Sermon: Even Demons Believe
Scripture: Mark 1:21-28
Good morning...
We meet here every Sunday as professed Christians. We say we believe in God. We say we believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. We say we believe in the indwelling Holy Spirit and we say we believe in the Saving Power of this Triune God of ours.
And because we believe this...We have an enemy. Yes, we have an enemy whether we believe or not, it doesn’t matter. He roams the earth, like a Lion, looking for whom he can devour ...one of his names is Satan.
Listen to these results from a poll taken this century...
In 2001, 58% of those polled said that Satan is not a living being, but a symbol of evil. In 2004, that percentage went up to 60%.
In 2001, 45% of those polled said that Satan does not exist. In 2004, that percentage went up to 50%.
And yet, if we believe that the Bible is the Word of God for Mankind and that it is divinely written, we know that Satan is a living being and that Satan does exist.
And what greater passage is there in the Word of God than our Scripture today. It’s just bursting at the seams with the ever-existing story of good versus evil, right versus wrong...the confrontation of demons versus Holy Authority. The story of Jesus versus the Devil.
But I’m getting ahead of myself, a little, because I want you to understand more fully, the impact that Jesus began making on the world of His time at the beginning of His Ministry...an impact that would lead to His own crucifixion...an impact that would span the ages to come...an impact that I hope impresses itself upon us here this day.
Our scripture begins: Jesus and his disciples went to Capernaum; and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught.
We must understand that there is quite a bit of difference between the synagogue of Jesus’ time and the Church, as we know it today. The synagogue of the Jews was primarily a teaching institution...prayer, the teaching of God’s Word and it’s exposition. There was no music, no singing, no sacrifice.
The Temple was the place for worship and sacrifice...the synagogue was a place of teaching and instruction. And if a man had a new message to preach, the synagogue was the obvious place to preach it. Jesus had a new message... ‘and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught.
You see, the synagogue didn’t have didn’t have a regular minister or preacher. It did have certain officials, though, that ruled the service, or helped with the alms, or helped with the upkeep of the building and then there were those who helped with the children and elderly.
As the service would begin, the ruler would call upon some competent person to give the address and lead the exposition of the Torah. To the Jews, the Torah was the Law. It was the most sacred thing in the world. The core of the Torah is the Ten Commandments, but also, it is the Pentateuch, or the first five books of our Bible.
The exposition of the Torah is the revealing of its laws for everyday situations and everyday living. And so it must be diligently studied and then followed to the letter. The Jews lived their lives by the rules and regulations that came from the Pentateuch.
And this is what led the Jews to have a ritualistic and legalistic religion...a religion that ruled their every moment and a religion that Jesus came to change.
I. He Spoke with Authority
Our scripture continues by saying...’They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.’
When Jesus was given his chance to teach, He astounded them.... He amazed them with the way He spoke. Don’t you want to know how he spoke and why it was so different from others that had taught in the synagogue?
Well let me give you some idea why Jesus’ teachings were so different and so amazing to the Jews that sat and listened to him.
Our scripture says that ‘He spoke with authority.’
William Barclay describes the normal teaching in a Jewish synagogue...
In order to have a diligent study of the Torah, a class of scholars arose and they were called Scribes. The scribes had three duties regarding the exposition of the Torah
Ø To extract rules and regulations for every situation in life.
Ø To transmit and teach the law and its development.
Ø To judge individual cases regarding the breaking of the law.
And so, when the Scribes would speak, they would always begin by saying, ‘There is a teaching that...’ and then they would quote their authority ...possibly a master teacher of the past or some established law. A scribe would never state an independent judgment on his own. The authority of what he would say would always come from another source.
But when Jesus spoke, He spoke as if He needed no authority beyond Himself. He quoted no other teacher or law. He spoke with an independence and a finality...the finality of the voice of God.
