The world of the first century was filled with paganism. Idolatry and veneration of the dead were common practice in the ancient world since the earliest times of the bible following Genesis 3. The world of the intertestamental time was filled with all kinds of deities: the Roman pantheon, the Greek pantheon, the ancient deities from the history of Israel that came from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Canaan, Moab; pretty much the entire area around the promised land. There were dozens of gods for every aspect of life.

The God of Israel, the one true God called His people out of the idolatry of Egypt which was a culture of the occult, that they would forsake the false gods of Egypt and be a holy nation, a people set apart for Himself. But even after the deliverance, the people returned to idolatry. This was their inclination after having been a part of Egyptian culture for 400 years. And so it was throughout the history of the nation of Israel. They were always surrounded by pagan nations and lured into idolatry and the practices of the occult. These false gods were deceptions driven by ancient fallen, evil entities that led the people away from the Lord and into spiritual darkness, oppression, captivity.

These evil spiritual entities are real as indicated by Jesus in His message to the church at Pergamum (Rev 2:13). In this message, Jesus refers to the “throne of Satan”. In Pergamum at the time, there was a large temple devoted to Zeus. So its logical to deduce that Jesus was equating Zeus with Satan. Here is the point: many, perhaps all of the “gods” of the ancient world and today have real spiritual entities behind them. Lets just say these entities do not have our best interests in mind…

Demon possession and disease were common in the time of Christ. People seemed to recognize this and yet there was little anyone could do about it. There was nowhere the people could turn for spiritual help.

The only godly system, the Jewish temple, was run by the Sanhedrin, composed of Pharisees, Sadducees and chief priests, referred to as a “brood of vipers” by John the Baptist and Jesus because of their arrogance, hypocrisy and their traditions that nullified the Word of God. The temple system had become distorted and as Jesus said, the hearts of these spiritual leaders were far from God, and their doctrines, the teachings of men.

It was against this spiritually dismal backdrop that Messiah came – Jesus Christ. The only public announcement of his advent prior to the start of His ministry was at His birth heralded by angels from heaven to common people in the fields tending sheep. Isn’t that interesting? The birth of the King of kings was not announced to the ruling authorities or the religious leaders, but to shepherds in the fields.

About 30 years go by after that supernatural moment. And then it was time for Jesus to begin His mission.

The ministry of Jesus was for the salvation of mankind but it was a multifaceted mission that included an offensive directed at the forces of darkness in the spiritual realm that held people in oppression and captivity spoken of by Isaiah. It began with 4 specific actions that completed fulfillment of some prophecies and began the fulfillment of other prophecies. The start of His ministry sent a powerful message, not only to the people of Israel, the Jewish leaders and the Gentiles but also to the fallen realm, to include the evil one himself.

What are these things Jesus did to launch His public ministry?

1. Authentication – the baptism by John the Baptist was authentication of Jesus as the Son of God by the Father, together with the Spirit – presumably in front of witnesses: John and his followers, people from the surrounding region (Mat 3:5), the Pharisees and Sadducees (Mat 3:7), and likely, Satan and other demonic entities. The baptism of Jesus was not for repentance (since He lived a sinless life) but a declaration with power that the kingdom of God had arrived. The King had arrived to personally bring the Kingdom. Jesus told a very confused John the Baptist that the baptism was necessary to fulfill all righteousness, most likely a reference to Isaiah 11:1-5. It was all about the public authentication of Jesus as the Son of God and the Spirit of God descending to partner with Jesus in bringing about the Kingdom.

2. Allurement – Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be allured (tempted) by Satan.  After having witnessed the authentication of Jesus as the Son of God, Satan knew the magnitude of the threat against his own kingdom. He employs the same strategy that worked in the garden – an appeal to pride and distortion of God’s Word. However, this is Messiah, the last Adam (1 Cor 15:45) and the result is not the same as in the garden. The first Adam was deceived, the last Adam prevailed in the truth. Jesus uses the correct articulation and understanding of the Word of God as the basis for rejecting temptation. So, in a sense, the success of Satan in the garden with Adam was overturned by his failure in the wilderness with Messiah. As the prophet said, Jesus has from His baptism:

The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

Isaiah 11:2

3. Announcement – after the failure of Satan to derail the ministry of Jesus, Jesus returns to Nazareth to make a “public service announcement”. This announcement occurred in the local synagogue (Jesus had likely been here many times) to the people of Nazareth regarding the purpose of His ministry – as spoken of by the prophet Isaiah (as quoted from Luke 4 below). But the announcement was also to the fallen realm and specifically to the one whom Jesus had just rejected in the wilderness.

