Tag Archives: demon-possessed

TRADITION VERSUS KNOWLEDGE

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TRADITION VERSUS KNOWLEDGE

“At this they exclaimed, ‘Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?’

“Jesus replied, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know Him, I know Him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know Him and obey His word.'” John 8:52-55 (NIV). 

Listen to the tone of voice! These men were not out to learn the truth. They were only out to prove that they were right and Jesus was wrong. Their problem was that they were basing their argument on tradition and Jesus was basing His on experiential knowledge. They claimed to know God because they followed in the tradition of their ancestors who had built up an elaborate religious system based on the interpretation (yoke) of the ancient rabbis.

Isn’t this rather like some so-called “Christian” systems that follows the traditions of their religious leaders who have gone before, claiming to have the authority to interpret the Bible the way they see it and not the way it was intended to be understood? Each one adds his bit until the Bible is so pulled out of shape that it is no longer recognizable as the Word of God.

It is Jesus whom the Father glorified and to whom He gave the highest place and the highest name in the universe and to whom every knee will bow. How do these religious systems fit into Jesus’ simple instruction, ‘Remain in me’? To what is Jesus calling us? To live in the light; to be honest with God and our fellow-men and to live generous, merciful lives towards all people.

“With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my first-born for my transgressions, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:6-8 (NIV).

If we take an honest look at the doctrines and practices of many of the streams in the church, we have to ask ourselves the question, “Is this what Jesus came to do?” Let’s take one example. Jesus taught that God’s economic system is based on giving and receiving, sowing and reaping. Giving to others puts our resources into a current which keeps flowing and will come back to us in our time of need. Our Father knows our needs. He wants us to take care of the needs of others because this is His way of taking care of our needs.

Why is it then that many parts of the church operate according to the world’s economic system of buying and selling? Raffles, bazaars and fund-raising functions are the way we get our money, not the simple process of giving. Unfortunately, by propagating this way, God’s people are robbed of their access, through faith, to the resources God has promised us to live godly lives (2 Peter 1:3, 4).

Jesus’ way of life demands the risks of faith. God places great value on our confidence in Him and His word, so great in fact that He puts our faith through the fire to test its genuineness (1 Peter 1:6, 7). It is easier to substitute religion for faith and to deceive ourselves into thinking that God is satisfied with our ritualistic performance rather than trusting and obeying Him. Paul put it bluntly: “…Everything that does not come from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23b).

Faith demands obedience to Jesus’ command, “Love one another as I have loved you,” and that requires self-sacrifice. How much easier to do stuff than to obey God!

Following Jesus means learning to live as sons and daughters of God. Jesus showed us how to be children of God. Submission and obedience are the way and that demands spending time with God and getting to know His ways. Jesus said, ‘I know Him.’

Do you know Him?

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – “GO HOME AND TELL…”

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“GO HOME AND TELL…”

18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. Mark 5:18-20

A tense situation – the demon-possessed man had once been a danger to the people of the region. He was wild, violent and unpredictable. No-one could go near him as he roamed the area, emitting eerie screams and moans and mutilating himself in his torment and despair. Now he was sane, calm, clothed and ready to return home as a useful member of society.

However, his fellow Gadarenes were suspicious and ill-disposed towards him because of their lost pigs. Was this part of the reason why he begged to go with Jesus? Was he seeking safety in company with Him and His disciples? Was he afraid of the repercussions of his deliverance? Gently and reassuringly, Jesus urged him to return to the environment where he had lost his sanity. In spite of their hostility, what an impact his story would have on his people! His kind of cure was no everyday event.

Possibly reluctantly, he turned homeward while Jesus and His men set sail across the lake again. How long had it been since he had walked the streets of his home town, stopped to exchange a greeting with his fellow citizens? Slowly their anger turned to curiosity and finally their interest to sympathy and friendliness as he told his story over and over again to whoever would listen.

The people’s hostility to Jesus began to wane as they saw Him in another light. They felt the man’s torment, his rage, his terror as demonic voices accused, taunted, sneered at him day and night. They saw the scars on his body, his gaunt appearance from years of starvation; they watched him slowly regain his health, his place in the family and in the community. Jesus, a Jew from across the lake, had come to release him from all his pain and give him back his life. Who was this man? Why did He come? Was it really His fault that they lost the pigs? Hearts began to soften as the full impact of this man’s new-found freedom played out before them.

A Desperate Mother

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A DESPERATE MOTHER

Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it, yet He could not keep His presence secret. In fact, as soon as she heard about Him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at His feet. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. (Mark 7: 24-26).

What was He going to do? Jesus was a Jewish rabbi trying to find seclusion for a little while in a Gentile city. Unfortunately for Him, His fame had gone before Him. His presence in that region could not remain a secret because many of the people had already travelled many miles to Galilee and Judea to seek Him. As soon as He arrived in their region, they recognised Him and announced His presence.

