Protocol

And Jesus spoke seriously but respectfully to him, adding a penalty (or: Jesus respectfully charged it; Jesus appraised him and assessed a penalty, assigning a punishment upon him; or: Jesus strongly speaks to him in reproof {censure, reprimand or strict enjoining}, in saying, "Be muzzled (= be silent) and go (or: come) forth out of the midst of him at once." Mark 1:25 The New Testament, Jonathan Mitchell (emphasis mine).

Then, upon taking a place over her, He spoke a respectful directive to the fever, and it released her and flowed away (or: abandoned her). Luke 4:39 The New Testament, Jonathan Mitchell (emphasis mine).

Jesus showed respect to demons and sickness? Outrageous! Maybe not.

Apparently Jesus felt no need to break out in a sweat, scream, hoop, holler or perform gymnastics when dealing with His enemy. By following protocol these were unnecessary.

God's kingdom has protocols, something most of us in the West neither understand nor appreciate. The two instances cited above aren't the only times that Kingdom operational procedures appear opposed to conventional thinking.

A dispute arose between Michael the arch angel and the devil concerning the disposition of Moses' body. According to Ezekiel 28:14 the devil was, "anointed as a guardian cherub..." Outranked, Michael followed proper procedure, stood down, and placed the fate of the fallen angel in the hands of God. "The Lord rebuke you."  Jude 8.

According to the Mitchell translation this phrase in Jude can have both positive and negative connotations. Taken from the Greek word epi (upon) timao (to hold in respect, to honor, to value or to award), this phrase could be interpreted "The Lord (Yahweh) might hold you in high honor (or: set a value upon you; put respect upon you; award you)." On the other hand it can mean to assess a penalty upon, to chide, to respectfully reprove or admonish.

In the first two chapters of Job there are two occasions where the angels are required to present themselves before God, and Satan was included. This might ruffle some theological feathers but it's kingdom protocol. First, the devil is still under God's authority and ruler ship. If God says, "Jump!" the devil has to ask, "How high?" Second, it wasn't uncommon for a defeated king to be afforded a position with a level of respect in the court of his conqueror. Check it out for yourself, it's in the bible.

There's a lesson here. Although man was created as a higher ranking spiritual being than any angel, we would be wise to adhere to kingdom protocol. Jesus did.

Have you noticed that neither Jesus nor any of the disciples ever bound the devil? Rebuking and commanding one (or more) to leave isn't binding. Only Jesus has the keys to hell, not us. If a devil/demon is to be sent there it's His call, not ours. When it does come time for the devil to be bound, Revelation tells us that an ordinary angel will be assigned to that task at the direction of and in the timing of God.

I'm not suggesting that we feel sorry for the devil nor back off from dealing with him with God's direction and permission. We may wish to reconsider our approach and follow Jesus' example. We may not like nor understand Kingdom protocol, but as mature sons of God we must behave accordingly.

How about you? If you are placed in the position of having to reverse you enemy's impact on a situation, how should you proceed? Describe a "serious but respectful" confrontation with the devil. Can you build yourself up in the reality of who you are as a son of God beforehand so that operating in Kingdom protocol becomes your second nature? Follow the rules and success will be the result.