Christ Casts out a Demon with Authority

Introduction and Prayer

0:04 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, February 19th, 1984, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:14 May I encourage you, please, to turn to your own Bibles, to the Gospel according to Mark, Mark's Gospel, and Chapter 1, and follow as I read verses 21 through 28. I'm referring to our Lord Jesus in the company of Peter, Andrew, James, and John, whom he has just recently called into a more intimate level of fellowship and discipleship. Mark tells us that they go into Capernaum, and straightway on the Sabbath day, he entered into the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at his teaching. For he taught them as possessing authority, and not as their scribes. And straightway there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit.

1:20 And he cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Nazarene? Are you come to destroy us? I know you who you are, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold your peace.

1:37 Hold your peace, and come out of him. The unclean spirit, tearing, or better rendered, convulsing him, and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this? A new teaching, with authority.

2:01 He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him. And the report of him went out straightway, everywhere, into all the region of Galilee, round about. Now let us again seek the face of God, that God, by the Spirit, would open the eyes of our understanding as we come to this portion of his word.

2:33 Our Father, we thank you for these gripping records of the mighty deeds of our Lord Jesus. And as we come to consider this first miracle recorded by Mark in his account of the life and ministry of our Savior, we pray that the Holy Spirit will be present to do that work which he most delights to do, even the work of revealing Christ, testifying to Christ, turning all the attention of every mind and heart to Christ, in the glory of his person, in the might and energy of his own power. O give us a sight of your Savior. May the scriptures come alive to us, and may our hearts respond to them in faith and in obedience. Come, Lord, and minister to us through your word. We ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.

3:38 Amen. Now according...

The Encounter: Facts and Explanation

3:46 to verse 21 in the paragraph read in your hearing, the events recorded in this section of Mark's narrative were events that took place in the city of Capernaum on a given Jewish Sabbath day and in a specific synagogue. The first of these events was the teaching ministry of Jesus, an event which, as we saw last Lord's Day, produced nothing less than great astonishment among the hearers of our Lord. And it was an astonishment that focused particularly on that quality of his preaching described by Mark as its authority in direct contrast with the teaching of the ordinary instructors, namely the scribes. Today, we focus our attention on the second major event which occurred in Capernaum on that same Sabbath day in that same synagogue. And as we attempt to grasp the contents of this portion of Mark's narrative, we shall examine the four very natural units of thought that are in the text, and then this morning, God willing, make but the first of those.

5:10 One central application of that narrative, and then, Lord willing, next week, three or four secondary applications contained in the narrative. First of all, then, as we study the narrative together, we shall consider verses 23 and 24 as the encounter. Verses 23 and 24, the encounter. Now, the word encounter means to meet, encounter.

5:40 Conflict or in battle. And that's precisely why I have chosen that word for our first heading. Here before us are some facts with respect to this encounter. Let's seek to grasp the facts and then a brief word of explanation concerning the facts.

6:01 As all the synagogue worshipers are staggering with amazement at the authority of Jesus' teaching, still it is most fortunate that the Companions survived at least three chapters, or almsgrain plays play in New Portugal as Christ is seen in the story. So listening, seminar and comment○ This word, care, soccer, the word commune, is a religious那個 in Greek. Indicating that this people hated it, destabilizing it, fear, hate, respect for it, and subjugating them in one way or an electric force. This word is not a reference to those of us who were sometimes deceived, i.e., distracted, lips, hearts to woods, children, children at home, testified in churches, etc. All in the gray space opening piousлюс mixed wordsbok preceding teaching of our Lord or who at that precise moment entered the synagogue. There is nothing in the text to say with any finality or dogmatism whether this man was a worshiper who had been there under the teaching of Jesus or whether he came in at this particular point. It is my own conviction that he was a worshiper, for there is nothing clearly to indicate that he entered from the outside at this time. The text simply says there was in their synagogue a man,

