Pentecost 7 – 3 July 2016 – Year C

Pentecost 7 – 3 July 2016 – Year C

Grace to you and Peace from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 10^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Luke; Verses 1 – 20:

10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. ² And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. ³ Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. ⁴ Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. ⁵ Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ ⁶ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. ⁷ And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. ⁸ Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. ⁹ Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹² I tell you, ^kit will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

¹³ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. ¹⁵ And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.

¹⁶ “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

The Return of the Seventy-Two

¹⁷ The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” ¹⁸ And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

God does not do things the way we expect Him to do them.  If I had God’s ultimate power and His ultimate Good News, I would spell it out in the sky.  I would proclaim it on the lips of the angels above.  I would carve it into the mountains.  If I had God’s resources, I would use every supernatural means to proclaim the Good News.  But I am not God, and God has chosen the opposite way to get out the message.  God has chosen to get His message out through the very natural method of human proclamation.

Last Sunday we learned that Jesus is the one who ^{[Luke 9:51]} set his face to go to Jerusalem.  That means that Jesus had absolutely determined that He was going to Jerusalem to sacrifice Himself for us on the cross.  When the Bible tells us that Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem, that is one more way that the Bible says that Jesus loves us.

As we continue following Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, we learn that Jesus allowed extra time in His journey.  He allowed extra time to minister in the towns and places along the road.  In today’s Gospel, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.  Jesus used seventy-two sinners to prepare people for His coming.  That’s right!  Jesus sent sinners to proclaim His Good News to the people.  We are so used to the idea that sinners proclaim the Word of God that we don’t even think about how strange an idea that is.  Jesus put His most precious Good News into the mouths of wretched sinners.

Now before you start wondering if maybe I am over-stating the case here, ask yourself who Jesus sent out.  Jesus sent out James and John.  Remember that just last week, we heard that James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven on an unsuspecting Samaritan village just because they didn’t want Jesus to pass through their town.  Jesus sent out Peter … you know the one to whom He had to say, “Get behind me, Satan!”  Then there was good old doubting Thomas.

Then, of course, let’s not forget Judas.  Judas … the one who would betray Jesus … the one who would hang himself in despair … that Judas!  He also was one of the disciples that Jesus sent out to prepare the way for His arrival.  Each and every one of these disciples had failed Jesus multiple times.  Each and every one of these disciples would fail Jesus many times again after the events in today’s Gospel.  These are not the men that I would choose to get out the word if I were God.  But then, I am not God.

In spite of the fact that all of these men were sinners … in spite of the fact that we know that at least one of them, Judas, was even a traitor, Jesus still entrusted His message to them.  He even said, “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”  Jesus promised that even though they were sinners, His message would remain intact in their mouths. The truth of the message was the all important focus point for those who heard, the sins of the messengers was a personal matter between them and Jesus.

What is this precious, holy message?  In today’s Gospel, Jesus said, “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’”   This is no ordinary peace.  This is the peace of God that passes all understanding.  This is the peace that Jesus would soon earn when He finished His journey to Jerusalem and kept His appointment with the cross.

Jesus also told them to heal and preach.  “Whenever you enter a town and they receive you … Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”  The Kingdom of God is different from earthly kingdoms.  Here on this earth, we say that someone is a king because he rules a kingdom – the king depends on the kingdom.  When it comes to the Kingdom of God, things are the other way around.  The kingdom of God exists only because Christ the king rules it – the kingdom depends on the king.  When we say that the kingdom of God has come near to you, we are saying that the king has come near to you.  That king is Jesus Christ Himself.

There were great blessings for the people who received these messengers from Jesus:  “Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you.  Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”  They would receive the blessing that we pray for in the Lord’s Prayer.  God’s Kingdom came to them with its blessings.

So far, everything about this mission sounds very positive, but there is also a dark side to this mission.  It begins in the instructions.  Jesus began with a warning, “Behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.”  As wonderful as God’s peace and His kingdom are, there will be some people who will attack you for it.  There will always be people who reject God’s peace and His kingdom.  There will always be those who hate God’s message and His messengers.

Jesus had stern words of judgment for the people who rejected the words of His servants: “Whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’  I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.”  Remember Sodom?  Sodom was the city that God destroyed with fire and brimstone way back in Genesis.  Jesus very clearly states that those who refuse to listen to God’s Word will suffer a judgment worse than Sodom.

