JESUS IS STRONGER

Luke 11:14-28

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

St. Luke 11:28  “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.”

Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord…  In his book, Mere Christianity, C.S.Lewis argues that it simply isn’t reasonable to say that Jesus is merely a wise teacher, as so many wish to claim.  What Jesus says can’t be said to be wise unless He is who He claims to be, that is, God in the flesh, the Divine Son of God the Father.  If a person does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, then he has to say either that Jesus is insane or He is possessed by the devil.

The Jews in today’s Gospel had already ruled out that Jesus was merely insane.  Although they thought His teachings may have been the rantings of a lunatic, His miracles forced them to think something more of Him.  Either He was who He said He was, or He was using the power of the devil to do these things.  They refused to believe that Jesus was the Son of God, so they could only conclude that He was indeed a servant of Satan; and they said so in the words, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of demons.”

To be sure, the devil can imitate some of God’s miracles, as we note in Exodus 8.  When Aaron cast his rod upon the ground and it became a snake, the magicians also made their rods become snakes.  When Moses commanded Aaron to stretch forth his rod and turn the waters of Egypt into blood, the magicians did the same.  When Moses had Aaron brought forth frogs that swarmed over Egypt, Pharaoh’s magicians did the same thing.  It is interesting to note here that the magicians could never undo anything Moses and Aaron did, but they could copy it; and in that way they deceived Pharaoh so that he would not listen to God’s Word spoken by Moses.

But in the next part of that story which was read a few minutes ago, the magicians of Egypt were unable to reproduce the plagues brought upon them.  When lice covered the land and infested their own hair, they confessed at last: “This is the finger of God.”  They finally came the realization that there was a power greater than their own – it was the power of the one and only true God.

And how were these miracles accomplished?  They were accomplished simply through the Word of God. God spoke His Word to Moses.  Moses spoke God’s Word to Aaron.  Aaron obeyed the Word of God and simply did what he was commanded.  And it was the Word of God which made the miracles happen.  It wasn’t Moses or Aaron that defeated the magicians of Egypt; it was the living, active, and powerful Word of God.

Jesus is the Word of God incarnate; He is the Word made flesh.  It was He who defeated the magicians of Egypt those many centuries before.  He is not like Moses or Aaron who could act only when they had been explicitly told to do so.  Jesus can act because He Himself is God in the flesh.  He knows the Father’s will; therefore He always acts in perfect conformity with His Father’s will at all times.  Miracles are His to do because of who He is, not just because of who He represents.  By His own power and authority He cast out the demon that made that person mute in today’s Gospel reading.  His is the power and authority of the Word.  And the devil and demons must obey the Word of God when He commands them.

Jesus explained this to the Jews who charged him with using demonic powers against the demon who was causing muteness.  Vv. 21-22 of today’s Gospel reading: “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.”  And that is just what Jesus had done.  He had taken the spoils of the demon, the man who had been mute, and proved Himself the stronger of the two.  And then He made it clear that there are only two sides in this battle: that of the demons and that of Jesus.  V. 23: “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”

So, where does that put the Jews who were rejecting Jesus?  Well it placed them squarely on the side of the demons, not on the side of God.  Jesus said it plainly to the Jews in John 8 (vv. 42-44): “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.”

The Jews should have known Jesus, for they had His Word.   But because they did not keep the Word of God faithfully, that proved that they did not know Him.  By their rejection of Christ and His Word, they had sided with the devil and were now his possession.  This is why Jesus said the devil is their father.
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In order to be safe from the power of the devil, one must have a greater power to fend him off.  That greater power, of course, is Christ and His Word.  Blessed Martin Luther wrote this in his 1534 sermon on this text: “Against Satan we human beings are but straw, so that were he able to unleash his power against us he would demolish us in a flash.  So what does God do?  He kindles a little flame against this arrogant, mighty spirit; that is, He puts His Word into the straw’s mouth, and that same word is a heavenly fire which, wherever it goes, scorches the devil, so that he doesn’t know where to run.  That is indeed an almighty power… able to save those who believe on it.  It has the power and might of God and is able to bring people out of sin to righteousness, from death to life, from hell into heaven, out of the devil’s kingdom into the kingdom of God, to save them.  (Luther’s House Postil for Oculi Sunday, 1534).