7:16 but whether he entered at that time or whether he had been there, suddenly he speaks out in this shrieking, piercing voice that reverberates through the walls of the synagogue, and as all eyes turn to him, they hear him in this loud and almost unnatural voice, that would cause your flesh to creep. They hear him say these words, What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are, the Holy One of God. Now what is contained in these words spoken by this man who yelled out in the midst of the synagogue worship that day? Well, the first words, What have we to do with you, represent an attempt to translate a very strange idiom. The words literally translated would be, What to us and to you? And it appears

8:26 that it is a word of repulsion, and perhaps a better rendering would be this, Why do you interfere or have any dealings with us? Why do you interfere or have any dealings with us? Why do you, a man in a body, a teacher of the people, what do you have to do with us? Notice it was one man speaking, but he speaks in the plural. That unclean spirit using the vocal chords of that man in the synagogue that day asked the question, What do you have to do with intruding into the realm of spirits and spiritual activity? And underneath it there appears to be this disposition of repulsion. What to you and what to us and to you? What concord is there between us? And then there is obviously a word of dread.

9:24 Have you come to destroy us? The evil spirit knows that he and his kind stand under the judgment of Christ. They know that ultimately they will be banished by the same word of authority that had been speaking in that synagogue. That very voice that that day was saying, I say unto you, was the voice that would one day consign them with their chief leader the devil to the pit of everlasting burning. And they know this. And so there is a word of dread. is this word of dread? Have you come to destroy us? Are you here now on that mission that will ultimately manifest our destruction when you consign us forever to the pit of eternal burnings? And then there is, in the third place, this obvious word of recognition. I

10:25 know you who you are, the Holy One of God. And in this word of recognition, there is obviously an acknowledgment of the dignity of the person of Christ and the majesty of the position which at this point he occupied as the anointed prophet, priest, and king. You will remember in two other contexts. 1. In the first context, the Holy One of God is the Holy One of God.

10:55 2. In the second context, the Holy One of God is the Holy One of God. In Mark's Gospel, chapter 5 and verse 7, we find a demon acknowledging that Jesus is the Son of the Most High God. Mark 5 and verse 7, and in Matthew 8 and verse 29, the very terminology is used, you are the Son of God.

11:18 So here is a word of recognition coming through the vocal cords of this man who appears amongst the synagogue worshipers on that given Sabbath day in Capernaum, a word of acknowledgment as to the uniqueness of Christ's person. He is the Son of the Most High. He is the Holy One of God who has come from God, who is God incarnate, who is the Holy One set apart by God to be God's Messiah, anointed prophet. He is the Son of God who has come from God to be God's Messiah, anointed prophet, priest, and king.

11:59 Well, those are the basic facts pertaining to this encounter. Now, what explanation can we give and ought we to give of these facts? Now, I'm very conscious that the moment we mention demon or demons, there are all kinds of reactions that must not be encouraged. There is, first of all, an unrighteousness.

12:26 There is some idle curiosity. There are some people that just seem to delight in delving into all kinds of questions about demons and demonic activity. There are others who have a morbid dread. Just say the word demon and they become unstrung in the joints.

12:46 And perhaps just the reading of this passage made some of you experience an increased heartbeat. And you say, well, I hope pastor gets through this in a hurry. I don't like this spooky business about demons. I just get the creeping meanies.

13:02 And such people have a morbid dread of demons. And then there are others who have a proud cynicism. They say, certainly here in the 20th century, no one's going to read the passage as though this were an actual account of demonic activity. We know that these poor first century people were limited in their understanding of psychology and physiology.

13:25 And the inner workings of the mind and the body. Surely no one's going to take this at face value. As though a man actually had an unclean spirit. Another personality that had invaded his body and personality in true demonic possession.

13:43 So some, when they come to the passage, just surround the passage with their arrogant cynicism. Well, I'm not going to pander to any one of those three things or any combination of them. I refuse to indulge in their arrogance. I refuse to indulge in their arrogance.

