Behold the Champion of the World! (Mark 1:12-15)

February 26, 2012

  

Dear friends in Christ.

This summer the eyes of the world will turn to London as champions from every nation on earth gather to compete in the games of the 30th Olympiad.  Each athlete will come prepared and ready to give everything they have, to leave it all out on the field, in the hopes that they might have the opportunity to stand on the victor’s platform, have the gold medal placed around their necks, hear their national anthem played, and receive the title of “Champion of the World.”  Though I’m not certain that Champion of the World is an official title for the winner of the gold medal, if you think about it, the title is indeed fitting.  For the goal of each national champion who competes in the games is to come home with the gold as the champion who beat all the other champions; the champion who has become the champion of the world.  Well, in our lesson today, we see another champion step into the ring of competition, for we see Jesus as he is about to go head to head with satan for the title of “Champion of the World!”

Now, as we meet Jesus in our lesson this morning, he is willingly stepping into the boxing ring of the wilderness as it were, to go head to head with satan in a 40 day winner takes all battle.  This is the battle royal that took place immediately after Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River and the Holy Spirit led him out into the wilderness to be tempted, as Mark tells us in our lesson today: 12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13 and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. 14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”" (Mark 1:12–15, NIV84)

In some ways the bout that was about to take place could easily be described in the manner of two heavy weight champions approaching the ring to do battle knowing that the winner would be declared champion and take home the belt.  We’ve seen scenes like this countless time in movies, TV shows, and maybe some of you have seen it in person in an actual boxing ring.  We’ve all seen it, the procession of the fighters to the ring.  We’ve seen them in their warm up robs, surrounded by their entourage as well as security.  We’ve seen them walk into the ring, sometimes strut to the ring, with all those people following, often times being led to the ring by the coach.  We are all very familiar with how the announce will excite the crowd as he announces each fighter, which corners they are in, and which is the defending the title.  But today, as our Champion approached the ring of the wilderness, there were no security guards; there was no entourage.  There was only Jesus being led by the Holy Spirit.  Even the announcers were absent from the spectacular battle that was going to be waged here.  Though it is true that God the Father had announced Jesus as his Son whom he loved just minutes before the Holy Spirit led him out, none of the people who had witnessed Jesus’ baptism moments earlier had any clue of what was coming.

Yet this was the way Jesus wanted it.  For it was there, in the wilderness, that our Champion stepped into the ring and went head to head with satan, not just for 15 rounds, but for 40 days; for 960 hours of temptation.  But unlike boxing matches that start so civilly with the ringing of a bell, this fight began as soon as Jesus stepped into the ring.  From that moment on, satan began a barrage of temptations that did not let up or ease off until the very end of the 40 days.  Though we are very familiar with the temptations of turning rocks into bread, throwing oneself off the temple, and bowing down and worshiping satan, which the other Gospel writers include, Mark, by not listing any of the temptations, makes the point that satan continued with one temptation after another for the entire 40 days that Jesus was in the wilderness.  In the same way that a boxer who gains the advantage will continually pummel his opponent until he is knocked out, the ref stops him, or the bell rings, satan came at Jesus with everything he had hoping to knock Jesus out by tempting him to sin.  But our Champion never once gave into any one of the temptations that satan offered, and he won the battle for you and me.

As Jesus went head to head with our enemy the devil, our champion thoroughly and completely defeated satan in the wilderness.  Though Jesus had “weakened” himself, in satan’s opinion by taking on human flesh and blood, our Champion held his ground as a human being, perfectly following and keeping God’s holy law in our place!  Though Jesus had “weakened” himself, in satan’s opinion, by not making use of his divine powers and was tempted in every way, just as we are, he remained faithful to the Lord his God and remained our sinless Savior.  Though Jesus had weakened himself physically by fasting during the 40 days that he was out there, he proved that he was indeed the Champion of the World by sending satan running when the 40 days were over.  Though satan continually popped up during the remaining days of Jesus’ earthly ministry, our Champion never once fell prey to those temptations.  Our Champion won the victory!

