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Jesus and Demons - Luke 11
Jesus and Demons - Luke 11
A short review of demons in the book of Luke will show:
Luke 3:33f – Jesus casts out an unclean spirit in the man in the synagogue
Luke 3:36 – The crowd responds: "with authority he commands ... and they come out!"
Luke 3:41 – Demons exclaimed: "you are the Son of God" - and then they are cast out and forbidden to speak...
Luke 6:18 - Those with unclean spirits were cured....
Luke 7:21 – Jesus healed many that were possessed by evil spirits...
Luke 8;2 - Mary Magdalene had been healed of 7 demons / evil spirits.
Luke 8:27ff – Jesus cast out the demons that possessed the man who lived in the tombs of Gadara.
Luke 9:1f – Jesus gave disciples authority over all demons..
Luke 9:39 – Jesus cast out the demon that possessed a boy and said "this kind comes out only by prayer & fasting
Luke 9:49 – The disciples saw someone casting out demons "in your name"...
Luke 10:17 - The 72 disciples returned and reported that "demons are subject to us in your name"...
NOW, Jesus again casts out demons. Again, it is interesting to see that Luke tells the story almost incidentally: "And He was casting out a demon...". These demons were evil and always harmed those whom they 'possessed'. They knew Jesus was the Son of God. They were in league with and subservient to Satan. They were under the authority of Jesus and obeyed whatever He commanded of them.
We see here in Luke 11 that even the enemies of Jesus admitted that He cast out demons. The crowds stood amazed at such authority. Several points need to be drawn from all of this. 1) Jesus is the Son of God. 2) Jesus has all authority, even over the whole of the spirit creation. 3) Hence the rule of God is never in question. It is by the finger of God that even the demons are commanded. 4) SINCE such is true of these spirit beings, it should be that WE recognize both the person of Jesus and His authority.
Jesus states right after this: "blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it" (vs. 28). Are you blessed?
Hugh DeLong