13:55 I refuse to indulge in their arrogance. I refuse to indulge in their arrogance. indulge in any satisfaction of idle curiosity, and therefore I will not speculate or theorize the explanations I give in this passage and any passage in the gospel as we preach through it will be such as the text warrants and only as much as the text warrants. But I'm not going to be more fastidious than God. Everything that's in the text, I'm going to address it, and I'm not going to pander to people who are overly nervous about the devil and demons. And if you're here as a proud skeptic and a cynic, then you may pity me, my friend, but mark my word, unless you repent of your proud skepticism, one day you'll burn in hell with the demons and they'll be your everlasting companions. And all of your sneers in hell will not obliterate the reality of your presence with them. What then are we to say about these facts?

The Nature of Demonic Possession and Spiritual Warfare

14:56 What are the facts of the encounter recorded in verses 23 and 24? Well, we are warranted to say this much. First of all, there was a man in the synagogue, verse 23, and straightway there was in their synagogue a man. Now, whether he had been sitting with the worshipers or whether he came from the outside at the point that everyone's attention was drawn to him, as his vocal cords gave forth this shrieking voice, it was evident that he was every bit a man in the sense that we use that word. He had a body. He obviously had a mind and a spirit. He was a man in terms of everything that makes a man a man, as a body-spirit entity, as a psychosomatic fusion.

15:54 The second thing that is clear in the explanation of these facts is that there was another personality called in the text an unclean spirit. And an unclean spirit was also in the synagogue that day, and he happened to be within the body and embedded in the very personality of that man. Notice the text. Straightway there was in their synagogue a man, literally, in an unclean spirit. In other words, the man was living and existing in such a relationship to this unclean spirit that, like we say of a person who is in love, he is living in the realm of love. The love in his heart so controls him, so colors all his thinking and all of his ambitions and desires. We say the man is hopelessly in love. So Mark describes this man as one who, who was in an unclean spirit. And by that he means he was under its control. He was under its influence,

17:06 and he was under its influence in such a way that this spirit was actually inhabiting him. Because you remember later on, Jesus commanded it to leave, and the text says, it went out. So it was in, and it went out. It was not some vague, nebulous, satanic influence that sort of it went out. So it was in, and it went out. It was not some vague, nebulous, satanic influence that sort of floated like a dark, heavy, damp ooze above the man, and once in a while dripped some of its essence upon him. He was literally in his body and personality inhabited by another personality called an unclean spirit. That much the text makes abundantly clear. Furthermore, it's evident that this unclean spirit had, had physical influence and effects upon the man. It could speak through his vocal cords,

18:04 and later on we shall see, it could actually cause his body to go into violent convulsions. So here is literal demon or demonic possession. And it's interesting that Mark, along with the other Gospel writers, and though different terminology is used, this is one of the dominant terminologies, one of the dominant terms, calls it an unclean spirit. It is a spirit marked by its moral and ethical depravity.

18:40 It is a foul, demonic spirit. It is a spirit that is wretchedly, filthy, and unclean morally and ethically. And here in the synagogue that day, in Capernaum, we see this encounter between the Lord Jesus, who has been teaching with authority, and

19:10 this unclean spirit who inhabits the body and the personality of this man. Now in the light of these facts and this brief explanation of the facts, do you see what is happening in Mark's account? That ancient conflict prophesied in the Bible, prophesied in the Bible, prophesied in the Bible, prophesied in the Bible, prophesied in the Bible, prophesied in the Garden of Eden, that there would be enmity between the seed of the woman and between the serpent, is now coming to this very focused expression. There is now in this synagogue real warfare between the seed of the woman and between the serpent. And can you see why there would be? What's happened? Well, in a very real sense, if the devil and the demonic powers were there in that synagogue up until this particular Sabbath day, they could well slink off in the shadowy corners and wring their fiendish hands with glee as they see people half asleep, Sabbath by Sabbath, under the empty, hollow drone of the Holy Spirit.

20:25 With all of their traditions and all of their legalism and all of their religious talk that never pricked the conscience, the devil would be very quiet in such circumstances. He and his minions and all his little lackeys could float, as it were, in the dark, damp corners of that synagogue and giggle with glee. But on this particular day, what was happening? Jesus was teaching, and He was teaching with authority.