Now, if there was ever a fighter who never let you forget that he was the best, that fighter would have to be Muhammad Ali.  For, from what I have come to know about him from TV and the Internet, he was one of the most vocal fighters when it came to the subject of his talent, his style, and his incredible record of wins.  Well, in many ways, this is what Jesus, our Champion, was all about after he defeated our enemy in the wilderness.  For after that battle was over, Jesus came out spreading the news of his victory.  Mark tells us in verse 14, “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”" (Mark 1:14–15, NIV84)

Though Mark skips over almost an entire year of Jesus’ life with these verses, our Champion’s message of victory sums up what Jesus was up to during that time.  For before John was put into prison, Jesus went throughout Jerusalem and Judea preaching and teaching the same message.  He traveled from town to town and village preaching that same message of victory, “Repent and believe the good news!”  No matter where Jesus traveled, he proclaimed his victory to the people wherever he was so that they might put their faith in him and receive the blessings of victory that their Champion had won.

It is this same beautiful message of victory that Jesus, our Champion is proclaiming to us today.  For through these simple words, recorded by the Evangelist Mark, we are assured that Jesus has indeed won the victory over satan for us.  We are assured that though our enemy came at Jesus again and again in the wilderness, Jesus never once fell for the temptations.  We are assured that he won the victory by never sinning.  Though it would be about two more years until Jesus went to the cross, he could rightly tell the people that he had won the victory.  For it was Jesus our Champion who threw satan out of heaven when he rebelled.  It was Jesus, our Champion, who defeated satan in the wilderness.  It was Jesus, our Champion, who defeated satan’s every attempt to steer him off course, and it was Jesus, our Champion who completely won the victory over our enemy when he went to the cross. 

For it was there on that cross that our Champion stood his ground and died to win the full and final victory over satan, forever.  It was there on the cross that Jesus, the Son of God, was rejected by God himself!  It was there, on that cross, that Jesus endured the pain and suffering of eternal damnation as he who is God was cast out of God’s presence!  It was there, on that cross that our God who cannot die, gave his life for sinners, and died to pay the price of our sins!  It was there, on that cross, that Jesus our Champion won the victory over satan forever!  This entire message of victory, which we know so well was wrapped up in the message of victory that our Champion brought to the people of Israel, and this is the message of victory that we now take to the world!

Now that we have been reminded of the victory our Savior won for us, it is our mission to go out and spread that message of victory to the world.  It is our mission to climb up to the highest heights and announce to all the world that Jesus is truly the Champion of the World whose victory over the devil gives all people the forgiveness of sins.  It is our mission to take that message to every single person who does not know Jesus or the things he has done for them.  So let us do just that!  Make the effort this week to tell even just one person about Jesus Christ, the Savior and Champion of the World.  As you talk to your friends and co-workers this week, invite them to come and worship with us next week.  As you sit down to dinner with your families make sure you turn off the TV for even just one meal and talk to each other about what Jesus did for you.  Only don’t do nothing, letting this opportunity pass you buy, rather make it your personal goal that each time you talk to someone, that person will learn about the victory that Christ our Champion won for him and all the world.

Though Jesus didn’t win that title by competing in any type of Olympic games, we know that he is truly our Champion.  For he is the one who went head to head with our enemy the devil, he is the one who won the victory over satan, and he is the who has assured us of that victory so that we, like him, can spread the news to all the world.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

Put Your Sword Away! (John 18:4-11)

Ash Wednesday 

February 22, 2012

Dear friends in Christ.