We sometimes forget that the coming of Jesus means two very different things depending on how He comes.  When Jesus comes near to you, He comes with grace and every blessing.  When Jesus only comes near, He comes in severe judgment.

You see, Jesus Christ died for the sins of the entire world.  When Jesus Christ hung from the cross and shouted, “It is finished,” He meant it is finished for everybody.  Jesus Christ has earned the forgiveness of sins for every man, woman, and child who ever has or ever will live.  Jesus purchased the forgiveness of sins for all people in all places in all times.

This means that you can walk up to anyone in any place and tell them that you know for a fact that Jesus Christ has earned forgiveness of sins for them.  Think of the worst human beings who ever lived.  Jesus earned forgiveness of sins for them.  Nero burned Rome and blamed it on the Christians, but Jesus earned forgiveness for his sins.  Genghis Khan, Jesus earned forgiveness for him.  The people who carried out the Spanish inquisition, Jesus earned forgiveness for them.  Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Osama Bin Laden, whoever you can name, Jesus earned forgiveness for them.  Even Judas Iscariot, Jesus earned forgiveness for him.

The mystery of God’s Grace is that even though Jesus earned forgiveness for all horrible villains, in human reckoning the odds that they are or will be with the Lord should be extremely low; that however is ‘God’s call’ for only He knows their state of repentance when they breathed their last.

The focus here is on those two little words “to you.”  Jesus earned forgiveness for everyone, but some people reject that forgiveness.  It is not the Lord’s fault that anyone suffers forever.  He has brought His kingdom near.  He has earned forgiveness of sins for everyone.  The Holy Spirit offers that forgiveness through the Gospel to everyone.  The only thing the Holy Spirit can not do is force the Gospel into people hearts and minds.  Some people resist the Holy Spirit and reject the Gospel.  The Kingdom of God has come near them, but not to them.

Dr. Martin Luther’s explanation of the second petition of the Lord’s prayer “Thy kingdom come” helps us to understand.  ‘Whilst the kingdom of God comes without our prayer, of itself; we pray in this petition that it may come to us also.  This is done when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and strive to live a godly life here in time and there in eternity.  We pray in this petition that it may come to us’.

Two little words take the Gospel from objective fact to personal reality.  Those two words become the truth when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word.  The Holy Spirit’s gift of faith makes the difference.  Without that faith, the life of Jesus is just a collection of the objective facts.  With that faith, the life of Jesus Christ is the way of salvation for me … and you.

Two little words can make such a difference.  Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins can add two words to the objective facts.  Listen to the difference this makes.  Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary.  Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary for you.  Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate.  Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate for you.  Jesus died on the cross.  Jesus died on the cross for you.  Jesus rose from the dead.  Jesus rose from the dead for you.  Jesus ascended into heaven.  Jesus ascended into heaven for you.  From there He will come.  From there He will come for you.  Two little words … “for you” … They make all the difference here in time and forever in eternity.  Jesus is for you.   Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Pentecost 6 – 26 June 2016 – Year C

Pentecost 6 – 26 June 2016 – Year C

Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

 

The text for this meditation is written in the 9^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Luke: Verses 51 – 62:

⁵¹ When the days drew near for ^jhim to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. ⁵² And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. ⁵³ But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵ But he turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ And they went on to another village.

⁵⁷ As they were going ^ralong the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ⁵⁹ To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Leave ^tthe dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, ^vbut let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶² Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

The first verse of today’s Gospel is an important turning point in the ministry of Jesus.  It tells us that the time came when Jesus not only taught, but He also focused on getting to Jerusalem.  He focused on Jerusalem because He had an appointment with a cross.

Jesus made this appointment in eternity before He even participated in the creation of the world.  We learn this from the inspired words of Paul in Ephesians, ^{[Ephesians 1:4]} [God] chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.  He also wrote to a young pastor named Timothy and said, ^{[2 Timothy 1:9]} [God] saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.  In addition, he began a letter to another young pastor named Titus with these words: ^{[Titus 1:1–3]} Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.  These Bible passages and others like them tell us that the Son of God made His appointment with the cross before the creation of the world.  Indeed, God made the promise to save us before He even created time itself.

