Jesus’ authority, as we know, didn’t extend only into the realm of interpretation. It wasn’t just a matter of His understanding of God’s Word (since He is the incarnation of God’s Word) but it was also a matter of His position of power over all life (both evil and God-honoring.) whenever someone with an evil spirit came into the presence of Jesus, it must have been just as intolerable for them (or worse, even) as trying to walk out of a noon movie on a clear, sunny day, and keep your eyes open and pointed toward the sky.

I don’t think we really have any good way to describe what this must have been like. Someone/thing who has completely rejected God, suddenly being thrown into His presence. a being who knows their position and fate being thrust unexpectedly into the presence of the One who will pronounce final judgment on them. pride, loathing & rebellion coupled with fear, subjugation & a complete understanding of what has been lost…it must have been unbearable. this of course explains their reaction when Jesus came too close for comfort.

outbursts, tantrums & fits, pleading and begging and trying just to get away…

if they know, Jesus obviously already knew they were there. the question just becomes, how long could they sit quietly? was He going to destroy them right then and there? was He going to bypass the schedule of their destruction? they just didn’t know. and sometimes the not knowing is unbearable.

i wonder if that’s what it’s like walking into church for the first time as an adult? i have always been at church. born and raised in a Christian, God-fearing household, i haven’t had that experience. I have always been comfortable going to church. even when i did things that i knew were wrong, i knew that i could ask God for forgiveness (with sincerity) and that everything would be okay.

but for people who do not know God, i hope that we can make their introduction to Him so much more pleasant and purposeful. we cannot take away the weight of their sin, and the natural guilt that accompanies it. and honestly, we shouldn’t want to. that is God’s job, and desire. we shouldn’t try to take that away from them, or hide the fact that sin does lead to judgment and consequences.

that guilt is productive. the weight of sin, and the need to respond is a good thing. we just need to make sure that we are helping them come to a proper understanding of it all as ambassadors for Christ.