Silencing the Demons (Luke 4:31-44)
Rev. David French
01/30/22
Have you ever wondered why Jesus refuses to allow the demons to speak? I mean, you could understand if they were lying or cursing, but we only hear them speak the truth. Jesus is “the Holy One of God” and “the Son of God.” It does make you wonder what else these demons would have told us about Jesus - had they not been silenced.
It’s not like we’d be fooled even if they did lie. That’s certainly not a trap any of us would fall into. But what if that very thought is a part of satan’s [sic] lie that we so foolishly agree with? I’m not sure if we really believe or think we’re that wise, but haven’t we been listening to satan’s [sic] lies for a very long time? We listen as though we think his lies won’t affect us, but my friends, they do.
The truth is, if you’re honest, you will see satan’s [sic] lies have already found a home in our hearts. Have you ever doubted God – or questioned His word? How often have we, by our actions, shown we believe the best thing to say in the face of sin - is nothing, telling ourselves it’s none of our business? Or have you ever shied away from responding when someone says something like “all religion is manmade” or “we all worship the same God”?
Someone, however, must have failed to tell Jesus that because He will not allow the demons to speak. Perhaps it’s because Jesus knows how twisted our thinking is and how blind we really are. And the Lord knows those lies are at the heart of why Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was sick. Not that she committed a specific sin, she was just sick at that time.
The thing is, there would not be a time of sickness at all if sin had not entered the world. Remember, all of creation was very good, until the day Adam and Eve doubted the Word of God. On that day, the door to sin and all that leads to death was opened, and make no mistake, we continue on the path of our first parents each and every time we act as though God didn’t say what we know He said. Had God left us on our own to walk that path, we, like the demons, would also look at Him and cry, “Have you come to destroy us?”
And, did you happen to notice in our text how Luke said Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law? He “stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her ….” Jesus rebuked the fever. He dealt with the fever the same way He dealt with the demons. In other words, Jesus knows our diseases are as foreign to us as demons or death. To Jesus, they’re all the same ... the sin we inherit, the sins we commit, the frailties we live with, the diseases we suffer, the death we fear ... everything that came with sin and does not belong in God’s creation.
Jesus rebuked the demon inside the man in the synagogue. And later that evening, when the demons were coming “out of many, crying, ‘You are the Son of God!’ … Jesus rebuked them” and when Jesus speaks, the demons are silenced. But notice, not only are they silent, they also give up their victims. The man in the synagogue is unharmed. The many were healed.
But healing the body in this life is not Christ’s purpose. How sad it would be for us to have perfect health only to lose our souls. None of you would exchange health for heaven. In fact, the more we suffer, the more precious the gift of God’s Word and the promise of heaven become to us.
Christ’s goal for us is not the perfect healing of body but the perfect healing of body and soul for eternity. And according to Christ’s own words, the way to accomplish that is to “… preach the good news of the kingdom of God …,” and He finishes, “for I was sent for this purpose.” That is, Christ was sent by the Father into our world and into our lives to reveal the truth. The truth of our sin, the truth of our rejection, the truth of our selfishness and greed, and the truth that, when it fits our desires, we do listen to the lies of satan [sic].
But Jesus was not just another preacher delivering a word from God. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. He did not come to tell you how to get right with God. He came to take away your sin, and so, bring you to God. He came to restore what sin has taken from you, the knowledge of a loving and merciful God.
That’s the Good News. Jesus Christ, the Holy One of God has paid for your sins and taken from satan [sic] the only threat he had over you. With His resurrection, Christ overcame death and defeated satan [sic]. He did that, not by using His almighty power, but by trusting the Father’s promise with His life, as He himself said from the cross, “Father into Your hands I commit my spirit.” Satan gave it his best shot, and Jesus turned the other cheek.
But despite the suffering He endured because of our sins, Jesus never turned form God, never complained, never doubted. He was “obedient unto death ….” And now, by God’s grace, united with Him by your baptism, so are you.
That’s why Christ came into our world, so that the gospel might be preached to you. So that, through the eyes of faith created in your baptism, you might see and believe that your God is gracious and merciful, loving and kind. That Christ’s blood shed on the cross is the payment that set you free from the bondage of your sin and the fears that fill our lives. By faith you believe that Jesus has fulfilled the Holy Commandments, so that now they are not a measure of obedience for you, but a mirror that shows you the sins in your life that Christ has or will forgive.
Does that mean we will no longer suffer the things that are common to all mankind, that we will never again be sick or afraid? You already know the answer to that. God has indeed put His gifts in jars of clay, but in Christ we can see suffering in a different way, because as God’s Word reveals, “suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character and character hope.”
And so, like Him, we also commend ourselves, our bodies and souls and all that we have into God’s hands. Not judging His love for us by what we see or feel, but by His actions on the cross and through His Word spoken at our baptisms and with His Supper. To the blind, Christ on the cross looks like the Father has forsaken Him. But the truth is, the cross is what we point to as the clearest example of God’s love for us, that is, sending His Son to pay for our sin. By faith we no longer view suffering as a cause for sorrow, because as Christians our sufferings become opportunities to be a witness of God’s love for us. Even in the midst of earthly sorrows, we live with the hope of His eternal mercies.
But, make no mistake. Once you open the door to satan’s [sic] lies, when you listen to your sinful nature, while not a demon, certainly they have the same goal. The seeds of doubt first planted in the minds and hearts of Adam and Eve will sprout and grow in your mind and heart as well. Just as every word of God is true and given for your good, so every word of satan [sic] is a lie meant to separate you from God and destroy you. But take heart, for Christ, who is the very Word of God incarnate, has made you His own, promising that He will always be with you.
In His name, Amen.