21:04 The Word of God was not coming to people half asleep. With conscience salved by all of that constant rigamarole of the scribes, consciences were now awake. God, His law, the human heart, sin, redemption, these issues were coming home with power and authority to men's hearts. And when that happens, what's the result in the devil's kingdom? He begins to lose his subjects. Wherever the Word of Jesus begins to come with authority, Satan's kingdom is being attacked. His kingdom is attacked by the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of truth. And it's my own conviction that that's precisely what is happening. That's exactly what God's

21:56 saying. That the devil is being attacked by the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of truth. And it's my own conviction that that's precisely what is happening. That is, what happened that day. That this demon-possessed man could come into that synagogue Sabbath after Sabbath and never cry out. On that Sabbath, the Word of the authority of Jesus had thrown down the gauntlet. It's as though Jesus was saying to every synagogue worshiper in Capernaum, I have come to call My sheep. I've come to bring men to Myself. And in that Preaching and teaching with authority, the gauntlet is thrown down. And now the devil comes forth in the person of this demon-possessed man, as it were, to accept the challenge. And now the conflict is engaged. Notice the demon took the initiative in this passage.

22:51 The demon took hold of the vocal cords of that man and cried out in the midst of the synagogue, What to us and to you, Jesus, you Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know you, the Holy One of God. The battle lines are drawn.

23:12 The great encounter has come. He speaks out, not thinking that he will be defeated, but he speaks out to distract the minds of men. They've been preoccupied with Jesus. They've been taken up with him.

23:29 His word of authority. They never had their hearts laid bare like this before. They had never heard anyone speak of God like this before. They had never heard anyone speak of the way of salvation like this before.

23:44 And so the devil, through this demon-possessed man, would turn away people's minds, would distract them from the great issues. The battle lines are drawn. Here we have in these first two verses the encounter. This was D-Day in the synagogue at Capernaum.

The Conquest: Jesus' Authoritative Word

24:06 This was D-Day in Mark setting forth of Christ as the mighty worker. Well, having looked then at the encounter, now notice the conquest in verses 25 and 26.

24:22 And in this account of the conquest, there are two major elements. We have the word of Jesus in verse 25. And then we have the word of Jesus in verse 25. And the response of the demon in verse 26.

24:34 Notice it. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold your peace and come out of him. There's the word of Jesus. Now the response of the demon and the unclean spirit convulsing him and crying with a loud voice came out of him.

24:54 First of all, then, in this account of the conquest, we have the word of Jesus. You notice how Mark is careful to underscore. What's the form of his word? Not a word of entreaty.

25:07 Not a word of reasoning. It says, Jesus rebuked him. Jesus is not about to enter into discussion. He's not to parlay with the demon.

25:18 He speaks with that same authoritative word with which he has been teaching those in the synagogue. And he gives him a solemn charge in the form of a rebuke. The closest. The closest thing to this would be like a parent who's made legitimately angry at some high-handed petulance in his child and he speaks a solemn, righteously angry word of rebuke from his posture as a parent.

25:48 That would be the parallel. Or the parallel of a commander who speaks to a sergeant or speaks to a private in the army who made a very inexcusable blunder in a critical battle situation that could have cost a dozen lives and he sharply reproves him from his posture of authority. That's the form of the word of Jesus in this account of the Congress. Now notice the substance of that word.

26:16 He gives two commands. One is, be muzzled. And the other one, come out of him. The word translated in our Bibles that he is to be silent.

26:31 And Jesus said to him, Hold your peace. That same verb is used in 1 Corinthians 9-9 and 1 Timothy 5-18. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox. So Jesus was saying, be muzzled.

26:46 I don't need you to testify to my identity. I need nothing from you. Be muzzled. And furthermore, get out of him.

26:59 Every time I read those words I get shouting happy. What an economy of words. Shut up! That was the word.

27:12 The word of Jesus. Shut up! Nothing more. Unclean spirit is addressed.

27:24 No incantations. No rituals. No chantings. No laying on of hands.

