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So if you were to be asked, name about a half a dozen miracles of Jesus, what six would you come up with in your mind? You’d probably mention his first, the water into wine at the wedding at Cana. You’d mention probably blind being able to see and deaf being able to hear, lame being able to walk even. You’d mention the feeding of the 5,000 probably, and the obvious, raising from the dead, Lazarus and the widow’s son at Nain, and a little girl. But none of those miracles that you named in your mind have anything to do with you. None. You didn’t have barrels of water sitting at your wedding waiting to be turned into wine. None of you are blind who now receive sight. None of you are deaf who now can hear because of Jesus. None of you walk because of Jesus when you could not before. And I know for a fact none of you have raised from the dead.
But… the one miracle that is common to us all, we have seen it and you yourself experienced it, is the driving out of the demons. The most common form of demonic possession is not what you have just heard read to you in the Holy Gospel this morning. That is one phase or facet of demonic possession and it does happen. But it’s not the most common. It’s not the one that you come into contact with on a regular basis. For the most common form of demonic possession is unbelief. And it surrounds you in this world. And each one of us has witnessed the driving out of the demons and unbelief of every single child you’ve seen baptized before your very eyes, including your baptism, when baptized. God took control. The Spirit came in, kicked out demon and inhabited you, not with unbelief, but with faith.
Consider in the baptism. Prior to the baptism, the devil, his works and his ways are renounced and the faith is confessed in which you are being baptized. Unbelief is… It’s a Lutheran Christian sermon. And the only alternative is an unbeliever. And the only alternative is Satan. You know the old saying, nature abhors a vacuum. Satan always fills what God does not. That is to give structure to this morning’s text. Because regardless of how this world appears, there are only two ways: God’s ways and the ways of demons and Satans. And no matter how good the intentions of people around us may be, there are only two kinds of people: an unbeliever or a believer.
Look at how the world handles demonic possessions like in our text. They describe it as some mental retardation, some mental handicap, some out-of-balance human being. Well, that is very true. But the reality that Jesus makes very clear in this text is Satan is at the heart of it. Now, unbelievers, you don’t see them do such things as this, but unbelievers are nevertheless possessed by Satan. Jesus doesn’t mince words with this, even with believers like you and me. You remember Peter made the great confession of faith. “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” he said this. And then just moments later when Jesus told him how he must suffer, die, and rise again, Peter took him aside and said, scoldingly almost, “This shall never be.” And what did Jesus do? He turned and looked Peter square in the eyes and said, “Get behind me, Satan.” Because what Peter was confessing at that time was not from God, but from the evil one.
Thanks be to God, he handles us like he handles Peter, with great love and compassion, nurturing our struggles, confirming us in truth, and doesn’t drive us out, away from his presence as he did these demons here, with whom he handled in a totally different manner than Peter and you. This reality in which we live has only two kinds of spirits, from God or from Satan, and there are no others. Either there are angels and ministering spirits, or there are demons and evil spirits. And that’s all that there are. Science will not confirm this, and it will not explain it to you. This is what God has revealed in his holy word to you and to me. Not for the sake of frightening us, but for the sake of bringing us to see what reality really is.
Because all of our life we’re being fed out there with a different reality than what scripture reveals to us. And what God reveals to us. And how fascinating that of all the miracles that Christ performed, this is the only one with which we can resonate. Because we have been saved from Satan’s grasp. Blind, dead, and enemies of God, you and I were taught and have been taught. Proclaimed from scripture that God reveals. And Satan had us. Whether we were a beautiful little infant in our mother’s arms, or as an adult. Right? Satan had us, and God came to shatter that.
That’s the beauty of this text. This is an amazing text. It reveals a great deal about Satan and about Christ’s power over him and the evil spirits. Now, why this demon storms into the synagogue in such a flamboyant and extravagant fashion, no one knows, but isn’t that Satan’s ways? Yes. In the latter chapters of all the Gospels, when Jesus talks about the end times, he talks about these false prophets coming, doing wonders and signs that amaze so many people with the flamboyancy and the extravagance of these miracles. And yet, that’s not Jesus, is it?
