Supreme Tests of the Power of Christ
By George B. Starr
In All Things He Conquers in Our Behalf — We May Rest in the Authority of His Decrees In the presence of wind and wave and storm at sea; in the chamber of sickness, contending with the angel of death, and with our loved ones or ourselves in the grip of some deadly malady; or in the known presence of demons or of those possessed by them,—humanity at its best and strongest stands paralyzed and helpless. Not so the Author of Christianity. Jesus came to our little world clothed with all power in heaven and earth, and proved His power by meeting and conquering all man's strongest and deadliest foes. The winds and the waves obeyed His voice, and rested at His “Peace, be still.” Calmly they folded their wave-tossed crests in His presence. The winds knew their Master, and obeyed His will. “And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest Thou not that we perish? And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” Mark 4:37-41. Recognized Their Conqueror
The legions of demons in the man of Gadara whom they had tormented, and whose helplessness they gloried over, immediately recognized their conqueror when in the presence of Jesus. “What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of the most high God?” one of them cried; and when He commanded them to come out of the man, they could go only where He permitted. “And all the devils besought Him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave.” Mark 5:1-20. And the afflicted man, “clothed, and in his right mind,” was commissioned of Jesus to be a missionary to his people. “Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee,” were the words of his loving Deliverer. At another instance of the casting out of a demon, the blessed command came from Jesus, which every demon-possessed soul to-day may have repeated in his behalf, “I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.” Mark 9:25. Blessed deliverance forever—“Enter no more into him”! And the combined forces of evil are powerless to pass that fiat of Jesus, who lives to-day to hold in check their power over every soul who trusts Him as his deliverer. To His disciples Jesus gave this same power. It was to accompany the gospel message of deliverance to the close of time as an essential part. Satan’s captives were to be delivered, and their souls and bodies redeemed. See Mark 6:7, 13; 16:15-20; Matt. 28:18-20; 10:7, 8. Conquers the King of Terrors
And now we come to the supreme test: Has Christianity power over death, the king of terrors, the great slayer of our loved ones, the destroyer of our homes? And again the reply is the emphatic Yes, truly yes, over all manner of disease. “When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” Matt. 8:16, 17. The lepers were cleansed, the palsied hands and limbs restored, the eyes of the blind opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped. The touch of faith checked the deadly malady, and the dead were raised,—the widow’s son, the little maid, and Lazarus, and a multitude later, to prove His words true, “And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:40. “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth.” See John 5:25-29. The sick restored in a thousand homes testified to the power of Jesus, and their happy presence witnessed to His loving ministry in their behalf, and awakened faith in thousands more; and the same is just as true to-day. In every land, in every nation, in unnumbered homes, the witnesses live, made whole physically by this same Jesus, and kept whole by this same power. The gospel “is the power of God unto salvation” to-day, as verily as when Jesus stood upon our earth in the midst of the people; and it is as truly doing things, conquering the unconquerable, saving from sin and sickness to the uttermost, snatching men and women from death and sending them forth to the work of saving others. Those who know its power to the uttermost are in our midst, and rejoice to bear witness to its effectiveness. They are God’s witnesses that Jesus lives; that He is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. These proofs of the gospel’s power were those given to the messengers sent by John to know if Jesus was the one who was to introduce the blessed gospel of deliverance to a captive world: “And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art Thou He that should come? or look we for another? When the men were come unto Him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto Thee, saying, Art Thou He that should come? or look we for another? And in that same hour He cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind He gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me.” Luke 7:19-23.