Spirits, Demons, and Jesus the Stronger Man
Luke 11:14-28
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
St. Luke 11:16-20 “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub. 19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. 20 But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord… C.S. Lewis once observed that when it comes to the Devil, there are two mistakes we can make. One is thinking too much of him, and the other is not thinking enough about him. Some people conceive of the devil as being almost equal with God, when in fact he is merely a fallen angel – a very powerful and utterly evil angel, to be sure – but a creature nonetheless.
Many people become terribly frightened of the devil and forget that his rebellion has been crushed under the heel of Jesus, who died and rose again in victory over him. However, others don’t give the devil any thought at all. They think of Satan as the stuff of fairy tales, at best a figure who is only symbolic of evil, but not a literal being. They forget that the devil’s goal now is to lure people away from safe refuge in Christ. And if Satan can make people think of him as nothing real, like a Halloween caricature, all the better.
But there is a third mistake we can make which, in a way, combines these first two mistakes, and it is something even many Christians do. Believers should know that there is more going on than meets the eye; there is a spiritual realm beyond the simple grasp of our human senses. But too often, instead of listening to God’s Word on this subject, we embrace all sorts of superstitious beliefs that also have the effect of doing the devil’s work. What I am referencing here is our pop culture’s belief in ghosts and spirits. Whether it is a belief that loved ones who have died are still roaming the earth and interacting with us in our lives, or whether it is something more sinister and spooky, like spirits of the dead haunting buildings, far too many Christians are open to this false belief rather than hearing and holding to God’s word.
It is written in Ecclesiastes 12:7: “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” It is written in Hebrews 9:27: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment…” There is nothing at all Godly about reincarnation; there is nothing at all Godly about inhabiting other bodies.
Nowhere in the Bible is there a word about a period of time where the spirits of the dead are doing unfinished business on this earth before they can enter into the light or some other such nonsense. Pay no attention to the goofiness of Hollywood movie fictions or TV shows about the supernatural and communicating with the dead and ghost hunting and prankster ghosts and good or evil spirits of the departed. Buying into that lures you into foolishness. None of it is Scriptural. In fact, it is of the occult. Scripture speaks about attempts at communication and interaction with the dead as being wicked. It’s in the same category as witchcraft and sorcery which, to God, are abominations.
While most of this is the stuff of hoaxes, if people really are having contact with a supernatural being, it is not the spirits of the dearly departed; it is demons that are at hand. According to Scripture, it cannot be human spirits we’re talking about; it can only be angels or demons.
And angels almost always do their work unnoticed, for it is their joy to glorify God and to draw you to Christ as they watch over you. These mighty creatures that God created in the beginning (who never were and never will be human beings, btw), these mighty creatures would never distract you or draw you away from Jesus and His Word. But demons on the other hand, well that’s all they want to do. And if they can get you to dwell on this mysterious occurrence or that supposed haunting or some supposed appearance of a deceased spouse or relative, then that’s right up their alley, for then you’re being distracted from God and His Word.
People think they’re being “spiritual” by doing this, when in fact they’re just engaging in another form of foolish unbelief. That’s why this sort of silly superstition combines both mistakes C.S. Lewis spoke of: people are giving too much attention to the occult at the same time that they don’t even realize they’re doing so. Remember, the devil likes to come in disguise, even as an angel of light.
Again, it is the goal of the devil and the demons to lure you away from the safe refuge in Christ to something else – anything else – and then to keep your attention away from your Savior. And if Jesus is center stage, then they’ll try to pervert and distort who He is and what He has said. That’s what happens in today’s Gospel reading. Jesus casts out a demon, and what do the unbelievers say? Well, SOMEhow He did this good by using an evil power, the power of Beelzebub, which is another word for Satan. This is the way of the wicked: to call good evil and to call evil good, and we see that all the time in our culture.
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Jesus is warning us here to be vigilant about our ancient enemy. Once an unclean spirit (a demon) is cast out, he will return if he gets the opportunity, and it will be even worse the next time. This is why, at the time of Baptism, the Church presses parents hard to be committed to teaching their child the catechism, the Word of God, and making sure the child is brought to God’s house. For baptism is truly a form of exorcism. Luther’s ancient baptismal rite begins this way: “Depart unclean spirit, and make room for the Holy Spirit.” It is a sad thing to baptize a child, only to have his tender faith starved by parents who deprive their son or daughter of God’s Word. Christians are to be continually on guard against the evil one by being devoted to the Word of God and prayer.