Jesus makes it very clear. Jesus’ ways are quiet. They are not understood by reason and senses. They are believed. That’s why, how could a baptism be driving out a demon so that faith and the Spirit enter in? It doesn’t look any different. That is God’s way. How can bread and wine be the very flesh and blood of the one who drove out the demons in me and drove out the demons in this man in this text and feed me that very flesh and blood which brings life? That’s God’s ways, not Satan’s.
Three things about these demons from this text. First, it’s very clear that the demons, through what they said in this text, they know that their time in this world is limited. They know that there is an end, and they see it and fear it. And they also know they cannot hide from God in the flesh, Jesus. They reveal themselves to him because they cannot hide in his presence. That is comforting for you and I because we know that this world is not empty. The end. And everything that we experience and struggle with and question in this world will come to an end. And that which God has revealed to us through his scripture will be confirmed on that day.
The second. Demons know that the Son of God has come into this world, into his creation, to redeem it. To redeem it. To buy it back. To purchase it with his flesh and blood. And make it his. Because we belong to whom without Christ? Satan. He has come to destroy the works of Satan and all that Satan has poisoned with sin when man chose such a choice in the garden. Finally, demons cannot lie in the presence of God. They can only tell the facts. Oh, they’ll lie to you and me. You’ve heard it. You’ve listened and obeyed it even, just as I… But not to God.
When these are phrased or couched as questions, they’re more statements than questions. When the demons shout out, “Have you come to destroy us?” he’s really saying, “You have come to destroy us. We just don’t know when it’ll be revealed,” just like it’ll be revealed to all people. “You are the Holy One of God,” which is also a true statement. This is our Lord’s work, to drive out all demons from his creation and to ban them to hell once and for all. No longer to ever bother us. Never shall the two meet any longer.
There is that chasm between heaven and hell that scripture talks about through Jesus’ words so clearly. And he comes to destroy all of their damnable works. And you know the worst work of Satan? The worst work of Satan that he glories in? Unbelief. Not trusting in that forgiveness of sins through Christ Jesus. For the very opposite of Satan’s worst and greatest work, unbelief, is Jesus’ greatest work, which is forgiveness and faith. All of you have had that done to you at your baptism. All of you have seen it done to children and adults at their baptisms. This is the only miracle with which we can resonate as human beings today. Because none of us have 5,000 men being fed along with women and children from a few loaves of bread and a few fishes.
But we do know what it’s like to go from darkness to light. From unbelief to faith. From being ridden by Satan to being ridden by God. That is what Christ Jesus came into this world to do. The words that he spoke from the cross are our sure and certain hope that it is done when he said, “It is finished,” it’s complete. This is the gift that he’s given us. Now, isn’t it interesting that after all of this is done, the people do not ask this pointed question, “Who is this?” They would have had shown to them it’s God, their Savior. Instead, because they judge everything according to reason and senses, they only ask, “What is this teaching and with authority?”
Showing forth very clearly the religion of this world, for there are only two religions in this world. Christianity, a religion of grace and forgiveness and mercy, and everything else. Whether it is Islam, Judaism, Shintoism, Taoism, whatever religion it is, it is a religion of actions, works, deeds, posturing. It has nothing to do with the sacrifice of the Creator’s Son, Jesus, who became flesh and blood for you and me. This Jesus is the one who drove out the demons in this morning’s text and in you by a command. His word that he speaks from his mouth which has power. It is the same method that he used to create this world when he said, “Let there be light,” and words brought about events and action. Catastrophic and cataclysmic were they. For where there was nothing, there is something now.
Just as in your bosom there was death and disbelief, so through the words that some pastor spoke over you, which were God’s words, now do you have faith and believe in the one whom God sent. And all they were concerned about was this teaching. Tell me what I got to do. Tell me how I got to do it. Tell me when I got to do it and I’ll do it. To appease whomever I need to appease. Your Jesus says to you, “I have appeased the Father for you.” And in your salvation at your baptism, did I accomplish it as I did in this morning’s text? The authority to forgive sins. That’s what Jesus does to Satan’s work. And it requires no effort on your part. It is what he does to you.
Thanks be to God for such a fantastic and remarkable work that only he has done in you. In his name, amen. The peace of God which passes all understanding. Keep your hearts and your minds on Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen.