Back when I was in college, I had a classmate who was filled with all sorts of creative, fun, and crazy ideas.  He was the one who regularly initiated rubber band wars by simply opening someone’s door and shooting rubber bands at them while they studied.  He is the one who organized a number of capture the flag games in the spring and fall as well as quite a few snowball fights during the winter.  On one occasion he convinced us that it would be fun to go play paint ball.  The only problem was that, none of us had any paintball equipment with us, nor did we have the funds to go off to Milwaukee to play.  So, we improvised!  We built swords out of PVC pipes and held a battle right there in the long hallway of our dorm building.  I still remember it to this day.  There were six of us battling each other in pairs of two stretched from the stair well at one end of the hall about 1/3 of the way down the rest of the hall.  We were all fiercely battling each other, switching combatants and gaining up on each other when suddenly the cry rang out, “Put your swords away!”  At first we thought we were all in trouble, but then we realized it was simply one of our dorm mates who wanted to go downstairs, and we were blocking the access to the closest set of stairs.  Hence his cry of “put your swords away.”

Put your sword away!  These same words are the words that Jesus spoke to Peter in our lesson tonight, and as he spoke these words, Jesus and his disciples were in the Garden of Gethsemane.  They were standing before the group of Roman Soldiers and the band of men from the chief priests and Pharisees who had come to arrest Jesus.  They were standing there and they had just heard Jesus tell them that he was willing to go with them; that he would allow the religious leaders to arrest him and take him for the trials that would ultimately bring about his crucifixion.  This is what John is telling us as he writes in our lesson tonight, from John 18:4, “Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” 5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 “I told you that I am he,” Jesus answered. “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” 9 This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.” 10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) 11 Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”" (John 18:4–11, NIV84)

So zealous was Peter to defend his friend and Master that he struck out with his sword wounding the servant of the High Priest by cutting off his right ear.  Thus Peter proved that he either hadn’t heard or hadn’t heard what Jesus had just been saying or what Jesus was doing for Peter, his disciples and the rest of the world.  So zealous was Peter for Jesus that the thought he needed to fight to free Jesus from these soldiers and prevent the immanent arrest of his Master.  Yet what did Jesus say to Peter? “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (John 18:11, NIV84)

In some ways it was as if Jesus was saying to Peter, “Don’t you realize what’s going on?”  “Don’t you understand what I am doing for you?”  “Didn’t you just see my display of power and realize that they are not taking me but I am willingly going with them to my death so that I might pay the price my Father demands and free you from your sins?”  “No, put your sword away and see my cross.  I am going to that cross for you, for my disciples, and for all the people of the world.”

Put your sword away!  With four simple words Jesus speaks to Peter, rebukes his misplaced zeal, lays out his mission and reveals, yet again, the purpose for the cross.  And with these simple words, Jesus is doing the same thing for you and me.  For if we think about it, how often aren’t we just like Peter?  How often haven’t we forgotten that Jesus didn’t need any force, not even once single sword to save humanity?  The cross was the only instrument that he needed in order to provide us with his salvation.  He was the only one who could achieve our salvation through his willing and innocent sacrifice in our place.  There was nothing that we could do to achieve it for ourselves; no human action that could even remotely help no matter how brave or how noble. 

Yet how often don’t we lose focus on the purpose of the cross, grab our own swords as it were, and start flailing them about in an effort protect and defend our Savior, like Peter, or in an effort to aid our Savior with his salvation?  How often don’t’ we like to brandish the swords of our own godly lives as we thank God that we are not like all those other people who don’t serve him as faithfully or as well as we do?  How often haven’t we felt that we are worthy of heaven because we have used our own swords to accomplish so much for our God with our faith, with our good deeds, with our incredible public devotion to him, with our record of church attendance or Bible study attendance?  Or how often haven’t we felt that God’s church depended on us being a part of it, or the efforts that we put forth in serving?  How often haven’t we felt so important in God’s kingdom because of the status we suddenly have from being part of this one group or another?  How often haven’t we felt that if our particular group stops meeting or stops functioning in any way then the church will quickly follow suit?  How often haven’t we been so zealous for our Savior and his church that we were tempted to change the message we preach, even just a little bit, in the hopes that it might attract more people and help us to grow?

