The Kingdom of God Has Indeed Come :: Luke 11:14-28

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Today we have before us, once again ... a beautiful word to see, a beautiful word to hear, and a beautiful word to believe ... or better yet, to have faith in. [Jesus said:] If I cast out demons [with] the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you (v 20). Therefore, make no mistake about it ...

THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAS COME AND IS NOW HERE

This is God’s beautiful Word for us today.

1. 

Before we go further, please turn to page 324 in your [Lutheran Service Book], and join me in confessing this. As the head of the family should teach it in a simple way to his household ... What is the Second Petition? What does this mean? How does God’s kingdom come? 

2.

Not everyone is convinced about this ... that the Kingdom of God has come and is now here. There are many sincere people in our world who are convinced that the Kingdom of God has NOT come and is NOT yet here. Some are NOT Christian ... and some ARE Christian. Both groups will tell you that the kingdom of God has NOT come and is not here. 

You are probably familiar with one of these sects. They call themselves Jehovah’s Witnesses. The kingdom they preach is a kingdom in which the god they call Jehovah will rule this world in righteousness and truth, bringing peace. They say it is still to come. But you should know, they do not believe that Jesus is God incarnate who has come and is now here. They are not Christian.

Now I know that didn’t surprise you. But did you know there are many mainstream Protestants who also believe that the kingdom of God is NOT here. They certainly confess that Jesus is God incarnate who came 2,000 years ago. But if you were to tell them that the Kingdom of God has come, they might look at you as if you were mute ... like the man in our Gospel reading ... or perhaps blind ... saying ... Say what? The kingdom of God is STILL to come. Can’t you see what’s going on in this world? Don’t you see and hear about all the war, violence and immorality? How can you say therefore that the Kingdom of God has come and is here?

3.

Well, today Jesus gives us the answer. Listen again to the Word of Christ. Jesus said, If I cast out demons [with] the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you (v 20). 

This isn’t the first time Jesus has cast out demons. Nor is it the first time Jesus specifically told us that the kingdom of God has come upon you. And you should know that this isn’t the last time, he will remind you that the kingdom of God has come upon you and is now here. As Jesus says in Luke 17 ... The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed. ... The kingdom of God is inside you (vv 20-21). 

So yes, the kingdom of God has indeed come upon you. Jesus himself says so. 

To have faith in this truth does not demand that you be able to see the kingdom of God. Jesus said, Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have faith (Jn 20:29). Faith believes the Word of Christ that the kingdom comes even without our prayer. Faith apprehends the Word of Christ that it comes among us also. Faith takes hold of the Word of Christ, saying, Yes, Lord, I believe; help my unbelief (Mk 9:24). ... And yes, Lord, I believe baptism now saves me (1 Pt 3:21). ... And, yes, Lord, those who eat the body of Christ and drink his blood have eternal life (Jn 6:54). ... More than that, faith receives the Word of Absolution, that is forgiveness, from the pastor, as from God himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven (Jn 20:23). Faith comes through hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ (Rm 10:9). He opens our lips so that our mouths will sing his praise that thy kingdom has come.

4.

Now let us consider the events and the conversation related to us by Saint Luke, where Jesus shows us that the kingdom of God has come upon you. By Luke’s reckoning, we are late in the ministry of Jesus. To be sure, many people are having trouble believing all the evidence that the kingdom of God has come upon them. Luke has already recorded six different healing miracles (4:38-39; 5:12-15; 5:17-26; 6:6-11; 7:1-10; 8:43-48), three exorcisms (4:31-38; 8:26-39; 9:37-43), two resurrections from the dead (7:11-17; 8:41-56), as well as the feeding of the 5,000 (9:12-17), and the calming of the storm (8:22-25) ... all of which show you the kingdom has come in Christ. More than that, just before our text Jesus even taught us to pray ... thy kingdom come (11:2) ... which comes even without our prayer. 

