An Astounding Miracle
(No. 1765)
A SERMON PREACHED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 10, 1884,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"And they went into Capernaum, and straightway on the Sabbath day He
entered into the synagogue, and taught. And they were astonished at His
doctrine: for He taught them as one that had authority, and not as the
scribes. And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit,
and he cried out, saying, Let us alone, what have we to do with You,
Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are, the
Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold your peace, and
come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him, and
cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed,
so that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thingis this?
What new doctrine is this? For with authority commands He even the
unclean spirits, and they do obey Him. And immediately His fame spread
abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee." Mark 1:21-28.
You will find the same narrative in Luke, at the fourth chapter, from
the 31st to the 37th verse. It will be handy for you to be able to
refer to the second passage, from which I shall quote one or two
matters. These two Evangelists commence the narrative by telling us of
the singular authority and power which there was about the Savior's
teaching– authority so that no man dared question His doctrine–power,
so that every man felt the force of the Truths of God which He
delivered. "They were astonished at His teaching, for His Word was with
power." Why was it that the Savior's teaching had such a remarkable
power about it? Was it not, first, because He preached the Truth of
God? There is no power in falsehood except so far as men choose to
yield to it because it flatters them, but there is great force in the
Truth of God–it makes its own way into the soul.
As long as men have consciences they cannot help feeling when the Truth
is brought to bear upon them. Even though they grow angry, their very
resistance proves that they recognize the force of what is spoken.
Moreover, the Savior spoke the Truth in a very natural, unaffected
manner–the Truth of God was in Him and it flowed freely from Him. His
manner was truthful as well as His matter. There is a way of speaking
the Truth so as to make it sound like a lie. Perhaps there is no
greater injury done to the Truth of God than when it is spoken in a
doubtful manner, with none of the accent and emphasis of conviction.
Our Savior spoke as the Oracles of God–He spoke the Truth of God as
Truth should be spoken, unaffectedly and natural–as One who did not
preach professionally, but out of the fullness of His heart.
You all know how sermons from the heart go to the heart. Moreover, our
great Exemplar delivered His teaching as one who most heartily believed
what He was speaking, who spoke what He knew, yes, spoke of things
which were His own. Jesus had no doubts, no hesitancy, no
questions–and His style was as calmly forcible as His faith. Truth
seemed to be reflected from His face just as it shone forth from God in
all its native purity and splendor. He could not speak otherwise than
He did, for He spoke as He was, as He felt and as He knew. Our Lord
spoke as One whose life supported all that He taught. Those who knew
Him could not say, "He speaks after a right kind, but He acts
otherwise."
There was about His whole conduct and deportment that which made Him
the fit Person to utter the Truth of God because the Truth was
Incarnate and embodied and exemplified in His own Person. Well might He
speak with great assurance when He could say, "Which of you convicts Me
of sin?" He was as pure as the Truth which He proclaimed. He was not a
speaking-machine, sounding out something with which it has no vital
connection; but out of the midst of His own heart there flowed rivers
of Living Waters. Truth overflowed at His lips from the deep well of
His soul–it was in Him and, therefore, came from Him. What He poured
forth was His own life, with which He was endeavoring to impreg-
nate the lives of others. Consequently, for all these reasons, and many
besides, Jesus spoke as One that had authority– His tone was
commanding, His teaching was convincing.
Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit who had descended upon Him in His Baptism,
rested upon Him, and bore witness by His Divine operations in the
consciences and hearts of men. If Jesus spoke of sin, the Spirit was
there to convince the world of sin. If He set forth a glorious
righteousness, the Holy Spirit was there to convince the world of
righteousness and when He told men of the coming judgment, the Holy
Spirit was present to make them know that a judgment would surely come
at which each of them must appear. Because of His unlimited anointing
by the Spirit, our Lord spoke with power and authority of the most
astonishing kind, so that all who heard Him were compelled to feel that
no ordinary Rabbi stood before them!
