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Sermon for Oculi – Lent 3
Luke 11:14-28 + Exodus 8:16-24 + Ephesians 5:1-9
Demons are real. And they are evil. And they are dangerous. Men are wicked enough by birth, all on their own, sinful and corrupt enough, evil enough to practice every kind of wickedness imaginable. But add to that the wickedness and the power of those fallen spirit creatures we call “demons,” ruled by the chief demon himself, God’s enemy, the devil – how can God’s children survive?
They almost didn’t back when the nation of Israel was enslaved and mistreated by wicked Pharaoh and the Egyptian people. It seemed impossible for God’s people Israel to ever break free out of their slavery. How could they possibly stand against the ruler of Egypt with all his armies and all his power? How could they resist him when he had demons on his side? Even when God sent Moses to bring them out of slavery through those impressive signs and wonders and miracles, by those terrible plagues that God sent against Egypt, there were demons at work. Moses threw down his staff and it became a snake, but the magicians of Pharaoh did the same things. The first two plagues – of water turned to blood, of calling up frogs to infest the land – the magicians were able to replicate those plagues. Now, there are only two sources of supernatural power – either God or the demons. God was working through Moses. The demons were working through Pharaoh’s magicians.
There were demons at work at the time of Christ. There were demons at work behind the scenes, stirring up a powerful opposition to the Word and work and person of Christ. And there were demons at work tormenting people’s bodies, too, inflicting all sorts of pain and maladies, like the muteness and blindness (as Matthew tells us) of the man in the Gospel.
There are demons at work today, make no mistake. The demons are right now trying to bring as much of hell up onto this earth as they possibly can. And that doesn’t just mean in the violence and the moral decay of our society, which is, by now, almost complete. Because the demons already have dominion over the unbelieving world. Everyone who is not reborn of water and the Spirit through Holy Baptism and faith in Christ is still a child of the devil and a subject of his kingdom. It’s no triumph for the demons when unbelievers act like unbelievers.
But they score a great victory when they can entice Christians to act like sons of the devil. The demons would have no one imitating God, as Paul encouraged the Ephesians to do. They would have no one walking in love as dearly loved children. Instead, there are demons at work today, targeting Christians in all kinds of ways, confusing the doctrine of Christ with all sorts of demonic doctrines, creating animosity and divisions right in the midst of Christian congregations and synods, leading Christians back into those willful sins that make it impossible for faith to survive – all for the purpose of bringing us back out of God’s kingdom into the devil’s kingdom, and stopping the victorious march of the Gospel through the world. There are demons at work today, whether you take notice of them or not.
Pay attention to the Gospel. Only Jesus can help against the demons.
The demons seemed to be winning at the time of Moses, back in Egypt, until the third plague struck. When God told Moses to call the plague of gnats against the land of Egypt, the magicians tried, but were unable to reproduce that plague through their secret arts. The demons couldn’t help them anymore. They were defeated. And so the magicians knew, Moses is being helped by One who is more powerful than the demons. “This is the finger of God!” they told Pharaoh.
So, too, at the time of Jesus, the demons seemed to be winning, tormenting the people of Israel with false comfort, false hope, false trust in the Law of Moses for their salvation, or on the other side, the demons were torturing people with despair and hopelessness. They were also tormenting people physically.
Until Jesus came and started doing what no one else could do, freeing people from demonic control, casting out demons one after another. Jesus never met a demon he couldn’t cast out with a word.
That amazed some people. Finally! Someone more powerful than the demons had come! Finally the Lord had come to help his people.
But it bothered others. It bothered them because they hated Jesus’ preaching. They hated what he said. They didn’t believe he came from God. They didn’t want his salvation. So they saw his power over the demons, and instead of interpreting it as God coming to help his people, they accused Jesus of being in cahoots with Beelzebul, the “chief fly” who was lord over the flies – sort of a Jewish term to mock the devil.