The woman in our Gospel text cried out to Jesus, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!”  But Jesus responded, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”  Only those who not only hear but keep God’s word are found to be in possession of God.  And the devil cannot stand before that Word.

With this Word you, dear Christian, have been delivered from the devil’s kingdom into God’s kingdom, as Luther said.  And that happened for most if not all of us in our Baptism.  Likewise, we heard St. Paul say today: “you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light…” (Eph 5:8).  You and I were born captive to sin and therefore a child of the devil, so to speak.  But God had mercy on us.  He claimed us as His own, as we sang in today’s opening hymn” God’s own child, I gladly say it; I am baptized into Christ. He because I could not pay it gave my full redemption price.”  In Holy Baptism the Word of Christ took hold of us.  There He overpowered and cleaned out the devil and his companions.  Working in and through those Baptismal waters is the Word of Christ.  The devil had no choice but to leave.

But the one who is baptized must walk as a child of light, as one who is still in Christ.  Jesus’ parable warns us about what happens if we are cleansed of the devil but then do not abide in faith.  We will become the devil’s possession again, and it will be worse off than before.  That also explains why it is so difficult to get some folks back into the church after they have fallen away.  You must remain in Christ in faith.  You must not only hear the Word of God in Baptism or elsewhere, but you must also keep it; that is, you must dwell in that Word, thereby being kept and nourished and guarded by it.

Of course, keeping the Word also involves repentance.  As Paul says, it involves turning away from and rejecting the rebellious acts of sin with which the devil constantly tempts us.  But repentance alone cannot help against the devil; only the Gospel Word of forgiveness and grace can do that.  For therein is the power of the Son of God, our Savior.

This is why we hold the Scriptures and preaching in such high regard in the Lutheran confession of the faith.  For here in the Church, the work of Christ through His Word continues so that the devil is continually sent packing.  This is also why you, dear Christian, cherish the Gospel and the word of absolution that forgives your sins.  Against such an authoritative Word of Christ the devil has absolutely no grounds for accusation, and he must flee!

And this is why you seek the Lord’s Supper.  In the Sacrament of the Lord’s Body and Blood and by the power and authority of His Word, He comes to you to fill you with Himself and nourish and strengthen your faith, not just in a spiritual way, but really, truly, bodily.  Here in this blessed Sacrament the Word-made-flesh again is put into you, so that by eating and drinking with your mouth you are nourished not just in body, but in your spirit at the same time.

This, then, is what Jesus meant by “hearing the Word of God and keeping it.”   This is faithfully taking advantage of these means of grace where God’s Word is present, and receiving them while believing by God-given faith the promise which Christ has attached to them.  This is where the blessing of God is found.

And it is through the same Word and Sacraments that you, dear Christian, are defended and protected from all ultimate assaults of the devil.  We dare never neglect these gift of God for any length of time, for to do so is to play into the devil’s hand and ask for a heap of trouble.  You can put the devil to flight by holding to the Word of Christ and wielding that Word against Satan when he attacks you and wants you to doubt God’s love for you.

Remind him constantly of the fact that you are God’s child by baptism, as we sang at the beginning of today’s service: “Satan, hear this proclamation: I am baptized into Christ.  Drop your ugly accusation, I am not so soon enticed.  Now that to the font I’ve traveled all your might has come unraveled; and against your tyranny, God, my Lord, unites with me.”  Remind the devil that God is in charge.  Stick this right in his face that you have been absolved by your pastor, as from Christ Himself, that you believe the Gospel that is preached to you, and that you, by God’s grace, dine at Christ’s table, not at the table of demons.

Thanks be to God through the Lord Jesus Christ who gives you forgiveness, victory, life and salvation.  “There is nothing worth comparing to this life-long comfort sure! Open-eyed my grave is staring: even there I’ll sleep secure. Though my flesh awaits its raising, still my soul continues praising: I am baptized into Christ; I’m a child of paradise.”  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.