How did the devil ruin God's creation?

Series: Growing Together in God's Grace

January 27, 2013

Dear friends in Christ.

Have you ever broken something or ruined something that was valuable to another person?  Sadly, I think it’s safe to say that at one time or another in our lives, we have done this very thing; we have ruined or broken something that belonged to someone else.  For me, the thing that sticks out most clearly in my mind today is a matchbox car that belonged to my sister.  It was a simple blue hatch back with an orange plastic trunk that actually opened.  I remember receiving her permission to take it with me to school and play with it there.  I remember playing with it at recess, and I remember the trunk being broken.  To this day I don’t know how it broke, though I’m sure I’m the one who broke it, because I was the only person playing with it.  To this day I can still remember the feelings of horror and sorrow, guilt and shame that washed over me because I knew I had let my sister down.  I had broken her favorite and only matchbox car.  I remember wishing I could take it back and do it over; wishing that I had a second chance to get it right.  But it was broken, there was no second chance.  There wasn’t even the opportunity to buy a new one because that model of matchbox car simply could no longer be found. 

Well, in many ways this is a picture of what happened with God’s creation!  Though it was perfect when God was finished with all his creating work, as we know, the entirety of God’s creation was ruined by one simple action; one simple mistake, by one single sin.  And, of course, we know exactly who was behind it all, orchestrating the ruin of God’s creation.  We know that it was our enemy, the devil.  Though in the last two weeks we’ve looked at the importance of God’s creation and how he provides for us through his creation, this morning we want to take a closer look at how the devil ruined God’s creation.

So, to understand more fully how the devil ruined God’s creation, we want to take a look at the Scriptures and learn exactly who the devil really is.  We look first of all at Matthew 25:41 where Jesus say, “‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matthew 25:41, NIV84)

As I’m sure you remember these words were spoken by Jesus in answer to the disciple’s question of what it will be like on the Last Day and what will be the signs of his return.  Jesus answered them with many parables and finally he spoke to them with the parable of the sheep and the goats.  When Jesus comes to judge the world he will separate believers from unbelievers as easily as a shepherd separates sheep from goats.  Those who believed in him would be given the inheritance of eternal life, but those who did not believe in Jesus would be condemned.  They would be told to depart from Jesus.  They would be sent to the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and all his evil angels who sinned against the Lord after and who are being held for the day of God’s judgment, as Peter tells us, “God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;" (2 Peter 2:4, NIV84)

Though the devil was one of God’s angels, created in perfect holiness so that he might serve the Lord and care for his creation, satan sinned against the Lord by seeking to overthrow the Lord and set himself up in God’s place.  But not only did he sin by seeking to take over heaven, he also sinned by convincing a number of angels to rebel with him.  Though he raised his mutiny, he was defeated and cast out of heaven, and now he, an evil angel and ruler of a finite number of evil angels seeks to destroy all that God has created and all who believe in him.

This is what our enemy, the devil, really is!  He is a very powerful, evil angel, who is also the ruler of many other evil angels.  Yet, how often doesn’t it happen that he is portrayed as a benign powerless force in the world.  How often isn’t he portrayed as cute, or innocent, or even cool rather than what he truly is, as Peter tells us, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8, NIV84) or as Jesus tells us, “[The devil] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44, NIV84) or as John tells us, “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him." (Revelation 12:9, NIV84)

This is who our enemy, the devil, truly is and this is how he accomplishes his evil work today!  He is not a cute, or innocent, or cool, or benign force in the world.  He is a roaring lion who is prowling around, looking to devour us by leading us into sin.  He is an ancient serpent, a great dragon who seeks to lead us astray with his lies.  He is a liar and a murder who seeks to murder us by separating us form God’s truth through his lies; who seeks to destroy us and God’s creation through his lies still today, just as he did with Adam and Eve.  For the truth is, satan is still destroying God’s creation today with the very first lies he spoke to Adam and Eve: “Did God really say?”  “You will not die!  You will be like God!”  These are the very lies that our enemy, the devil, continues to use today!  These are the very lies that he uses to eat away at our faith in God’s creation of the heavens and the earth.  These are the very lies that lead people to the seemingly glorious truths of the theory of evolution, because in the theory of Evolution what God really said is replaced by what we really say, and what God really is, is replaced by who we really are as we seek to take his place and be like God ruling over heaven and earth by our declaration of God’s non existence through the “proof” of scientific fact.

