Lord Over All (Part III)

SPIRITUAL BEINGS

In this series we are looking at how the miracles Jesus performed point to the fact that He is Lord over all. We’ve looked at His miracles of healing over sickness and disease and those that display His power over the natural elements. Next we are going to look at His power displayed over the supernatural, particularly Jesus’ Authority over Satan and demons.

“Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days.” (Luke 4:1-2a)

The first display of Jesus’ Authority over Spiritual beings is with the devil himself, as Satan tempted Jesus in the desert before He began His ministry. Three times Satan tempted Jesus and three times Jesus resisted the temptation by quoting Scripture. Through His power and Authority, Jesus resisted the temptation and Satan had no option but to flee.

“Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7b)

After His baptism and temptation, Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John to be His followers and they went to Capernaum where Jesus began teaching.

“Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, ‘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!’
‘Be quiet!’ said Jesus sternly. ‘Come out of him!’ The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. 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.’ News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.” (Mark 1:23-28)

Notice how the demonic spirit addressed Jesus. Jesus was teaching in the synagogue when the spirit asked Him what He wanted with them because Jesus’ presence was an interference with them. The demonic spirit knew exactly who Jesus was, the Holy One of God. Jesus, even while in human form, was still a Spiritual being, the Word made flesh, and other Spiritual beings recognized that. Jesus displayed His Authority over the demonic spirit by commanding it, and the demon was compelled to obey.

A short while after this, Jesus displayed His Authority over nature by calming the storm on the sea. After arriving on the other side of the lake, Jesus displayed His Authority over the supernatural once again.

“When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gadarenes, two men who were possessed by demons met him. They came out of the tombs and were so violent that no one could go through that area. They began screaming at him, ‘Why are you interfering with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before God’s appointed time?’” (Matthew 8:28-29)

Again, it is Jesus’ presence that serves as an interference to these demons and they know exactly who He is, addressing Him as the Son of God. 

“Jesus demanded, ‘What is your name?’ 
‘Legion,’ he replied, for he was filled with many demons. The demons kept begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit. There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby, and the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs. So Jesus gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned.” (Luke 8:30-33)

To avoid the bottomless pit, the demons begged Jesus to send them into pigs; you don’t beg from someone with no power over you, and the demons knew that Jesus had Authority over them. Notice that the demons could not leave the man and go into the pigs on their own—they needed permission from the One with Authority over them. Shortly after this, Jesus sent out His disciples giving “them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases” (Luke 9:1), but a few weeks later, some disciples returned having been unable to cast out a demon from a young boy.

“At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.’ Jesus said, ‘You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.’ Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well. Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, ‘Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?’ 
‘You don’t have enough faith,’ Jesus told them. ‘I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.’” (Matthew 17:14-20)

The disciples asked a straightforward question and Jesus gave them a simple, direct answer. They couldn’t cast the demon out because they didn’t have enough faith. Unfortunately, a lot of people have let Hollywood dictate the behavior of demons, a lot of power has been given to them, but when we turn to the Holy Scriptures, we see that even the demons recognize Jesus as the one with Authority over them. If the demons recognize Jesus’ Authority, how much more should we? Jesus is Lord over all and even the behavior of demons points to this truth.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

 —Redeemed