| Third Sunday in Lent , 2001
Luke 11:14-28 The Devil
During the great persecutions of the early church, the arena was the place where the Christian was most severely tested. Thousands upon tens of thousands of Christians were thrown to their martyrdom there. With blood-thirsty spectators looking on, they were burned, fed to the lions, cut in pieces and so on. But once the persecutions ended and Christianity became established, the place of testing shifted to the deserts. Men traveled up the Nile River to live solitary existences in caves and huts. By withdrawing from society, the monks undertook to struggle against worldly pleasures and desires and their prince. They believed that the desert atmosphere swarmed with demons because the worship of the churches in the cities had driven the demons out of the populated areas into the wilderness.
One of the powerful images that monasticism made popular to the early church was the idea of the monk as a warrior against the Devil. The model of monasticism was Christ himself. As Jesus had withdrawn into the desert to be tempted by Satan, so the monks went likewise, prayed and fasted, and under the protection of their Master struggled against the powers of darkness. When a monk withdrew into the desert, he expected to struggle both physically and morally against hordes of demons.
The demons sometimes sent dreams and hallucinations to frighten the monks but sometimes the demons were actually externally present, exhibiting the sight, sound, and smell of various beings. Taking on the appearance of holy men, they told lies; taking on the forms of giants, wild beasts, and creeping things, they frightened and disgusted. They exuded disgusting odors, and frequently they set up a nerve-shattering racket and din. Sometimes they confused these effects. St. Anthony was once awakened by horrible shrieking noises and the wall of his hut shaking; then the demons would erupt before him in terrifying shapes as "lions, bears, leopards, bulls, serpents, asps, scorpions, and wolves," all threatening Anthony with grating, guttural, howling noises. Saint Hilarion heard babies crying, cattle lowing, women weeping, lions roaring, and the muffled sounds of armies clashing by night; he witnessed a terrible struggle of gladiators before his very eyes, one falling dead at his feet before he realized that the entire event was the mere show of demons. The evil angels would do whatever they could to distract the monk from his contemplation. They danced, laughed, whistled, capered, flatulated, and pranced; sometimes they staged comedies: Pachomius watched tiny demons carefully attach a rope to a leaf and then pretend to strain in a vain effort to budge it. Sometimes physical assaults were recorded. The Devil leaped on Hilarion's back and whipped him; once the Devil and a pack of demons ambushed Anthony, beating and whipping him and leaving him unconscious on the ground. In his old age Anthony used to recount to his younger brothers that he had often fended off the Devil with physical blows.
In our Gospel lesson for today we come to understand the nature of the war between Satan and the kingdom of God. The magnitude and variety of the evil forces are hinted at in the triple formulation, the world, the flesh, and the devil. During the season of Lent the Church calls us to see the seriousness of this battle against the powers of the evil one. Our purpose today is to recognize the scope of Satan's power and work on earth, that we may be alerted of the danger, and engaged in the war.
We will begin at Luke 11:14. (Reads it.) Jesus casts out a demon from a man possessed. The reaction of the onlookers was one of amazement. They had seen impressive proof that Jesus was the promised Messiah of Israel. Matthew's account tells us that a murmur went up from the crowd, "Could this be the Son of David?" Their hopes were rising.
The Pharisees however refused to draw this conclusion. We see that in verse 15. (Reads Luke 11:15.) The Scribes and Pharisees couldn't deny our Lord's supernatural power. They pronounced the verdict that the powers exercised by Christ was the work of Beelzebub. Who was Beelzebub? It depends on which tradition we draw from, but it can either mean the "Lord of the dwelling," "the Lord of dung," or "the Lord of the flies." In the context here, Beelzebub is Satan, "The master-demon, the prince of the devils."
Others again appear to have been in a mid-way position. We see this in verse 16. (Reads it.) They had been impressed by what they had observed Jesus do, but they wouldn't acknowledge Him the messiah until they witnessed another supernatural act. Perhaps they wanted to see fire descend from heaven in the style of Elijah. Theirs was a skeptical, maybe a cynical attitude.
Faith, unbelief, doubt -- here are the attitudes displayed. The first group had faith. We can give them credit for that, but it was more superficial than real. The unbelief of the Pharisees was the result of a blind refusal to face facts. What about the doubters? Their doubt was merely an excuse for evading a decision.
How does Jesus respond to the accusation that He is a mere tool of Satan? We see it in the next verses. (Reads vv. 17-18.) He answers, "If what you say were true, Satan would be destroying his own work. He would be fomenting a civil war among his ranks. The Devil is not so foolish to command one of his own followers to unpossess what he has worked so hard to possess. You are being irrational."
(Reads v. 19.) At that time it was the general idea among the Jews that when a rabbi or other Jew delivered anyone from possession of the devil, it was a sign that God truly worked through him. But now that they see that Jesus is the One that releases unhappy people from demonical powers, they ascribe the act of the Lord to the workings of Satan. But there is a logical problem that Jesus raises. How about their fellow Jews that expel demons? Christ counters, "If you are going to accuse me of being a pawn of Satan, you will have to do the same to your demon-expelling sons. Any judgment against me, is also a judgment against them. And they will then judge you."
