Luke 11:14-23
Stronger one!
No one likes an unfair fight, at least when they’re the one on the losing side. Everyone prefers an unfair fight if they’re the ones winning. We get a lot of joy out of winning in lopsided fashion. This is especially clear when it comes to sports. Imagine if a fifth-grade football team had to face off against the reigning Super Bowl champions. Not a fair fight, is it? Yes, those Eagles would have no hope whatsoever. Or since we’re into basketball tournament time, the one seeds versus the sixteen seeds rarely feel like much of a game. And yes, while we love our underdog stories during this time of year, it’s not much of a story if the underdogs get blown out by say fifty points. Now, it can be all fun and games when it comes to sports, but it’s not quite the same when it comes to getting into an actual fight, whether it be a bully or a nation getting into a war. When we’re hopelessly outmatched by our opponent, we become very pessimistic. No one likes fighting in an unwinnable war. And there’s one such war that’s raging in our world today. It doesn’t get any media coverage because they don’t care about it. Nor is it one that those fighting think they have any hope of turning the tide. It’s the spiritual warfare that rages around us. It’s our fight with Satan that’s been going on since nearly the beginning of time.
Tonight, though, we shall not cower in fear anymore in this fight. Though we are horrendously outmatched, we finally have hope. Satan has been our tyrant for far too long and now, there’s a new man in the fight. As our Gospel lesson tells us, it takes a stronger man to bind a strong man. Only then can his house and kingdom be plundered for its goods. So, let us learn tonight:
THOUGH SATAN’S MIGHT IS STRONGER THAN OURS, THE FINGER OF GOD HAS DEFEATED HIM!
I.
A bully will keep being a bully until he messes with the wrong person, that is, until he meets someone stronger than him. And this is exactly how Satan treats us. He’s the big strong man. He comes to bully us, antagonize us, and beat us up. The problem of course, is that we’re not stronger than him. We’re weak. It doesn’t matter how much we want to stand against Satan, we don’t have much hope of beating him on our own. Just as Peter says, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour,” 1 Peter 5:8. Our adversary has shown his might and constantly reminds us that we do well to be afraid. This was the original meeting of our parents in the flesh. Adam and Eve dwelled in the garden in holy perfection, then came the serpent who was Satan. With just a few words, Satan brought our house crumbling down. “Did God actually say...” Genesis 3:1. Yes, that original sin has tainted our flesh and made us weak. And we’ve gone so far as to continue sinning. We sin daily against God and one another for our own selfish gain and pleasure. Every time we sin, we’re not just submitting to Satan, we’re joining him!
This is how Satan has built his kingdom. He tempts us with everything that looks pleasing to us. For by his temptations, he’s shown that we’re weak and often willing to give in to his might. And these are the circumstances that have brought us to our current condition, the spiritual war that rages around us. Demons and demon possession aren’t as rare as you may think. Satan assaults us with his forces of evil to maintain his hold over us. So, we live in the middle of this war whether we’re aware of it or not. Every temptation, every sin, every death we experience is only a reminder that we’ve been enslaved to the power of Satan and the powers of this world. And the worst part is, Satan begs us to try to break free just so he can show us how weak we are and how hopeless our fight is.
II.
But, there’s one who has stepped into the arena who even Satan fears. As I said, every bully will continue to be a bully... until they mess with the wrong person. Here comes Jesus whom Satan seeks to bully. Satan finds him looking weak and vulnerable in the wilderness, so Satan tempts him. But he quickly finds out that Jesus can’t be tempted like all the rest. No, Jesus stands up; he fights back; he gives Satan pause. Just as we read from Luke, Jesus said, “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil,” Luke 11:21-22. If Satan is the strong man, and he defends his kingdom, then it takes a stronger man to overcome him. And that man is Jesus. Satan may be strong against us. Satan may terrify us with his might, but his might is nothing compared to Jesus. Again, Jesus said, “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you,” Luke 11:20. By the finger of God, Jesus fights Satan. That is, Satan is but an ant compared to God’s might... Jesus needs but a small finger to utterly destroy the kingdom of Satan.
It’s not a fair fight... and you know what... we’re ok with that. For Jesus fights for you. Jesus has come to undo Satan and his reign. Jesus has come to plunder the very kingdom of Satan that he may bring you and me into HIS kingdom! But of course, Satan hadn’t learned his lesson yet, so he tries to fight back. He tries to overcome Jesus by his own might... by putting Jesus on the cross. Yes, there on the cross, Satan seeks to claim victory. But what Satan doesn’t know is that the cross shall be Jesus’ victory. For there, Jesus puts an end to all our warfare. Jesus suffers and dies for our sins that he may remove the very sin that weakened us. The cross becomes the very chain that shall bind Satan forever. These hands of Jesus stretched out now holds back all the forces of evil so that you and me may find peace and security in the kingdom of God!
Though Satan may be stronger than us, we have one who is mightier than him... Jesus Christ, our Savior. By the finger of God, Jesus has put Satan to flight, routed his forces, and plundered his kingdom so that he may bring us into the kingdom of God! In Jesus’ name! Amen!