Cosmic Supremacy of Christ and Man's Rejection of Him

Introduction

We are part of a larger conflict between God and Satan.

It is implied in Gen. 3.

Jesus framed his own purpose this way (Jn. 12:31).

Paul placed all unbelievers under the control of the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2).

Spiritual warfare (2 Cor. 10).

There is only the kingdom of light and the power of darkness.

Background

Lk. 8:2.

Parable of the sower: Lk. 8:11.

Jesus and his disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus’ disciples struggled with their faith.

They feared Christ, but struggled with their faith.

They did not abandon him.

Luke frames Jesus’ ministry as part of a larger, spiritual conflict, but he also shows Jesus’ power over the physical creation.

Jesus and the Demon: a dialogue

Lk. 8:26-29.

Luke gives the reader a common interaction between Jesus and someone under the control of a demonic spirit.

He also gives saddening background information about the conditions this man has lived with for some time.

The unclean spirit had taken control of him.

He was being bound with chains and foot shackles.

This was the way the townspeople had tried to guard him or protect him.

Yet, the man was completely under the control of the unclean spirit.

Jesus, after asking the man’s name, grants the request of the many demons not to confine them to the abyss. (Lk. 8:32-33).

Hardened Rejection: Lk. 8:34-39

After the pig herders report what had happened to the city as well as the farms along the way, the inhabitants of the region visited Jesus.

Remember he had the power to do what the did not have the power to do.

Without even weighing what Jesus had done, they asked him to leave immediately.

We see fear prevent a whole region of people from contemplating the broader implications of the person of Jesus.

Jesus did not plead with them to reconsider.