The fact that God already had a plan of salvation in place reminds us once again that God knew we would sin before He even made us.  This means that God wasn’t surprised when Adam and Eve sinned in Eden.  The plan for saving Adam, Eve, and all humanity from sin was already at work.  The Son of God had already made His appointment with the cross.  So it is that the Son of God could speak to the serpent and say, ^{[Genesis 3:15]} “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”  He could say this because He had already made His appointment with the cross.  The entire Old Testament points forward to the time when the Son of God kept His appointment with the cross.

His appointment with the cross determined when the Son of God would take up His humanity.  This also happened right on schedule as the Bible says: ^{[Galatians 4:4–5]} When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.  The Son of God took on human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary at exactly the right time, and when He was born, they named Him Jesus.  Everything in Jesus’ life happened at exactly the right time so that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, would keep that appointment with the cross.

Eventually, that appointment drew near and Jesus had to focus on His journey from Galilee to that cross in Jerusalem.  As the beginning of today’s Gospel says, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.”  That explains the determination in today’s Gospel.  If you will follow Jesus, now is the time.  There is no time to deal with the things of this world.  Now is the time to proclaim the Kingdom of God.  Now is the time to follow Jesus.  Later may be too late.  The teaching and the healing will go on during the journey, but the main goal of the journey is keeping the appointment with the cross.

When Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem, He intended to go to Jerusalem straight south through Samaria.  He sent disciples ahead to make arrangements for the trip, but the Samaritans had a problem with people who were traveling to Passover in Jerusalem.  The Jews treated the Samaritans with a certain amount of arrogance and disdain, and the Samaritans got even by being uncooperative and inhospitable.  They made it fairly clear that Jesus and His disciples were not welcome.  They saw Jesus as just another Passover pilgrim who was trying to take a shortcut across their land.

James and John were upset with this village and they demonstrated their anger by suggesting that this village deserved destruction by divine fire from heaven.  Once again, the disciples demonstrate their lack of understanding of Jesus and His teachings.  Once again, Jesus had to rebuke them.  (By the way, it was probably incidents like this that caused Jesus to give these two disciples the nickname “Sons of Thunder.”)

This is whole point of Jesus’ appointment with the cross.  He was going to the cross so that we do not have to endure the fire of God’s punishment.

As we confess in our regular worship sertvice, we are unworthy sinners.  We do not deserve any of the blessings God gives to us.  Instead, our sins have truly earned us the fire that James and John wanted to call down on the Samaritan village.  We not only deserve punishment here on earth, but we also deserve the eternal punishment of hell.  Because of our sin, God has every right to pour His wrath out on all humanity.  The Samaritan village deserved the wrath of God.  James and John deserved the wrath of God.  We also deserve the wrath of God.

Jesus kept His appointment with the cross so that we will not get what we deserve.  Just as Jesus had mercy on the Samaritan village and on James and John, He also has mercy on us.  Jesus kept His appointment with the cross so that He could endure the wrath of God in our place.

Jesus lived a perfect, sinless, innocent life.  Never the less, He endured the emotional, mental, and physical anguish that only a sinner deserves.  He endured unjust trials, torture of many varieties, and then death on a cross.  As He hung on the cross, He endured the greatest torture of all.  The only clue we have to the depth of that torture is His cry of dereliction, as He ^{[Matthew 27:46]} cried out with a loud voice, saying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  His appointment with the cross was also an appointment with the forsakenness of God the Father … a forsakenness that we cannot understand, but can only believe.  In this forsakenness lay all the fire of God’s wrath against our sin.  In this forsakenness Jesus endured God’s wrath so that we may live in God’s eternal blessing.

Jesus had another appointment in Jerusalem.  He had an appointment with an empty tomb … an appointment with the resurrection of His dead body into a body of immortal life.  His resurrection is the ultimate sign that He is our saviour … that when He kept His appointment with the cross, He earned salvation for all humanity.  His resurrection offers resurrection and eternal life to all people in all times and places.  He earned resurrection and eternal life when He kept His appointment with the cross, and He certified that resurrection and eternal life with His own resurrection from the dead.

The Holy Spirit now works to distribute the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation that Jesus earned when He kept His appointment with the cross.  The Holy Spirit makes Christ’s gifts available to all people.  In fact, there is really only one way to lose out on those gifts.  The only way to lose out on those gifts is to reject them … to reject the work of the Holy Spirit as He offers these gifts to you.  This is the one and only sin that cannot be forgiven.  It cannot be forgiven because it is the sin of rejecting God’s forgiveness.