These are the times that Jesus rebukes us as he did Peter, saying, “Put your sword away.”  “Put your sword away and see my cross, because without my cross there is no hope, no forgiveness, no salvation, and no life!  But when you let go of your own importance and focus on my cross, you live in my forgiveness, my life, and my salvation.”  Thus, tonight, as we have gathered to see our Savior, we have heard him calling on us to put our swords away, and put them away we have.  But not only have we put them away, but we have come to lay them at the foot of the cross; we have come to place all our misguided zeal, our attempts at helping our Savior, even our thoughts of changing his message at the foot of his cross.  Tonight, we have placed our swords away by laying them before our Savior, and he has washed us clean of every spot and stain of our sins.  He has completely removed every trace of our guilt, and he has restored us to live a new life for him.  Tonight we have seen and been reminded of what Jesus did for us, what he knew he had to do to free us from our sins.  Tonight we have felt his gentle hand of blessing upon us assuring us of the hope and salvation that we have through faith in him.  Tonight, through faith in Jesus, we have put our own swords away by laying them at the foot of the cross.  Through faith we have been assured that his cross is the reason for the hope we have.  Through faith in Jesus we look to the cross as the instrument through which our sins were forgiven.  Through faith in Jesus we see our Savior’s great love for us in his sacrifice.  We see the forgiveness he won for us in his death.  We see the undeniable assurance of salvation in his resurrection, and we see the hope of eternal life in his empty tomb.

Though the image of a bloody, crucified, Savior is not an attractive picture to the world or even our sinful nature, through faith in Jesus it is an image of victory and strength.  Though the message of the cross is foolishness to some and a great offense to others, it is God’s wisdom for our salvation.  Though as sinful human beings it is so easy to grasp the hilt of our own swords and seek to fight our way to salvation, through faith in Jesus we have lain those swords aside.  In the same way that my classmates and I stopped our hallway sword battle when someone wanted to get to the stairs, so we have stopped our battling through faith in Jesus. We now see our Savior’s cross.  We know its purpose.  We know the forgiveness that is ours and because of that we have also put our swords away.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

Behold the brilliance of the Gospel (2 Corinthians 4:3-6)

February 19, 2012

Dear friends in Christ.

When I was in college, I became very familiar with Intestate 90, especially the stretch between La Cross, WI and Rochester, MN, which was both my favorite, and most frustrating part of the journey.  It was my favorite stretch of the trip when we were on our way back to school because it meant that we were done with the 55 MPH speed limit on Highways 14 and 52 and could start making some good time.  It was my favorite, because I knew that no matter how flat the land seemed, we were slowly traveling downhill as we made our way toward La Cross and the Mississippi River.  But it was the most frustrating part of the trip when we were traveling back to New Ulm, because in that stretch you are traveling almost due west, and no matter when we left Watertown, WI, we always seemed to be traveling due west on that stretch of road as the sun was setting!  Now, if you’ve ever driven into the setting sun, then you know just how bright that light can be! For as you drive, and the unblinking eye of the sun stares you in the face, it can be a struggle to keep your vehicle on the road. Though you put on your darkest sunglasses, pull down the visor, and sit in strange and uncomfortable positions just to block out that light and keep from rear ending the car in front of you, it seems that you can’t escape brilliance of the setting sun. Even though you do everything you can to block it out, it seems that the light evades your efforts and begins to fill the car itself until there is room for nothing else except that light.  In a way, that brilliance is a picture of the brilliance that is revealed to us in the pages of Scripture. For in the Scriptures we find the brilliant light of the Gospel revealed to us in Jesus Christ our Savior. In fact, as we study the lesson before us from 2 Corinthians 4:3-6, we will take time to simply stand and behold the brilliance of the Gospel.

Take a look with me at our lesson today and how the Apostle Paul describes the amazing brilliance of the Gospel.  “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:3–6, NIV84)

How interesting it is that as Paul describes the brilliance of the Gospel that has been revealed in our hearts, he begins by telling us how the brilliance of the gospel has been hidden, veiled if you will, among those who are perishing.  Yet, sadly, this is exactly what our enemy, the god of this age, who is also known as satan, has done.  Though the light of the gospel continues to shine forth with the brilliance of the sun, satan has caused the dark clouds of doubt and disbelief to form in the hearts of billions of people in our world today.  He has shrouded their vision with a veil!  He has blindfolded them and locked them away in the dark and gloomy dungeon of unbelief so that they cannot possibly see the light of the gospel and come to faith and be saved. 

