Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
(B)
January 28, 2024
Text:
Mark 1:21-28
What better demonstration of our
Lord’s divine authority than the casting out of demons? With a mere Word: “Be silent, and come out
of him!” (Mark 1:25; ESV), the deed is done, and the demon must obey. It is a sign. It signifies who Jesus is: This Man is
God. And it signifies what Jesus has
come to do: Rescue us from the devil, plunder his kingdom, destroy all his
works, and finally consign him, along with all demons, and death itself, to
eternal punishment.
The people in the synagogue are
astonished at Jesus’ teaching, because He teaches with authority, and not as
their scribes. Whereas their scribes
must cite other authorities in support of their teaching, Jesus speaks as
God Himself. Because that it who
He is. And when Jesus speaks with
this divine authority, it brings out the demons. Like turning on the light in a rat-infested
kitchen. Jesus’ Word exposes the
vermin. It exposes the source of all the
damage and filth that surrounds us and infects us. Jesus speaks, “And immediately there was
in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit” (v. 23). The light comes on, and the demon is exposed. The text doesn’t say he came in from the
outside. The point is, the man was
there, a regular worshiping member of the Synagogue congregation, and he had a
hidden problem, now exposed by the light of Jesus’ Word… he was possessed by a
demon.
This is why we meet so many demons
in the Gospels. Jesus is on the
scene. And wherever He goes, what is
hidden comes to light. It is not that
the demons weren’t there before. It is
not that they aren’t there now. In fact,
we know them by the damage and filth they leave in their wake. While there is plenty of blame to go around
for all that ails us, including the unbelieving world and our own sinful flesh,
wherever there is sin, wherever there is brokenness, wherever there is pain, or
guilt, or shame, you can be sure the demons have been doing their dirty work.
The devil is real. The demons are real, and we should know
that. Fallen angels, consumed by their
own hatred and lust for revenge. They
want to get back at God by grabbing hold of us.
What do they do? What are their
tactics? In extreme cases, there is what
we call possession, wherein the demon can take control of a person’s body. That was the case with the man in our text. Or there is oppression, or obsession,
slightly less extreme categories, but just as damaging. These things do happen, and if you suspect
such a case, you should talk to your pastor immediately.
But, for the most part, their work
is more subtle. Such that, while we should
know better, we live our lives as though the devil and demons do not
exist. We hide all the evidence, even
from ourselves. We patch over the damage
and sweep the detritus under the rug.
Now, in some sense, there is something almost right about
this. We shouldn’t air our dirty laundry
for all the world to see. And, as C. S.
Lewis says, we shouldn’t give the devil too much attention. Remember, he is a narcissist, and he craves
our attention. But he also knows that
his best work is done under the radar, so as to lower our defenses, to give us
a false sense of security. In the
preface to his Screwtape Letters, Lewis writes, “There are two equal and
opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an
excessive and unhealthy interest in them.
They themselves are equally pleased by both errors.”[1]
So, how does their work usually
manifest among us? They tempt us, to be
sure. Now, they are not omniscient, but
they are very observant. They know our
weaknesses. They read our behavior and
body language. They read our external
circumstances. They know when we are
vulnerable, and likely to fall. They
lie. They know how to make sin
attractive. They lead us to doubt God’s
Word. They lead us to doubt God. And then, when we fall, they accuse. They lead us by the hand into guilt and
shame, not so that we repent, but so that we despair. They are always out to injure, break, kill,
and destroy. Remember, demons cannot
create anything new, and they never fix anything that is broken. They can only bend, pervert, crack, and tear
asunder. False doctrine? That’s them.
It sounds like it should be right, but there is something bent about
it. Sexual sins? Lust?
Pornography? Adultery? That’s them.
Make something right and holy, namely, intimacy and procreation, into
something dirty. Envy, covetousness,
miserliness, greed? That’s them. Bent reactions to God’s providence for
ourselves and for our neighbors. And so
on, and so forth. The demons make you
think they are on your side. In reality,
they are aiming at your death: physical, spiritual, and eternal.
