God does not have any grandchildren. We cannot ride the spiritual coattails of others into the presence of God. For that matter, Jesus will not be coopted. He is not like the Gumby toy that can be twisted into different configurations. It is never a good idea to try to use Jesus for our own ends. Someone should have told the seven sons of Sceva. It would have saved them some pain.
These sons of a Jewish chief priest noticed that Paul demonstrated power when he ministered and spoke in Jesus’ name. Then they decided to try to use Paul’s relationship with Jesus to enhance their exorcism business. Bad idea. When they used their formula, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out,” they found out. The evil spirit inhabiting the man knew all about Jesus. James says the demons believe in God and tremble. The spirit even knew about Paul, the servant of Jesus. Unfortunately, the spirit also knew that the would-be exorcists didn’t actually know Jesus. Then the possessed man gave them a beating and sent them on their way.
Did you remember this story? What can we learn from their mistake? The only Jesus we can invoke is the Jesus we know for ourselves. Like Paul, we need to know him, the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings. We may fool ourselves and others but the forces of evil in our world are not easily fooled. Deception is their stock and trade. We need to know Jesus on a better than secondhand basis. When we deal with the real challenges of life, Jesus is the only answer. Even the demons know that. Do we know him?
