1.
Grace,
mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. Amen. The message from God’s Word this 4th
Sunday after the Epiphany comes to us from Mark 1:21-28. In our text from Mark’s Gospel this morning
we see that the LORD’s promise to Moses that He would raise up “a Prophet”
like him came true in the person and work of Jesus. But, Jesus is more than a prophet of the
Scriptures. He’s the Word of God in human flesh, and He speaks “a new
teaching with authority” (Mark 1:22, 27). He enters the synagogue of His Church and provides true Sabbath rest,
using His authority to cast out even demons (Mark 1:21–27). By His Word of the
Cross He removes the accusations of the law and of the devil, and He cleanses
our consciences before God the Father.
The message from God’s Word this morning is entitled, “The Authority of Jesus,” dear brothers
and sisters in Christ.
2.
My
favorite quote from Martin Luther comes from the preface to the Large Catechism
where Luther writes, “Therefore, I again
beg all Christians—especially pastors and preachers—not to think of themselves
as doctors too soon and imagine that they know everything… Instead, they should
daily exercise themselves well in these studies and constantly use them.
Furthermore, they should guard with all care and diligence against the
poisonous infection of contentment and vain imagination, but steadily keep on
reading, teaching, learning, pondering, and meditating on the catechism. And
they should not stop until they have tested and are sure that they have taught
the devil to death, and have become more learned than God Himself and all His
saints.[1]”
3.
Did
you notice in that last line of Luther’s that it is important that we as
Christians teach the devil to death? What
do you suppose that Luther means by that quote?
I think he means that we as Christians need to be diligent in our
studying and meditating on Holy Scripture and the catechism so that we may be
prepared to stand against the attacks of the evil one, Satan. For Scripture calls the Devil a prowling lion
seeking that which he may devour. This
is why we support our Lutheran Elementary grade schools like Christ Lutheran
School here in West Bloomfield, WI. Our
Lutheran schools are training grounds for our children to learn, study, and
meditate on the Word of God, that sword of the Spirit, to enable them to fight
off the attacks of the devil.
4.
Luther
believed in the existence of Satan and his attacks on our consciences tempting
us to sin. Many theologians deny the
possibility of demon possession then and now. It’s true that we today do not
identify many such cases. Maybe the trouble is with us, we fail to recognize
them. But we also know that Satan and his demons are wise to adapt themselves
to the times. Today we find their power displayed in the human attempts to
undermine Scripture and its teachings. False doctrine, cults, pagan religions,
science that rejects Scripture—all these are the working of Satan. Since they
attack us on all sides, we too need to turn to Christ and to the Scriptures for
refuge. Jesus, the Holy One of God, points us to the Scriptures and testifies,
“Your Word is truth” (John 17:17).
5.
We
see in our text from God’s Word this morning that the devil is real and very
much among us in Mark 1:21–28, “21 And they went into Capernaum, and
immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And
they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had
authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was
in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What
have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know
who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him,
saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean
spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And
they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What
is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits,
and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere
throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.”
6.
What
Jesus’ specific message was on this Sabbath day, Mark doesn’t tell us. But, he does tell us about the impression
Jesus’ preaching made on the worshipers. They were amazed, for Jesus didn’t
teach as the teachers of the law did. They always referred to the
interpretations of past rabbis and were particularly skillful at breaking down
God’s Word into a number of legalistic regulations. But, Jesus always proclaimed the gospel of
God. He quoted no experts but proclaimed the good news on His own authority.
This was one of the first lessons the disciples had to learn that in Jesus they
were face-to-face with the final authority. For us too Christ is more than just
a wise teacher or a model on which to pattern our lives. He’s the one who in
word and deed reveals to us the undeserved love of God for sinners incorporated
in His own person. His is the final word.
7.
It’s
not at all surprising that Satan wasn’t ready to let such a message and a
preacher go unchallenged. It was the devil who caused a man in that synagogue
to cry out against Jesus, for it’s clear that this man wasn’t speaking for
himself. He couldn’t by his own power have known what he said about Christ.
However, Satan and the evil spirit that possessed this man knew who Jesus of
Nazareth was and what his purpose was. They knew he was the Son of God and that
he had come to destroy Satan’s hold over mankind. With his words Satan revealed
himself wiser than many modern theologians. This knowledge did him no spiritual
good; it only filled him with fear and trembling. He knew that he faced hell
and the gospel wasn’t meant for him.
8.
The
demon was afraid of Jesus because he knew that Jesus is the holy one of
God. Nothing strikes more terror into
the heart of God’s creatures, which includes you and me for we are God’s
creatures too, than to be in the presence of the holy. We will see this throughout the Gospel of
Mark. When the holiness of Jesus is
revealed, the immediate response of the people is fear and dread. You and I fear the holy because we’re sinful
and unclean. We sin against God and our
neighbor in thought, word, and deed. We
take God’s name in vain, we swear, curse, and lie, we fail to worship God and
serve Him only. We fail to love our
neighbor through our words and actions. And
when we’re brought into the presence of the holiness of God, as Peter was (Luke
5:8), we say, “Depart from us, for we are
sinful people.” This is why the
demon screamed when Jesus came into his presence.
9.
These
words of the demon, “Have you come to
destroy us?” confess a challenge to you and me, sinners that we are. As you come to Jesus of Nazareth, the Holy
One of God, Jesus says to you, “Be silent
and come to Me, and I will give you rest.”
What destruction did the flood of Baptism ravage upon you as the
Holy One of God came to drown your old sinful flesh and raise you to new life
in Him? What destruction does the public
announcement that your sins are forgiven work upon your sins to destroy their
power and silence your fears? Freeing
destruction! And what destruction does
the Lord’s Supper work upon you, where your sins are exchanged for Jesus and
His righteousness, and you are left with the peaceful silence and reconciled to
God almighty? Nourishing
destruction! For in Christ, your old
sinful self is crucified and you are raised to newness of life in Him, both now
and for eternity.
10.
Jesus’
authoritative teaching and power over the unclean spirits created a stir among
those who saw and heard Him in the early days of His ministry. Today, we see
the same thing. People continue to be interested in and even amazed by Jesus’ teaching,
and yet many fail to depend on Him for life and salvation. But, by the power of
His authoritative Word and Spirit, you and I are brought and kept in saving
faith and life. Thanks be to God! Amen.
[1]
Concordia : The Lutheran Confessions.
2005 (Edited by Paul Timothy McCain) (355–356). St. Louis, MO: Concordia
Publishing House.
No comments:
Post a Comment