Saturday, January 28, 2012
Mark 3:26-27 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house.
Mark 5:15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind ...
MANIFEST IN VALIANT FIGHT, QUELLING ALL THE DEVIL'S MIGHT
During Jesus' earthly ministry He had many a run-in with the devil and his minions. From the confrontation in the wilderness after His baptism to His final victory on the cross, in every case Jesus showed Himself to be stronger than Satan and his demons.
Some people are perplexed by the frequency of demon possession in Israel at the time of Christ as compared with the infrequency of such cases today. In response it is often noted that Satan would surely "pull out all the stops" in opposing the Savior as He carried out His redeeming work. We also do well, in considering the present time, to remember that our Lord soundly defeated the old evil Foe ("crushed his head!") and that his power to work his will on human beings has been severely curtailed in these last days. "One little word will fell him."
Finally, shouldn't we find reason to rejoice in our Savior's victorious power and give thanks for His continuing grace every day we go forth "dressed and in our right mind"?
The fact that Satan cannot exercise his will in the lives of Jesus' people today gives us as much cause for grateful praise as those individuals had from whom Christ cast demons so long ago.
Manifest in valiant fight, Quelling all the devil's might;
Anthems be to Thee addressed,
God in man made manifest.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 134:3)
