The Archives Devotional Magazine June 2015 | Page 23

Week Four
“HE IS NO FOOL WHO GIVES WHAT HE CANNOT KEEP TO GAIN THAT WHICH HE CANNOT
LOSE.” ―JIM ELLIOT
DAY 1
Jesus left that place, and as he walked along, two blind
men started following him. “Have mercy on us, Son of
David!” they shouted.
When Jesus had gone indoors, the two blind men
came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I
can heal you?”
“Yes, sir!” they answered.
Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “Let it happen,
then, just as you believe!”— and their sight was restored.
Jesus spoke sternly to them, “Don't tell this to anyone!”
But they left and spread the news about Jesus all over that
part of the country.
As the men were leaving, some people brought to
Jesus a man who could not talk because he had a demon.
But as soon as the demon was driven out, the man started
talking, and everyone was amazed. “We have never seen
anything like this in Israel!” they exclaimed.
But the Pharisees said, “It is the chief of the demons
who gives Jesus the power to drive out demons.”
Jesus went around visiting all the towns and villages.
He taught in the synagogues, preached the Good News
about the Kingdom, and healed people with every kind of
disease and sickness. As he saw the crowds, his heart was
filled with pity for them, because they were worried and
helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. So he said to his
disciples, “The harvest is large, but there are few workers
to gather it in. Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will
send out workers to gather in his harvest.”

DAY 2
Jesus called his twelve disciples together
and gave them authority to drive out evil
spirits and to heal every disease and
every sickness. These are the names of
the twelve apostles: first, Simon (called
Peter) and his brother Andrew; James
and his brother John, the sons of
Zebedee; Philip and Bartholomew;
Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector;
James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
Simon the Patriot, and Judas Iscariot,
who betrayed Jesus.
These twelve men were sent out by
Jesus with the following instructions: “Do
not go to any Gentile territory or any
Samaritan towns. Instead, you are to go
to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.
Go and preach, ‘The Kingdom of heaven
is near!’ Heal the sick, bring the dead
back to life, heal those who suffer from
dreaded skin diseases, and drive out
demons. You have received without
paying, so give without being paid. Do
not carry any gold, silver, or copper
money in your pockets; do not carry a
beggar's bag for the trip or an extra shirt
or shoes or a walking stick. Workers
should be given what they need.”

NOTE

Driving Out Demons
For hundreds of years, the people
of Near Eastern society had
believed in evil spirits who cause
harm to people. Usually, people
invented ways to ward the spirits off
by way of amulets, incantations, or
other special items. When Jesus
was born, the belief in the existence
of evil spirits (or demons) was still
common. You can see how his
ability to cast out demons would
have either impressed people
(Jesus as a defensive ward against
evil spirits) or scared them (Jesus as
commander of evil spirits).
Below is an example of an
amulet containing the Hamsa Hand
that was believed to ward off evil.