Matins Devotion: February 19, 2026

Mark 1:14–28

One of my favorite tropes in old movies is the whole “there’s a new sheriff in town” thing that you find in westerns. So a bunch of bandits have overtaken some little town and are terrorizing the poor citizens. But then the hero arrives and some low-level thugs find him in the street or in the saloon to tell him he’s not welcome. This is their terrain, and he’d better git if he knows what’s good for him. But, of course, the hero responds by easily dispatching the villains and showing them that the terrain they stole is not going to remain in their hands. Unlike the weak or corruptible sheriffs before him, he can’t be intimidated or bribed. No, there’s a new sheriff in town. And he has come to set the people free from the bandit’s tyranny.

There is, of course, something profoundly Christian about this old trope. It’s something we see often in the Gospels, including from our reading from Mark this morning. So Jesus appears in the terrain that has been under the power of the devil. He shows up in the land where Satan and his minions have been terrorizing the poor and the lowly. And when this demon finds Jesus in the synagogue, it mockingly calls Him “the Holy One of God.” In all of this, the demon is ultimately saying to our Lord, “what are you doing here? This is our terrain. These are our people to devour and destroy.”

But by casting out the demon with nothing but His words, Jesus makes clear that there’s a new sheriff in town. He’s a prophet unlike the other prophets before him who served and died. He’s a high priest unlike the high priests serving in the temple. He’s a king unlike the kings before who fell into corruption and condemnation. And He proves this all by going to Calvary. With His dying breath, He smashes the skull of Satan underneath His righteous heel. He destroys the devil by forgiving your sins, by covering you in His blood, by giving you victory over the serpent and his vicious thieves. Then, on the third day, your greater prophet, priest, and king rises from the grave and promises you that you are now worthy to live with Him forever in the land where Satan and his thieves will never enter, the land where sorrow and suffering will never be known again. There’s a new sheriff in town. And He will deliver you from evil always.