To the listening crowd of people it was like a breeze from heaven to hear someone speak like that. The terrific, positive certainty of Jesus’ teaching was the very opposite of the careful quotations of the Scribes. The note of authority rang in Jesus’ voice and this authority astounded them and it amazed them.
II. Jesus Acted with Authority
And if Jesus’ words had amazed the people in the synagogue, his deeds left them dumbfounded ...they would wonder and say, ‘How does He do that?’ and by what authority did He do the things that He did?
Our scripture continues by saying...’Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God."
You know, every time I read this passage; it just amazes me, too. I realize that at one time, I was so full of myself that I questioned the existence of Satan...I questioned the existence of his demons and his power in this world.
But, since I have accepted Jesus into my life, I have become more aware than ever of the black and white of good versus evil...the black and white of right versus wrong...the black and white of love versus hate. You might say, I have realized the very real existence of Satan in this world.
Here in our scripture, a man interrupts Jesus and cries out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” This man, if you can imagine is out of order...interrupting the service.
I get the feeling while reading the scripture, that there is a real hatred and fear in this man...and I get the feeling that within this man, there is an ancient knowledge present...a knowledge that would only be known by a being or demon that was familiar with Jesus and who He was...That He had come from God and God’s Holy place.
This man with the unclean spirit that was speaking and challenging Jesus was filled with a fearful, ancient spirit or demon...Why else would the scripture continue and report him to say...
‘Have you come to destroy us?’ Or in other words, Is it time to go to Lake of Fire? Is it time to go into the Abyss and be locked away forever?
I believe after studying this passage this last week that Jesus not only recognized a demon spirit, but I believe the spirit recognized Jesus...the demon said...
‘I know who you are!’ The demon knew Jesus and who He was. He was aware of the mighty and Holy power of Jesus...the spirit was aware that the man he was speaking to was God, the Creator, incarnate in human flesh.
He believed!...He believed! Even the demon believed!
I must stop here a moment and read an email that I received from my mother-in-law. After reading this scripture and understanding that even the most evil spirits believe in God and His mighty power, I began to think about how so many people question...how they question anything that has to do with God and His Son, Jesus Christ and anything that has to do with Christianity.
My mother-in-law’s email had some little comments that are meant to get you thinking...like...
Ø ‘Isn’t it funny how we believe anything the newspaper says, but question what the Bible says?’
Ø ‘Isn’t it funny how everyone wants to go to heaven provided they do not have to believe, think, say or do anything the Bible says?’
Ø ‘Isn’t it funny how someone can say, ‘I believe in God’, and yet they do not change how they live and they continue to follow Satan’s ways?’
Ø ‘Isn’t it funny how vulgar, lewd and obscene material pass through our culture so freely and yet and the public discussion of Jesus is suppressed in the schools and workplaces of our nation?
Ø ‘Isn’t it funny how someone can be all fired up for Christ on Sunday and then become an invisible Christian the rest of the week?’
Ø Isn’t it funny that even demons believe and we doubt...is it funny or does this concern you?
The demon said...’I know who you are, the Holy One of God!’ He knew where Jesus came from. He knew what was planned for his kind. He knew this Jesus and he knew of His Almighty Power.
‘But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.’
Jesus spoke with authority!
Jesus acted with authority!
III. Jesus came with authority
"But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed...”
Mark, the writer of this Gospel, tells us what happened in a very easy-to-follow and logical manner. In our mind’s eye, we can almost imagine the setting in the synagogue.
But even though we can imagine the setting, it’s harder to understand the culture of the times...it’s harder to understand how people thought and felt about their life and how they led their daily living. You see, the Jews, and indeed the whole ancient world, believed strongly in demons and devils. They believed the world and literally the whole atmosphere was filled with devils. They believed that every phase and form of life was ruled by them. These demons and devils, they sat on thrones, and they hovered around cradles...the earth was literally filled with them. The intensity in which people believed in devils and demons has been recorded in many exorcism rituals of the time.
And so, when Jesus spoke directly to the demon spirit within this man, and said, “Be silent, and come out of him!”...and then the ‘unclean spirit came out of him’, this showed that Jesus had indeed come with authority! He had come with the authority to Love, Heal and Forgive.
In His Love, Jesus saw a soul worth saving. With His power, He healed him and with His authority, He forgave him his sins. Jesus, the Holy One of God, was able to make this man whole again!
One month ago, we celebrated the birth of Jesus. At that time, we sang the hymn, ‘Love Came Down At Christmas’...we spoke of our God becoming flesh and dwelling among us...we celebrated the fact that Jesus had come to Love us...He had come to Heal us...and He had come to Forgive us. If you read about the ministry of Jesus, this is what you will continually see ...that Jesus came with authority...He came with the authority to Love, Heal and Forgive.
‘And they were amazed...” Wouldn’t you be amazed? If you were standing in the synagogue and you witnessed Jesus talking with a demon spirit and if you actually saw with your own eyes the healing of this man with an unclean spirit and you heard this strange conversation, you then would begin to understand that it is the ever-existing story of good versus evil, right versus wrong...the confrontation of demons versus Holy Authority. You would begin to be struck with amazement that what you are seeing is a manifestation of the invisible becoming visible...the unseen spirit world becoming evident.
This was amazing to those who witnessed this confrontation between Jesus and the unclean spirit and those present knew suddenly that this man Jesus could Command...Command demons and devils and they would obey. They knew He possessed the Authority to Command.
Those present in the synagogue that day had never seen this before and, of course, this became hot news in Capernaum. Jesus’ fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. For Jesus and His Disciples, it was the beginning of a ministry that would continue for thousands of years to come.
But even though the Apostle Mark recorded this event for us in the Bible, we must get passed the wonderful words and the amazing acts of Jesus and come to know that Jesus didn’t just come to do amazing acts and to speak divine words...no Jesus came to Love, Heal and Forgive, so that we might believe in Him and be Saved... saved from Satan and his ways. Jesus came to make us Holy again, so that we might join Him in Heaven with His Father. He came to Save us to an eternal life with Him.
But you know what is so amazing to me? It’s that Jesus would see me as worth saving. It’s amazing to me that Jesus would think that I would be a good candidate for that place in Heaven next to the Holy of Holies and that he thought I should have a closer relationship with my Creator and that then, I might even have a real, tangible hope that it could actually happen!
And I know that when Jesus comes into your life...He will speak to you with authority. When Jesus comes into your life...He will act in your life with authority. When Jesus comes into your life, He will Love you and He will Heal you...and He will Forgive you...and With Authority that is only His, He will Save you... Save you from Satan’s ways...Save you from misery and earthly troubles... Save you from an eternity in a ‘Lake of Fire’.
It is amazing... that as we come here to Prairie View today and we talk about something that happened 2000 years ago, we realize that this Jesus, this man of God, who lived and ministered in a far away land, in a time so long ago... we realize that he still impacts our lives today.
He still shows us the way to battle evil... He still shows us right from wrong... He still shows us that there exists a Holy Authority... He still shows us that He can Command and that He is in control.
All we have to do is Listen, Believe and Obey... All we have to do is Listen, Believe and Obey.
As you leave today and you go about your business this week, think about the fact that Even Demons Believe in the Power and Authority of Jesus... and that even demons, listen, believe and obey.
And then understand that if you will let Him come into your life... if you will let Jesus fill your every day and your every moment and let Him come in through the door of your heart... He will speak with you with authority and become your friend... He will act with authority in your life and bless you... He will come into your life and Love you, Heal you and Forgive you. And most importantly of all... He will come with the authority to Save You...
Let us pray...
Dear Jesus, today we open the door of our hearts wider than at any time before. We know who you are. We ask you now to come with your authority and speak to us, to act in our lives continually, to love us, heal us and forgive us of our sins... and then make us worthy to spend our eternal lives with you. We ask this in Your Name. Amen.
