At the very beginning of His ministry, “the Spirit. . .compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan for forty days” (Mark 1:12-13). The devil tried to tempt Jesus to use His power for His own benefit, but Jesus resisted all his deceitful tricks (Matthew 4:1-11).   Having passed these tests, Jesus then launched His ministry.  As

John declared: “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

Repeatedly, “people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. . .and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons” (Mark 1:32, 34). “Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!” (Mark 3:11). One day in a synagogue, ‘Be quiet, and come out of him! And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him (Mark 1:25-26).

One of the most dramatic confrontations happened on the east bank of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus met the man possessed by a huge multitude of demons, and the man fell down before Jesus and begged Him not to torment him. Jesus cast the demons out, and they entered a herd of two thousand swine that immediately rushed down a steep bank and drowned in the sea (Mark 5:1-20).

READ MARK 5:1-20 AND 9:1-29.

//