What has become most striking to me about Jesus' confrontations with demonic powers is this: individual evil spirits may be behind the scenes (whispering through Jesus' disciple Peter or putting thoughts of betrayal into Judas Iscariot's mind), but by and large, Jesus deals with them pretty straightforwardly. His dominant opposition arises not from dirty personal demons crouching in darkness but rather from dirty systems of power and violence operating in powerful people who function in broad daylight. . . . This transpersonal evil can possess, oppress, sicken and drive insane whole nations, religions, and other social networks just as personal demonic spirits possess, oppress, paralyze, and convulse individuals.
— Brian D. McLaren, The Secret Message of Jesus