The Demon Teaches a Lesson?

Surely not! How can a demon teach us a lesson about following Jesus? Well, it’s subtle but it’s there.

This simple, short story is a snapshot of why we should pay attention to what Jesus said and did! Whatever Jesus did and whatever he said, teach us lessons about how we are to live. Here is the story.

And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. And immediately 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.”

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.

And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

Mark 1:21–28 (ESV)

There are three distinct things to recognize in this passage. We’ll start with the most obvious and finish with the most important.

The confrontation with the demon

The demon immediately recognized Jesus and cried out! He was fearful of what his intentions were. He knew he had the power to impose his will on him because he knew who Jesus was.

With that statement the spiritual realm comes to the foreground. Even though the crowd did not recognize him, the demon did.

Then, with two commands, Jesus set the man free. While this is difficult to understand, the demon had no choice to obey the word of Jesus. He was clearly under the sovereignty of God. His sole course of action was to be silent and come out!

The unique teaching of Jesus

The tradition of the elders was the popular method of teaching. This teaching was built on proposition and argument. When a point was sufficiently argued, the council would make a ruling and that would be the accepted truth or understanding of the point.

Jesus ignored the traditions and gave a firm interpretation and application of the scriptures. His presentation was convincing proof of his ability to teach the scriptures and his authority over the demon seemed to validate all he had taught!

Things brings us to the most important thing for us to recognize in this story.

The authority of Jesus

Authority is the rightful, actual and unimpeded power to act. In this sense, truly God is the one with ultimate authority. So when Jesus taught and healed and cast out demons he was demonstrating that level of authority.

Recognizing the authority of Jesus is crucial to our lives as his disciples. We must keep in mind that Jesus’ promises are backed by his authority, his commands are validated by his authority and his authority is given to us to serve him in his kingdom purposes.

Your response

Knowing we serve him under his authority should help us understand that everything he wants us to do comes with that authority. Remember that authority is the rightful, actual and unimpeded power to act! You can do what he has asked you to do.

What does he want you to do? Listen to him.