From the desk of Pastor Ben

A Demon Expelled

“Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him,
 and the boy was cured at once.”     (Matthew 17:18)

When Jesus rebuked him, the demon had no choice but to come out of the boy. But before he departed, the evil spirit made a last attempt to destroy the boy: “Crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, ‘He is dead!’” (Mark 9:26).

As soon as the demon was gone, “the boy was cured at once.” While the child was still in the death-like stupor in which the demon left him, “Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up” (Mark 9:27). He could now play like other boys, with no fear of suddenly being thrown into a fire to be burned or into water to be drowned. He would have no more seizures, no more foaming at the mouth or grinding of teeth.

Although Jesus already had successfully cast out countless demons from people, Luke reports that on this occasion the crowds “were all amazed at the greatness of God” (Luke 9:43). “Greatness” is from a word that refers to great splendor or magnificence. Peter used it to describe the divine majesty that he, James, and John witnessed at the transfiguration. It was perhaps with that glory in mind that Luke here used that term to describe the crowd’s amazement.

Ask Yourself:
What does it take for you to be vividly aware of the “greatness” of God? Must it always be something loud or amazing or obviously miraculous? Or would you say you’ve sensed His greatness in quiet places, with little fanfare, on very ordinary days? If not, why not?