Our Lord, Jesus Christ has one more appointment to keep.  He has promised that He will visibly return on the Last Day.  On that day, He will raise all the dead to immortality.  Those who rejected His gifts will be swept away to eternal punishment.  Those who are left behind will enter with Him into eternal blessing and joy.

God ^{[2 Corinthians 6:2]} says, “In a favourable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”  Behold, now is the favourable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.  Do not reject Christ’s gifts.  Do not struggle against the work of the Holy Spirit.  Instead, when the Holy Spirit places you in Christ by faith, simply remain there. ^{[Colossians 3:16]} Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly that you may receive that eternal blessings that Jesus Christ earned for you when He kept His appointment with the cross.  Amen

The grace and love of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Pentecost 5 – 19 June 2016 – Year C

Pentecost 5 – 19 June 2016 – Year C

Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The reading for this meditation is written in the 8^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Luke: Verses 26 – 39:

²⁶ Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ When Jesus³ had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” ²⁹ For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) ³⁰ Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. ³¹ And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. ³² Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. ³³ Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

³⁴ When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. ³⁵ Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. ³⁶ And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed⁴ man had been healed. ³⁷ Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. ³⁸ The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

Today’s Gospel demonstrates Jesus’ power over demons.  This is part of the teaching of the Bible that Jesus is God and therefore has power over everything.  In progressive reading of the four Gospels we have heard that Jesus has power over sickness, injury, the weather, even death.  Today’s account of Jesus driving out the demons is another demonstration of His power over all things.

Jesus and His disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee into an area that was more heavily populated with Gentiles.  No sooner did they set foot on the shore than a demon-possessed man challenged them.  This particular demon possession was fairly spectacular.  The man lived among the dead, he wore no clothes, and the locals were unable to restrain him even with chains.

Jesus showed His power over the demons by conversing with them.  Although the demons are the sworn enemies of God, they must answer His questions.  They have no choice.  Their answer indicates the strength of the evil forces in this man.  A legion was an army force numbering in the thousands, but it would have made no difference if there had been a billion in this man.  Jesus is Lord over all and even the demons must obey Him.

When the Lord commanded them to leave, they had no choice but to leave.  The only question was where to go.  The demons asked to inhabit a nearby herd of pigs.  Even then they needed Jesus’ permission.  The demons entered the pigs and the pigs promptly stampeded into the lake and drowned.  The Bible does not tell us what happened to the demons after the pigs drowned.

The swine-herdsmen had a totally predictable response to the situation.  They fled into a nearby city for backup.  When the people heard the news they went out to check on Jesus.  The scene gives us more insight into the difference between people who are saved and people who are still demon possessed.

The man who was now saved was sitting at Jesus feet.  This is a figure of speech that meant he was listening as Jesus taught.  The round trip to the city probably took a few hours, so the man who was now free of demons had several hours of tuition with Jesus.  He could not get enough of Jesus.  He wanted to go with Him when He returned across the lake.

On the other hand, the other people were terrified of Jesus.  They asked Him to leave.  They were polite about it, but they still saw Jesus as a problem … not as a saviour.

Jesus complied with the people’s wishes.  He left, but He left a missionary behind.  The man who was now demon free wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.”  When Jesus arrived, this man was full of demons.  When Jesus left, this man was a missionary to the people on the east side of the Sea of Galilee.

Whenever the topic of demons comes up, our imaginations tend to go into overdrive.  The culture in which we live has come up with all kinds of speculations about demons and most of them are wrong.

The Bible teaches us that demons were once angels.  God created them sometime during the six days of creation along with all the other angels.  Soon after the creation a group of angels rebelled against God.  God immediately condemned these evil angels to an eternity of punishment.  The Bible tells that God created hell specifically for these evil angels (_{Isaiah 14: 12-15; Ezekiel 28: 12-19; Revelation 20: 10}).  The Bible refers to these evil angels by several names: fallen angels, unclean spirits, evil spirits, demons, and so forth.

Since demons are angels, they are spiritual beings, that is, they do not have bodies.  They are not subject to the laws of the physical universe.  Since demons are fallen angels, they are enemies of God.

