SERM: Luke 11:14-28, Lent3, LSB One-Year
"Being With Christ" Third Sunday in Lent Oculi March 23, 2014 Luke 11:14-28 Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters. The one who can't hear receives. The one who can't speak is given a new voice. It is the ones whose ears work and whose mouths are too busy talking who are deaf and stand mute before God. Pray that you have no ability of your own to hear or to speak before God. Only then can you receive. You are of the devil and that is why you have been Baptized. You convict God of doing evil work and place before Him your own works as good and worthy of honor. You are possessed of this thing called the sinful nature and you feed its hungry flesh daily by giving in to its temptations and by carrying out the sins it wants of you. You need the devil to be cast out of you and that is why you were Baptized. You are not with Christ, you are against Him. That is why you have been crucified in your sinful flesh in Baptism and having died with Christ you have been raised to new life in Christ's resurrection in your Baptism. The man in the Gospel reading was mute. He was also deaf. How can one who is deaf hear? How is one who cannot speak now able to? Those who witnessed Jesus bring this about in the man marveled. Jesus cast the demon out of the man and the man was now able to hear and now able to speak. Perhaps we marvel because we do not know the true power of God. The one who can't hear is the one who receives because the Holy Spirit gives the ability to hear by faith. The one who can't speak is given a mouth to confess Jesus as Lord, as we confess in the Catechism: I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. This is what it means to be with Christ. Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters. If you are not with Christ, you are against Him. If you are in your sinful flesh, you are not with Him. The striking example of the man who was possessed by a demon shows us just how crucial this is. You are of the devil and you don't even realize it. You are against Christ and you don't even see it. That is why so many accuse Jesus of being of the devil. It is why some of them asked Jesus to give them a sign, as if casting a demon out of man and giving him once again hearing and speech wasn't sign enough. We're either accusing God or asking Him for some sort of sign, which is nothing other to say than we are not with Him. We are against Him. He who does not gather with Me scatters. You are of the devil. You are bound up in your sinful flesh. Society will tell you that you should have self-esteem. Science will tell you that you are made up of a bunch cells no different from the ones that make up the pews you are sitting on and in the end you have no ultimate greater value than those very pews. The cycle of life will just recycle more people to live and die and they will build more pews to replace these when they wear out. All religions but Christianity will tell you that there is good in you and God or whatever Supreme Being there is looks for you to bring about that good. And your own sinful nature? Your own sinful nature is so curved in on itself that it would have you believe that you are your own god. It is Christianity alone that will tell you that you are of the devil. It is Christianity alone that will take the risk of saying to you what your sinful flesh will violently oppose. You are of the one who is forever cast in hell and forever the enemy of God. Satan has you in his realm and will do anything to destroy you. But he will not cast himself out. He works against Christ but not himself. If demons are cast out it is because God is doing the work. If your sinful flesh is put to death it is because Christ is stronger than the strong man that is the devil. Satan's power and kingdom are mighty but they are no match for the humble act of Jesus of making His way to the cross. Satan rages and wars against you but all it takes is for God to lift His finger and Satan is defeated. The suffering and death of Christ on the cross was the hour of the powers of darkness and yet in that suffering and death God snatched victory from Satan's grasp. This is why you were Baptized. Satan knew he was defeated in that moment. He knew he would have to go all out, using any means to tempt you and to entice you to fall. So God snatched you out of his clutches. He Baptized you. He said, Okay, if I have stricken down My own Son then I will do the same for My sons and daughters. I will put them to death also. Since they are in the realm of Satan, I will destroy them so that he can no longer have them. And in Baptism He struck you down, your sinful flesh drowning and being crucified, joined with Christ in His death. It was the only way. And because His little finger is more powerfu
SERM: Luke 11:14–28, Lent3, LSB One-Year
"Seeing with Your Ears" Third Sunday in Lent Oculi March 8, 2015 Luke 11:14–28 From the Scriptures we learn that we walk by faith, not by sight. I suppose that for those who physically cannot see may come a greater understanding of what it means to walk by faith. If you are unable to see something you have to take it on faith that it’s actually there. And so, perhaps we ought to learn from the fact that there are some people who actually cannot see what most of us take so much for granted. It takes no faith to believe that you are in a church right now. You can see it and you can see that you’re in it. Even if you were to close your eyes right now, you wouldn’t be much in the realm of faith to believe that you are still here and that the church walls still surround you. Having walked in here you know that this is where you have come because you saw it with your own eyes. But those who are blind must go on what you tell them. If you bring someone who is blind in here and tell them it’s a church they can’t know it except for that you have told them. They are going on faith. They are believing what they believe because they are trusting your words and they are trusting you. This is why we can learn from them. It is by hearing that they see. That is, based on what they hear they come to understand what it is you are telling them is the way things are. Now of course if someone is blind and deaf they can’t very well hear. But even so, you would communicate to them in some way what are the things they need to know. And so it is still on faith that they see, or know, not on seeing with their eyes. Lent is a time where it is particularly brought home the necessity of being a hearer of the Word. In Lent we take things down a notch. We still give glory to God but we do so in a subdued way as we ponder the Passion of our Lord. We hear things like those that are given in today’s Gospel reading. We hear of demon possession and Jesus speaking of Satan casting out Satan and kingdoms divided amongst themselves and not being able to stand and the stronger man binding the strong man guarding his house. In our thoroughly modern society we don’t resonate with things like demon possession. Have you ever seen someone who was demon possessed? There are horror movies of course. But demon possession isn’t something we run across in everyday life. Are demons even real? Is Satan real? Many people don’t believe in the devil or demons because they can’t see them. And of course there are just as many who don’t believe in God because they can’t see God. By their very nature, spiritual things and beings are unseen. It takes faith to believe they exist. This is where hearing comes in. Since we can’t see things in the spiritual realm it is up to our ears to do the working. God speaks and we listen. God gives us His Word and we hear it. The Scriptures tell us that we walk by faith not by sight. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ. There is of course the freedom on our part to reject this Word. We may hear the Word and refuse it. But God sounds forth His Word for us to hear it and the Holy Spirit works through that word to create faith in us. In the Gospel reading we meet just such people who heard and rejected. The irony here is that they not only heard but saw. They saw Jesus casting out demons and still did not believe in Him. They heard the word of Christ and still refused it. One of the main reasons we are here Sunday in and Sunday out is to hear the Word of Christ so that we are strengthened in the faith; so that we do not fall away and end up rejecting our Lord. A woman in the crowd said to Jesus, “‘Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts at which You nursed!’ But Jesus responded to her, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’” Jesus had just accomplished a miracle for many eyes to see. Some people asked for another sign before they would believe. Jesus’ emphasis is on the ears. We see by hearing. Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it. Jesus’ response to the woman is much more than a correction of her. She was saying to Him how blessed His mother was in bearing Him and raising Him. His response seems to contradict the woman. No, not blessed is her, but all those who hear the Word of God and keep it. Though it may sound like He was contradicting her, in fact, He was showing exactly how this woman was right. His mother, the virgin who bore Him by the Holy Spirit, had heard the Word of God from the angel Gabriel that she would bear a Son and that it would be a miraculous conception and that this Son would be the very Savior. Think about this word of God that she heard. It was a lot to take in and she in simple childlike faith wondered how this could be. Gabriel’s answer was equally simple: With human beings it’s impossible. With God all things are possible. And at this word of God she responded in the faith born by the Holy Spirit through that spoken word,
SERM: Luke 11:14–28, Lent3, LSB One-Year
"Your Lord Sustains You in Faith" Third Sunday in Lent Oculi February 28, 2016 Luke 11:14–28 We pray that those who do not believe in Jesus will repent and believe in Him. We pray also that those who do believe will continue to humbly confess their sins and hold fast to the unchangeable truth of God’s Word. We pray for those who have faith and and those who do not. Those who have no faith reject God’s love in Jesus Christ. Those who do have faith recognize that it is purely by the glory of God in being merciful and gracious to them. This is what is shown us God’s Word. The man in the Gospel reading was granted liberation from the demon who possessed him by the action of Jesus, not by his own action. The man was held captive by the power of Satan and was released by the power of God. The demon that possessed him rendered him unable to speak. When Jesus released him from his bondage his mouth was released as well and he spoke. This is testament to the power God in our lives. It shows what faith is. Faith cannot help but speak. It is that which is given by God and proclaims the power of God, not the power of self. The man spoke and surely did not speak of his own ability or power or worthiness. He was able to speak because Jesus gave him the ability to speak. But it is sad that the ability to speak does not always flow from faith. The words we speak are not always reserved for the object of faith, giving praise and glory to God for His salvation in His Son. No sooner had the man been released from his demon possession than some who witnessed it spoke against Christ. “Some of them said, ‘He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,’ while others, to test Him, kept seeking from Him a sign from heaven.” These two responses to Jesus were not of faith but of unbelief. The good and gracious work of Jesus in giving the man new life was met with hostility—He casts out demons by Satan himself. What ought to have been a glorious display to them of the power of God and His love was met with derision. Some were seeking a sign from heaven. I’m not sure what else they were wanting to see. Delivering a person from demon possession is a work that the God of heaven does. What ought to have been a clear sign from heaven brought about in the person of Jesus Christ was met with disdain. Jesus shows them the folly of their claim. “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?” News flash! Satan does not want demons cast out of people! The whole point of demon possession is for the people to be overcome by the power of Satan. If he starts casting out the demons, how is he going to overcome those people? Satan does not work against himself. Jesus then tells them what they really know but reject, that it is by the finger of God that He casts out demons. And, He says, if this is so, “then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.” They are face to face with God almighty in the person of Jesus but they reject Him. The Kingdom of God has come to them. Jesus has come to bring the glorious reign of God to earth by giving salvation to people, delivering them from the bondage of Satan. He has come to grant faith to people, but it is agonizing to see that some simply do not want this gracious and merciful salvation. Why is this? Why do some people not want the salvation God offers? Why do they not want to believe in Jesus who has come to deliver them from their sin and bondage to Satan? Jesus shows why. “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.” People by nature are under the rule of Satan. He is a strong man, fully armed, as Jesus describes him. He guards the palace of this world and the goods, the life people have, are safe. This is what people want. They are secure. They have what they want. They’re fine just the way they are. But Jesus says that a stronger man comes and attacks the strong man. Jesus is the one who comes to the strong man and attacks him. Jesus is stronger than Satan. That is why it was so easy for Jesus to cast out the demon. But some people want to stay in their secure palace guarded by Satan. Jesus defeats Satan but people are already comfortable. They don’t like it that Jesus has come in, and as the stronger man, has rocked the boat. Reacting in unbelief instead of faith, they go back to Satan where he guards their palace. Why is this appealing to them? Why would someone seek to remain under Satan’s dominion instead of the freeing realm of Christ? Because Jesus calls for faith. He calls for a penitent heart and steadfast faith. The Lord is the Lord who breaks into the kingdom of Satan and rescues us. When this happens those who harden themselves to His salvation do not see the amazing freedom of humbly rejoicing in pure grace. They