That power and authority was seen all the more in contrast with the
Scribes, for the Scribes spoke hesitatingly. They quoted authority;
they begged leave to venture an opinion; they supported their ideas by
the opinion of Rabbi this, although it was questioned by Rabbi the
other–they spent their time in tying and untying knots before the
people, quibbling about matters which had no practical importance
whatever! They were wonderfully clear upon the tithing of mint and
anise. They enlarged most copiously upon the washing of cups and
basins. They were profound upon phylacteries and borders of garments.
They were at home upon such rubbish which would neither save a soul,
nor slay a sin, nor suggest a virtue. While handling the Scriptures
they were mere word-triflers, lettermen whose chief objective was to
show their own wisdom.
Such attempts at oratory and word-spinning were as far as the poles
asunder from the discourses of our Lord. Self-display never entered
into the mind of Jesus. He was so absorbed in what He had to teach that
His hearers did not exclaim, "What a preacher is this!" but, "What a
Word of God is this!" And, "What new teaching is this!" The Word and
the teaching with their admirable authority and amazing power subdued
men's minds and hearts by the energy of Truth! Men acknowledged that
the great Teacher had taught them something worth knowing and had so
impressed it upon them that there was no shaking themselves free of it.
Now, when they were beginning to perceive this authority in His Word,
our Lord determined to prove to them that there was real power at the
back of His teaching and that He had a right to use such authority, for
He was Jesus Christ, the Son of God, clothed with Divine authority and
power. It occurred to Him to display before their eyes the fact that as
there was power about His speech, there was also power about
Himself–that He was mighty in deed as well as in Word–and therefore
He worked the miracle now before us. This most astounding deed of
authority and power has been passed over by certain expositors as
having too little of incident about it to be of much interest, whereas,
to my mind, it rises, in some respects, above all other miracles and is
certainly excelled by none in its forcible demonstration of our Lord's
authority and power!
It is the first miracle which Mark gives us. It is the first which Luke
gives us. And it is, in some respects, the first of miracles, as I hope
I may show before I have done. Remember, however, that the objective of
the miracle is to reveal more fully the power and authority of our
Lord's Words and to let us see, by following signs, that His teaching
has an Omnipotent force about it. This Truth is much needed at the
present moment, for if the Gospel does not still save men–if it is
still not "the power of God unto salvation to everyone that
believes"–then the attacks of skepticism are not easily repelled. But
if it is still a thing of power over the minds of men–a power
conquering sin and Satan–then they may say what they like, our only
answer shall be to lament their doubts and to scorn their scorning! O
for an hour of the Son of man! O where is He that trod the sea and bade
the rage of Hell subside with a word?
I. First, then, to show forth this power and authority, Out LORD
SELECTS A MOST UNHAPPY PERSON ON WHOM TO PROVE HIS POWER. This person
was, first, one possessed. A devil dwelt within him. We cannot explain
this fact any more than we can explain madness. Many things which
happen in the world of our minds are quite inexplicable and, for that
matter, so are many facts in the world of matter. We accept the
recorded fact–an evil spirit entered into this man and continued in
him. Satan, you know, is God's ape–he is always trying to imitate Him,
to caricature Him. So, when God became Incarnate, it occurred to Satan
to become incarnate, too–and this man I may call, without any misuse
of words–an incarnate devil! Or, at any rate, the devil was incarnated
in him.
He had become like a devil in human form, and so was, in a certain
manner, the opposite of our Lord Jesus. In Jesus dwelt the fullness of
the Godhead bodily by an eternal union. In this man the devil dwelt for
a while. Is not this an awful
picture? But note the fact the man whom Jesus selects to prove His
power and authority on was so far gone that the foul fiend controlled
his mind and made a kennel of his body! I wondered, when thinking this
over, whether a person of whom this man is the emblem would come into
the congregation today, for I have seen such people. I have not dared
personally to apply such an epithet to any man, but I have heard it
applied–I have heard disgusted friends and indignant neighbors, worn
out with the drunken profanity, or horrible filthiness of some man,
say, "He does not seem to be a man, He acts like the Evil One."
