Kingdom Ferocity

As Jesus steps out from behind those thirty years of almost total obscurity into the task set before him, both men and demons begin to feel his fierce intention:

He went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority. In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, "Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!" "Be quiet!"; Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" (Luke 4:31–36)

You cannot appreciate the difficulty of this till you've tried it yourself. Most of us wouldn't walk into a dark alley if we could avoid it. Jesus walks right up to people foaming at the mouth in full-blown demonic possession and confronts the ancient spirits directly. Very intentional. Quite fierce.

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