Among them was a desperate mother. Her daughter was demon-possessed, probably not uncommon among the pagans of that area. The child’s mother had no hope outside of a miracle and, wonder of wonders, the renowned miracle-worker from Galilee had arrived in her country. What was she to do? Without hesitation she went to Him. Perhaps she did not know what proper behaviour was for a woman in Jewish circles but desperation drove her to the Master. She did the only thing she knew; she threw herself down at His feet in an act of humility and supplication. She worshipped Him.

‘First let the children eat all they want,’ He told her, ‘for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.’ (Mark 7: 27).

What on earth was Jesus getting at? Was He rejecting her by refusing to give her “the children’s bread”? Who were the “children”? What was their “bread”? Was He insulting her by calling her a dog? Was He acting just like His fellow Jews, arrogantly refusing to have anything to do with Gentiles? Our Jesus? How out of character for Him!

A few chapters before, He had risked the hazard of a storm on the lake to deliver a demon-possessed Gentile in the region of the Decapolis. Then He had returned to the same region in spite of being chased out by the citizens for destroying their pigs, only to find that they gladly received Him after the powerful testimony of the healed man had convinced them that He was not dangerous.

Why was He acting so differently here? Perhaps He had thought better of His action and decided not to help Gentiles after all. No! Emphatically, no! Jesus was not like that at all. When He acted in an unusual way, it was often to test the faith and the perseverance of the one seeking Him. Jesus was never after popularity. He always acted consistently with the Father. Even His presence in that region was under the Father’s authority.

How desperate was this mother to help her daughter or was she just another sensation-seeker?

‘Lord,’ she replied, ‘even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ Then He told her, ‘For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.’ She went home and found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone (Mark 7: 28-30).

What a woman! Nothing would put her off from her determined purpose – not even an apparent insult from Jesus. She passed the test with flying colours. Jesus was not reluctant to help a Gentile. In fact, He didn’t see race or colour. Everyone was a person in His eyes, a son or daughter of God who needed to know that God was gracious and wanted them to return to His family regardless of who they were and what they had done. In her humility she was willing to receive only the leftovers of His compassion and mercy because that was enough to bring healing to her child. Even though her faith may have been as miniscule as a mustard seed, it was enough to engage with the compassion of Jesus and bring relief to her child in her torment.

Don’t you just love Jesus? If He ever displayed reluctance to show mercy it was only to encourage and increase faith by testing the sufferer’s perseverance. Why, then, are we so often slow to learn the lesson? Jesus is never reluctant to answer our prayers. Sometimes the delay is about timing. God’s story is much bigger than ours. Our chapter must fit into His story – not the other way around. Sometimes it’s about faith and patience. Weak faith must be strengthened and impatience overcome so that we trust God – period – rather than believing Him for what we can get out of Him.

His goal is that we rest in Him, regardless of the circumstances, like a baby at his mother’s breast, content to be still and enjoy the closeness to his mother, and not worry about whatever is going on around him.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

 

Devil-Mad Crazy

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DEVIL-MADE CRAZY

They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet Him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. (Mark 5:1-5).

It seems that Jesus was on an assignment from the Father when He and His disciples set off across the lake. Was the storm devil-induced or was it just a natural phenomenon that happened when they were en route to the region of the Gerasenes? I am inclined to believe that it was the latter. Jesus and His disciples were part of the natural world. A storm could blow up any time as it often did. Why attribute to the devil what happened all the time?

On their arrival, they were met by a mad-man. They did not need to seek him out. He came to them. Was he drawn to Jesus in spite of the demonic inhabitants inside him? Not even the demons could resist Jesus even though they knew who He was and were hostile to Him. It was like that with Jesus. He drew people like iron filings to a magnet.

Mark took pains to describe the condition of the man. He was the local villain. People had long since given up trying to tame him. Not even chains and shackles could restrain his crazy and often violent behaviour. They left him alone in his wild misery and stayed away from the graveyard and the surrounding hills where he roamed. I can imagine how the children would taunt him from afar and run away when he raged against him.

This man was an example of Satan’s ownership. Wild, violent, tormented and suicidal. In his suffering he could not even destroy himself. All he could do was to inflict pain on himself continually. What did he look like? Filthy, unwashed, bloodied and scarred! I can imagine his body covered with infected sores where he had gashed himself with any sharp stone he could find. His screams would have echoed around the hills, striking terror into the hearts of the people.

How did he manage to stay alive? Did his family take pity on him and leave food for him each day? Was he sane enough to find it and eat it to keep himself alive? He was the picture of hopelessness, trapped in a situation of his own making and unable to release himself from his bondage and suffering.