Or when it has been a woman, they have said, "All that is womanly is
gone. She seems to be a female fiend." Well, if such shall come within
sound of my voice, or within reading of this sermon, let them take note
that there is help, hope, and health–even for them! The power of Jesus
knows no limit! Upon one who was the Devil's own did our gracious Lord
display His authority and power in connection with His Gospel
teaching–and He is not less able now than then! This man, further, was
one whose personality was, to a great extent, merged in the Evil One.
Read the 23rd verse–"There was in their synagogue a man with an
unclean spirit." The rendering might be equally accurate if we read it,
"A man in an unclean spirit."
Do you see that? Not only a man with an unclean spirit in him, but a
man in an unclean spirit! The phrase is simple enough, we speak of a
man being in drink. For liquor to be in a man does not mean half as
much as for a man to be in liquor. To give a more pleasant
illustration, we speak of a person's being "in love." He is absorbed in
his affection. We should not express a tenth as much if we said that
love is in the man. A man can be in a rage, in a passion and even so
was this man in an evil spirit! He was completely ruled by the Evil
One. The poor creature had no power over himself, whatever, and was
not, himself, actually responsible. In all that I say of him, I am not
condemning him, but only using him as a type of human sin. Please do
not forget this.
As far as the narrative is concerned, the man, himself, scarcely
appears. It is the unclean spirit that cries out, "Let us alone! I know
who You are." These are words spoken by the man, but they are the
sentiments of the demon who used the man's organs of speech according
to his own will. The man was scarcely a man with a will or wish of his
own! In fact, you do not notice him till you see him flung down into
the midst of the synagogue. You only see the proper man when the Savior
raises him up before them all–unharmed and rational. Until the miracle
is worked, the man is lost in the unclean spirit that dominates him.
Have you ever seen such men? You say, sometimes, and you say truly,
"alas, poor wretch! The drink has the mastery over him; he would never
do such things as he does if he was not in drink."
We do not mean to excuse him by such an expression–far from it! Or it
may be the man is a gambler and you say, "He is quite overtaken by
gaming; though he impoverishes his wife and children, yet he is
possessed by that spirit so completely that he has not the mind nor the
will to resist the temptation." Or it may be that such another person
is carried away with unchaste affections and we say, "How sad! There
was something about that man which we used to like. In many points he
was admirable, but he is so deluded by his bad passions that he does
not seem to be himself." We almost forget the man and think mainly of
the dreadful spirit which has degraded him lower than the beasts.
This is the type and emblem of such a person as that our Lord selected
as the platform to show His power! I wonder whether this voice of mine
will reach one of that sort? I sincerely hope that none of you are in
such a condition, but if you should be, still there is hope for you in
Christ Jesus! He is able to deliver such as are led captive at the will
of Satan. Though you seem wholly given up and utterly abandoned to the
dominion of a terrible sin to which you yield a willing obedience, yet
Jesus can break off the iron yoke from your neck and bring you into the
liberty of holiness! It will be an awful thing for you to die in your
sins–and you surely will unless you believe in the Lord Jesus! But if
you look to Him, He can make you pure and holy and create you anew!
Note further, for we must show you how our Lord selects the worst of
cases, it was a man in whom the evil spirit was at his worst. Kindly
look at the fourth chapter of Luke, verse 33, and you will see that in
this man there was "the spirit of an unclean devil." Think of that! The
devil is never particularly clean at any time–what must an unclean
devil be? The ruling spirit in the man was not only a devil, but an
unclean devil! Satan sometimes cleans himself up and comes out quite
bright and shining, like an angel of light–but do not mistake him–he
is still a devil, for all his pretended purity! There are glittering
sins and respectable sins–and these will ruin souls–but this poor man
had a disreputable demon in him, a spirit of the foulest, coarsest and
most abominable order!