27:30 No lengthy prayers. Shut up! Now what was the response of the unclean spirit? Well, first of all, we're given a description of his parting activities and then of his departure.

27:44 On his way out he does two things. What does he do? Look at the text. The unclean spirit convulsing him and crying with a loud voice came out of him.

28:00 His parting activities were first of all to cause the body of the man in whom he had been dwelling to convulse violently. But Luke tells us in a parallel passage, verse 35 of chapter 4 in Luke's gospel, that no hurt came to him as a result. You know, it's like a spoiled child who's been playing with his toys and now is called away from his toys to supper and to show his anger that he still wanted to play, picks up his toys, the very things he's been fondling and dawdling over, and he throws them on the floor and smashes them. Now that's the picture of this demon.

28:41 He's been inhabiting this man's body and personality and now as he's about to leave, he shows you how much worth he puts upon that. He causes it to convulse violently. And then with this unearthly shriek, that's to be a better translation, with a shriek, with a loud cry. One can only imagine what it must have been like, that piercing cry of a demon, as it were acknowledging that he will never again use the vocal cords of that man, never again make that body the instrument of his own foul uncleanness.

29:18 He convulses that body. He shrieks through those vocal cords. And blessed be God, his departure is secured. It says the unclean spirit came out of him.

29:32 He left that body, left that personality. That man was now a free man. He was conscious that the demon had left him. All who looked upon him would know that the demon was gone.

The Witnesses' Amazement and the Spreading Report

29:47 Here was a total, complete calm. A complete conquest of that demon by the word of our Lord Jesus Christ. Well then, what was the immediate response of the witnesses? We've looked at the engagement of the battle.

30:06 We've looked at the encounter. We've considered the conquest. Now, thirdly, what was the immediate response of the witnesses? Verse 27.

30:16 And they were all amazed. So much so that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this, a new teaching? With authority he commands even the unclean spirits. And they obey him.

30:32 They were all amazed. And here, Mark uses a different word from the word in verse 22. That word, as you remember, could be translated, they were blown out of their minds. Well, this is a different word for amazement, but it's still a very vigorous word.

30:48 They were utterly amazed. Why? Because they, like us, are amazed when we see something that is out of the sphere of the ordinary. Something completely unusual.

31:00 And as I was fishing about for an illustration, I thought of my, the children in the congregation. Now, let me ask you. If tomorrow morning, when your mummy's fixing breakfast, you saw your mummy go over and pick up the toaster and carry it to the kitchen table, would you be amazed, if you were sitting there waiting for your breakfast, and you saw mummy pick up the toaster, carry it over, put it on the kitchen table? Any kids here who would sit there and go, wowee, look at what mama just did.

31:29 She picked up a toaster. Wow, boy, when I get to school today, I'm going to tell a teacher and tell a kid, you know what my mama did? She picked up a toaster. You wouldn't be amazed at that, would you?

31:40 Would you be amazed if your mother picked up a toaster? How many kids here would be amazed if your mother picked up a toaster? Now, you say, that's no big deal. But suppose your mum and dad have been talking about they want to rearrange the kitchen.

31:53 And they've decided where everything's going to go, because your mum and dad don't do those things unilaterally. Like a good couple, they talk about it first. Okay? So, lo and behold, you've had your breakfast, and while you're upstairs getting ready to go to school, mum's cleared off the table, and she's moved the table out into the next room.

32:16 And when you come down with your book bag, and you're about to kiss your mum on the cheek, and go out and catch the school bus, there she is, with her arms around the refrigerator. And she's carrying it right across. Would you be amazed then? Why, you'd drop your book bag, and your mouth would go open, and you'd say, oh, wow-wee!

32:41 My mama's stronger than I ever thought she was! You'd be what? You'd be amazed. Why?

32:48 Because amazement is produced when we see something totally out of the ordinary, something that in itself seems totally unlikely, totally impossible. All right? Now, that's what happened that day. The immediate response of the witnesses is this.