In one way he has done this with the false religions that he is continually introducing into our world so that he might distract more and more people away from the light of the Gospel.  For example, long ago he introduced the teachings of Hinduism to the people of India.  Though it is very possible that one of the Apostles traveled to India and spread the Word of God there, as tradition suggests, the Hindu faith teaches people to work and to serve many different gods in the hopes that they might be one day delivered from this world to the state of eternal bliss.  Again, it was satan who made sure the teachings of Buddha spread so that now millions of people are looking for enlightenment which is designed to free them from a world of suffering.  It was satan who worked overtime to convince the Pharisees, teachers of the law, and many others in the Jewish community that Jesus really wasn’t the Christ.  Now, because of his efforts it is safe to say that the majority of the Israelites of our day and age do not know who Jesus is, or simply reject Jesus as the Messiah who came in fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures.  On top of that it is very likely that satan or one of his demons who appeared to Mohammed back in 633 BC, bringing the teachings of Islam to the Middle East.  But even closer to home, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the one who appeared to Joseph Smith, encouraging him to continue in the teachings that have become Mormonism, a religious group that acts very Christian, and yet does not believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  He is the one who undoubtedly sent some of his demons to appear to the Native Americans who sought to speak with the spirits of their ancestors.  He is the one who is constantly at work in every single Christian church, working subtly to water down the teachings of Law and Gospel, working to foster feelings of apathy toward God and his Word, and even working to convince life-long Christians that they know it all and really have no need to read and study God’s Word for themselves or even gather in worship on a regular basis.

These are but a few of the ways that “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4, NIV84)  These are but a few of the ways that our enemy, the devil, is working to blind even you and me to the brilliance of the gospel.  Even now, as you are looking directly into the brilliance of the gospel as it is being proclaimed to you, satan is working to place a veil over our eyes so that we will no longer see the glory of Jesus Christ as our Savior. He is the one who constantly sits on our shoulders in worship, whispering lies, doubts, and distractions into our ears.  He is the one who seeks to seed our hearts with the dark clouds of doubt and unbelief so that the brilliance of the gospel is slowly diminished and finally blotted out completely.  Though right here, right now, we are basking in the brilliant light of the Gospel shining forth in all its glory, he is trying to convince us that the brilliance of the gospel is just as annoying as the setting sun that I used to drive into on my way home from college.  He is trying to convince us that if we simply take the pair of sunglasses he is offering us and put them over our eyes, then, we will be able to look directly at the brilliance of the Gospel, and see it more clearly. He is trying to convince us that if we just pull down the visor and sit in an uncomfortable position, we will be better able to see the path before us.  But if we should willingly put on satan’s sunglasses, or pull down the visor, or sit in an uncomfortable position, before we know it we will have allowed him to completely block out the brilliance of the gospel in our lives.  Before we know it, we will be blindly following our enemy down the path that leads to his kingdom and the dark, gloomy, and fiery dungeons of eternal death and damnation.

Though it is satan, our enemy, who is continually seeking to blind us to the brilliance of the Gospel, as we have gathered here this morning, it is our Savior who is revealing the full measure of the Gospel’s brilliance to each of us who believes!  Just as Paul wrote in our lesson, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:3–6, NIV84)