I suppose this foul spirit would incite its victim to filthy talk and
obscene acts. The Evil One delights in sins against the Seventh
Commandment. If he can lead men and women to defile their bodies, he
takes special delight in such crimes. I doubt not that this poor
creature was reduced to the most brutal form of animalism. I can well
believe that in his body he was filthy. And that in his talk, in all
the thoughts that hurried through his poor brain, and in all his
actions, He went to a pitch of uncleanness upon which we need not
permit a conjecture. If we were to say of such a character as this man
pictured, "Let us turn out of the way," who could blame us? If we
separated from such sinners, who could censure us?
We do not desire to go near to Satan in any shape, but most of all we
would shun him when he is openly and avowedly unclean. You say, "We
could not bear to hear the man speak. The very look of him is
offensive." Nor is it strange that you should! There are women so
fallen that modesty trembles to be seen in their company. And the
feeling that makes you shudder at them is not to be condemned, so long
as it does not spring from self-righteousness or lead to contempt. Yet,
now, see it and wonder! Our blessed Lord and Master fixed His eyes of
old on the man with the unclean devil in him–and today He fixes His
eyes of mercy on the basest and vilest of mankind, that in their
conversion He may show the power and authority of His Word! Lord, do so
at this moment! Let us see, today, the miracles of Your Grace. Bring
the chief of sinners to repentance! Raise up those who are fallen to
the lowest degree!
In this man there did not seem to be anything for the Lord to begin
with. When you are trying to bring a man to the Savior, you look over
him to see where you can touch him–what there is in him that you can
work with. Perhaps he is a good husband though he is a drunk and you
wisely attempt to work upon his domestic affections. If a man has some
point of character upon which you can rest your lever, your work is
comparatively easy. But with some people, you look over them from top
to bottom and you cannot find a spot for hope to rest upon! They seem
so utterly gone that there is neither reason, nor conscience, nor will,
nor power of thought left in them. Of all this, the possessed man in
the synagogue is a striking example, for when the Lord comes into the
synagogue, the poor wretch does not begin to pray, "Lord, heal
me."
No, his first cry is, "Let us alone." He does not seem to resist this
cry of the evil spirit in him, though it was so much to his own injury.
And he goes on to say, "What have we to do with You, You Jesus of
Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are." The
possessed man seems wholly lost in the dominating spirit of evil which
permeated his entire being! Now I look upon this, though it is
negative, as a very glaring part of the difficulty, for I do not care
how far a man has gone in outward sin, if he has some point left in him
of common honesty, or love to his family, or a generous heart, you know
where to commence operations and your work is hopeful. Even leviathan
has some crevice between his scales though they are shut up together as
with a close seal.
And there is some joint in the harness of most men, even though mail
may cover them from head to foot. But in those outcasts of whom I am
now speaking, there is neither lodgment for hope, nor foothold for
faith, nor more than a bare ledge for love! As the man in the synagogue
was shut up within the demon's influence, so are some men encompassed
by their iniquity, blocked up by their depravity! Yet the great raiser
up of the fallen can rescue even these! He is able to save unto the
uttermost!
One other matter makes the case still more terrible–He was a man upon
whom religious observances were lost. He was in the synagogue on the
Sabbath and I do not suppose that this was anything unusual. The worst
man of all is one who can attend the means of Grace and yet remain
under the full power of evil. Those poor outside sinners who know
nothing of the Gospel at all and never go to the House of God at
all–for them there remains at least the hope that the very novelty of
the Holy Word may strike them. But as for those who are continually in
our synagogues, what shall now be done for them if they remain in sin?
It is singular, but true, that Satan will come to a place of worship.
"Oh," you say, "surely he will never do that?" He did it as long ago as
the days of Job, when the sons of God came to present themselves before
the Lord–and Satan came, also, among them. The evil spirit led this
unhappy man to the synagogue that morning and it may be he did so with
the idea of disturbing the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am glad
he was there. I wish that all the slaves of sin and Satan would attend
Sabbath worship. They are then within range of the Gospel gun and who
can tell how many may be reached? Yet how sad it was that the
influences of religious worship had altogether failed to rescue this
man from his thralldom!
