Authority and Power

We continue with our series of Following Jesus, and this week we further examine Jesus’ confrontation with the spiritual realm and what impact this can have on our lives. Let’s begin with prayer:

Heavenly Father, I pray for Your guidance, Your support, and, as always, Your love and grace. Shield me with the armor with which You clothed Jesus as I navigate and overcome areas of my life that are spiritually dead, and most of all, remind me in times of doubt of Your power and authority. Amen.
 
Luke 4:31-36 (NLT)  
31 Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. 32 There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.
33 Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil spirit—cried out, shouting, 34 “Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

35 But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further. 36 Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!”

Take a moment to reflect on this passage and what it is saying. A man possessed by a demon entered Jesus' presence and challenged Him and His intentions. Jesus rebuked him and ordered the demon to leave the man, and the spirit had to obey. Consider a time you were challenged by someone being negative or perhaps verbally attacking you and/or your intentions. In these situations, we may try to circumvent the person’s negativity and find a way to mitigate the harshness, or we may try to escape the situation altogether. Often, we leave these encounters wishing people would be more kind and recognizing our lack of power and authority to remedy the situation.

Jesus, on the other hand, has ALL power and authority, even the power and authority to drive out demons! As it points out in verse 36 of today’s reading, “Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!”

And there are other instances throughout scripture where Jesus demonstrates this power:

• Matthew 8:16 tells of a time when Jesus was visiting Peter’s house: “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him [Jesus], and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.”

• A few verses later, Matthew 8:28 describes an encounter Jesus had where "...two demon-possessed men confronted Him as they were coming out of the tombs." Later, verse 8:32 says, "And [Jesus] said to them [the evil spirits], 'Go!' and they came out and went into the pigs."

• Luke 8:2 shares that Mary Magdalene alone had seven spirits cast out of her by Jesus!

An online blog entry entitled “The Incomparable Christ” by Life Point Baptist Church stated this about Jesus’ power: "Christ is so powerful that even His spiritual opponents must obey Him. He has power over all creation, yet He uses that power on behalf of His people." Consider the weight of this. Jesus could use His power as He pleases, but He chooses to use His power and authority to benefit those who follow Him.

I challenge you to keep this in mind and take your needs and concerns to God. No matter what your need is, God can handle it. He has demonstrated His power and authority through Jesus.

Take a few moments to spend time in prayer with Him. Feel free to use the following prompt to help you get started.

Father, I need Your power to overcome...

I pray that you lean into God and trust His power. I pray that you continue to see how Jesus' power and authority can benefit your life as you trust in Him.