The problem with being an enemy of God is that God is All-knowing, All-Powerful, unlimited by time and space, totally unlimited.  Even though the demons are fallen, they are still God’s creatures.  They cannot win against God in a direct attack.  They must find some other way to express their hatred of God.  The battlefield in their war against God is here among the human race … yes my friends – that’s us!

The demons’ main weapon is deception as Jesus said, ^{[John 8:44b]} When [the devil] lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  It wouldn’t be much of a temptation if the devil appeared to us dressed in red body armour with horns and a pitchfork, and smelled like smoke.  Demons present temptations in ways that seem to make sense … ways that seem like the right thing to do … ways that have a certain appeal.  As the Apostle Paul wrote, ^{[2 Corinthians 11:14b]} Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

In Eden, the devil used a serpent to tempt Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit.  Mankind fell to that temptation.  From that time on, every human being inherits a sinful nature at conception as the Holy Spirit inspired David to write, ^{[Psalm 51:5]} “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”  The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write, ^{[Romans 8:7–8]} “The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Friends in Christ, the Word of God teaches us that we are all conceived and born sinful and are under the power of the devil until Christ claims us as His own.  We would be lost forever unless delivered from sin, death, and everlasting condemnation. _{(Ps 51:5; John 15:14; Ps 58:3; Job 14:1-4; Romans 5:14; Isaiah 53:6)}  Because we humans pass our sinful nature down from generation to generation, demon possession is our natural state.  We are by nature sinful and unclean.  Instead of loving God with all our mind, soul, and strength, we love ourselves.  Every human being by nature is terrified of God, resists him, and fears him.  Our lives apart from God show that we are ^{[Isaiah 65:2]} a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following [our] own devices.  The devil’s control over us at birth may not be as spectacular as the man in today’s Gospel, but we all enter this world at odds with God and slaves to sin.

Since demons deal in deception, they adapt their lies to the culture of any given time and place.  Science and rationalism has had a profound effect on our culture.  Many in our culture don’t even believe demons exist.

This suits the demons just fine.  It doesn’t bother them one bit if we don’t believe in them.  Demons don’t care if the crime rate goes down.  They don’t care if charitable donations go up.  They don’t care if people give each other a helping hand.  They don’t care there is a cure for every disease.  They don’t care if we are one, great big, happy family, as long as we are one, great big, happy family on the broad road to hell.

The demons don’t even care if there are churches on every corner as long as the churches don’t talk about sin and its punishment or Jesus and His salvation.  The demons don’t even care if we talk about god as long as that god is not the god who took on human flesh and died for our salvation.  The demons don’t even care if we talk about Jesus as long as that Jesus is just a great example or just a great moral teacher or just a great liberator or just a great unifier.  The only God – the only Jesus that the devil hates is the Jesus who died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins and then rose from the dead in order to certify His victory over sin, death, and the devil.

There is only one person who defeated the devil.  That person is Jesus Christ, crucified for the forgiveness of all sins and raised from the dead.  That person and that person alone is the only person who endured every temptation that the devil could throw His way and yet, never sinned.  That person and that person alone endured the abandonment to hell for us as He died on a cross for our sins.  Jesus Christ – crucified for the forgiveness of all sins and raised from the dead – the only person to defeat the devil – that same Jesus Christ offers His victory to us.

Demons don’t always identify themselves by driving pigs into a lake.  Sometimes they inhabit people who we trust and who seem warm and friendly.  They inhabit people who look respectable on the outside and seem very nice.  Just like dangerous strangers groom children on social media, demon possessed people tempt us with all the things we like.  It is their goal to make us feel very comfortable and even righteous while traveling the path to hell.

The real lesson that we can take away from today’s Gospel is that Jesus is the one who exposes demons and deals with them.  The same Jesus Christ who demonstrated His power over demons in today’s Gospel has defeated the devil once and for all on the cross.  We can trust in Him. We can trust in His holy life, His innocent suffering and death, His resurrection from the dead and His ascension into heaven that we may be forgiven and have eternal salvation.  He is the only one who can protect us from the attacks of the devil.  What a wonderful Saviour we have in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead: How blessed we are to be a baptised child of a God who’s Holy Trinity embraces us in every way with a grace and love that will prevail and protect us from all temptation and harm forever. Amen.

The peace and love of our great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen