I love Jesus’ authority over the demonic. In an age when the occult is
celebrated in popular culture, and when the demonic is portrayed as
relentlessly, frightfully, overwhelmingly powerful, it’s great to see Christ’s
effortless domination of fallen angels.
Consider how Christ freed the
Gerasene demoniac (Luke 8:26-39). What a glorious example of our Savior’s liberating
grace! The demonized man must have been as miserable and hopeless as any human
being can be. Helplessly under the sway of a horde of demons, he was out of
control and out of his mind, a monster who was a danger to himself and to
everyone in the community.
The demonic infestation were terrified of Christ, and begged Jesus not to torment them (8:29). They couldn't make a move
without Jesus’ permission.
One of the curiosities of the story is when Jesus asked the demons’ name.
Some people claim He did this to exercise control over the demons. Get their
name and you have power over them. But Jesus already had power over them, had
had it since He created them as angels millennia before, and He certainly didn’t
need to be told anyone’s name.
I think Jesus asked the question for you and me, so we would have a
glimpse into what the Savior was facing. “Legion” is the name the unclean
spokesman gave. A legion in the Roman army could be up to 6000 warriors. The
Gospel of Mark tells us that the herd of pigs into which the demons fled
numbered 2000. So it seems safe to assume that Jesus was confronting as many as
6000 malevolent spirit beings
6000 demons was no challenge to Christ. It could have been 600,000, with
the same result. They were absolutely subservient to Jesus. He commanded them
to leave the man they had terrorized, and they fled. When the townspeople
came to investigate, here’s what they saw: they came to Jesus
and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus,
clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid (8:35).
The rescue mission Jesus had begun was complete, and the man
for whom He sailed was saved. Satan and his minions were no match for the King
of all Kings.
Jesus is Lord of all. The visible world, the spirit world,
angels and demons, heaven and hell, time and eternity, all of creation, and
every person on this planet are under His all-powerful hand. And for us, as for
that man, to sit at His feet and worship Him, clothed in His righteousness and in our right minds,
is the greatest gift and the greatest privilege anyone can ever have.
