Authority Over Demons

February 14th, 2021
Speaker: Travis Cunningham
Text: Mark 1:21-28. 21 They *went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and began to teach. 22 And they were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 saying, “What business do you have with us, Jesus [r]of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are: the Holy One of God!” 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” 26 After throwing him into convulsions and crying out with a loud voice, the unclean spirit came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” 28 Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding region of Galilee.
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Big Idea: Jesus had come to Capernaum and entered the synagogue to teach on the Sabbath. This wasn't like any other Saturday though, Jesus was teaching in a way that was unrecognizable to the crowds in attendance. They were accustomed to listening to the scribes way of teaching which was a very rote and rehearsed teaching where reading from the scriptures and providing some commentary was normal. But when Jesus taught, the people said that He did so with 'authority.' Just then, an unclean spirit cries out in the middle of Jesus' teaching and interrupts the whole thing. The demons speaking through the man knows who Jesus is and even calls Him the 'Holy One of God.' Jesus deals with this unclean spirit and everyone is amazed. The teaching of Jesus was with authority, and His handling of the unclean spirit was with authority. Everyone knew, this Man was no ordinary man. 
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Cross References:
And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority. 33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34“Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” 35But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. 36And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” 37And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district. Luke 4:31-37

“Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44“Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45“Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.” Matthew 12:43-45

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12


When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. Matthew 7:28-29

Apologetics/Theology:
What does it mean that Jesus spoke “with authority”? The Greek word translated here as “authority” is ἐξουσίαν (exousian), which means “to (speak) out of one’s being or substance.” To speak with spiritual power or weightiness. Delegated empowerment ("authorization"), operating in a designated jurisdiction.
In the NT, eksousía ("delegated power") refers to the authority God gives to His saints – authorizing them to act to the extent they are guided by faith (His revealed word).
Where did the authority that Jesus have come from? 
The authority that Jesus had came from the Father. John 17:2
What else did Jesus have the authority to do when He was on earth?
Not only did Jesus have the authority to cast out demons; He also had authority to forgive sins. Mark 2:10, Matthew 9:6-8. This caused a major issue with the religious people of the day. "Only God can forgive sins" was what the people would claim. But as we saw earlier, the Father gave that authority to Jesus. 
How do we know when someone is speaking with authority on a given subject?
Matthew 21:23 The people witnessed how Jesus had authority over demons, the way He spoke and taught, the things He claimed about Himself and God; and they wondered who gave Him permission or authority to do these things. He seemed to be just another man, yet they could never deny the things they were seeing and hearing. 
How did the demons know who Jesus was but not the scribes and other religious rulers? 
Why didn't Jesus allow this demon to keep speaking and letting everyone know who Jesus was? The demons knew He was the Holy One of God and they declared it for all to hear. 
Why did this demon speak up and try and begin a conversation with Jesus? What prompted this exchange? 
The demons authority was being challenged. They had authority over this area and Jesus was threatening it which caused the demon to speak up. Luke 4:6 the devil tells Jesus that he has authority or domain over the kingdoms of the world.
Why didn't Jesus continue the conversation and answer the questions from this demon? 
The demon tries to get Jesus into a conversation of why He was there and if He was going to destroy them. Jesus does not entertain the questions from demons or the devil. To allow the conversation to continue would have shifted the authority from Jesus to the demons. Jesus was not there to entertain the curiosity of demons, He was there to set a man free. 
What authority do believers in Christ have? 
Mark 3:14-15, Mark 6:7
Mark 13:33-37- walking in our authority causes us to stay alert for the return of Christ.