better job of confessing Him than we do?  James says “the demons also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19).  The King says, “If you confess me before men, I will confess you before my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).  How good of a job are you doing at confessing Jesus?

Jesus is the Authority.

Sad, so very sad is the fact that people who claim to follow Jesus Christ and who want the salvation He has to offer reject His very words when it comes to obtaining it.  Jesus is the authority.  He taught with authority, and in fact, He made the statement, “All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).  Since Jesus is the one with “all authority,” why don’t people simply follow it?

Invitation

For example, Jesus said, “Unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).  It’s not that hard of a statement, yet there are those who say good, religious Jews will be saved today without a belief in Jesus.

Jesus, the King with all authority, said that “repentance” was to be preached “in his name [that is, by His authority] among all nations” (Luke 24:47).  But, how often do we hear the cry of “faith only!”?  My friends, if it’s “faith only,” then there’s no need to repent, and Jesus’ authority means nothing!

The Lord and Savior of the world said that we must acknowledge Him as the Christ.  It is that very fact upon which His whole kingdom is based (Matthew 16:15-19).  He does not admit anyone as citizen in His Kingdom who does not acknowledge Him as King.

The Conqueror of demons said plain as can be, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16).  And yet those people claiming to be His friends deny the very thing which He said, denying that obedience to the King’s command to be baptized has anything to do with being a part of His kingdom.

The great Hero who overthrew the Kingdom of Darkness gave the order: “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).

This great King loves you and wants you to be saved.  But you’ve got to make the decision to obey His commands.  Won’t you do that today?

-Bradley S. Cobb

Doctrines of Demons

(We now present to you another article by our weekly guest-blogger, Kyle Frank)

Those who are of the household of God are well acquainted-or rather-should be well acquainted with the fact that there are “doctrines of demons” as referred to by the word of God. The Lord went through the trouble of warning us of the fact that there will be things taught under the heading of “scripture” that are in fact nothing but the language of Satan-lies. Jesus told us that when Satan speaks, he lies because he is the father of lies. He is also a murderer-not that he has actually physically killed anyone-that we know of, but, by his lies to Eve, and then Adam, he caused their deaths, as well as introducing death to each and every one of their descendants, in that they all have sinned. Actually, let me correct the last sentence because it, left to itself, is a lie. There is one of the descendants of Adam & Eve who was not killed by a lie, and mercifully, that one was Jesus Christ; son of man and Son of God. (Let me return to my subject at hand. I just get so delighted by the thought of the blessed Savior of man-and deadly opponent of the “Doctrine of Demons.”) In 1Timothy 4:1-3, we read:  Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings (doctrine-ASV) of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,  who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. There are teachings which come from the evil one. These are often foisted off among the saints because the evil one tries to look like the saints. This can be seen in 2 Corinthians 11:13:  For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. Having shown this, let us take a look at a couple of these insidious teachings.

The early church had to deal with the heresy of Gnosticism. Gnosticism was a perversion of the truth as taught by certain men who felt that they had “special” or “secret” knowledge that lifted them above the ranks of “ordinary” Christians. This poison has continued throughout history in different times and different places. Although this teaching was opposed by the apostles directly in the first century, it has resulted in various different false messiahs. An example of such in recent memory was Jim Jones in Guyana. David Koresh in Waco, Texas also had that “special knowledge” that only he felt he could dispense to willing and eager followers. Both, by the way, ended in death. Several hundred followers also were led into eternity in error. How much more demonic could one get?

Another form that developed was the doctrine that Jesus was “a” way, not the only way for man to be saved. This, of course, is in total opposition to what was taught by the Lord, where he said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6. Another doctrine which is from the very pits of  perdition and is a variant of  the above teaching says that another way to God can be found in such documents as the Koran, Hindu “scriptures” and what could be seen as any other writing which is, like above, “another way” to God. Apparently, according to these folks, we are all just one big happy family, all on the way to the same destination, just by a different route. We probably all have seen the giant billboard which declares: “Worship At The Church Of Your Choice!” That is another example of this particular distasteful teaching. Besides the different religions being a different way, a closer variant is that the various different denominations are all “branches of the same tree.” Apparently, the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” are just a slightly different way to the truth as the Lord’s church! Imagine that!! Is that distasteful to you as well? Now, apparently, we are bigoted if we have a problem with that! That is a doctrine of demons gone to seed. The land is full of such teachings. Now, can you imagine what would happen in the religious world if folks today saw things like they did in the time of the early Restoration Movement? The growth would be similar to as it was back in those days.

Again: “WORSHIP AT THE CHURCH OF YOUR CHOICE!!” How many multitudes believe that one church is as good as another? We face this when doing any sort of evangelism. Jesus was so adamant that there is only one way to God. We need to have the courage to love others enough to tell them that one church is not as good as another. It can be done-if we love others as Jesus loved us. It takes courage, but it also takes tact when teaching the gospel to others. One way is NOT as good as another.  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John 13:34. When we act as Jesus did, we will have the strength and love to overcome these evil teachings-which on the surface sound so good…but are so wicked in their fruits. Those fruits are death!!

-Kyle Frank

Demonology

Due to having a very full schedule, our posts have been less than regular, and for that I apologize.  But because of your patience, we’re going to give you a freebie.  And feel free to tell others about it too.

The issue of demons and evil spirits is prevalent once again in our culture, and people are asking questions like: what does the Bible say about demons?  Where did they come from?  Do they still work among men today like they did during the Bible times?  What are demons anyway?

Alexander Campbell took the time to give a lecture on this very topic, and it is quite interesting and informative.  I won’t give away his conclusion – then why would you read the lecture?

His lecture on Demonology is featured in the book Alexander Campbell: A Collection, (which is well worth getting, believe me), but since you’ve all been so patient with us, we’ve giving it to you for free today.

Click the link below to download it:

Campbell, Alexander – Demonology

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