But Satan doesn’t cast out Satan, Jesus showed them. If the devil’s kingdom were divided against itself, it would soon self-destruct and God wouldn’t even have to bother saving anyone out of it. If the devil casts out the devil, then the Christ might as well not even bother coming.
But the devil isn’t divided against himself, and man cannot save himself out of the devil’s kingdom and the devil’s power. His kingdom is a strong kingdom and he has the vast majority of mankind as his prisoners and as his loyal subjects. And he has a whole host of demons as his loyal warriors. Mankind doesn’t stand a chance against the devil’s kingdom.
Unless… what if someone stronger came? What if someone came who could fight against the devil and his demons and defeat them? Then there could be freedom for those who were trapped in the devil’s kingdom. Then there could be hope and future in God’s kingdom. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. The finger of God showed itself when God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt. The finger of God showed itself again when Jesus came to rescue sinners out of slavery to sin, death, and the devil. Only Jesus can help against the demons.
You want to be on the right side in this conflict. You want to be with Jesus, not against Jesus. Because while the devil’s kingdom will always appear to prosper on this earth, it’s those who enter Christ’s kingdom by faith in him who are the sons of God, the saints of God, and their victory will be revealed when Christ comes again.
And to be “with Jesus” doesn’t just mean to think nice thoughts about him once in awhile. To be “with Jesus” means to hate sin. It means to believe what he says, that you’re a sinner who needs his help, his divine help as the Son of God and the Son of Man. You need the help of his righteousness and his blood shed on the cross. You need the help of Jesus’ forgiveness against the demons, because you’re not strong enough to take them on. You have no strength at all. But he does! And he fights for you.
Satan has a strong grip on this world, but the Son of God has defeated him and defeats him still. The devil has no power over the Son of Man, because the Son of Man never once listened to the devil, never once gave into the devil. The Son of Man entered the devil’s stronghold and defeated him by shedding his blood on the cross and removing forever the devil’s right to condemn those who trust in Christ.
Jesus redeemed you from the demons by his death and resurrection. Jesus claimed you and rescued you from the demons in Holy Baptism. And you need him still!
Because even though the Gospel of Jesus has cast out the demons and brought you into the Kingdom of your dear Father, they do not rest, as Jesus warns us in the Gospel. They wander about for awhile, and then come back to see if there is room for them in the heart from which they were once cast out, and if they find a place, they make life many times more miserable than before.
What is the solution? Again, only Jesus can help against the demons. “Blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it!” The Word of God is your God-given defense against the demons. The Word of God is what drove them away 2000 years ago, and the Word of God is still what drives them away. And you have that Word preached to you. You have that Word available to you in your home. You have it placed into your mouth and poured down your throat.
Don’t imagine for a moment that you’re strong enough to ward off the demons without it. Because they are everywhere. The devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Understand that, wherever there is a child of God, wherever the forgiveness of sins for the sake of Christ is being proclaimed, wherever the Sacraments of Christ are being administered in accordance with his institution, there the demons will be constantly knocking at the door, trying to get back in. There are demons at work in every form of lovelessness, pitting Christians against one another. Do you think church is a safe place? The only “safe” place is if you’re still trapped in the devil’s kingdom. There he’s not fighting to get you. He’s already got you. So understand what’s going on when everything in your life seems to be pushing the Word of God and prayer and piety onto the back burner. Understand what’s going on when discord and strife erupt in our midst, when anger and bitterness are allowed to fester and hard feelings are allowed to simmer. It’s the demons knocking at the door.
All of these attacks you should expect in a gathering of Christians. All of these attacks you should expect to find in your life. But “we are not ignorant of his schemes.” We know this is how the devil works. So let us turn to Christ for help! Pray! Hold onto the Word of God and keep it close. Recognize the demonic influences among us. Live each day in humble repentance and faith in the Son of God, and then, as dearly loved children, walk in love with one another, even when your fellow Christian doesn’t love you back. The demons are at work, but there is a Savior from the demons whose name is Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can help against the demons. His help is strong. His help is sure and certain for all who call upon him. Amen.