Jesus continues to undermine their arguments in the next verses. (Reads vv.20-22.) With this statement, Christ affirms His Messiahship and the arrival of the Messianic kingdom; a kingdom diametrically opposed to Satan's. Here is compelling evidence that the kingdom of God was established during Christ's ministry. "If I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you."
The truth is, Jesus did cast out demons by the Spirit of God. The kingdom of God had come. The very fact that Satan's kingdom was being invaded and his possessions were being carried off by Christ was proof that the kingdom had arrived. Jesus saw His exorcisms and His central battle with Satan as part of His career as a whole. A prior battle had been won. Jesus had already met the prince of the demons in the wilderness and defeated him. Based on the Lord's conquest of Satan in the desert He could say in Luke 10:18: "I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven." Since He had already won a decisive victory in the battle; his exorcisms were the implementation of that victory. He was demonstrating the fact that the kingdom was already in some sense present, and that He was already becoming King.
When Christ died on the Cross, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and took His place at the right hand of the Ancient of Days, that was a sign that Christ the King was the true ruler of heaven and earth. The King would empower the Church Militant by the Holy Spirit to spread His kingdom over the globe. Hence, the arrival of the kingdom of God does not await a future millennium; it began at our Savior's Incarnation. The phrase, "the finger of God" suggests how easily our Redeemer can defeat Satan. By merely lifting a finger.
Some Christians make too much of Satan's strength, almost as if there were two equally powerful, uncreated forces warring in heaven and earth for supremacy of the universe; either one could win. But this notion is the ancient heresy of dualism. It is true that angels and demons are locked in battle, but it is a lopsided war. All Christ has to do is lift a finger and the Devil is dead. Our God created the heavens and the earth. He owns it. Satan is neither omniscient, omnipotent, nor omnipresent. The Devil can only be at one place at a time, and he is bound up like a prisoner. Though Satan is presently enraged and detestable, and can do a lot of harm, he gets away with it only with the Almighty's permission.
(Reads v. 23.) Are there some in Christ's audience who would like to be on the side of both Jesus and His critics? Or on neither side? Is aloofness possible? The answer is clear: "He who isn't with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters." There is no neutrality. This verse emphasizes the impossibility of remaining uninvolved in the conflict of the centuries - the conflict between the Church Militant on earth, and the Satanic kingdom of darkness and evil. Every person is fighting either on the one or on the other side. No one is merely an onlooker. Things may seem blurred and fuzzy for a time, but sooner or later the sharp distinctions appear between the kingdom of God and the opposition.
C. S. Lewis masterfully sets forth the impossibility of neutrality. He writes in Mere Christianity : "taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is heaven; that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state, or the other."
Moving on to verses 24-26. (Reads it.) There are metaphorical and symbolic ways of understanding this passage, but why rule out the literal meaning? According to the text, one demon leaves because it has been defeated. The house can represent the individual Christian, the family, the church, or a nation. In the case of a given individual, Jesus says the demon has gone out of the man. Apparently the believer has gained the victory against demonic temptation and attack. But for some reason the Christian later lets down his guard. He or she has ignored prayer, the Word and Sacraments, and therefore the demon is able to return. This time he brings seven other demons to help out. The passage suggests that the power of the devil's activities has its ups and downs. At times we will struggle with one demon, on other occasions the demons will leave us alone, then during other periods seven demons will wage an all out invasion against us. It is difficult to predict when and how they will come.
What can we do under demonic siege? The weapons of the desert monks are still helpful today. The monks used faith in Christ, the sign of the cross, and the name of Jesus. When you are paralyzed with fear, when you sense the presence of demons, and feel yourself under fire, speak the name of Jesus, drive the demons away with the name of Christ; make the sign of the cross. These are tried and true weapons that have worked down through the ages.
Then let's not forget the means of grace. These form the bulwarks of our faith. What are the means of grace? The sacrament of Holy Communion, fellowship with God's people, Bible-reading and meditation, prayer, and suffering for the cause of Christ. These are the ways in which God the Father fills us with His Holy Spirit, and strengthens us for battle.
It is ironic that during the times of the desert fathers the demons had fled from the cities to the deserts because the cities were filled with churches that lifted up worship to God. The demons couldn't stand it, so they departed. Nowadays the opposite has happened. More than likely, the demons have migrated from the deserts and wilderness areas and are now inhabiting the cities. Our lesson today teaches us the necessity of a Spirit-filled life. Jesus warns against the danger of an empty soul. That is the soul the demons take advantage of. That is the one they desire to inhabit. If your soul is vacant, come to Christ in faith. Come now to the Eucharist. Owing to the assaults of the world, the flesh, and the Devil, you need it. Our God is omnipotent, wise and good. He will guard you and give you the victory against all your enemies. As you feed on the Body and Blood of Christ in faith, the Holy Spirit nourishes and empowers you for the battle. Come to Christ. Return to Sermons |
