A Dark Day
And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? Acts 19:15
Read Acts 19:11-17
Paul’s objective in Ephesus was to proclaim the Word of God. However, this message was supported with special signs. Verse eleven tells us that God wrought special miracles by the hand of Paul. One of those signs was the exorcising of evil spirits. In those days, some people earned their daily living by using magical incantations. We also read this about the seven sons of a certain Sceva. When they saw that Paul was gaining influence in their area, they also tried to cast out evil spirits by calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus.
Their efforts failed, for the evil spirits knew who the real allies of the Lord were and who were not. They knew whom they must obey. You can be sure that the great Opposer of the powers of darkness certainly knew who the demons were. The Lord Jesus had gained the victory over their leader, Satan. Therefore the evil spirit said: Jesus I know. Moreover, the evil spirit also knew that Paul worked for the Lord Jesus, so when he declared: In the name of Jesus I adjure you depart, they had no choice but to obey. They were obeying the Lord Himself.
In the case before us, the evil spirit had no use for the seven sons of Sceva and their antics. He asked them: Who are you? He knew they were not true followers of the Lord, and as a result they were powerless against the power of darkness and his cohorts.
Thought: Do you realize that the devil knows who belongs to the Lord Jesus and who doesn’t?
Psalter 166:2,3 (based on Psalm 65) Against us sin had battled hard; For help we look to Thee and pray; Thou our transgressions wilt forgive, Yea, Thou wilt take them all away How blest are they whom Thou dost choose To come and in Thy courts abide; Communing in Thy holy house, With good we shall be satisfied.