And so, Christ has come! Jesus is Lord, even of the demons. They know it, and shudder (James 2:19). “What have you to do with us, Jesus of
Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God”
(Mark 1:24). Incidentally, what the
demon is probably trying to do in naming the Lord (in addition to just plain
frustrating His ministry), is to get control of Him. It was, and is, a common belief in paganism,
that you can gain control of a deity by naming him or her. That is why Jesus silences the evil spirit
right away, to put that demonic doctrine to rest. But it is true, Jesus has come to
destroy the kingdom and power of the devil and his demons. The Kingdom of God has arrived in the
Person of Jesus to disarm and defeat Satan.
So He goes about healing the sick, cleansing the impure, raising the
dead, and forgiving sins. That is to
say, He goes about undoing the demonic damage, and cleaning up the filth.
That is what Jesus does for us,
isn’t it? He doesn’t leave us in the
devil’s power. That is the great lie the
demons want you to believe… That God is far away in His heaven, and could care
less about you. No. No.
It’s a lie. Don’t believe
it. Jesus comes. He comes to you, in the flesh, just as He
came to those who were stricken and afflicted in His earthly ministry. And He does for you what He did for
them. He gives you eternal healing. He cleanses you. He forgives you. He gives you new life now, in Him. And resurrection of the body is coming. Every Baptism, therefore, is an exorcism. It grabs you out of the devil’s claws, and
claims you for God’s own. It casts out
the evil spirits, that the Holy Spirit may take possession of you. And now, the whole Christian life is a
continual return to that exorcism. It is
a filling of your mind and body and soul with God, with Christ, with all that
is holy, that there be no room for evil spirits. It is a continual cleansing, continual
forgiveness, continual sanctification, the unbreakable presence of the Lord
Jesus Christ, for you and in you. Every
sermon, every Holy Absolution, every Lord’s Supper… Every time you open your
ears to the Scriptures, and your eyes to read them… every encounter with God’s
Word, every application of the Gospel to sinners… it chases the demons away. And, of course, biblical prayer… praying
God’s Word, and on the basis of God’s Word.
Out loud, by the way, so the demons can hear. As Luther says in the Large Catechism,
“Certainly you will not release a stronger incense of other repellant against
the devil than to be engaged by God’s commandments and words, and speak, sing,
or think them [Colossians 3:16].”[2]
For it is Jesus speaking with divine
authority. And this is, after all, the
Seed of the woman who crushes the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15). He does it by His cross and death. The devil cannot have you. Jesus has made the sacrifice of atonement for
your sins. He has purchased you for God
with His own blood. He has undertaken a
mission of rescue. He goes down into
death, and back out again, leading a host of captives in His train (Ps.
68:18). He is risen. He lives.
Exalted to the right hand of the Father.
Ruling all things. The victory is
His. He wins. The devil loses. And the Day is coming soon when the devil
will face a reckoning. On that Day, he,
along with all his works, and all his ways, all his demons, death, and hell,
will suffer eternal destruction in the Lake of Fire. And for us, all that is wrong will be right
again. All our ills will be healed. What is broken will be mended. What is dead, raised to life. Cleansed, purified, healthy, and whole, we
will be with God forever. And He will
wipe away every tear from our eyes (Rev. 7:17; 21:4).
In the meantime, what do you do with
the damage and yuckiness the demons leave around you and all over you? What do you do with the fallenness and
brokenness of everything and everyone, including yourself? You come to the place where Jesus is present…
present in mercy, speaking His authoritative Word. He silences the demons and drives them
out. And He cleans you up and restores
you to life. “O risen Christ, God’s living
Word, To us, we pray, draw near. Come,
speak the truth that cleanses sin With love that conquers fear” (LSB
541:3). Yes. Yes, He answers. And it is so.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.