Daily Bread 2011 - Luke 4
Daily Bread 2011 – Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 Luke 4
Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit
31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! 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!” 35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. 36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
What Does This Mean?
After Jesus is tested/tempted in the desert, he withstands the temptation by being led by the Spirit and relying on the Word of God. Each temptation is trying to get him to rely on His own power, instead of God’s power. Then, in the passage above we see him in a power encounter with a man possessed by a demon.
Though many of the people did not recognize Jesus for who he was, the impure spirit did. He not only recognized he was Jesus of Nazareth, but that He was the Holy One of God. Jesus knowing that His time had not yet come, ordered the spirit to come out of the man. Because the power in Jesus was of a higher authority than the evil spirit, it had to obey Jesus’ command. When the people saw this encounter, they recognized the superior power/authority of Jesus and spread the word about him.
What Does This Mean For Us?
Sometimes we get “spooked out” by stories about demons and/or demon possession. Movies like, “The Exorcist”, have scared us to the point of not even wanting to acknowledge the reality of evil and demonic power in the world.
Importantly the verse from John’s Gospel reminds us, “Greater is He that is in You, than He that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 When we realize that greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world, we don’t have to be afraid of spiritual warfare.
Sometimes we won’t face an all-out demon possession, but we are likely to see the influence of the evil one and his demons as they try to tempt us to sin. They often come in the form of discouraging and accusing voices we often hear. If the devil can’t attack us directly, he will indirectly try to discourage and accuse us and get us to buy into his lies, mostly about our position in Christ. For if he can get us to doubt who we are, we will not walk and act in the authority that has been given to us as sons and daughters of God!
Jesus, we thank you that you defeated the powers of darkness once and for all on the cross. Help us to live and act in Your authority rebuking the evil one when tempts us to doubt our position as sons and daughters of the Kings. Amen.
Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit
31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! 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!” 35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. 36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
What Does This Mean?
After Jesus is tested/tempted in the desert, he withstands the temptation by being led by the Spirit and relying on the Word of God. Each temptation is trying to get him to rely on His own power, instead of God’s power. Then, in the passage above we see him in a power encounter with a man possessed by a demon.
Though many of the people did not recognize Jesus for who he was, the impure spirit did. He not only recognized he was Jesus of Nazareth, but that He was the Holy One of God. Jesus knowing that His time had not yet come, ordered the spirit to come out of the man. Because the power in Jesus was of a higher authority than the evil spirit, it had to obey Jesus’ command. When the people saw this encounter, they recognized the superior power/authority of Jesus and spread the word about him.
What Does This Mean For Us?
Sometimes we get “spooked out” by stories about demons and/or demon possession. Movies like, “The Exorcist”, have scared us to the point of not even wanting to acknowledge the reality of evil and demonic power in the world.
Importantly the verse from John’s Gospel reminds us, “Greater is He that is in You, than He that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 When we realize that greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world, we don’t have to be afraid of spiritual warfare.
Sometimes we won’t face an all-out demon possession, but we are likely to see the influence of the evil one and his demons as they try to tempt us to sin. They often come in the form of discouraging and accusing voices we often hear. If the devil can’t attack us directly, he will indirectly try to discourage and accuse us and get us to buy into his lies, mostly about our position in Christ. For if he can get us to doubt who we are, we will not walk and act in the authority that has been given to us as sons and daughters of God!
Jesus, we thank you that you defeated the powers of darkness once and for all on the cross. Help us to live and act in Your authority rebuking the evil one when tempts us to doubt our position as sons and daughters of the Kings. Amen.
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