They sang in the synagogue, but they could not sing the evil spirit out
of him. They read the lessons of the day in the synagogue, but they
could not read the foul spirit out of him! They gave addresses from
passages of Scripture, but they
could not address the unclean spirit out of him. No doubt some of the
godly prayed for him, but they could not pray the devil out of him.
Nothing can cast out Satan but the Words of Jesus, Himself! His own
Words, from His own lips, have power and authority about them, but
everything short of that falls to the ground. O Divine Redeemer, let
Your Omnipotence be displayed in turning great sinners into sincere
penitents!
You see, then, what a terrible case the Master selected. I am sure I
have not exaggerated. O the comfort which lies in the thought that He
still chooses to save persons of whom this wretched being is the fit
emblem and representative! O you vilest of the vile, here is hope for
you!
II. Let us now look a little further and observe that OUR LORD
ENCOUNTERS A FIRMLY-ENTRENCHED ENEMY. The evil spirit in this man had
ramparted and bulwarked himself against the assault of Christ, for as I
have said, he had the man fully at his command. He could make him say
and do whatever he pleased. He had that man so at his command that he
brought him to the synagogue that day and he compelled him to become a
disturber of the worship. Quietness and order should be in the
assemblies of God's people, but this poor soul was egged on to cry out
and make horrible noises, so as to raise great tumult in the
congregation. The Jews allowed all the liberty they could to persons
possessed and, so long as their behavior was bearable, they were
tolerated in the synagogues.
But this poor mortal broke through the bounds of propriety and his
cries were a terror to all. But look, the Lord Jesus deals with this
disturber! This is the very man in whom He will be glorified. So have I
seen my Lord convert His most furious enemy and enlist unto His service
the most violent of opposers. The Evil One compelled his victim to beg
to be left alone–as we have it here, "Let us alone." In the Revised
Version of Luke, the same rendering is put in the margin, but in the
text we have, "Ah!" While the Lord Jesus was teaching there was
suddenly heard a terrible, "Ah!" A horrible, hideous outcry startled
all and these words were heard–"Ah! What have we to do with You?" It
was not the voice of supplication! It was distinctly the reverse–it
was a prayer not for mercy, but against mercy!
The translation is, however, quite good if we read, "Let us alone." Is
it not a horrible thing that Satan leads men to say, "Do not trouble us
with your Gospel! Do not bother us with religion! Do not come here with
your tracts! Let us alone!" They claim the wretched right to perish in
their sins–the liberty to destroy their own souls! We know who rules
when men speak thus–it is the Prince of Darkness who makes them hate
the Light of God. Oh, my Hearers, do not some of you say, "We do not
want to be worried with thoughts of death, judgment and eternity! We do
not desire to hear about repentance and faith in a Savior! All we want
of religious people is that they will let us alone."
This cruel kindness we cannot grant them! How can we stand by and see
them perish? Yet how sad the moral condition of one who does not wish
to be made pure! You would think it impossible for Jesus to do anything
with a man while he is crying out, "Let us alone." Yet it was the evil
spirit in this man that our Lord met and overcame! Is there not
encouragement for us to deal with those who give us no welcome, but
shut the door in our faces? The foul spirit made the man renounce all
interest in Christ. He coupled him with himself and made him say, "What
have we to do with You, You Jesus of Nazareth?" This was a disclaimer
of all connection with the Savior. He almost resented the Savior's
Presence as an intrusion! The voice seems to cry to Jesus, "I have
nothing to do with You! Go Your way and leave me alone. I do not want
You! Whatever You can do to save or bless me is hereby refused. Only
let me alone."
Now, when a man deliberately says, "I will have nothing to do with your
Jesus. I want no pardon, no salvation, no Heaven," I think the most of
you would say, "That is a hopeless case. We had better go elsewhere."
Yet even when Satan has led a man this far, the Lord can drive him out!
He is mighty to save! He can change even the hardest heart. The unclean
spirit did more than that–He caused this man to dread the Savior, and
made him cry out, "Ah! Have You come to destroy us?" Many persons are
afraid of the Gospel. To them religion wears a gloomy aspect. They do
not care to hear of it for fear it should make them melancholy and rob
them of their pleasures. "Oh," they say, "religion would get me into
Bedlam! It would drive me mad." Thus Satan, by his detestable lies,
makes men dread their best Friend and tremble at that which would make
them happy forever!
A further entrenchment Satan had cast up–he made his victim yield an
outward assent to the Gospel. "I know who You are," said the spirit,
speaking with the man's lips, "the Holy One of God." Of all forms of
Satan's devices, this is one of the worst for workers, when men say,
"Yes, yes, what you say is very proper!" You call upon them and talk
about Jesus and they answer, "Yes, Sir. It is quite true. I am much
obliged to you, Sir." You preach the Gospel and they say, "He made an
interesting discourse and he is a very clever man!" You buttonhole them
and speak about the Savior–they re-
ply, "It is very kind of you to talk to me so earnestly. I always
admire this sort of thing. Zeal is much to be commended in these days."
This is one of the strongest of earthworks, for the cannonballs sink
into it and their force is gone. This makes Satan secure in his hold on
the heart. Yet the Savior dislodged this demon and therein displayed
His power and authority! Have I not proved my point? Jesus selected a
most unhappy individual to become an instance of His supremacy over the
powers of darkness! He selected a most firmly-entrenched spirit to be
chased out of the nature which had become his stronghold.
III. We have something more pleasant to think upon as we notice that
OUR LORD CONQUERED IN A MOST SIGNAL MANNER. The conquest began as soon
as the Savior entered the synagogue and was thus under the same roof
with the devil. Then the Evil One began to fear! That first cry of,
"Ah," or, "Let us alone," shows that the evil spirit knew his
Conqueror. Jesus had not said anything to the man. No, but the Presence
of Christ and His teaching are the terror of fiends. Wherever Jesus
Christ comes in, Satan knows that he must go out. Jesus has come to
destroy the works of the devil and the Evil One is aware of his fate.
Now, as soon as one of you shall go into a house with the desire to
bring the inmates to Christ, it will be telegraphed to the bottomless
pit directly! Insignificant person as you may think yourself, you are a
very dangerous person to Satan's kingdom if you go in the name of Jesus
and proclaim His Gospel.
The Lord Jesus Christ opened the Book and read in the synagogue and
soon His explanation and teaching with authority and power made all the
evil spirits feel that their kingdom was shaken. "I beheld," said our
Lord at another time, "Satan fall like lightning from Heaven," and that
fall was commencing in this "beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
the Son of God." The first token of our Lord's triumph was the evident
alarm which caused the evil spirit to cry out! The next sign was that
the devil began to offer terms to Christ, for I take it that is the
reason why he said, "I know who You are, the Holy One of God." He did
not confront our Lord with the hostile doubt, "If you are the Son of
God," but with the compliment, "I know who You are."
"Yes," the false spirit said, "I will allow this man to say his creed,
and avow himself one of the orthodox and then, perhaps, I shall be let
alone. The man is sound in his views and so my living in him cannot be
a bad thing, after all. I am quite willing to admit all the claims of
Jesus, so long as He will not interfere with my rule over the man." The
Evil One had read his Bible and knew how Daniel had called Jesus, "the
Most Holy," and so he calls Him "The Holy One of God." "I am quite
willing to admit it all," says the devil, "only let me stay in the man.
Do not meddle with me and this man's lips shall confess the truth." And
so, when Jesus comes in His power, and men hear His Words, this
deceitful compromise is often proposed and attempted! The sinner says,
"I believe it all. I deny nothing. I am no infidel, but I mean to keep
my sin and I do not intend to feel the power of the Gospel so as to
repent and have my sin chased out of me. I will agree to the Gospel,
but I will not allow it to control my life."
However, this coming to terms shows that the fallen spirit knows his
Destroyer. He could wish to be let down easily. He is willing to
crouch, to cringe, to fawn and even to bear testimony to the Truth of
God if he may but be allowed to keep in his den–that den a human soul.
Liar as he is, it must go sadly against the grain for him to say, "I
know who You are," yet he will do this if he may be allowed to keep
dominion. So when Jesus draws near to men's minds, they say, "We will
be orthodox, we will believe the Bible and we will do anything else You
prescribe, only do not disturb our consciences, interfere with our
habits, or dislodge our selfishness." Men will accept anything rather
than renounce their sin, their pride, their ease.
Then came our Lord's real work on this man. He gave the evil spirit
short and sharp orders. "Silence! Come out!" "Jesus rebuked him." The
word implies that He spoke sharply to him. How else could He speak to
one who was maliciously tormenting a man who had done him no harm? The
Greek word might be read, "Be muzzled." It is a harsh word. Such as an
unclean tormenting spirit deserves. "Silence! Come out." That is
exactly what Jesus means that the devil shall do when He delivers men
from him. He says to him, "Come out of the man. I do not want pious
talk and orthodox professing. Hold your peace and come out of him." It
is not for evil spirits, nor yet for ungodly men, to try to honor
Christ by their words. Traitors bring no honor to those they praise.
Liars cannot witness to the Truth of God–or if they do, they damage
its cause. "Be still," says Jesus. And then, "Come out."
He speaks as a man might call a dog out of a kennel, "Come out." "Oh,"
says the unclean spirit, "let me stay and the man shall go to Church!
He shall even go to the sacrament." "No," says the Lord, "Come out of
him. You have no right within him. He is Mine, and not yours. Come out
of him!" I pray that the Master may give one of His mighty calls at
this
moment and speak to some poor besotted creature–and say to the devil
in him, "Come out of him!" O Sinners, you must quit your sin or it will
ruin you forever! Are you not eager to be rid of it? Now, see the
conquest of Christ over the unclean spirit. The fiend did not dare to
utter another word, though he went as near it as he could. He "cried
with a loud voice." He made an inarticulate howling as he left the man.
As he came out, he tried to do his victim some further injury, but in
that he also failed.
He convulsed him and threw him down in the midst of the synagogue, but
Luke adds, "He came out of him, having done him no hurt." From the
moment when Jesus bade him, "Come out," his power to harm was gone! He
came out like a whipped cur. See how Jesus triumphs! As He did this,
literally, in the man in the synagogue, so He does it spiritually in
thousands of cases. The last act of the fiend was malicious, but
fruitless. I have seen a poor creature rolled in the dust of despair by
the departing enemy, but he has soon risen to joy and peace. Have you
not seen him in the Enquiry Room, weeping in the dismay of his spirit?
But that has caused him no real harm–it has even been a benefit to him
by causing him to feel a deeper sense of sin–and by driving him quite
out of himself to the Savior.
Oh, what a splendid triumph this is for our Lord when out of a great
sinner the reigning power of sin is expelled by a word! How our Master
tramples on the lion and the adder! How He treads under His feet the
young lion and the dragon! If the Lord will speak today with power to
any soul, however vicious, or depraved, or besotted–his reigning sins
shall come out of him and the poor sinner shall become a trophy of His
Sovereign Grace!
IV. Lastly, THE SAVIOR RAISES BY WHAT HE DID A GREAT WONDERMENT. The
people that saw this were more astonished than they generally were at
the Savior's miracles, for they said, "What thing is this? What new
teaching is this? For with authority commands He even the unclean
spirits and they obey Him!" The wonder lay in this–here was man at his
very lowest–he could not be worse! I have shown you the impossibility
of anybody being worse than this poor creature was. I mean not that he
was morally evil, for, as I have hinted before, the moral element does
not actually enter into the man's case. But he is the instructive
picture of the worst man morally–utterly and entirely possessed of
Satan– and carried away to an extreme degree by the force of evil.
