The Power of our King over demons
Notes
Transcript
Matthew’s View of the King - The Power of Our King over demonic forces (Mt 8:16-17, 28-34)
Main Theme of passage: Jesus the Son of God has power even over the demonic.
Main Preaching Theme: The power of our King is absolute, even in the spiritual world, so we have nothing to fear.
Main Preaching Intention: I believe that 5 people will come to understand that just as the physical is real so is the spiritual, and that Christ has absolute power even over the demons.
Scene 1: Demons; let’s not make the mistake of overemphasising their power or discounting their existence, demons are real!
From the Garden of Eden in Genesis to Satan’s doom in Revelation, the pages of Scripture are filled with references to evil supernatural beings who oppose God and His purposes.
They actually appear more frequently during the ministries of Jesus and the apostles.
Jesus and Paul tell us more about them than any other Biblical characters.
The Bible makes the basic assumption that these supernatural beings exist.
Science cannot determine the existence of the demonic.
Science seeks to describe and explain natural phenomena.
Scientific inquiry can support a supernatural belief, such as the order and design of the universe points to the existence of a creator.
But science cannot answer the question of the nature and purpose of supernatural beings
Purely naturalistic explanations do not adequately account for much of the evil in the world.
The impact of sin on humanity explains most of the evil we see around us.
But some things are so abhorrent or inexplicable that they suggest a demonic origin.
The horrors of an Auschwitz, the actions of a monster who tortures and kills people over a long period of time imply a powerful force leading humanity to destruction.
Some cases of insanity are best explained as the work of a spirit being.
Most mental illness is just that, mental illness.
Just like any other sickness or injury the result of the fall has lead to a deterioration that can be explained by the corruption of the body.
Be it a chemical imbalance, a deformity of some part of the brain, severe emotional trauma or a physical injury.
Some people suffer from a mental illness
But there are some cases where illness is not the cause.
Apparently there is a category in the list of mental health diagnosis that includes “Possession Disorder.”
We need to learn from human history and other cultures.
Only in recent times in western society has the existence of evil spirits been viewed with widespread scepticism.
But when we look at non-western cultures we find that belief in evil spirits is a very real part of the worldview of all people groups.
Now we need to be careful.
We can’t be uncritical, nor should we become extremist and see a demon behind every bush.
At the beginning of C. S. Lewis’ famous book the Screwtape Letters, we are warned that we can err in two ways as regards the devil.
We can fail to take account of him or we can give him too much attention.
Scene 2: Jesus certainly understood the power of demons to harm and the challenge they present to the rule of his kingdom; that is why he cast demons out of people.
In the New Testament there are at least 8 cases where detailed descriptions are given of Jesus casting demons out of people.
In some cases they caused people great harm.
In others they harmed others.
Some caused illness and deformity.
And in every case Jesus established the rule of his kingdom and restored the person to wholeness.
Take a look at Matthew 8:16 – 17; this is one of a number of times when it simply states that Jesus healed many of demon possession.
16 That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick. 17 This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said, “He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases.”
Jesus drove the spirits out of many.
Note also the context of this verse.
Always Jesus’ actions are in the context of healing, of restoring a person to wholeness.
And that is the attitude that we should have towards this subject.
When it is necessary to confront the demonic, we should not do so with an attitude of superiority or fascination with the bizarre.
Of wanting to see a display of power.
Instead we must always deal with this issue in an attitude of humble dependence on God and a desire to see wholeness and restoration.
Otherwise our motive will be seen by the forces of evil and we will ourselves become a target.
Scene 3: The story of the demon possessed men at Gerasenes is a controversial story that teaches us a lot about Jesus’ power and authority over demons.
Have a look at Matthew 8: 28-34.
28 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. 29 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?” 30 There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding in the distance. 31 So the demons begged, “If you cast us out, send us into that herd of pigs.” 32 “All right, go!” Jesus commanded them. So the demons came out of the men and entered the pigs, and the whole herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water. 33 The herdsmen fled to the nearby town, telling everyone what happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go away and leave them alone.
