Repent and Believe!
Scripture Reading — Luke 4:33-37
“Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!”
The man at the synagogue in Capernaum was looking for spiritual relief. How many years had he struggled to be free of the spiritual intruders in his body? How many times had he come to the synagogue for help? Luke wrote that the man was “possessed by a demon, an impure spirit.” Maybe the Jewish worship center was the only place in Capernaum where he still believed that God just might show up one day.
Jesus healed this man by evicting the intruding spirits. Luke captures the thrust of the verbal exchange with humor and candor. The demons knew they could not stop Jesus. They showed no resistance or power to reverse the outcome. They had no choice but to state who Jesus really was—“the Holy One of God.” At Jesus’ command they fled.
For the man who had come to Jesus, no more voices took over his mind. Freedom never looked so calm. No longer were people running away from him out of fear. Freedom never looked so peaceful. With just a few words, Jesus had set this oppressed man free. Freedom never looked so accessible.
Jesus cares enough for you and me to enter into our personal encounters with the devil, the flesh, and the world. He is not afraid to tell evil to get out of our lives.
King Jesus, I know Satan will not leave me alone. Help me to trust in you. May I be your witness in spreading the news of your deliverance against the fallen powers of the evil one. Amen.
About the author — Reginald Smith
Dr. Reginald Smith is senior pastor at Roosevelt Park Community Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he has served for seventeen years. He has also served as a pastor in Paterson, New Jersey. He and his wife, Sharon, have three daughters, Janelle, Katrina, and Mariah.
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