In so many subtle ways, our enemy, the devil, does his evil work among us as he seeks to destroy us with his lies and deceits, just as he did with Adam and Eve, as Moses tells us, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." (Genesis 3:1–6, NIV84)

One little lie!  That’s all it took to get Adam and Eve to forget all about God’s goodness in creating them and giving them a perfect place to live in the Garden of Eden.  But before we criticize Adam and Eve for being so foolish, think of how easily satan gets us to lie, to speak angry words, or to covet some little thing that another person has.  Why do we do these things?  Only because Satan’s lies tempt us to think that it’s better or easier or more profitable to do these things than to follow God’s will.  But when we do these things, all we wind up doing is bringing more frustration and hardship and even suffering into our lives, just as Adam and Eve brought these things into the world when their sin ruined God’s creation.

When Adam and Eve listened to satan instead of the Lord, they ruined God’s creation through their sin.  They brought sin and death into this world together with pain and suffering.  For these were the very consequences bestowed upon them and all creation because of their sin, as Moses tells us in Genesis 3, “To the woman [the Lord] said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” 17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:16–19, NIV84)

Because of that one sin, we are now sinful.  Because of that one sin, creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth until this present time (Romans 8:22) Because of that one sin we face suffering in this life; suffering that comes to us through sicknesses inflicted upon us or our loved ones.  Suffering that comes to us through the frustrations of weakening limbs, joints, hearing, abilities, eyesight, or other physical ways.  Suffering that comes to us through family and friends who turn away from us or turn against us.  Suffering that comes from financial issues.  Suffering that comes to us because of the curse of death.  Though God created this world and everything in it to be perfect, satan successfully ruined God’s creation when he tempted Adam and Eve into sin and brought sin and death, pain and suffering into the world for us and for all who follow after us.  But even though satan was so successful at so thoroughly ruining God’s creation, our God enacted his solution only a short time after Adam and Eve became his enemies.  For it was on that very day in the cool of the evening when the Lord spoke to them and said, “I will put enmity between [satan] and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15, NIV84)

In that moment the Lord enacted his solution of salvation by promising to send his Son to be the Savior.  From that time forward the Lord continued to reiterate his promise that the Savior would come to free his people from their sins.  All who put their faith in the Savior who was to come found that their sins had been forgiven, lived in a right relationship with the Lord their God, and looked forward to the inheritance of eternal life by their Savior’s side forever in heaven.  Though satan had ruined God’s creation, in his love the Lord God provided all people with a second chance to once again be made perfect through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.  In his great love, the Lord our God sent his Son to be the sacrifice of atonement to make us righteous in his sight so that through faith in Jesus, we too can look forward to the gift of eternal life.  Though we will still face frustration and hardship, pain and suffering in this life, because we know Jesus, our Savior, we can see these things as blessings from the Lord, designed to help us keep our eyes focused on him and our faith securely founded in him.  Though we will face difficulties in this life, these are also things that are designed to make us lean on the Lord all the more for help in this life.  Though we will see friends and family suffer with sickness and hardships and even face the death of family and loved ones, we have our Savior’s promise that whoever is faithful to him, even to the point of death, each one will receive the crown of life in his heavenly kingdom (Revelation 2:10) when he calls us home to the place that he, himself, has prepared for us. (John 14:2-3)

What an incredible solution that the Lord bestows upon us.  Even though our enemy, the devil sought to ruin God’s creation and murder our first parents by enticing them into sin, the Lord saved them and us through Jesus our Savior.  Though our enemy, the devil, still prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to devour us, it is our Savior who defends us, protects us, and forgives us, because he has made us his own through faith.  Though the devil ruined God’s creation by using his lives to bring sin, death and suffering into the world, in his great grace the Lord has given us a second chance through faith in Jesus.  He has given us the promise that he will be with us in this life as well as the promise that he will take us to be with him forever.  For all of this let us thank and praise the Lord our God!  Let us serve him and obey him.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

GraceEvangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

Behold! The Plans of our Enemy, Revealed! (Revelation 12:1-17)

August 26, 2012

Series: What I'd Like to Know Is…(5/6)

 

Dear friends in Christ.

During World War II, one of the greatest weapons that the allies had was their ability to understand the plans of their enemies.  Because they had broken the enemy’s code, there were many times that they knew what their enemy’s next move was and they were able to counter it.  Well, for us as Christians, the same thing is true.  We have been blessed by the Lord, because today the plans of our enemy have been revealed to us! Though satan had sought to keep his plans from us and to lead us astray without even our knowing what he was up to, it is the Lord Jesus who reveals satan’s plans to us in our lesson today. 

