Luke 4:31-27

And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority. In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.^[1]

Several years ago a young man whom I had never seen before came into our mid-week Bible study, and because he seemed to be in need one of my deacons left the study to speak with him. After a short time, I heard such a terrible raucous in the hallway that I went to see what was going on. Something was clearly wrong with the young man and he was acting out in such a way that the deacon was forced to escort him from the property, but the young man resisted vehemently. Realizing how the confrontation was escalating I intervened and gently escorted the young man out of the building and off the property. While we were walking the young man was steadily speaking to me in an extremely excited and agitated, but otherwise normal manner. However, when we got to the edge of the property his voice and gaze suddenly changed, and a voice eerily frightening came out him saying, “We knew who you are!” Then he turned and ran off into the night. I never saw him again. Who was he and what was the voice that came out of him. I was and still am convinced that it was demonic in nature.

Though Jesus dealt with demons, we tend to place conversation about them in the X-Files category, but they are real. The Apostle Peter had no allusions about the reality of the demonic. In his first epistle he writes that our “enemy, the devil, prowls around seeking whom to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). But for some reason many believers are unable or unwilling to countenance the existence of a real devil and even if one agrees that devils and demons are real, that we have power and authority to overcome them. Some will say that we must be careful not to believe there are demons behind every tree and under every rock, and it is true that we should not blame every negative occurrence on the devil. However, wherever they are and however many there are, like Jesus we have and can take authority over them, in the name of Jesus. Rise up in the authority you have been given, even over demons.

Dear gracious Heavenly Father, we have been adversely affected by the strength of our education, the spiritualism of this age, as well as the influence of all the different media outlets. We confess to being suspicious of anything that gets characterized as demonic and are more confident of that which we can explain. Forgive us for our lack of faith and help us to rely more upon You and the authority You have bequeathed to us than we ever have before. May we, like Jesus, cause demons to tremble because of the authority in which we walk. We ask this all in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Lk 4:31–37.