Now, under the preaching of the Gospel, the worst man that lives may be
saved! While he is listening to the Gospel, a power goes with it which
can touch the hardest heart, subdue the proudest will, change the most
perverted affections and bring the most unwilling spirit to the feet of
Jesus! I speak now what I know, because I have seen it in scores and
hundreds of cases–that the least likely persons, about whom there
seemed to be nothing whatever helpful to the work of Grace or
preparatory for it–have, nevertheless, been turned from the power of
Satan unto God! Such have been struck down by the preaching of the
Gospel and the devil has been made to come out of them, then and there,
and they have become new creatures in Christ Jesus! This creates a
great wonderment and causes great staggering among the ungodly– they
cannot understand it–and they ask, "What thing is this? And what new
doctrine is this?" This is a convincing sign which makes the most
obdurate unbeliever question his unbelief!
Notice, in this case, that Jesus worked entirely and altogether alone.
In most of His other miracles, He required faith. In order to salvation
there must be faith, but this miracle before us is not a parable of
man's experience so much as of Christ's working–and that working is
not dependent upon anything in man. When a man is commanded to stretch
out His withered hand, or told to go to the Pool of Siloam and wash, He
does something. But in this case the man is ignored. If he does
anything it is rather to resist than to assist–the devil makes him
cry, "Let us alone; what have we to do with You?" The Lord Jesus Christ
here displays His Sovereignty, His power, and His authority–utterly
ignoring the man, consulting neither his will nor his faith–but
sovereignly bidding the fiend, "Be silent and come out."
The thing is done and the man is delivered from his thralldom before he
has had time to seek or pray. The miracle seems to me to teach
this–that the power of Christ to save from sin does not lie in the
person saved–it lies wholly in Jesus Himself. And, further, I learn
that though the person to be saved is so far gone that you could
scarcely expect faith of him, yet the Gospel coming to him can bring
faith with itself and do its own world, ab initio, from the very
beginning. What if I say that the Gospel is a Seed that makes its own
soil! It is a spark that carries its own fuel! It is a life which can
implant itself within the ribs of death, yes, between the jaws of
destruction!
The Eternal Spirit comes with His own light and life–and creates men
in Christ Jesus to the praise of the glory of His Grace. Oh, the marvel
of this miracle! I was never led more greatly to admire the splendor of
the power of Christ to rescue men from sin than at this hour. And, to
conclude, I notice our Lord did nothing but speak. In other cases He
laid
His hands upon the diseased, or led them out of the city, or touched
then, or applied clay, or used spittle. But in this case He does not
use any instrumentality–His Word is all. He says, "Hold your peace and
come out of him," and the unclean spirit is evicted. The Word of the
Lord has shaken the kingdom of darkness and loosed the bonds of the
oppressed! As when the Lord scattered the primeval darkness by the
fiat, "Light be," so did Jesus give the Word and its own intrinsic
power banished the Messenger of Darkness.
Oh, you that preach Christ, preach Him boldly! No coward lips must
proclaim His invincible Gospel! Oh, you that preach Christ, never
choose your place of labor! Never turn your back on the worst of
mankind! If the Lord should send you to the borders of Perdition, go
there and preach Him with full assurance that it shall not be in vain!
Oh, you that would win souls, have no preference as to which they shall
be, or, if you have a choice, select the very worst! Remember, my
Master's Gospel is not merely for the moralist in his respectable
dwelling, but for the abandoned and fallen in the filthy dens of the
outcast! The all-conquering light of the Sun of Righteousness is not
for the dim dawn, alone, to brighten it into the full blaze of day, but
it is meant for the blackest midnight that ever made a soul to shiver
as in the shadow of death!
The name of Jesus is high over all, in Heaven, earth and sky! Therefore
let us preach it with authority and confi-dence–not as though it were
an invention of men. He has said He will be with us and, therefore,
nothing is impossible! The Word of the Lord Jesus cannot fall to the
ground! The gates of Hell cannot prevail against it! The pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper in His hands! The Lord shall bruise Satan under
our feet shortly. I have gone to great lengths in this sermon because I
would reach sinners who have gone to great lengths. Oh that they would
accept this message of amazing mercy! He who has come to save sinners
is God–and this is the surest ground of hope for the very worst! Hear
this I pray you–it is the Lord your God who speaks to you–"Look unto
Me, and be you saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and
there is none else."