Hebrews 2:14-15

Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.

From Background Notes [BN] for September 14^th & 15^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Or, faced with the horrifying condition of the demon-possessed man, chained among the tombs in Mark 5:1-20, Jesus wages war with the demons that held the man captive.

 

We are told, “night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones” (5:5). Jesus sees the works of the devil in their deadly power to injure and make insane. The spirit sees Jesus “at a distance” and knows that Jesus has come to do battle and wage war. Jesus was anything but silent, as he demands to know the name of the “unclean spirit.” In the ancient world, knowing the name of a spirit meant exercising power over it. Jesus comes as the rebel who refuses to allow the devil’s kingdom to claim any longer a single inch of ground in the man’s life. By asking for the “name,” Jesus is also asking the size of the enemy, and he is told “Legion,” perhaps to intimidate Jesus. The term “legion” is significant, for it refers to a military unit, since the demons that hold the man captive come to defend their territory, not unlike the Roman legions who were the largest military units (as many as 6,000 soldiers) deployed by the Empire. [BN,3]

Join us this week in Study, Worship, Praise and Celebration at Chicago First Church of the Nazarene:

* Saturday 6:00pm
* Sunday 8:30am & 11:00am, 5:30pm