Though satan continually seeks to blind us, it was the Lord our God who made known the light of the knowledge of his glory in Jesus Christ our Savior.  It was Jesus Christ himself who came to us and gently replaced the visors and removed satan’s sunglasses so that we could once again see his light.  It was the Lord Jesus, our Savior who shined the brilliant light of his Gospel into our hearts and burned away the dark clouds of doubt and disbelief that satan seeded there.  It was our Savior who used his own blood to polish our stained and tarnished hearts so that they would once again be radiant reflectors of the brilliance of the gospel message of salvation.  It was Jesus Christ our Savior who enabled us to look into the brilliant light of his glory revealed to us in the gospel message of our salvation.  It was Christ our Savior who saw to it that the brilliance of the Gospel was revealed to us so that we might be his disciples. He saw to it that his Word was proclaimed to us so that we also might believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior from sin. For it is in that Word that we learn about our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is in that Word that we learn how Jesus came to earth as a little baby. It is in that word that we learn how Jesus in wisdom. It is in that word we learn how Jesus went through out all the towns of Israel proclaiming the message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. It is in that word that we learn how Jesus revealed his glory in his miracles of healing the sick, raising the dead, and driving out demons. It is in that word we are assured that Jesus truly is the Son of God, our Savior.  But best of all, today we had the opportunity to see the full measure of that glory as Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John on the top of that mountain.  As Jesus was transfigured before them we saw the brilliance of his glory and the glory of the Gospel that has been revealed to each and every one of us who believes.

For it is the brilliant light of the gospel that assures us that our sins have been forgiven.  It is that brilliant light of the gospel that assures us that Jesus’ life of perfectly following all of Gods commands and decrees has been applied to us.  It is the gospel that assure us that when Jesus went to the cross he went carrying the weight of each and every sin of each and every person on the face of the earth, even yours and mine!  It is through the message of the Gospel that we are assured that all our trespasses, transgressions, and iniquities have been completely blotted out.  Even the guilt of our sins has been removed.  Now, it is through that brilliant light of the Gospel, which has been clearly revealed to those who believe, that we are moved to take that message to the world.

Just as the Lord shone the light of the gospel into our hearts and created faith in Jesus Christ our Savior, it is the Lord who enables us to reflect the brilliance of the gospel in our lives.  It is the Lord Jesus who moves us to share the brilliant message of salvation in all that we say and do so that many more might be able to see the salvation that is theirs through faith in Jesus their Savior.  It is the Lord who calls us to shine the brilliance of the gospel into the darkness of our world because there are still millions who do not know that their sins have been forgiven. There are millions whom satan has blinded to the brilliant light of the gospel which the Lord has revealed to us, and now it is our turn to tell them. It is our turn to preach Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as his servants. Because if we don’t, those whom satan has blinded will suffer the punishment of eternal death and damnation in the fires of hell. This is why we need to continue to support the mission work of our synod. Even though we may be a smaller congregation in our synod, and even though we face budget concerns and shortfalls ourselves, as Christians, it is our responsibility to support mission work, so that we might send Pastors and Teachers into nations who do not know Jesus as their Savior.

Though there may be times when we are afraid to start talking about Jesus, it is our God who gives us the courage we need.  For the very light we now proclaim to the world is the light which the Lord himself has shinned into our hearts.  It is the light of the Gospel which is even more brilliant than the light of the setting sun that I continually drove into on my way home from college.  But even though it is that much more brilliant, it is also that much easier on the eyes.  It is in the gospel that we find our Savior Jesus Christ revealed to us!  Though this brilliance has been veiled to those who are perishing, it has been clearly revealed to you and me who believe.  Take that brilliance with you.  Reflect it in your words and actions, and shine even as you share it with the world.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

Jesus Reveals His Authority (Mark 1:29-39)

February 12, 2012

Dear friends in Christ.

Over the past number of years the TV series, Mythbusters has revealed the truth behind some very popular myths in our society.  Using scientific method, curiosity, and quite a bit of ingenuity they have revealed the truth behind some myths, the sheer implausibility behind others, and even revealed that some myths, as ridiculous as they might seem, are at least a possibility.  Well, in many ways, this is the very thing that Jesus is doing in our lesson today as he reveals himself as the Savior of the World who holds authority over all things!  For as we meet Jesus in our lesson today, we see him revealing his authority over sickness, over satan, and over all of our sins.  In fact, I invite you to open your Bibles to our lesson today and we’ll see just how Jesus is revealing his authority.

