Liberated in Christ
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.
Matthew 28:19
Matthew 12 presents Jesus as God’s chosen servant. He is the Lord of the Sabbath (see verses 1-13) who fulfilled the prophecies of Isaiah and Jonah (see verses 15-21,38-42). He demonstrated His authority over the kingdom of darkness (see verses 22-32). He considered those who did His Father’s will to be spiritually related to Him (see verses 46-50). He also showed wholistic concern for the plight of His people. If they were physically disabled or diseased, He healed them. If His disciples were hungry, He saw that they were fed, even if it violated manmade religious traditions, which He disdained.
The demon-possessed man brought to Jesus in verse 22 was blind and mute, and the Lord healed him physically and spiritually at the same time. Today we try to determine whether somebody’s problem is psychological or spiritual, which creates a false dichotomy. Human problems always have a psychological element, because our soul is an integral part of our life, but they always have a spiritual element as well. There is no time when God is not present, and there is no time or place where it would be safe to take off the armor of God. The world is in a mess because of the Fall, and Jesus has only one answer: “Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). Christian ministry is an encounter with God. He affects the whole person and incorporates all reality all the time.
Suppose your life is like a house and you haven’t taken out the garbage or cleaned up any spills for six months. That will attract a lot of flies, which you would really like to get rid of. Would it help to study the flight patterns of all the flies and determine their names and rank? You could exercise authority over them and demand that they leave, but they would likely come back and find the house empty. They also may tell seven others where the garbage is, which would result in even greater bondage (see verse 45). The goal is to get rid of the garbage. Repentance and faith in God has been and will continue to be the answer until Christ returns, whether the problem is primarily psychological or primarily spiritual. Submitting to God without resisting the devil could leave someone in bondage. Trying to resist the devil without first submitting to God will prove futile.
Jesus confronted demons, but He didn’t get into any dialogue with them. If we dialogue with demons in another person we are bypassing the victim, who needs to repent and choose the truth. If we dialogue with demons and believe what they say, we will be deceived, because they all speak from their own nature and are all liars (see John 8:44). The Steps to Freedom in Christ is a repentance process that is an encounter with God that doesn’t allow any demons to manifest. It is a ministry of reconciliation that removes the barriers to one’s intimacy with God.
The Church has been commissioned to continue Christ’s ministry of setting captives free and binding up the brokenhearted. To be an effective instrument in His hand, we must be liberated in Christ ourselves and be totally dependent on Him, for apart from Christ we can do nothing.
questions to consider
In Matthew 12, how did Jesus demonstrate that He was the long-awaited Messiah?
What is wrong with ministering to a person only psychologically or only spiritually?
The glory of God is a manifestation of His presence. So what is wrong with letting demons manifest?
Jesus said Satan is the ruler of this world, and Paul said we wrestle not with flesh and blood but spiritual forces. How do you feel about that statement?
What confidence did you get from reading Matthew 12?