“And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.” (Mark 1:27)
As Jesus began His ministry He taught with authority. What that means is probably that He must have preached with no effort and demonstrated a knowledge of God’s Word the likes of which they had never seen even from the most learned of the Jewish scribes who were supposed to know the Law and the Scriptures intimately. And it amazed them for Jesus had no reputation as a scholar or teacher.
What was even more amazing was Jesus’ encounter with the demon-possessed man. Unlike the Jews, the demon apparently realized who Jesus was and feared that his time was up. Jesus knew that it was not yet time to deal decisively with Satan and his demons. That would come some time later when Jesus went to the cross. But for now He merely cast the demon out, demonstrating that He had absolute authority and power over Satan. He also set the whole tone for His ministry, that He had come to free us all from the power of sin and Satan.
We note that Jesus’ disciples were there with Him when He did these things. Jesus was allowing to to observe His methods and ministry so that they would know how to do the business of the Kingdom of God, how to do what He was doing. The authority and power they would have was from him by the presence of His Spirit. And we who are His disciples today have the same authority to preach the word and break the bonds that hold people enslaved to sin and Satan. Maybe you do not think you are up to the task. We are not, but we have the indwelling Holy Spirit guiding and directing us so we need not fear what we will have to say or do or even what the devil might hurl at us.