Jesus Is Our Best Defense :: Luke 11:14-28
Then it happened, when the demon was cast out, the deaf-mute man spoke, and the crowd marveled (v 14).
[Introduction]
Today, for the third time in three weeks, we hear about our Lord’s victories over Satan.
Two weeks ago, we were reminded of the confrontation that took place in the wilderness for forty days and nights. The Deceiver of the World tempted Christ to serve himself, to test himself, and to pursue earthly pleasures and treasures for himself (Mt 4:1-11). These temptations were designed to silence Jesus. But the Word promptly routed the Ancient Serpent (Gen 3:15).
Last week, we heard about the time a Canaanite woman sought out Christ to liberate her daughter, who had been possessed by a demon (Mt 15:21-28). In that encounter, the disciples tried to silence the woman’s faithful confession. But with only a Word from the Word of Life, the woman’s great faith that Jesus is the Son of David, and therefore the Christ, the Son of the Living God, was vindicated, and her daughter was healed instantly (Mt 15:21-28).
Now in today’s Gospel reading from Luke 11[:14-28], we again see and hear the power of God’s Word being heard and confessed. Christ has driven out yet another one of Devil’s minions, this time a deaf-mute demon. In Greek deaf and mute are the same word, so I am calling him a deaf-mute. When you are deaf, you are likely mute. You can neither hear nor speak. Now this deaf-mute demon was preventing a man from hearing the Word of God and confessing it. He could neither hear nor speak of his great faith in God. So Jesus sets us free.
By casting out these demons, Jesus is doing something much more than simply demonstrating his power over the fallen creation. He is proving that ...
THE BEST DEFENSE AGAINST THE DEVIL, THE WORLD, AND OUR SINFUL NATURE IS HEARING AND CONFESSING THE GOSPEL OF GOD.
I. The best defense begins with the Word. Listen to it.
The Word of God, who was in the beginning, and was with God, and was God, became flesh and dwelt among us. He has come as The Stronger One to destroy sin, death, and the devil. He came to be seen and touched and, most certainly, HEARD and CONFESSED. As Paul teaches us, Faith comes through hearing and hearing through the Word made flesh. ... All who confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God raised him from the dead will be saved.
Though Satan was found to be powerless in heaven and thus was silenced there ... (you can read about that in Revelation 12 and Luke 10) ... the Devil still prowls the earth like the stealthy predator known as the lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Pt 5:8). One way he does that is by trying to convince you to think you don’t need to hear the Word of God ... that you don’t need to actually speak the Gospel. While Francis of Assisi is attributed as saying, Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words ... we believe, teach, and confess that the Gospel always uses the Word. The Gospel literally is a good announcement of what the Word of God has done and continues to do.
Other great cons of the devil include teaching many within the church the idea that baptism isn’t necessary for salvation ... that the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper are only symbols or representations of Jesus’ body and blood.
But Jesus says, This is my body. This is my blood. It’s for your forgiveness. Hear his Word.
II. Because we are Christians, we are engaged in a battle over God’s Word. So confess it.
I know many of you want to believe that all Christians believe, teach, and confess the same thing ... but it is not true. The devil will do anything to keep you from confessing the truth. The devil wages war on Christians to separate us from Christ’s church, by spreading false doctrine taught by false teachers so that you don’t know who to have faith in.
Three of his more prominent lies are that baptism doesn’t actually save you ... that baptism isn’t necessary for salvation ... that the bread and wine of communion are not Christ’s body and blood. These lies are designed to keep you from confessing who Jesus is, what Jesus does, why Jesus saves, when he did that, and even how ... and that he did this for you.
Meanwhile, the world will pile on by persecuting us through social and political means, and even brute force, to silence you from speaking and listening to the Gospel. The world around you blasphemes the name of Jesus, saying things like it is in [the name of] Beelzebul, the prince of demons, [that Jesus] casts out demons. The flesh further seduces Christians into false belief, great shame, and vice, which do not want us to hallow God’s name, or to let his kingdom come.
Since Jesus is the cure to what ails humanity, the person of Christ and the Work and Word of Christ are always the devil’s target. His aim is to get you to REJECT God’s Word and Sacraments ... REBUFF the gifts of God ... and thereby DENY the power of God in them.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, what are we to do?
Those of you who are not deaf and have been baptized can repent in the name of Jesus, who loved us and delivered himself on our behalf, as Paul teaches us in our epistle reading from Ephesians (5:2). Therefore, do so.
III. Once we hear the Gospel, we can begin confessing it.
This is one reason why we ask those who seek confirmation and baptism: Do you renounce the devil? Do you renounce all of his works? Do you renounce all of his ways? Do you believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth? Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord? Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? Do you hold all the prophetic and apostolic scriptures to be the inspired Word of God? Do you confess the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, drawn from the Scriptures, as you have learned to know it from the Small Catechism, to be faithful and true? Do you intend to hear the Word of God and receive the Lord’s Supper faithfully? Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it?
The answers to these questions not only give a true confession of God-given faith, that is nurtured only by God ... they are a declaration of war against the devil and his demons! This confession is meant to be heard. It is a confirmation of the power of the Holy Spirit, who calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it in the one true faith.
On account of Jesus’ sinless life, Jesus’ perfect sacrifice, Jesus’ all-atoning blood he shed on the cross, Jesus’ rest that sanctified all graves of all people, and Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into glory, you can rest knowing that eternal life is yours. And then you can return to your baptism, come to the Supper, and praise God for his grace that gives you life and salvation.
As Jesus says so often, He who has ears, let him hear 1 Peter 3, Romans 6, Colossians 2, Ephesians 5, Titus 3, Acts 2. Baptism now saves you because it unites you in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Word of God works in and with the water to save you. It gives you the faith that trusts this Word of God in the water. This is the same faith that apprehends the forgiveness of sins being delivered to you when you eat and drink his body and blood at the Lord’s Table, proclaiming the Lord’s death until he comes. It is here at the Lord’s Table that we learn to believe that Christ, out of great love, died for my sin, and also learn from him to love God and my neighbor (20 Questions, No. 18).
IV. So let us always hear and confess the Gospel.
The Holy Spirit teaches us to believe every Word that comes from the mouth of God is good, right, and salutary. That he alone enables us to confess it.
This is why we preach like Jeremiah, not holding back a word [because] it may be that they will listen, and every one will turn from his evil way (Jer 26:2b-3). We preach, like the Psalmist, thanking the Lord that he gives us relief (Ps 4:1). We preach like Paul, that it is on account of the perfect life and death of Jesus that we are redeemed from sin, death, and the power of the devil. We preach like the Baptizer that Jesus actually is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We preach like the evangelist to the Hebrews that Jesus actually has atoned for all of our sin with the shedding of his blood (Hb 9:12). Our weakness became his weakness (2 Cor 13:4-5). Our death became his death (1 Pt 3:18). His life is now our life (Gal 2:20). God forsook his only begotten son on that cross ... because all of our sin was on the body of Jesus. God has done this, and it is good. And because Jesus was actually sinless himself, God has raised him from the dead.
[Conclusion]
This is why we cherish hearing and confessing God’s Word. This is the Gospel that is our source of comfort and strength. It enables us to walk before him blameless (Gen 17:1), being imitators of God (Eph 5:1) so that with all boldness and confidence we can stand before him and receive his gifts of grace with joy (Hb 4:16). Let no one deceive you with empty words (Eph 5:6). Keep returning to his Divine Service. Jesus is our best defense against the devil. Don’t stop hearing and confessing this truth, because through it, you will live ... in Jesus’ name.