33:04 They were utterly amazed! According to Jesus, the religious leaders in that day did do something like casting out demons. He said, by whom do your sons cast them out? And it's best we're able to discern when they engaged in something at least that looked like the exorcism of demons.

33:25 They did it with a lengthy rigamarole and chanting and all kinds of religious tomfoolery. But here they had seen Jesus simply say the very word, the very mouth, I'm sorry, that had been speaking the word of God with authority now turns and addresses a demon and says, shut up! Get out! They see the shaking body, they hear the unearthly shriek, and then they see the man delivered.

33:55 That's like Mama carrying ten refrigerators in one hand across the kitchen floor. They're filled with amazement. And now they turn to one another and they begin to ask these questions. Look at them.

34:09 They say, what is this? Unmute teaching? With authority he commands even unclean spirits and they leave him. And the punctuation of this is difficult to ascertain.

34:20 Some render it this way. What is this? A new teaching? With authority he commands, as our Bibles render it, the 1901.

34:31 Others say, no, it should be rendered this way. What is this? A new teaching with authority? Why, even the evil spirits are cast out by his word.

34:43 And others would render it in a different way. So it's difficult to know precisely what they said, but this much is clear. They were amazed, and they had all of these questions, and at the heart of them, notice this now, is they made a direct connection between the teaching with authority that they had already heard and the casting out of demons with authority. Notice that?

35:12 Wherever we put the authority, if you look at the questions, what is this? A new teaching? With authority he commands, the evil spirits and they obey him. Or, what is this?

35:24 A new teaching with authority? He commands even the unclean spirits. It's the issue of authority that lies at the heart. Now, previous it is said that they were amazed for he spoke as possessing authority.

35:40 There was divine weightiness and divine conviction in his spoken word. And now there is divine efficiency in that same word. He who so spoke is to cause their hearts to reverberate as a very echo chamber of the mouth of God is the one who now speaks, and demons must heed his voice, and they are utterly astounded at the authority. He commands even demons.

36:14 Luke 4.36 says, With authority and with power, he even deals with demons. So that was the immediate response of the witnesses. And then finally, you see in verse 28, the ultimate result of the two incidents on that particular Sabbath day.

36:34 What was the ultimate result after the two events of his teaching with authority, his casting out of the demon with authority? The text says, the report of him went out straightway everywhere into all the region of Galilee round about. In other words, on that first day of the week, there in that section, wherever you went, in the area of Galilee, the further out you went, you would hear the buzzing wherever you went. The name of Jesus was on everyone's lips.

37:10 And when people were talking, they were referring back to the two incidents in that synagogue on that Sabbath day in Capernaum. Why, he spoke with authority. He cast out demons with authority. And so as the Lord Jesus later on would carry on his preaching missions in those areas, you remember that again and again when he would come into an area, before he even began to preach, the sick were coming and crying out for healing.

37:39 The demon-possessed were there and the demons were stirred up. Why? The report of him had gone out before him and there was some of that preparation work being done as the news of the mighty activity of Christ on that particular Sabbath day was spread abroad. Well, those are the facts of the passage.

The Graphic Display of Christ's Power and Mission

38:01 Now the vital question for us is this. What does all of that say to us? Here we are, not in Capernaum, but in Montville, New Jersey. Not on a Jewish street, not on a Jewish Sabbath day, but on this joyous festive day, the Lord's day, Sabbath day of resurrection, day of joyous liberty, day in which the Spirit who came on that first Pentecost is amongst us.

38:35 What does this say to us, gathered not in Capernaum, not on a Jewish Sabbath day, and certainly not in a Jewish synagogue, but a gathering of God's people, a church of Christ in a building set apart for the worship and praise of God. What does all of this say to us? Well, in the time that remains, I want to bring before you but one word of application this morning. And it is the central word which the passage forces upon us.

39:05 And then, God willing, next week, as I've already intimated, three, possibly four, secondary words of application. What is the one great word or great burning message of this passage? I suggest to you it constitutes a graphic display of the power and the mission of Jesus Christ our Lord. You'll notice the passage ends with the words and the report of Him, not the demon and how it operated on the man's vocal cords and how it convulsed his body, not any incidental factors.