Now, if you haven’t already done so, I invite you to turn with me to our lesson in Revelation 12, and we’ll take a look at the plans that satan has utilized in an effort to win the victory over us.  As John writes, he begins by taking us back in time, in a symbolic way, to the birth of Christ.  We see a woman, clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and with twelve stars encircling her brow as a crown of victory.  She is pregnant and ready to give birth, and from the context of the chapter, we quickly realize that this woman represents the Church—the gathering of God’s believer on earth.  It is through this Church, specifically the line of David and the House of Israel through which the Savior came.  He is the child with which the Old Testament Church was pregnant with expectation for millennia, and as Chapter 12 begins, John reveals satan’s plan to do away with the Christ.  John writes, “A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days." (Revelation 12:1–6, NIV84)

This was satan’s plan from the beginning!  Ever since the Lord had promised Adam and Eve that he would send a Savior, satan had been standing in readiness, seeking to destroy the child so that we would have no Savior.  He sought to destroy the Israelites by leading them away from the worship of the true God, but the Lord always retained many faithful people in Israel.  He tried to destroy the line of David when Queen Athaliah killed off all of the royal family in Judah.  Thus satan hoped that he might do away with the line of the Savior and thus destroy the Christ before he was even born!  But the Lord intervened and spared the life of Joash, the next king in David’s line and the next ancestor in the line of the Savior. (2 Kings 11).  Satan tried to destroy the line of the Savior by turning the religion of the Israelites into Pharisaical rules and regulations which ultimately kept people from learning about or understanding the promise of the Messiah.  Yet, the Lord again kept the message of salvation alive in the hearts of many of his people.  Even when the Savior was born, satan sought to destroy him when Herod ordered all the babies 2 years and younger to be executed.  But again the Lord intervened and his son was swept away to Egypt.  Satan sought to destroy Jesus by tempting him, in the wilderness, but Jesus did not succumb to his temptations.  Satan sought to destroy Jesus through the Pharisees, Sadducees, Teachers of the Law, and other critics who constantly sought to trap in falsehood, but they never succeeded.  Satan tried to destroy Jesus by tempting Jesus to water down his message or become simply a bread king as we’ve heard in our Gospel lessons from John 6 for the past few weeks, but Jesus kept on teaching the truth of God’s Word wherever he went, and never once watered down the message.  Finally satan tried to destroy Jesus by raising up such a hatred of him that his own people chose to crucify him.  Yet, Jesus used this very event to complete his mission.  He willingly gave up his life on the cross so that he could forgive the sins of the world.  He endured the very punishment of hell in our place giving his life over to death, and thus destroy satan, stifling and completely running his plan to destroy the source of our salvation.

Even though satan sought to destroy Jesus and his ability to be our Savior, Jesus completed his mission.  He saved his people.  He destroyed the power of the devil, and at his ascension, Jesus was snatched up to God and to his throne where he now lives and reigns over us.  Though for a short time the Church on earth enjoyed the physical presence of her Lord and Savior, today, the Church is left to sojourn in the desert of this world.  But even though we are living in the desert of this sin-filled world, we are still being fed and nourished by the Lord and his Word.  We have the comfort of congregations like this one, where we have the opportunity to hear the Word of God on a regular basis; where we are cared for by our Lord and be built up in our faith until the time when our Savior comes again on the Last Day!  This is the 1,260 days that John writes about here!  Whether it is written as 1,260 days, 42 months, 3 ½ years, or time, times and half a time, it all means the same thing.  It is the symbolic time of the New Testament Era—the complete amount of time that must pass from the day of Jesus’ ascension until the day of his return on the Last Day.

But taking out Jesus was only part of satan’s plan!  Not only did he want to destroy Jesus’ ability to be our Savior so that we would be trapped in our sins with no hope of salvation, satan also wanted to take over heaven itself and become the new god!  Take a look at what John writes beginning with verse 7: “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”" (Revelation 12:7–12, NIV84)

Though it is very possible that John here receives a flash back to the day when satan originally rebelled against the Lord, from the context, it seems more likely that John sees a picture of the war that took place when Jesus was going to the cross.  It seems that even as Jesus is arrested (Luke 22:52-53) and is led to the cross; even as Jesus is enduring the pains of hell and damnation; even as God the Father seems to be distracted by the plight of his Son and he rejects him for the sin that he has become on the cross, it seems that satan takes the opportunity to storm the halls of heaven itself so that he might once and for all overthrow the Lord, and become the new ruler of creation.  Why does it seem this way?  Because the only battle in which satan lost the ability to accuse is the battle that ended with Jesus’ death on the cross.  It was after this battle, before Jesus rose from the dead that he victoriously marched through hell itself declaring total victory over our enemy, the devil.  It is through this battle that the salvation and the power of our God and the authority of his Christ came because satan, the accuser of our brothers had been hurled down.

