THREE: Master of the supernatural universe 

I want to reflect a bit in this blog about how Jesus was master of the supernatural universe. I will deal specifically with the ‘spiritual’ universe in the next blog, (ie sin), so this is about the supernatural.

I grew up in the UK and to be totally honest, other than the odd-looking fortune teller here and there and some occasional pop up physic fair’s, the supernatural stuff just wasn’t something that was obvious.

Perhaps the UK culture doesn’t really provide a lot of space for this either so it is somewhat unseen. We heard about spiritual battles in church but the supernatural element was all a bit mysterious, so it just got avoided.

In Jesus’ culture this ‘supernatural’ awareness seemed to be far more accepted. If someone was thrown to the ground convulsing and speaking out in a shriek it didn’t seem to phase people too much. The bible records lots of supernatural stuff where we see a glimpse of it’s negative impacts in the lives of people demonised.

Other cultures and countries today are perhaps more aligned to the culture we see back in Jesus’ time. In African countries these practices are far more common-place and when I was in Brazil I was certainly exposed to this stuff first hand.

Have a read of the entire passage in your bible as I am only quoting a small bit here:
Matthew 8: 28-34
What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted (the evil spirits). “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

“Before Jesus has even said anything his absolute authority over the supernatural universe has been seen”

So, the point of this blog is to say that even within this mysterious supernatural world, Jesus is clearly seen to have all authority, absolute authority in fact! The bible doesn’t pull its punches either on this stuff, it calls these men (or man) demonised, the community had abandoned hope for them and they lived in isolation. Before Jesus has (in some accounts) even said anything his absolute authority over the supernatural universe has been seen, then he orders the demons to leave. Which they had to do, it wasn’t a choice!

This isn’t the only place where you can read about Jesus showing to all those around and the person or people involved that the kingdom of God has come and Jesus has all authority. Even authority over the supernatural world. Amazing right? This is why Jesus has overcome, he has all authority, he has overcome this world and we can trust him, really trust him!

Photo Credit: Josh Marshall