A good deal of Jesus’ ministry involved battling unclean spirits. And His body, the Church, continues to wage the battle against lying, satanic spirits. Today, demon-possession may indeed be extremely rare. Typically, the devil and the other fallen angels are more subtle, tempting us behind the scenes, working through our sinful flesh to drive a wedge between us and God, gradually eating away at us until we are alienated from God and don’t even realize it or care. Remember that the devil’s ultimate goal is to take away your faith in Christ. And that is best accomplished not by an obvious frontal assault but by deceptively trying to undermine what you believe, by planting doubt, by turning your attention to other spiritualities that appear holy but are devoid of the Gospel of Christ.
So, how do we fight an enemy that we cannot see? How do we guard ourselves against such a crafty enemy who most certainly is more powerful than we are? The answer is very simple: to take refuge in Christ. He is the Stronger Man who overcomes the strong man. He is the One who won the victory for us in the wilderness. He is also the One who outmaneuvered and outflanked the devil and utterly destroyed Him through the cross. He turned the devil’s own weapons against him. Jesus overcomes the crafty one with His own divine and holy craftiness, sneaking into the devil’s kingdom of death, allowing Himself to be crucified, and then from the inside nuking and laying waste to the devil’s power, rising from the dead in glory on the third day.
Dear fellow redeemed, Satan is defeated and undone and humiliated. Christ is the Conqueror Who has rescued us from the realm of darkness and brought us into His own kingdom of mercy and love. Our Lord has cast out our unclean spirits at the baptismal font and made our bodies the temple of His Holy Spirit. He has spoken His powerful, forgiving words into our ears. He feeds us with His holy, life-giving Flesh and Blood to sanctify us and fortify and strengthen our spirits. We come to this church week after week because we need it all the time. We come to be strengthened against the crafts and assaults of the devil and to be equipped to resist them.
There is only one way to be safe from evil, and that is to be with Jesus, our fortress and our refuge. Jesus says, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” We gather with Jesus right here. And like the mute person who was gagged by the demon, when Jesus casts out our demons, our tongues are loosed, and we give praise to God for his gifts. We then get to tell everyone just who it is who has delivered us. And we can also raise our fists at the devil and give him the “finger of God” and curse him to hell in the name of the Lord Jesus.
The Epistle reading said: “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (Eph 5:8). Your days of being imprisoned to Satan are over. You have been released from your shackles and led out of the dark prison into the glorious light of Christ!
And this blessing from God is for all who hear and believe and hold on to His Word. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.” Holding on to Christ’s words, you are blessed and you are safe. So, if you are concerned or fearful about strange or unexplained experiences in your life, remember that all things are sanctified and made holy by the Word of God and prayer. At the name of Jesus, the demons must flee. Call upon His name, not only here in this place, but also in your homes. Read the Word and pray out loud so that both the angels and the demons can hear.
God’s Word cleanses and blesses and makes holy. God’s Word sets you apart as His own, and it sets apart your dwellings as the place where God dwells. Don’t allow the things of demons into your homes, only the things of God. It used to be a common practice to have a house blessing, a blessing of the Christian home, especially when someone was just moving into a house. A few of you have taken advantage of that here.
It is written that God has not given us a spirit of fear but a spirit of power and love and self-control (2 Tim 1:7). Cling to the Word of God spoken and given to you in your baptism. Let the words of God continually be in your ears and on your tongue. And be filled by the Holy Spirit with the body and blood of Christ, given and shed for the forgiveness of all your sins. For the Scripture says, “Greater is He who is in you (Jesus), than [the evil one] who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
And if you want to be close to departed loved ones, don’t try to do that in superstitious ways. Meet them instead right here at the altar. For if they died in the faith, they are with Christ, and Christ is here. Here is where the communion of saints is.
Let the highest love of your heart always be fixed on Jesus. For through Him, nothing can snatch you from the hand of God. For on that hand of God are the fingers that cast out demons and that point you to the cross where your salvation was won. You have been liberated from all your sins by the Lord Jesus Christ. You are now free to walk in love as children of light. Let your eyes ever be toward Christ, who plucks your feet out of the net, who conquers your enemy, and who will deliver you from all evil in the resurrection of the body.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