18 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,
BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.
HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,
AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,
TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”

Luke 4:18-19

Jesus affirms what happened at the baptism and what the result of His offensive against the kingdom of darkness will be: the oppression and bondage of the people by the kingdom of darkness is over. God’s Kingdom is now brought near and is available through Messiah to those who want freedom. This is the “why” of Jesus’ ministry and is tied directly to the gospel of the Kingdom.

How about you? Do you want freedom?

4. Action – Consider the following prophecy from Isaiah as quoted in the gospel of Matthew:

“THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES — “THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.”

Matthew 4:15-16

In accordance with this prophecy, Jesus goes to one of the darkest places in the region, literally the land in the shadow of the dead – a town called Capernaum, located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. This is only a few miles away from the land of the Bashan, considered by the Canaanites as the entrance to the netherworld. The choice of Capernaum was very specific and deliberate in fulfillment of this prophecy. It was a location literally in proximity to spiritual darkness – the land in the shadow of death, just a few miles away beyond the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

The first miracles of Jesus are healing of disease and casting out demons. The very things that could not be accomplished by the religious leaders, that also kept people in demonic chains, Jesus was doing. The supernatural kingdom of God crushes the demonic chains and people are set free. Not just a few of them. All who came to Jesus were set free.

How about you. Are you free? Think this could happen today? All you gotta do is ask.

So think about this: Jesus defeats Satan in the wilderness, announces what He is going to do against the kingdom of darkness, then travels to a place specifically chosen because it was a land of darkness and demonic activity, and casts out a demon. This was a strong statement against the fallen realm that the Kingdom of Heaven, as brought by Messiah, had arrived and could overpower the domain of darkness. Interestingly, this is the same region where Jesus cast out many demons from just one man (Luke 8:26-31).

• He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” Luke 4:43
• They were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority (Luke 4:32)
• For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out. And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district. (Luke 4:36-37)

Its no wonder people flocked to Jesus. He had answers, he healed people, and had authority over demons.

Here’s the thing: He still has answers, He still heals people, He still has authority over demons, and His message of the Kingdom – the Gospel of Grace, still saves the eternal souls of people. We, the church act under His authority and on His behalf to continue the mission that is supernatural in its actions and supernatural in its message of salvation for all who believe. The Spirit of God that descended upon Jesus at His baptism and upon a small group of disciples in a room at Pentecost is the same Spirit of God that fills every saved person. If you have repented and placed your trust in Christ for salvation you are a saint of the Most High. You have the very same Spirit of God within you.

Too long has the message of the Kingdom and the power of the Kingdom to heal people and set them free from demonic oppression, possession, and deception been separated. Jesus brought both the miracles and the message. To separate them is error. Miracles of deliverance and healing were a statement to the fallen realm that their power to chain people in bondage of disease, infirmity, and deception was over. But the primary message to the people, the gospel of the Kingdom, was salvation in Christ. A salvation that meant we who are saved would one day be resurrected to life – immortality and an inheritance in the fullness of God’s Kingdom. Setting people free from demonic chains by the power of the Name is awesome but this cannot be separated from the message of Christ crucified and raised from the dead.

The atoning death of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection from the dead means all who repent and believe in Him would be categorically and permanently transferred from darkness to light, captivity to freedom, condemnation to forgiveness, and from deception to Truth. The mandate of the Lord spoken of by Isaiah and fulfilled by Jesus continues to this day. The mission was handed to those who follow Jesus. Are we fulfilling it?

Jesus brought His Kingdom near. The Holy Spirit given to the church at Pentecost is still with us – He never left. We must continue to act on behalf of the Savior because this is God’s will – that is the mission He gave us. The church has been off-mission far too long. People are still captive to sin and darkness – still oppressed, deceived and possessed. May we once again reach the multitudes with miracles but may we always follow up with the message of the Kingdom for the salvation of all who believe.

Are you ready? Be courageous and act!