Excerpt from “The Holy One Called Isa,” by Pastor Ward Clinton

1:33  And all the city was gathered together at the door.

1:34  And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.

They knew and understood Him to be the Messiah, the one true and holy Messiah; Isa, Al-Masih, is kalimat-Allah and wadjih according to the Quran and for that reason they were powerless against Isa.

Many that were possessed with devils – Dr. Lightfoot gives two sound reasons why Judea, in our Lord’s time, abounded with demoniacs. First, Because they were then advanced to the very height of impiety. See what Josephus, their own historian, says of them: There was not (said he) a nation under heaven more wicked than they were. See on Rom_1:1 (note). Secondly, Because they were then strongly addicted to magic, and so, as it were, invited evil spirits to be familiar with them. It seems strange to find men at this distance of time questioning the truth of that which neither scribes nor Pharisees then doubted; nor did they ever object against the pretensions of Christ and his apostles to cast them out. And, if the whole business of demonism had been only a vulgar error, (as “wise” men now tell us), what a fine opportunity had the “wise” men then, to unmask the whole matter, and thus pour contempt on the pretensions of our blessed Lord and his followers, who held it to be one proof of their Divine mission, that demons were subject to them! – Adam Clarke

It has been said, “Build a better mousetrap and the public will beat a path to your doorstep even if you live in the wilderness.”  Unfortunately the crowds were only coming because they wanted something; unfortunately the crowds only thought they were coming to see a wondrous physician; fortunately the crowds were coming.

Sadly, for one prayer that goes up to God in days of prosperity ten thousand go up in times of adversity.  Many a man who has never prayed when the sun was shining begins to pray when the cold winds come.  So many people regard religion as belonging “to the ambulance corps and not to the firing-line of life.”  Therefore religion, to them, is merely a crisis affair.  Only when life has got into a mess do they begin to remember God but it is in the sunshine that we need to polish the communication lines so that when the darkness settles over us we don’t find ourselves trying to figure out how to establish a connection.  God is not someone to be sought only in the day of misfortune; He is someone to be loved and remembered every day of our lives.  Although the recognition of one’s failure to come to Him during the sunny time should not be allowed to hinder the seeking of Him in the dark time – it is just so much better, so much wiser, and so much safer to remember Him in the sunny time when one may be assured of finding Him.