11\07\05
The Power of Jesus

"...and crying out with a loud voice, he said ' What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!'...And He was asking him, 'What is your name?' And he said to Him, 'My name is Legion, for we are many.'" Mark 5:7+9

This is definitely one of my favorite stories in all the gospel, if not my very favorite. It clearly and strongly shows the absolute sovereign power of Jesus over the supernatural world. What amazes me so much about this story is the meaning of the word Legion. The New American Standard Greek Lexicon defines Legion as the following:

a legion, a body of soldiers whose number differed at times, and in the times of Augustus seems to have consisted of 6,826 men ( 6100 foot soldiers and 126 horsemen)

This is just too awesome to me! And read the whole story in its entirety! That many demons came shrieking over to Jesus, bowing down before Him, begging for mercy. Shouldn't that make us excited? Shouldn't that just blow us away, that anyone could have that kind of power?!
One more thing to note about this story that many could miss. The swine that the demons entered were supposed to be sacrificial swine. You see, the people of this area actually worshipped these demons. They would sacrifice these pigs to the demon "gods." So, in a sense of divine irony, the very pigs that would be killed to appease the demons ended up being the end of the demons! What an awesome God we serve!
Now THAT is power. And, what's more amazing, THAT'S the kind of power Jesus promises to unleash in our lives, power to change our lives and to reach out to others in boldness for the gospel. But it is only offered if we treasure Jesus in our hearts. I urge you, if you do not know this kind of power, if you do not know this kind of awe and wonder, please cry out to God on your faces and seek the God of all power!

--Charlie