EPIPHANY 4, B – February 1, 2009

SCRIPTURES – Ps. 32; Deuteronomy 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 8:1-13; Mark 1:21-28

 

 

Boy, what troubling times we are in. Probably all of us have lost a lot of money, and a number of you have told me that you have lost or your job, or may lose your job. We have great concerns about the future. What will happen? Will we get by?

 

How did this economic meltdown happen? Well, although it has come upon us rather suddenly, the seeds of it were apparently planted long ago in foolish and risky loans. They were not known to most people, and seem to have been ignored by governmental overseers, who raised no red flags. These hidden, under the radar financial decisions that were made have now borne fruit and are causing much distress and suffering.

 

It is not only in financial matters that hidden forces are at work and causing suffering. God’s Word reveals that there is in our world another force at work behind the scenes, under the radar. This force works to cause far greater suffering and devastation than that which we are experiencing because of the current economic decline. The force I am referring to is spiritual: the unclean and evil spirits, namely, Satan and his hosts. They seek to torment us with our sins and, ultimately, to destroy true faith in Christ and so lead people into hell.

 

Shockingly, they are even at work where Christ is at work. Today’s Gospel begins with Jesus teaching in the synagogue, and, lo and behold, an unclean spirit is present! “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” he cries out. “Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” A very great battle rages over Jesus and His teaching, a battle that is very real but which is hidden from view. You can be sure that, if unclean spirits confronted Jesus, the Son of God, when He taught and preached, then they will certainly not be afraid to confront us when we hear Christ and His words taught and preached today.

 

Unclean spirits confront you constantly, and Jesus is the focus of the battle. Who is He? Why has He come? Notice that the demon who confronts Jesus knows who He is. He rightly confesses that Jesus is the Holy One of God. But, this is not enough, is it? Our Lord is not pleased. He silences the demon.

 

Satan and his hosts do a good job in convincing people that simply knowing who Jesus is is enough. “Have you come to destroy us?” Well, of course He hasn’t! He welcomed and helped all who came to Him. Even when He was arrested and physically abused, He did not respond with actions or even words of condemnation. And so, it’s easy to picture Jesus as having His back to us, not looking upon our sins or really caring about what we do; or, at least not caring enough to do anything about it or condemn us. Many Christians show by their lives that they think of Jesus in this way. They party and get drunk and live just like their friends who do not believe in Jesus. They think nothing of having sex before or apart from marriage, or viewing pornography. They pursue their desires and make money to spend primarily on themselves. They live to have a good time; and, occasionally, they’ll make it to church on Sunday.

 

This does not please our Lord. You cannot be heavenly children and live hellish lives. You cannot be baptized into the Holy Trinity and bear the name of Christ and then live like the devil. When Jesus cast the demon out of the man in the synagogue He made him holy again and gave him a new life to live. He was to live in Christ; and, so are we.

 

But, there is another way Satan and his hosts turn people away from Christ. “Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” cried the demon. Jesus is the Holy One, and so is the enemy of all that is unholy, says Satan. Sinners, then, had better change if they want His blessing. You had better clean up your life before you come to Him! I know people who think this way and so have stayed away from church because of their guilt, or because they’re trying to clean up their lives first.

 

How deceitful Satan is. There is truth here. Yes, Jesus is the Holy One. God is holy, and He hates sin. We indeed had better clean up our lives and turn from our sin. But, how do we do this? Refraining from sin, turning away from sinful actions and desires is only part of what needs to be done. We must be made clean and holy within and without, in our thoughts and desires as well as in our actions. For, God doesn’t only consider our actions. He considers our hearts as well. Such holiness, cleanness within and without, is not something that we can gain on our own, no matter how hard we may try. Only Jesus can cleanse us so completely.

 

“I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” The demon knew this truth. What he did not know was that Jesus is not simply holy in Himself; He is holy for the unholy. He came, not to destroy sinners, but to be the Savior of sinners.

 

“You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble.” This is how we should think of Jesus. We should picture Him as standing between us and God’s anger at our sin. He gathers sinners to Himself and hides them behind Himself so that God does not see their sin. The great waters of God’s anger at sin break upon Him. He bears our sin and on the cross pays the price for what we have done. Our sins, our unholiness in thoughts, words, actions and desires, are hidden behind and under Christ’s holiness. As He is the Holy God Himself, His holiness covers all of our sin. Confessing our sins and taking refuge in His death for us, our sins are forever hidden from the eyes of God.

 

If you have read the Harry Potter books or seen the movies, you know that Harry is given a cloak that makes him invisible when he is covered with it. He could be right next to someone, but, as long as he is under the cloak, that person would not know he was there, for he is invisible. This is what Jesus is for us. “You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble.” Jesus came to cover our sins and hide them from God’s judgment. He can only do so when we do not try to cover them up or deal with them ourselves, but instead bring them to Him. “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity,” says David in Psalm 32. “I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” Christ hides our sins when, in sincere sorrow for them and the desire to change, we confess them to Him. 

This is why we should come to church. This is why we must listen to and look to Jesus. He is our hiding place. He hides our sins from God and saves us from the destruction of eternity in hell that they would surely bring. 

Listen to your Lord Jesus. He stands in the synagogue with His people. He is the Word who became flesh for us. He is the powerful Word who by His Word casts out demons. Listen carefully, then, to His Word when it is read and preached. Listen carefully and take it to heart. Trusting in that Word, confess your sins to Him. Listen to, hold onto, and rejoice in the words of absolution, certain of His forgiveness. And the unclean spirits who battle in hiddenness against you will be cast out. Christ, God’s holy Word, will enter in, and He will be your hiding place forever!