Now, as you are opening your Bibles to Mark 1:29, let me remind you of what was going on.  As we heard in our gospel lesson last week, it was the Sabbath day.  Jesus had been teaching in the synagogue, amazing the people because he was teaching with such authority, when suddenly a man with an evil spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” (Mark 1:24, NIV84)  Immediately, Jesus had told the evil spirit to be quite and come out of the man, which amazed the people all the more.  Now, as our lesson begins in verse 29, we see what happened after Jesus and his disciples left the synagogue.  In fact, let’s start with verse 28:  “News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee. 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them." (Mark 1:28–31, NIV84)

Though it had already been a busy day for Jesus, his day would soon be getting busier. Although Jesus was now heading to the home of Simon and Andrew, undoubtedly for a meal and some relaxation, he would soon be facing crowds of people who would come to see him. But now, as Jesus was in the home of Peter and Andrew, he had an opportunity to reveal his authority over sickness to the disciples who were present. For as our text told us, Simon’s Mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, yet, when Jesus took her hand and helped her up, the fever left her. Not only did the fever leave her, but Jesus healed her so completely that she got up and started to serve them the evening meal. That in itself was quite an amazing miracle. For if you think about it, you all know what it’s like to suffer with high fevers. You know how exhausted and how relived you feel when the fever finally breaks. You know how good it feels to curl up and sleep soundly knowing that you are on the road to recovery. But that’s not what happened with Peter’s Mother-in-law. When Jesus healed her, she was so completely healed and undoubtedly so completely thankful that she was immediately able to get up and work without the slightest bit of weariness.

This is how Jesus revealed his authority over sickness in our lesson today, and this is how Jesus reveals his authority over sickness in our lives as well. Though we have never had Jesus physically take our hands and help us out of bed when we’ve suffered with a fever, Jesus is the one who heals us. Though we are used to taking Aspirin or Tylenol, Advil or Aleve, or even Zicam for our cold symptoms, it is our Savior who makes them work. Though we are used to going to the doctor and getting some kind of prescription medicine to help us over come specific illnesses, it is our Savior who allowed us to discover them. For it is our Savior who has authority over our sicknesses and it is our Savior who sometimes allows our sicknesses to linger, but even if they should linger, even if head cold develops into Pneumonia, even if we should someday contract a terminal illness, it is still our Savior who heals us. It is still our Savior who demonstrates his authority over our sickness by taking it from us, or by taking us from it. For in his grace, when we are ill, Jesus either heals our sickness so that we can continue in our lives here on earth, or he heals them completely by taking us to his side in heaven. Either way our Savior’s authority reigns supreme.

But this is only one of the ways in which Jesus reveals his authority in our lives. For as our Savior, Jesus not only reveals his authority over sickness, but he also reveals his authority over our enemy the devil. In fact, this is what Mark is assuring us of as our lesson continues.  Take  a look at verses 32-34:  “That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was." (Mark 1:32–34, NIV84)

As we said, earlier that day, Jesus had been preaching in the synagogue, he had healed a man suffering from demon possession, and the news had spread like wild fire! Now, after the Sabbath had come to a close at sunset, the people from all over the area brought the sick and the demon possessed to Jesus. They brought them because they knew and believed that Jesus could heal them. They brought them so that Jesus could drive out the demons that were tormenting some of the people, and that is exactly what Jesus did. Jesus showed his authority over satan by driving out those demons. He showed his authority over satan by not allowing any of the demons to speak as they came out of the people. As he did this, Jesus showed in no uncertain terms, that satan’s power was no match for his own; Jesus showed that he was truly the Son of God who had authority even over our enemy, the devil.

