Just an average Sabbath for Jesus

Expelling Demons on the Sabbath

Mark 1:21-26 MSG

“Then they entered Capernaum. When the Sabbath arrived, Jesus lost no time in getting to the meeting place. He spent the day there teaching. They were surprised at his teaching- so forthright, so confident – not quibbling and quoting like the religion scholars.

Suddenly, while still in the meeting place, he was interrupted by a man who was deeply disturbed and yelling out, “What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what you’re up to! You’re the Holy One of God, and you’ve come to destroy us!” Jesus shut him up: Quiet! Get out of him!” The afflicting spirit threw the man into spasms, protesting loudly – and got out.

Everyone there was incredulous, buzzing with curiosity. “What’s going on here? A new teaching that does what it says; He shuts up defiling, demonic spirits and sends them packing!”

In v23 where it mentions a “man who was deeply disturbed”, can also be translated “with an unclean spirit,” and mistranslated as “possessed by an evil spirit,” by the NIV. The Greek says an unclean spirit meaning “under the influence of an unclean spirit.” Possession implies ownership, and Christians are not OWNED by a demon, but can certainly be influenced by them. Remember Paul, James, and Peter were writing to Christians, when they commanded their parishioners to Resist the Devil, and Put on the Full Armor of God, and do not give the Devil a foothold….

Notice a few things about the Mark 1 passage:

“1. Jesus dealt with the demon, not with the man.

2. Jesus expelled the demon from the man, not the man from the synagogue.

3. Jesus was in no way embarrassed by the interruption or disturbance. Dealing with the demon was part of His total ministry.

4. The demon spoke in both singular and plural forms. (More another time on that. See Mark 5:9)

5. It is reasonable to assume that the man was a regular member of the synagogue, but apparently no one knew he needed deliverance from a demon. Perhaps even the man himself did not know. The anointing of the Holy Spirit on Jesus forced the demon out into the open.” Derek Prince They Shall Expel Demons

Christ is after you. He has redeemed you. He has paid the price. And now He wants you to rescue others. And so He gives you His Authority. Luke 10:17 and Mark 16:17 state that Christ has given us authority to subdue and cast out demons IN HIS NAME.

Why would he give us His Authority, if we were not supposed to exercise it?

Why has the contemporary Western Church failed to understand this aspect of Christ’s ministry?

It was just an average Sabbath for Jesus. Someone was freed from the horrible influence of a demon. Wake up Church, expelling demons was a normal part of ministry, like singing and sharing bread and wine.

I have found tremendous freedom from the spirits of PORNOGRAPHY, SHAME, LUST, MASTURBATION, FALSEHOOD, ANXIETY, LEGALISM, DEATH, CONTROL, and others because I’m willing to follow Jesus and have studied His way of bringing LIFE. That’s all I want. I desire freedom and wholeness and holiness. There are many places in our lives which need healing, or counseling, or a companionship with God, but so few of us REALLY seek to find life by getting rid of the source, namely Satan and his minions.

If your best friend came to you and asked you for help because he felt trapped by masturbation or pornography, or weighed down by guilt about an abortion or about having an affair, what would you do? If you tried EVERYTHING you could think of and there was no release from the ACCUSATION or PAIN or SHAME, would you be willing to deal with their problem as demonic?

If the answer is YES, then you really do love your best friend.

If the answer is NO, then maybe your own Pride is in the way.

Hey, its OK, I had to surrender that too. We are are going to walk through this topic a bit so stayed tuned.