39:43 It says, the report of Him went out and displayed His... And it was the message of Jesus that was heralded abroad as a result of that day, for that day constituted a graphic display of the power and the mission of Jesus Christ our Lord.

40:08 And what is that power and mission? Well, in the language of Matthew 12, 29, it is the mission of the stronger than the strong man, binding the strong man and spoiling his goods. You remember that imagery? Jesus speaks of a strong man who has all of his goods within his house and he himself sits at the door.

40:31 He said, how are you going to go and get the goods of the strong man unless you're strong enough to go up and first of all put the strong man in a hammer locker, give him a few karate chops and immobilize him. Then you can go in and get his goods. And it was in the very context of Jesus casting out demons. What he was saying is this, the devil is the strong man and all of his imps and his minions, the host of hell, these unclean spirits of the devil demons, they have entered and they possess men and they hold them in their grip and they use their vocal cords and they overpower them and use their bodies and as we shall see when we come to chapter 5, in some instances they did horrible things. Now the stronger than the strong man has come. What does he need to do to make it evident he's stronger than the strong man? All he needs to do is say, shut up and get out.

41:35 Bemuzzled and convulsing him, he shrieked and he came out. Do you feel the glory and the wonder of that? Mark with his verbal shorthand on the one hand and yet his masterful strength and strokes of description on the other. He is particularly concerned, as you remember from our introductory studies, to show Christ as the mighty worker.

42:01 There is this appeal to the energetic Roman in the writing of Mark. And what would appeal more than the beautiful simplicity of this passage? No falter all, no ritual, no incantation, just the mighty one who as he is teaching is challenged. He's thrown down the gauntlet and the demon responds.

42:24 And now they're engaged in conflict. And unlike the wrestlings of Jacob with an angel for a whole night, our Lord doesn't even work up a sweat. And get out! And we've got more important things to do around here.

42:42 You don't need to be afraid of any passage that describes the devil and demons. Don't let the devil bluff you into thinking he's something he's not. Our mighty captain of the Lord's host has come forward and met him as it were on his own ground. And that was but a preview of that conflict that existed from the Garden of Eden that breaks out into unusual dimensions in the earthly ministry of our Lord.

43:10 There is such a stirring up of demonic activity. Have you ever wondered why that was true in the earthly ministry of Jesus? I hope you understand a bit more now why it is. Because the stronger than the strong was there.

43:23 And the devil knew that. He comes forth to challenge and Jesus conquers again and again. And those are all pointers to that great conquest which Jesus would effect upon the cross when he bruises the head of the serpent in his death and in his glorious resurrection. And that is pledge of his utter and final banishment in the day of judgment.

43:47 And so in this passage we should see what is here set before us. A graphic display of the power and then also of the mission of Jesus. What has he come to do? He is not only described as the stronger than the strong man but in 1 John 3.8 there is this precious word for this purpose the Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. That is his mission. To destroy the works of the devil. Now follow closely.

Application to the Unconverted: Deliverance from Satan's Power

44:23 I am not saying that every unconverted man, woman, boy or girl is possessed of an unclean spirit. That is not scriptural. Demon possession was an exceptional situation even in this New Testament context when the powers of darkness were most violently stirred up against the incarnate God when he dwelt amongst us. But now listen carefully.

44:49 I am saying this. The Bible does teach although not every unconverted person is demon possessed every unconverted person is a spiritual son or daughter of the devil walks according to the course of this world according to the prince of the power of the air the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience. You are of your father the devil and the lust of your father it is your will to do. When Paul was commissioned by the Lord Jesus Jesus said to him you are to go to open their eyes to turn them from darkness to light from the power of Satan unto God.

45:31 In the Sunday school class this morning we read Colossians 1.13 who has delivered us out of the power of darkness. My friend in your unconverted state you are a slave of your sin and of the devil. You are under that more general control of the prince of darkness and in that condition some of you may have sunk to a state where you feel that the chains that bind you to this lust and that passion and this other unholy ambition are so powerful that at times you've really wondered I wonder if I'm actually possessed with the devil.

