Disarming the Demonic (3)

Please turn to Matthew 16 and Luke 13.

Several weeks ago we began a series titled, Disarming the Demonic. That comes from

Colossians 2:13–15 ESV

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Two things: 1) Satan and/or all demonic spiritual entities have no legal authority or power over the Believer in Jesus Christ. 2) We mentioned these rulers and authorities are the sons of God, the Watchers, members of the Divine Council who rebelled against Yahweh. In Gen. 11 and Deut. 32, we see that God disinherited the nations at the tower of Babel and gave humanity what they wanted. They wanted the gods, not God. God said in effect, “Fine. Have it your way.” And God placed the nations under the authority and rule of the gods – hence the Gentile nations. But God promised to reclaim the nations.

These Gentile nations would remain under the rule and authority of the gods until the arrival of the Messiah, whom I call the “Serpent-crusher” (Gen. 3). Jesus’ ministry was the beginning of reclaiming the nations. Through the Cross, He disarmed the gods, or stripped them of their right to rule. They are not eliminated yet – that comes at the final judgment –they still wreak havoc in this world. So, how do we navigate this defeated yet very active foe?

We saw that Jesus, who has ultimate authority over the demonic, has also empowered His disciples with authority.

Luke 10:19–20 ESV

Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Two things here: 1) Yes, we have authority over the demonic – that authority is real, but our real joy – our true boastfulness comes from knowing Christ, our salvation. 2) Even though we have authority over the demonic, they are still powerful and deceptive and destructive. This isn’t a flippant matter of authority. Think of Law Enforcement – they have the authority to arrest someone, but that doesn’t make arresting someone easy. In a similar way, we have authority over the demonic, but using that authority isn’t always easy.

I want us to look a little deeper into this issue of authority – specifically in regard to binding and loosing. I’m not an expert in this area – don’t have a lot of experience – but after studying this passage …. We’ll need to do this in two parts.

Matthew 16:13 ESV

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

Normally, we Westerners read this and think, “He went to C.P. So?” And then move on. There is a reason why these seemingly trivial details are in Scripture. They’re not trivial. Before we talk about our authority and binding and loosing, we need to know why Jesus and the disciples are at C.P.

Caesarea Philippi [PIC]is at the base of Mt. Hermon - about 25 miles north of Galilee – 25 miles away from everything Jesus was connected to. Jesus had no ministry Caesarea Philippi, no family, no relationships there. He wasn’t there prior to this or after (as far as we know). For all intents and purposes, He had no reason to walk 25 miles one way and 25 miles back. Put this in perspective. Imagine, Jesus says to us, “We need to walk to Black Bear Diner, but we need to walk to the Lake of the Woods first.” What!?

Let’s talk about Caesarea Philippi and discover why Jesus went there. As I said, it’s at the base of Mt. Hermon. In the OT, this area was known as Bashan. According to the book of Enoch, which is a book from the 2nd Temple Jewish era (Jewish writings between ca. 400 BC and 70 AD.) - 200 Watchers or sons of God, members of the Divine Council rebel against Yahweh and descend onto Mt. Hermon (prior to Gen. 6 and the flood). These Watchers corrupted humanity in ways that go beyond what Adam and Eve ever did. Adam and Eve did not corrupt humanity – they brought death into the world, but the real culprits to our condition are the Watchers and the demonic. (Watchers are to blame for the flood – not humanity).

Fast forward to NT. In Jesus’ day, C.P. was the epicenter of demonic worship. It was believed to be the gateway to the underworld or to the realm of the dead. Interestingly, the two main gods that were worshipped at C.P. were Pan and Zeus – both of which are connect to and are probably alternate names for the Satan.

But even more interesting and even more bold, a few days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John and they head up to Mt. Hermon and there He was transfigured. Jesus revealed His full glory and there He broadcast to the demonic realm, to the rebellious sons of God – “I am the Serpent-Crusher and I have come! I am the Messiah. Satan, the end of your kingdom has begun.” You see, Mt. Hermon is where the demonic rebellion began on earth, and Jesus went there intentionally to announce its reversal. So, Jesus had a reason for going there – had some big news to share. So, with that in mind, let’s get back to Matthew 16.

Matthew 16:13–20 ESV

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

[In other words, Peter recognized that Jesus was Yahweh in the flesh. OT often refers to Him as the Angel of Yahweh. In modern theological terms, Peter would say Jesus is the 2nd member of the Trinity].

We have some questions to answer – What are these keys? What is binding and loosing? What is this connection between earth and heaven? We’ll go into more detail about that next week, and we’ll see how we can apply this to our lives and the people around us. But for now, understand that binding and loosing is directly related to our given authority over the demonic. The intent is not that we have this crazy “superpower.” The intent is not for show, but The intent is freedom. Satan and the spiritual forces of darkness want humanity in all kinds of bondage. Jesus wants us free! Jesus wants freedom for those who are victims of the demonic - for those who are harassed and/or oppressed by the demonic. Here’s the gist, whenever we bind an evil spirit or a demon, the victim is loosed - set free. It’s a little more complex than that, but that’s the intent.

Let’s look at an example, then we’ll close.

Luke 13:10–16 ESV

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”

Here we have a Jewish woman who was in physical bondage set free by the words and power and love of Jesus Christ. And Jesus said, “You, my disciples can do the same.”

I wish it were this simple. We’ll talk more about this next week.

What does the Holy Spirit want you to hear this morning?

If you don’t know Jesus, Admit. Believe. Commit.