Though the demon possession of people is something that we don’t hear about too often in our day and age, the things we do hear about are ghosts, ghost hunters, hauntings, and paranormal activity taking place all around the country. In fact, all you have to do is turn on the TV and you can see any number of shows talking about houses that attract seemingly benevolent spirits that seem to protect and care for the people living in those places. But at the same time we also hear about evil spirits who seem only to want to hurt or harm those around them. All you have to do is turn on your TV and you’ll find trailers for movies whose main focus is all about paranormal activity.  You’ll see adds for video games talking about the darkness that is used and “controlled” by some characters.  You’ll find any number of shows about psychics and other “ghost hunters” who go into houses to study, examine, try to explain, or finally attempt to drive those spirits away. Though many in the world hang on these shows and wonder about what is happening or find themselves becoming very spiritual because they are attracted to these things beyond their explanation, we as Christians see these things and know that satan and his evil angels are still at work in our world. When we see these things we know that satan is still working in these subtle ways to distract us away from the truth of God’s Word and even to make us wonder if our God really isn’t powerful enough to deal with satan.

But even though this is what our enemy is working to do, we can take comfort in the knowledge that Jesus not only has authority over satan, but when Jesus went to the cross, he defeated satan once and for all. For there on the cross, satan did indeed strike Jesus’ heal, but in turn, Jesus crushed Satan’s head. There on that cross, satan thought he was sure to win when Jesus died, but by his death, Jesus not only crushed statn’s head into the ground, he completely and utterly destroyed any power that satan ever held over us. Then, as his body lay in the grave, Jesus triumphantly marched through hell itself to proclaim his victory over the devil.  Because of this, we know that satan cannot touch us. Though he tempts us, we can resist him through the power of God’s Word. Though there will be times when he succeeds and lead us into sin, we know that we are forgiven through Jesus’ blood, and because we have been covered with Jesus’ blood, we know that nothing can harm us. Though there are evil spirits lose in the world causing hauntings, sightings, paranormal activity, and even masquerading as benevolent spirits, we know that these are nothing more than the panicked fallings of our defeated enemy who cannot touch us because we are protected by our Savior.  This is the authority that Jesus reveals to us as he demonstrates his power and authority over satan, his evil angels, and yes, even over our sins.

What greater revelation of authority could there be for us!  What greater comfort could there be for us as Christians than the knowledge that Jesus reveals as he reveals his authority over our sins.  For when Jesus went to the cross, he not only defeated satan once and for all, by his bloody sacrifice he finally and completely washed away each and every sin we had ever committed and every will commit.  This, in fact, was the message that Jesus was sent to proclaim, as Mark tells us in the last verses of our lesson today: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” 38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons." (Mark 1:35–39, NIV84)

While Jesus was in Capernaum, he preached the Gospel and called many to faith. He showed his power and authority as the Son of God by healing people and driving out demons. But now, when his disciples found him that morning, Jesus expressed the desire to continue on so that he might preach the Gospel in other places as well. He expressed the desire to move on so that he might teach others that he was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

This is what Jesus is doing for you and me today! He is revealing his authority as our Savior who cleanses us from our sins. He is assuring us that he is the one who went to the cross to forgive our sins, to make us children of God, and to make us heirs of eternal life. He is assuring us that no matter what sins we might have committed, by his authority, he is able to wipe the slate clean. So, no matter what sins you might be dealing with, you can be assured that Jesus has forgiven them.  Though you might feel that your sins are like leaches that simply won’t let go, Jesus has sprinkled the salt of his blood upon them and made them release.  Though you may feel that your sins have covered your souls like the burned on grease and grime that covers the drip trays beneath your stove’s burners, Jesus has come with the grease bomb of his blood and completely cleaned us.  Though you may feel that your sins have completely over run and killed your souls like the salt spray from the roads kills off the grass on boulevards every year, Jesus has come with the True Green treatment of his blood, cleansed away the salt of our sins, revitalized us, and made us whole, strong, and healthy blades in the field of his kingdom!

What greater authority could Jesus reveal to us today!  What greater comfort could we receive from the pen of the Evangelist Mark!  For today, Jesus has gone head to head with some very popular myths about his power and revealed his authority over all things.  In such a clear way he has revealed his authority over our sicknesses, over our enemy satan, and even over our sins.  He is truly the Son of God our Savior who has taken care of all these things for us and continues to care for us each and every day.  What greater comfort could there be than the comfort that comes in knowing that Jesus is our Savior who has revealed his authority over all things.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN