DEEPER LIF SEARCH THE SCRIPTURE
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURE by Pastor Kumuyi of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry for today is here. Digest the word of the lord and pray believing.
TOPIC: CHRIST’S POWER
OVER DEMONS, DISEASES AND DEATH
MEMORY VERSE: Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him” (Luke8:39). TEXT: Mark 5:1-43; Luke 8:26-56
This studies focuses on the demonstration of Christ’s
power over demons, diseases and death. In the previous chapter, Jesus
demonstrated His authority over the elements of nature by stilling the tempest
at sea (Mark 4:35-4 1). Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, the entire
human race has been grappling with the contrary forces of nature, supernatural
attacks of evil spirits, diseases and death. Even with advancements in science
and technology, man still faces certain critical conditions that defy
scientific explanation or medical solution. Such cases, often described as
incurable or impossible, are described in our text. In each of these cases,
however, Jesus proved that He alone has the solution to all of man’s problems:
He delivered the demoniac, healed the woman with issue of blood and raised the
daughter of Jairus from the dead. This cluster of miracles confirms that Jesus
is the Messiah and demands that men put their faith in Him as Saviour and Lord.
The way they received divine mercy and intervention presents lessons on how we
can experience the unchanging power of the immutable Christ (Hebrews 13:8).
CHRIST’S POWER OVER DEMONS (Mark 5:1-20; Luke
8:26-39; Mark 1:23-27; Matthew 15:21-28; 17:14-18; Luke 4:41)
“And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there
met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit (Mark 5:2). Jesus crossed
the sea of Galilee into the region of Gadara, which was largely a Gentile
territory. The case of the man was so pathetic. It illustrates the devastation
and havoc Satan wreaks wherever he operates. Demons had taken possession of the
man’s personality, voice, reasoning and will. He lost his sanity and dignity
that he remained naked, separated from society and lived in the cemetery. He
was violent, incoherent in speech, always yelling and mutilating himself. “And
always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and
cutting with stones”. The evil spirits gave him unusual strength to break
fetters or chains that were used to keep him in check. Jesus cast out all the
evil spirit that dominated him with authority by saying, “Come out of the man,
thou unclean spirit”. His reasoning returned to normalcy, he dressed up
properly and made a voluntary decision to follow Jesus. Without Jesus, this
pitiable condition of the demoniac would have continued until his death. It was
with a grateful heart that the man “…prayed {Christ} that be might be with him”
as there was no other one who could preserve his life from further infiltration
than the One who delivered him. The Lord declined his request to be with Him
“..but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things
the Lord hath done for thee, and hath compassion on thee”. He obeyed and
testified publiciy in Decapolis to the great compassion and power of Jesus. It
is obvious that God who created human life can dispossess Satan and empower a
once possessed man to be a useful instrument of His grace and a preacher of the
gospel. The case of Mary Magdalene is similar to this (Luke 8:2,3). When cast
out, the demons that came out of him wasted a whole herd of swine. The case of
this demoniac throws some light on the nature of demons and their activities.
First, demons inhabit in humans and other creatures to carry out the threefold
purpose of Satan to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). Second, demons
recognise Jesus and they tremble before Him (Mark 5:6,7; 1:34; Acts 19:15;
James 2:19). Third, they know their doom is certain, yet remain deviant and
unrelenting in evil (Mark 5:7,12,13; 1:24: Matthew 8:29). Fourth, evil spirits
can talk using the voice of their victim. It is interesting to know that Jesus
never engaged them in prolonged conversation. He simply cast them out.
Believers must be careful not to
deceived or misled by the so-called confessions of demons. Fifth, demons
enslave, defile, torment, deceive, harass, control, oppress, seduce and destroy
their victim. Sixth, they give unusual strength, knowledge or other abilities
to a person they possess so as to accomplish their evil purpose (Mark 5:3,4;
Exodus 7:22; 8:7; 2 Thessalonians 2:9; Revelation 13:11-15). Seventh, demons
prefer to dwell in locations where there is disobedience to God’s word (Mark
5:10-12; Deuteronomy 14:8). As a matter of fact, sinners and backsliders are
under the influence of Satan who empowers them to reject and resist God’s word,
will and way. Eighth, Jesus is sovereign over demons and they obey His commands
always. Demons bow before Jesus; they dread His torment and are cast out at His
word. Jesus has conferred the same power upon those who believe in His name
(Mark 16:17; Luke 9:1,2; 10:19). Believers in Christ need not fear demons nor
submit to their harassment, lies or enticement. By virtue of Christ’s victory
over Satan and his demons, children of God are free from demonic control. The
Gadarenes reacted in a strange way to this miracle of deliverance. Having
received the report of how the evil spirits were cast out, they came out en
masse and saw the demonic man truly delivered and was sitting at the feet of
Jesus. Rather than bring all their sick folks to Jesus for healing, they
further economic loss. They were ignorant of the fact that the “Legion” of
spirits (between 3,000 to 6,000) did not want to leave their country. The
legion “besought him (Christ} much that he would not send them away out of the
country. The reason for this was that they wanted to continue their evil works
of stealing, killing and destroying people’s lives and destinies.
Unfortunately, their pigs that were destroyed by the demons were of more value
than human lives to them. This attitude of misplaced priorities is seen in many
people today. A lot of people reject or forsake Jesus because of their love for
riches while they fail to realise that their souls are worth more than any
material possession on earth (Mark 8:36).
