It is snowing
again. It is a (very cold) winter wonderland. The snow lovers love this weather. We
are in the center of snowmobiling and skiing and other winter recreational
sports. Our daughter in Boston shared that she and her family skated on
the historic Walden Pond last night under the moonlight.
The glorious Good
News of Christmas is that Jesus, the mighty warrior who has never lost a battle
invaded this world of sin and rebellion and landed on the beaches of Bethlehem
to rule with truth and grace. It is recorded that as soon as the Lord
inaugurated His ministry He encountered the devil and the demons. In the
words of Martin Luther: “And though this
world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for
God hath willed His truth to triumph through us: The Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him.”
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him.”
The demons knew
Jesus could destroy them with a word. They
understood that just as Jesus has authority over natural forces, Jesus has
authority over spiritual powers. There
is nothing beyond His power and authority. Because of that power, Jesus can transform our
present life situation from pain into freedom, tragedy into victory, sorrow into
Joy.
As the British New Testament scholar Tom Wright said,
"That's what we need to know as we ourselves sign on to follow Him. He isn't just somebody with good ideas. He
isn't just somebody who will tell us how to establish a better relationship
with God. He is somebody with authority
over everything the physical world…and the non-physical world…can throw at us. This is a Jesus we can trust with every aspect
of our lives."
The demons knew
Jesus had the power to remove them from our lives. In the narrative of the man possessed and
tormented by the demons,as it is recorded in Mark 5 ,the demons understood the power of Jesus, so they
begged Him not destroy them. They asked
Him to allow them to flee into a nearby herd of pigs, recognizing their fate
was completely under His authority. As
James Boice said, "We don't know much about demons beyond what the Bible
describes, but apparently they are spirit beings who don't like to be in a
disembodied state. Because they were
about to lose the human body which they've been occupying, they begged to be
allowed to go into the pigs.”
Jesus granted them
permission, but much to their surprise, as soon as the demons fled into the pigs,
the herd rushed down the bank and fell into the sea to their death. It was a vivid demonstration of what Jesus
had just done in freeing this man from the demonic shackles that had been
holding him. As you can imagine, the
herders who were responsible for the pigs were shocked. The account in Mark 5 continues, saying that
people came to see what had happened to the pigs, but they were more shocked
when they saw what had happened to the madman of the tombs. No longer shrieking in agony, he was now
clothed and sitting calmly with Jesus. The
One who has authority over storms of every kind had calmed the storm in this
man's life, and they saw him transformed. The demoniac had become a disciple.
This was the
greatest miracle you could ever see. There
are miracles of physical and emotional healing. There are miracles that demonstrate God's
power over the natural world. However, the most compelling miracle is the one
in which Christ removed a sinful heart from a human life and replaces it with a
new heart in which He sits on the throne. The most amazing miracle ever done is the one
in which He forgives our sin and rebellion and adopts us into His forever
family. There is nothing beyond His
power and authority. Because of that
power, Jesus can transform our pain into freedom, our bondages in to freedom, our infirmities in to wellness.
No matter how
amazing such a transformation is, it's not enough to convince everyone. In Mark 5 the people came to see the results
of a miracle, but for most of them that didn't lead to faith. They were fearful about what had taken place,
and they resented the loss of their pigs. Sure, this man had been saved, but at what
cost!
One of the most
important things we can learn about Jesus is that there is nothing more
important than saving a person from death into life. Though the townspeople thought the cost was
too high Jesus did not. He was willing to pay any price for our
salvation, which He did on the cross outside Jerusalem. He paid the price of suffering and death so we
might receive His love and grace in our own lives.
Legion had been the
name of the demoniac, but after Jesus cast out the demons that name no longer
fit. The power of Christ freed him. As the locals were begging Jesus to leave
them, this new believer asked to go with Jesus as one of His disciples. However, Jesus had a different purpose in mind
for him. The Lord told him to go back to his hometown and tell his friends and
family about what had happened to him. " Go tell it on the mountain"
https://youtu.be/jGarfDEVWDs
Brown
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