Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit began shouting, “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One sent from God!” Mark 1:23-24 (NLT)
My grandmother used to say, "now you've gone from preaching to meddling." That about sums up this passage. Jesus is preaching, with authority, with power. The Word of God speaking the words of God. The people are amazed at the preaching. But the demons are affronted by the meddling. In the presence of this Holy One, the unholy ones are restless, threatened, fearful.
This is true of me. When God's word penetrates my heart, the sin-loving part of me often responds, "Why are you interfering?" "I don't want to change." "Leave me alone."
But unlike the evil spirit, I have the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit at work in me, and so God woos me to respond with repentance and obedience.
(These thoughts are my reflections from Jay Wright's sermon at All Saints Dallas on "Power and Authority". You can listen to it at: http://www.allsaintschurchdallas.org/sermons/sermon/power-and-authority).
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