Welcome to The Scarlet Scribe: The Gospel of Mark, a fresh, chapter-by-chapter journey through the earliest of the four Gospels. In this series, we focus on the red-letter words of Jesus — what He actually said — and the power these words still carry today. Because when Jesus speaks it isn't just ink - it's impact.

In this overview review episode, we take a step back and think about what we learned about the demonic and the kingdom of darkness from the Gospel of Mark. We look at how the demonic approached Jesus, how they challenged, organized, and tried to derail the Kingdom of God. We look at how the demonic presented, lessons learned on how to deal with the demonic, and even see how the demonic and the political and religious leadership worked together.

We also see how Jesus gave His disciples authority - His authority given to Him by His Father and ours - and how Jesus multiplied His own ministry in each of us. The ministry of deliverance - sometimes called exorcism - isn't an office or special authority that only a certain number of special super-Christians have. The authority comes from Jesus and we are just deputized on His behalf to continue His work of destroying and tearing down the kingdom of darkness. As I John puts it: "Thus was the Son of God manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil." He continues to do so through us TO THIS DAY.

Follow The Scarlet Scribe on X at @whatHesaidinred for updates and reflection. If your church or community seeks to strengthen its safety and security, learn about Protective Ministries for Houses of Worship at porticoprotective.com.

And because an asymmetric age calls for asymmetric ministry, consider supporting Operation Needle Nix — a compassionate outreach designed to help former offenders, survivors of violence or trafficking, and those leaving the occult remove tattoos tied to their past. Visit needlenix.org to get involved.

So, join in as we listen, learn, and walk together through the words of Jesus — one chapter, one red letter at a time. All glory to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — now and forever, to the ages of ages.