What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are‚the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!”

While watching a series videos on the Gospel of Mark I learned something about these encounters between Jesus and deamons that I never knew before. Almost every single encounter must be read from the perspective of the deamons being defiant and disrespectful. There is indeed a thread of fear and dread in these deamons, but they are mostly just full of hate and anger. The demons in today’s reading are trying, in futile defiance, to take authority over Jesus. It is impossible of course, but because of their hatred of Him, they are trying anyway.

In the kingdom of God, power and authority are clearly defined, and all know their role, even all of the demons. It is only in this human world that these things get confused and muddled. Power is the technical ability to do something, and authority is the right to do it. With Jesus His power and authority are total and complete. The deamons know this, but because they are defiant, they try to take authoriy that not rightfully theirs. Fr. Chad Ripperger says that “Angels go where they are requested, and deamons go where they are not resisted.” These demons are simply trying to see what they can get away with.

So how did they try to take authority over Jesus? They named Him! In God’s kingdom if you tell someone your name you are inviting them into your life, and thus you are giving them some small shred of influence in your life. But if instead, you are the one to give someone their name (like a parent does to their children), then you have, by right, authority over them. Jesus knows this, He is not their friend, and they have no authority over him, He is in fact the one that made every one of them and named them all upon their creation. And so, when they try to assert authority over Him, He simply rebukes them and commands them to be silent.

This is the only way to deal with evil. You must simply say “no, you have not authority over me.” You must challenge all of the lies that are said about you, and to you, and you must not back down in the face of their onslaught. The devil is ultimately a coward, who sits on a throne of lies, and when you push back in the name of Jesus, he will always back down. Because at the end of the day he cannot stand against the power and authority of almighty God. Never forget this fact, and when the time comes that you must face down evil…, know that if you rest in the truth and goodness of the Lord, the devil cannot stand against you.

Oh lord, today give me the strength to fight for you, and to enter into the breach against the enemy. Never leave my side. Amen.