This is what John saw in our lesson today.  He saw satan, as his plans come to ruin as he lost the battle when he was defeated by Jesus’ death and resurrection.  He saw satan as his plans come to ruin when he went up against the angels of heaven and learned that he was not strong enough to defeat the angels of God who fought against him and all his demons with the power of the Lord God himself.  He saw satan defeated, losing his ability to accuse us of our sins because through faith in Jesus our sins have been washed away.  Our dirty, stinking, filthy, sin-filled garments have been removed by Jesus and replaced by a robe of his righteousness and holiness.  No longer can satan accuse us, because through faith in Jesus our Savior, we are at peace with God and members of his household! 

But even though satan has been defeated, he has not given up.  He is still fighting against the Lord to this very day.  Though the first two plans that the Lord revealed to us today may have failed, satan is very resilient.  Even though satan is not able to defeat the Lord of Hosts, and even though he is not able to defeat Christ’s bride, the Church because the Lord has promised that the gates of hell will never overcome her, satan has implemented a new plan—a plan that has been working since the beginning of time!  Take a look at verse 13-17: “When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus." (Revelation 12:13–17, NIV84)

Even though satan is not able to defeat the Lord, or completely destroy the Lord’s Church, he still seeks to do everything he can to separate the Church, and her offspring from the Lord.  He spews out false doctrine in an effort to overtake, dilute, and utterly destroy the truth of salvation.  He slowly infuses thoughts of social justice, social change and other social agendas into the messages that congregations teach in an effort to change their focus from a message of salvation through faith in Jesus to a message of making this world better for the benefit of all society.  He takes the message of God’s great love that moved him to send Jesus to be our Savior to free us from our sins so that we could be forgiven and live with him forever in heaven, and begins to corrupt it into thoughts of God being nothing more than love.  Thus the thoughts naturally follow that if God is love he must love me no matter what, and if God loves me no matter what it doesn’t matter how I live because God loves me for who I am.  So, because God loves me for who I am, I can then live in God’s love by loving others in whatever way seems best to me, whether they be men or women.  Thus, through satan’s deception, the God who is love has been replaced by Love, which has become, to many, a god.  Just think, how many congregations hasn’t satan infiltrated, diluting and even stealing the message of salvation from God’s children, separating them from him and him from them?  How many times hasn’t satan’s war against those who hold to the testimony of Jesus been effective enough to make them turn from their faith and walk away from the Lord?  How often hasn’t satan worked in our congregation and been successful in separating some from their Lord and Savior here at Grace?

Though I wish we were immune to satan’s plans, how often hasn’t he sent anger and frustration rippling through our congregation in an effort to separate us from the love of our God?  How often hasn’t he sought to make even the strongest Christians question their faith in God?  How often hasn’t he sought to fill our hearts with a lukewarm attitude toward worship and Bible study?  How often hasn’t he sought to fill us with the attitude that it is more important for us to be spiritual than it is for us to be religious?  How often hasn’t he set parents and children against each other, pushing and pushing until children simply refuse to come to church because the message is out dated or it simply doesn’t speak to them anyway?  How often hasn’t he set husbands and wives against each other in arguments that are only meant to drive a wedge between them and their God?

These are but a few of the ways that satan is seeking even now to destroy us and separate us from the Lord Jesus, our Savior.  But even though he is seeking to separate us, we have the benefit of knowing his plans, and as GI Joe would say, “Knowing is half the battle!”  The other half is equipping and going on the offensive.  So, do just that!  Equip yourselves against satan’s schemes.  Build yourselves up in the Word of God through regular worship and regular Bible study.  Review the battle plans with which the Lord has equipped you in his Word.  Put on the full armor of salvation and speak to the Lord with Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs on a regular basis.  Live in the love that Jesus has lavished upon you—the forgiveness of sins.  Remind yourselves daily of your baptisms, and seek to drown, your enemy every day through sorrow over your sins and repentance.  Thus, strengthened by the Lord, you will be built up in your faith, strengthened in your knowledge of forgiveness and ready to stand against your enemy, because today the Lord has revealed his plans to you, and drawn you closer to the Lord, your Savior, who has separated you from satan and made you his own through faith in Christ Jesus. 

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