“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 thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us?”
Not only did there shine out the true Godhead of the Lord Jesus Christ in the miracles He performed, but in those miracles the moral condition of man is very distinctly illustrated, and God’s way of meeting that condition in and by Christ. He was the true light that made all things manifest. Satan was in the world as the dragon, he was in the palace, the god of this world. But also there were demons in the synagogue. This is a very serious reflection. The synagogue was the Jews meeting-room, or, as people say now, the place of worship. Men may admit that devils may be in the tavern, the theater, the concert-room, at the ball, at the billiard-table, or the rambling-den; but how little is thought of Satan and his ministers in the meeting-room, or place of worship! But so it was; and if we look at a few scriptures we shall soon see that so it is now.
Let us look, then, in the first place, at man. All men by nature are under the power of Satan. We see men led by this wicked spirit, walking “according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” (Eph. 2:22Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (Ephesians 2:2).) There is no middle stale. Men are either dead with Christ, and risen in Him, or led by the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. One of these is assuredly the condition of the writer and the reader of these lines.
In another scripture we learn that men are now blinded by Satan: “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost; in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,” &c. (2 Cor. 4:3, 43But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2 Corinthians 4:3‑4).) A blind man cannot even see the sun; and a morally blind man cannot see even the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ, our Substitute and Representative. Oh, blessed light, to see my name, encircled in the radiancy of the glory, accepted in the Christ! But those blinded by Satan cannot see the light. But if that is the condition of all men by nature, what has that to do with the synagogue? Does Satan get into the synagogue now? Well, let us look, if we have sight, at what he was about, even whilst the apostles were here.
In this same epistle we read of the crafty and deceitful way in which Satan blinds and corrupts the professing church by his agents. “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” (2 Cor. 11:13-1513For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. (2 Corinthians 11:13‑15).)
Now, if Satan had his agents in the professing church so early, what is it now, as foretold? “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.... forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats,” &c. (1 Tim. 4:1-31Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. (1 Timothy 4:1‑3).) Many more scriptures might be quoted. But how few believe or understand what we have already read! What power Satan has ever had since the first woman trusted his word, and distrusted God!
There are three ways, then, in which Satan has still great power over men. He leads men by their lusts, as the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. He blinds the minds of them that believe not, and he transforms himself as an angel of light, in the synagogues, or so-called places of worship. Who would have thought this, if scripture had not revealed it? Mark, so great is the deception, that his ministers are transformed as the ministers of righteousness. What matters it to Satan, whether he leads souls to destruction by an unclean, sensual demon, or by a demon leading them to the same end by self-righteousness?
The presence of Jesus at once greatly disturbed these demons in the synagogue. It is just the same now. If Jesus be truly preached, in the power of the Holy Ghost, there is immediate disturbance. The man in the synagogue, with an unclean spirit, cried out. Think of man in such a condition, in the very possession of a demon. And how terrible the state of every rejecter of the grace of God now! And what does he cry? He says, a Let us alone.” Yes, this is the cry of every unconverted soul: Let us alone. Why cannot we have our own way, and do our own will? Why disturb us? “What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us?” Ah, it is the very demon that thus speaks in the man. How dreadful the condition of every unconverted man, whether the slave of unclean lusts, or the slave of false, deceitful ministers of Satan, as ministers of righteousness, like the serpent in the garden, professing only to seek the good of their dupes. Let Jesus, the present and eternal Savior, be preached to such, and immediately they cry out, “Let us alone!” “What have we to do with thee?”
Oh, how often this is the case on a dying bed. Satan has succeeded as an angel of light, and by his ministers, as ministers of righteousness, in lulling a soul into the false security of trusting in sacraments and his own righteousness. You will be kept from that dying chamber, if possible, but if you should enter it, and proclaim forgiveness of sins through Jesus alone, how soon, and how sad, the cry, “Let us alone!” “What have we to do with forgiveness of sins through Jesus? We do not need it, we are good religious people!” On the other hand, Satan may have held complete power over another case, and as the terrible hour of death approaches, awful despair already is set-tied on the dying countenance. Now, who but the Lord Jesus, the eternal Son of God, could meet this first condition of man, led, blinded, possessed by demons—yes, even in the synagogue? Oh, blessed be God, Jesus has power to deliver. “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:88He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8).)
Oh, beloved reader, are you possessed of an unclean spirit? Has Satan, by uncleanness and iniquity, complete power over you? Or has he deceived you as a minister of righteousness? Do you say, “I attend the synagogue, and my minister tells me how good I must be, and then God will love me?” If you do, mark that man, he is one of the ministers of Satan. God so loved the world, when it was as bad as it ever could be—yes, so loved it then—that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have eternal life.
Yes, yes, by that work which He finished on the cross for us poor sinners, He has power and title to deliver every sinner that believes on Him from the power of Satan; and no other name is given, by which Satan can be cast out, but the name of Jesus. Thus, not only did He, when here in flesh, put forth His blessed power for man, in casting out devils, even in the synagogue, but He has all power now to meet this desperate state of man—of all men; of you, my reader. How distinctly both His true manhood and Godhead shine out in this! Who but God could bind the strong man? “ And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils:, and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.” (Mark 1:3131And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. (Mark 1:31).) Yes, they knew Him to be God, and must submit to His power. And now mark His perfect, dependent manhood, in the next verse: “ And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” How blessed that we can thus go with Him into a solitary place, and pray with Him as perfect Man, in all the tender love of His truly human heart! As such He maketh intercession for us. Do you sometimes—yea, often—feel cold and dead in prayer? Think of Him; as Man He prayed with and for you. Yet He is God over all, blessed for evermore. And as God you can pray to Him; and in answer to Simon’s question, or announcement, “All seek for thee,” He said, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also; for therefore came I forth.” Oh, ye who would serve this Lord and Savior, retire with Him into the solitary place in prayer. Then go with Him to the next towns, and preach there also.
The wind bloweth where it listeth; and, where He will, there will surely be the putting forth of His mighty power in the deliverance of a great number of souls.
“And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.” Yes, such was the condition of the synagogues then, and such is their condition now; and such is His power to meet this desperate condition of man. But do not go alone to this work—go with Him. He says, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the age.” Blessed Jesus, may all Thy servants, from this hour, be more with Thee in the solitary place, and thus more with Thee from town to town, until we see Thy face, and hear Thy precious words, “Well done.” Thou hast said, “And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”