Jesus us Stronger, Luke 9:38-42

Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not."
Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here." And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.

     Jesus had just spent a couple days on a mountain top praying with His disciples. They had just witnessed the Transfiguration, where Jesus' countenance was changed and He was revealed in His glory. Jesus had been speaking with Elijah and Moses regarding His upcoming death, and God had spoken audibly through a cloud that came and overshadowed them. Now they were down from the mountain, and life was back to normal: trials and difficulties, sin and pain. From the multitude cries a man, begging Jesus to heal his demon-possessed son. He had apparently asked the disciples to cast it out, but they were unable. Jesus' response to them may seem a little harsh, but understandable, as He is God, and He is perfect and holy. Nonetheless, Jesus calls the man to bring forth his child so He can heal him.
     But on the way, the devil puts up a fight. Satan knows that Jesus is going to heal the boy, and he doesn't want that to happen. Healing would mean a soul lost to the power of darkness, a life reclaimed by God, a life that could then be used to glorify God. In opposition, Satan puts forth all his might, all his strength, pulling the last few punches that he can. He knows he's going down-- but he won't do it without causing as much destruction and mayhem as he can. So he throws the boy down and causes him to convulse, no doubt violently.
     But Jesus is stronger. He is stronger than all the demons' might put together, all the strength and wickedness Satan can muster up, and all the perversity and sin in the world. Jesus is in full control of everything, and even the demons and Satan himself must answer to and obey Jesus. No doubt, the demons loath this having to submit to God, and so, as if spitting in the face of God, they cause as much damage in their unwillful submission as they can.

     The same is true for us today. While we were in the world, Satan didn't bother to put up a fight. He knew we were as good as gone, living for our own desires and lusts, forsaking God and drowning in sin. But as soon as things started to look up-- as soon as he noticed that God was working on our hearts and we were actually responding-- then he started to put up a fight. He whispered lies in our ears, put doubts in our minds, and bound us tighter with the reigns of sin and lustful pleasure. Then came that day, that fateful day, when Jesus called us. "Come to Me," He called gently. This was Satan's last chance to keep us back-- and he would make the most of it.
     With all of his might, all of his gusto, he threw doubts and lusts and temptations at us right and left. He lied, screaming in our ears false and ludicrous, evil things. It's as if he grabbed our legs as we were on our way to Jesus, held on to our ankles as we walked, and started clawing and biting and screaming at us. This is truly pathetic, indeed, and it is pointless, because Jesus is stronger. But Satan doesn't let go without a fight. He is underhanded and sneaky, and will stop at nothing to keep us from coming to know Jesus.

     But the power of God is stronger and conquers all evil. As the demon threw the boy down, Jesus rebuked it and healed the boy. And as we are on our way toward Jesus, He rebukes the foolishness of Satan and frees us to come to Him. He whom the Son sets free is free indeed! And there is no lapse in His power-- He who was able to save you in that day is able to deliver you still today.
     There will be times when Jesus calls you to do something. There will be times when He says, "go here in My name." And in those times, as sure as the sun rises in the morning, our enemy will be there too, lying and putting doubts in our hearts, filling us with fear and all sorts of temptations to sin. But we are more than conquerers through Christ who loves us-- Nothing Satan can ever do will be too much for Jesus to handle. He is God, He created Satan. And no created being is stronger than its Creator. We need not fear the underhanded, ruthless devices of the devil, but simply put our trust and faith in Jesus Christ. If we keep our eyes on Jesus and move forward, He will take care of the devil.