This brings us to our text. Now [Jesus] was casting out a mute demon. And when the demon had come out, the mute man spoke, and the people were amazed. But some of them said, ‘It’s in the name of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, [that] he casts out demons.’ And others, tempting him, were seeking from him a sign out of heaven (vv. 14b-16).

5.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, How long will we just ... keep on hearing, but not understand; keep on seeing, but not perceiving (Isa 6:9)? The kingdom of God has come. Jesus is here, where two or three are gathered. He has come to free you from sin, death, and the devil. He has come to live and die and rise for you. He has come to baptize and nourish you. It is on account of this grace ... his grace ... that is, the forgiveness of sins he gives ... that we believe the kingdom of God has come.

The decisive battle between good and evil is not going to be fought in the future. Jesus has come and won. Though despised and rejected by men who do not want the forgiveness of sins (Isa 53:3), he was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. He has brought us peace and healed us (Isa 53:5). More than that, as Jesus told us in Luke 10:18, he saw cast Satan out of heaven like lightning. And now today we see and hear about the time he cast out the mute demon, and the mute man spoke. If I cast out demons [with] the finger of God, Jesus said, then the kingdom of God has come upon you (v 20).

He certainly didn’t do that in the name of Beelzebul, the lord of filth! The devil is not divided against himself (vv 17-18). Instead, it is the devil who does everything he can to silence Christians from sharing the Gospel ... to prevent people from receiving the kingdom of God ... to deny the delivery of the forgiveness of sins. Demons serve Beelzebul by dividing Christians ... doing their best to silence them and convince them that we do not have forgiveness. 

But now the kingdom of God has come in the person of Jesus, who breaks the power of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh which do not want us to hallow God's name or let his kingdom come. 

Jesus did this by being tempted in every way like you. He faced the devil in the wilderness. While some of Jesus’ own disciples argued about who’s the greatest in the Kingdom of God (Lk 22:24-30), Jesus humbled himself, becoming a servant obedient to death, even death on a cross (Pp 2:8). Jesus faced the devil when he was suffering and sweating blood in the Garden (Lk 22:44). Jesus faced the devil on Pilate’s whipping post. Jesus faced the devil on the cross. There, Jesus bore all of your sin, crushing the serpent’s head (Gen 3:15). There, Jesus died so that your sin will never be heard from again. Jesus shed his righteous blood for the forgiveness of sins. And he has risen from the dead for your justification. 

The kingdom of God has come. And won. 

6.

And now the kingdom is yours wherever the word of God is preached purely and wherever the sacraments of Christ are administered according to Christ’s institution. 

When the Holy Spirit calls sinners to faith in Christ, they receive Christ’s own righteousness. ... They are set free from the demons that oppress ... and they are given the keys to the kingdom of God. Here, in his Divine Service to us, we receive the forgiveness of sins ... in baptism, in absolution, in the Supper. Here, in his Divine Service to us, God’s means of grace always offer you the forgiveness of sins. Here, he gives you peace. And because Jesus lives in you and you in him, you can therefore become imitators of God, as beloved children, [walking] in love, just as Christ Jesus loved us and gave himself up for us ... bringing unity to your family (Eph 5:1-2). 

Those who refuse to forgive and be forgiven, sharing the forgiveness Jesus provided in his life, death, and resurrection, doing the good works God prepared for you ... do nothing but cause division. As Jesus said, the one who is not with me is against me, and the one not gathering with me scatters (v 23). 

So, in the name of Jesus, repent, that is, mourn the sin that divides you and believe the Gospel that unites you. The kingdom continues to come to you through Word and Sacraments. As we continue to heed God’s imperative in Ephesians, as we continue to receive the Gospel, the unclean spirits will never find a home with you because the stronger one ... Jesus ... has come (v 22). 

As Jesus said these things, a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice [and] said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!’ [To which] Jesus said, Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and guard it (vv 27-28) ... keep it ... treasure it ... preserve it ... holding it fast. 

In so doing, we will lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity ... in Jesus’ name.

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