Now in looking at this account we need to understand that Matthew, Mark & Luke all record it differently in terms of the number of men and the location.
Now whenever we find these discrepancies in the gospels we don’t need to get concerned.
Remember there are four different eyewitness accounts each told from a different perspective.
And if you do a bit of research there is usually a good explanation.
In this case the best explanation for how many demon possessed men there were is that Mark focuses on the lead demon possessed man & Luke took his material from Mark, but Matthew lists both men.
In terms of location, it appears that Matthew has a different name for the location where this happened.
Recent work by scholars has cleared up this problem
Basically Matthew names the region according to the main city in the area where as Mark and Luke names it after the actual village.
The ruin of this actual village has recently been discovered.[1]
Another thing that people struggle with is the death of the pigs.
Well I guess city animal liberation types or pig farmers might.
Jesus was not uncaring and destructive for causing a herd of pigs to die and its owners to be deprived of their property.
First, the destruction was caused by the demons, not directly by Jesus.
Second, though the intrinsic value of animals is taught in Scripture (e.g., Pr 12:10), the surpassing value of humans as made in the image of God is more fundamental.
Jesus cast the demons into the pigs for the greater good of saving the demon-possessed man (see Mt 10:31).
Pigs were the most unclean of animals and, by Jewish kosher laws, were not to be raised for food.[2]
This was a Gentile area which is why the pigs were there.
Ancient stories about demons suggest that they liked to negotiate the least difficult terms if they were going to have to leave one whom they possessed.
Remembering that Matthew wrote to a Jewish audience his Jewish listeners would respond, “But of course demons would want to inhabit unclean pigs.”[3]
Scene 4: This is an amazing account demonstrating the absolute power of Jesus, one word and there is instant obedience from demons.
Jesus has travelled across Lake Galilee to get a break from the crowds.
Instead he is faced with a personal encounter with evil.
He didn’t yell or carry on.
He didn’t need any magical words.
All three gospels tell us that Jesus simply asked them their name and then told them to go.
It was the demons who were making a fuss.
They feared that Jesus was going to send them straight into the abyss, a place of punishment from which there is no escape.
Now it’s not surprising the demons tormented the two men, for they’re hostile to both man and God.
What is surprising is the reaction of the residents.
Human beings are to value the health and well–being of others more than material possessions.
But the local population could not sense the wonder of Jesus’ works, nor his intent.[4]
All they saw was immense power, something they did not understand or expect.
So in fear they pleaded for Jesus to leave.
When we are dealing with the demonic we need to realize two very important things.
Firstly “The gospel is for the defeated, not the dominant.
It’s for those who realize they’re unable to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders–those who’ve figured out that they’re not gods.”
– Pastor Tullian Tchividjian, Surprised by Grace (CrossWay Books, 2010)
Therefore we need to remain humbly dependent on God not ourselves
Secondly “We may talk about Alexander the Great, Charles the Great and Napoleon the Great, but not Jesus the Great.
He is not the Great–he is the only.
There is nobody like him. He has no rival and no successor.”
– John Stott, The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects of Our Calling (InterVarsity Press, 2010)
Therefore we need to remember that it is in Jesus name and by his power that the forces of evil are to be defeated.
A simple phrase that we need to remember when dealing with the forces of evil is this.
“By the name and in the power of Jesus leave this place”
[1]Robertson, A. T. (2009). A Harmony of the Gospels (Lk 8:26–39). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[2] Cabal, T., Brand, C. O., Clendenen, E. R., Copan, P., Moreland, J., & Powell, D. (2007). The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (1475–1476). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Keener, C. S., & InterVarsity Press. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Mt 8:31–32). Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.
[4]Richards, L. O. (1991). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (610). Wheaton: Victor Books.