Gentile thought he was, Jesus knew about him – no doubt prompted by the Holy Spirit – and went on a mission to rescue him. Mercy in action! No questions asked!

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of Him. He shouted on the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!’

For Jesus had said to him, ‘Come out of the man, you impure spirit!’ (Mark 5: 6-8).

Notice the interaction between the Son of God and the invading spirits from the dominion of darkness. Jesus did not waste His time trying to find out who they were or how they got there. That’s how it is with Jesus. He is more concerned about healing the sufferer than the reason for his suffering. He was pure authority and the demons knew it. They bowed to Jesus. They knew who He was. They knew their place. They did not resist Him. They could not.

Then Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’ ‘My name is Legion,’ he replied, ‘for we are many.’ And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demon begged Jesus, ‘Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.’ He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned (Mark 5: 9-13).

What’s in a name? There was an important reason for asking the man his name. His name was who he was. He had to acknowledge who he was – a man possessed by a devilish nature, full of uncleanness. His confession was his key to freedom.

Pigs were a fitting place for them to go – unclean animals according to the Law. But even the pigs could not tolerate their presence. The demons turned them crazy and they fled down the steep bank into the lake. What a sight – two thousand bloated carcasses floating in the lake! That’s what the devil does – turns life into death!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

 

Hope In Their Hopelessness

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HOPE IN THEIR HOPELESSNESS!

That evening after sunset, the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but He would not let the demons speak because they knew who He was (Mark 1: 32-34).

What a window of opportunity for the sick and demon-possessed people of Capernaum! There was someone in town who could heal and deliver.

The town was buzzing with the news that a man had been in the synagogue that morning who had sent a harassing demon packing. Many of them had seen it happen. One minute the man was a raving lunatic and the next he was as sane as the next man. This rabbi seemed to have appeared from nowhere. He was making His mark on society from the day He was baptised by the wild prophet from the wilderness! Saying things like, “God’s kingdom is here,” and “It’s time to return to God’s way.”

Hadn’t they always been walking in God’s way? Didn’t they try to follow their religious leaders as meticulously as they could? What was this new teaching all about? And then He went and healed a sick woman without even saying anything! Never had they heard of this kind of thing before – not in their lifetime, anyhow! So what did it all mean?

One thing was for sure. He could heal, he could! That was enough for them for the moment. Strange teaching aside, there were sick people in their homes who needed healing and they cashed in on the moment. Before He could disappear out of town again, they took advantage of the few hours after sunset on the Sabbath to mob Him with their loved ones.

Nothing fazed Him. He reversed the ravages of disease and deformity with a touch or a word. And as for the demons! These guys had had a field day with God’s people – taking up residence whenever and wherever they could. The people were not aware of how dangerous it was to dabble in sin. Given half a chance, where they left the door open by allowing evil deeds or even hatred, bitterness, jealousy, promiscuousness, lust or greed to get a hold of them, the demons were in and that was it. It was far easier to let them in than to get them out.

Jesus was the man of the moment, for sure! He was mobbed by helpless, hopeless people wanting a fragment of His time to free them from their pain, their suffering and their bondage. Loved ones pushed and shoved to get near him with a wheezing baby; a suffering child, a shrunken, crippled brother, sister, mother, father; a son, a daughter burning up with fever, screaming in pain.

And He didn’t disappoint them. Didn’t He announce to them that God was back to set things right again? The devil had run the affairs of men for too long, and look at the mess he had made. God’s people had tasted what he could do. Now it was time to see what God could do.

But, best of all, the demons knew who was boss! They tried to blurt out who He was but Jesus would not allow the enemy to put in a good word for Him. It was not their place to tell the world that He was the Son of God. The people had to make up their own minds from what they saw and heard from Him, not from them. They dared not resist His eviction order. They were in enough trouble as it was, trying to make out that their boss was in charge. It worked as long as the real boss wasn’t in their faces for occupying what belonged to Him.

What a stir Jesus caused! That night, when everything had settled down again, there were many happy people in Capernaum; well people who were sick when the sun had risen; crippled, blind, deaf people who went to bed whole; crazy people who were perfectly sane; mothers and fathers who went to bed ecstatic because their baby, their child was healthy and happy again. Amazing! And all because Jesus came to town!

You sigh and wish that He would appear in your town, What if He turned up in your church on Sunday – in person? But, wait a minute. Didn’t He say that He would be with us to the end of the age? So where is He, then?

He is here, with us, nearer to us than our breath. He has never left. We are immersed in His presence like fish in water. Don’t beg Him to come. Change your awareness. Marinate in His presence because He is here with everything He is, Immanuel – God with us.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

 

Available on www.amazon.com or www.kalahari.com in paperback, e-book or kindle format, or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

 

Check out my blogsite at www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com