46:12 My friend whatever your state may be this is the gospel. Jesus Christ has come to destroy the works of the devil. He need but speak his word be muzzled come out. That word he speaks to us in our unconverted state is the word of deliverance and release that he speaks from the cross for it's in the context of coming in the consciousness of our foul revolt against God and in repentance acknowledging in the language of the prodigal that we have sinned against heaven and looking by faith to Christ who died for sinners and rose from the dead and throwing the weight of our guilty sin sick sin bound souls upon him it is in that very context that the liberating power of Christ is experienced through the gospel. My dear friend if you sit here a slave of sin this morning whether it's the more more more overt gross sins of cursing and of foul mouth and you may be addicted to this tobacco and alcohol and pot and coke and a foul chemical stimulants or it may be the more subtle sins

47:37 of jealousy and envy and discontent and bitterness and a sour cancer of internal attitudes known only to you and my friend the message of this passage is Jesus Christ is a powerful savior who has come to loose us from the bondage into which our sin and the devil had brought us that's the central message of the passage it's a graphic display of the power and of the mission of Jesus and I plead with you this morning that you would come and throw yourself down before this mighty worker and say Lord Jesus surely if you could say to that demon shut up and come out you can speak the word of pardon and liberation to my heart oh Lord Jesus speak that word even to me and dear child of God the message of the passage to us is that no matter what the evident bondage may be in those for whom we pray don't give up to a subtle form of unbelief and say well I know Christ can save anyone but that husband of mine that wife of mine

Application to Believers: Christ's Unrelinquished Power

49:04 that son of mine that daughter of mine I wonder I know but I wonder I know but I wonder look in this passage and see the mighty power of Christ and know that there is no one within the circle of your acquaintance who cannot be transformed by the word and the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and how encouraged we should be dear people of God because though this Jesus is not with us in the flesh he is at the right hand of the Father and the scripture tells us that all principalities and power and might and dominion have been made subject to him and he's been given head over all things to the church and we need not fear as we face the things that grieve us and pain us the tremendous encroachments of unbelief and downright paganism and devil worship and demonic activity the proliferation of the occult and all the related things at times our spirits shake like a leaf within us regardless of what God may permit of satanic activity never forget this child of God all your savior needs to do is say shut up and come out he has never relinquished that place of power

50:32 when the enemy shall come in like a flood the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him may God grant that as that sabbath day in Capernaum was over men went back to their homes and all they could talk about was that word of authority we heard things we've never heard before when he spoke we felt the voice of God thundering in our hearts we saw such things as we've never seen before you cannot see them with your physical eyes but I have labored to help you to see them with the eyes of the soul as they are put before us in the word that Christ is your savior and he is here by his spirit he is here by his spirit and you may be one who though you would not cry out as one possessed with a demon you fain would cry out is there hope for me there is hope for you this savior lives and is mighty to save oh flee to him trust him find his liberating grace even as he promised but you say suppose I don't want to get loose from my chains my friend you'll hear his word one day but it won't be a word be muzzled and come out it will be depart

A Solemn Warning and Concluding Prayer

52:00 and when he says to you depart in everlasting fire you'll go as surely as the demon came out when Jesus said get out when he says depart hell will open up to welcome you at the word of Jesus don't you take this lightly my unconverted friend don't you play with this Jesus for he'll make you an eternal monument of the folly of your impenitence and your unbelief let us pray our Lord Jesus Christ we worship you this morning we would take our place with those four and twenty elders about the throne we would cry from our hearts worthy is the lamb that was slain worthy worthy our Lord Jesus we praise you for your mighty power we praise you that it is power put forth not to destroy but to save power to conquer the devil and all of his tragic work in the lives of men Lord Jesus come forth in power this morning and do your mighty work in all of our

53:28 hearts may you receive much praise as you come in the word of your own power to many hearts today seal this word by your own sovereign spirit and to your name be praise and to your name alone both now and for ever amen