In contrast, the demoniac who was delivered chose to go with Jesus. He
went to proclaim the goodness of God in the entire region of Decapolis. Like he
did, Christ has sent us and expects that we continue to share His great
compassion and power with our families, friends, neighbours and communities.
CHRISTS POWER OVER DISEASES (Mark 5:21-34; Luke
8:40-48; Matthew 8:1-15; Mark 2:1-12)
By the time Jesus returned from the region of the
Gadarenes, many people were already waiting for Him. Among them was a ruler of
the synagogue, named Jairus, who pleaded with Jesus to come and heal his dying
daughter. While going to Jairus’ house, a woman who had suffered issue of blood
for twelve years came in the crowd, touched His garment and was healed. Here
again, we see a critical ill-health condition that had defied medical solution
and drained the finances of the woman and her family (Mark 5:26). In addition,
the religious and social stigma attached to her condition aggravated her agony.
According to Judaism, a woman who had issue of blood was considered unclean and
should be isolated. Anyone or anything she touched also became unclean.
Coequerntly, her husband, relatives and friends v avoid so that they would not
be defiled (Leviticus would 15:25-27). For twelve years, she was barred from
enjoying social company and disallowed from joining temple worship. Apparently,
all the odds were against her and she could have given up all attempts to get
healed, especially as the path to getting miraculous healing from Jesus seemed
blocked by virtue of the law that quarantined her and the mammoth crowd
encircling the Healer. But the woman believed she would be healed if only she
could take the risk of touching the dress of Jesus without Him or anyone
knowing. Her faith was unstoppable. Rather than giving up, she went through the
crowd incognito and touched the garment of Jesus “And straightway the fountain
of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that
plague” Jesus also perceived that healing virtue had gone forth from Him. It
takes faith to overcome the barriers and human traditions that could hinder one
from reaching out to Jesus for help. This woman as well as Jairus who was an
official of the Jewish synagogue, could have kept away from Christ and
forfeited His intervention in their cases. Coming to Jesus, Jairus risked his
job and social status; he might also be excommunicated because the Jewish
leaders had agreed not to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah (John 9:22). But
Jairus came by faith because he needed help desperately and only Jesus could
solve his problem. Desperate people always defy religious, cultural, social,
legal, official, etc. sentiment, to seek and receive salvation, healing and
deliverance from Jesus. When Christ enquired: “Who touched my clothes?”, the
disciples were surprised because of the crowd that thronged Him. At first, the
woman feared and trembled to admit that she had touched Jesus. She was afraid
of the reaction of both the crowd and Jesus to being touched by a woman who was
ceremonially unclean. On realising that she could not hide from Christ, she
came forward, fell down in worship and told Him all the truth. Jesus called her
“And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace,
and be whole of thy plague” (Mark 5:34). Jesus honoured the faith of that woman
and still granted her healing and deliverance by faith. A songwriter aptly
captures it:
He healed them all – the blind, the lame, the palsied
The sick in body and the weak in mind,
Whoever came, no matter how afflicted,
Were sure a sovereign remedy to find.
His word gave health, His touch restored the vigour,
To every weary pain-exhausted frame;
And all He asked before He gave the blessing
Was simple faith in Him from those who came.
Jesus is our Healer. He loves all and seeks to save, heal
and deliver everyone who trusts in His mercy and faithfulness.
CHRIST’S POWER OVER DEATH (Mark 5:35-43; Luke 8:49-56; 7:11-15; Matthew 9:18-26; John 11:1-44) While Jesus attended to the woman who had the issue of blood, messengers came to inform Jairus that his daughter had died. They said that there was no need to bother the Lord any more. However, Jesus encouraged him, “Be not afraid, only believe”. At that point, Jesus left the crowd and went to Jairus’ house with Peter, James and John where relatives and others were weeping. Jesus told them the girl was not dead but only asleep. With Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life, raising the dead is as simple as waking someone from natural (Mark 5:39; Matthew 9:24; Luke 8:52; John 11:11-13,25; Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 15:51l). Ignorance of mortals made them laugh at the immortal Son of God when He spoke about divine omnipotence. They did “err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). Unbelief scorns, limits and hinders but faith believes and receives miracles from God. Jesus asked the people to vacate the room and allowed only the parents of the girl and His three disciples into the room. “And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise” (Mark 5:41). Immediately, she rose and walked. Those present were surprised at the miracle. Christ instructed them to keep the event Secret because religious fanatics might seek to harm her in their attempt to prevent people from believing in Jesus. Recall that such murderous decision was taken against Lazarus whose testimony of being raised to life made many people to believe in Jesus (John 12:10,11). Jesus simply commanded the dead to rise because He has power in Himself. All others who raised the dead had to pray to God because they were operating on delegated authority. There are two other records in the gospels about Jesus raising the dead: a widow’s son and Lazarus (Luke 7:11-17: John 11l:38-44). In each case, Jesus proved His mastery over the power of death regardless of the state of the corpse. The raising of the dead by christ foreshadows the future resurrection of believers who sleep in Him. At rapture, the power of death over God’s people will be eternality broken and its sting neutralised. In the meantime, everyone should prepare to partake in the future resurrection by repenting of their sins and living righteously before God.
Questions for review:
1.
What is the significance of Christ’s authority
over demons, diseases and death?
2.
In what ways did Christ manifest His power over
demons in our text?
3.
Explain why the woman with the issue of blood
decided to touch Jesus’ clothes.
4.
What does faith in God teach about the woman
with the issue of blood?
5.
What is the significance of Jesus raising the
dead?
6.
Is it possible for believers to demonstrate
power over demons, diseases and death today?
