The text this morning is from the Gospel according to Mark, the third chapter:
Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
There’s a lot going on this passage this morning. Jesus is called crazy, not just by the Pharisees, which you would expect, but even by His family. Jesus gives us the speech made no more famous by Abraham Lincoln, that a house divided against itself cannot stand. He compares Himself to a thief. He talks about an unforgiveable sin. He seems to deny His own family for the sake of those who listen to Him.
It’s really a strange pericope for the day. How do you make sense of all of this? That’s my question, I suppose. You see, all of our readings, week after week, aren’t chosen by me; they’ve been put together by the Church, and a lectionary, a series of readings and prayers, was put together. So, whoever came up with this, thought this reading and our Genesis reading and our 2 Corinthians all tied together somehow. So, what do we make of all of this?
It’s that our Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord over even the demons. This is not to say that they are on, in any way, the same side, but that He has power and dominion over them, controlling them in every way. In fact, you might not be able to really tell from the beginning of our reading today, but the impression is that Jesus is right in the middle of exorcising a demon from someone. That’s why His family says He’s out of His mind and the scribes come down saying that He’s casting out demons with the power of Satan. And what they’re really trying to imply is that Jesus then is under the power of Satan, that’s He’s a tool. But, what Jesus is trying to show them is that it is not Satan who wields the power, but Jesus who wields Satan like a tool.
Remember that Satan can only do what God allows Him to do. In the book of Job, Satan wants to attack Job but can’t as he is under the protection of God. It is only to prove Satan wrong and to embarrass him that God allows Satan to touch Job in any way. It is only because God has allowed Satan to rule over those affected by sin for a little while that Satan can even touch this earth. It is only because God created the angel Lucifer, that he could rebel against God and lead his demons into hell itself. Satan does nothing outside of the permissive will of God. It’s not that God is pleased with Satan or his works, but that God allows it all to happen.
You’re not pleased, I’m sure, when your child does something rather silly and dumb, but sometimes you just have to let them do it. It’s not a perfect analogy, because, in reality, I don’t know that we’ll ever understand why God really does allow Satan to do anything at all. But, God has allowed Satan to reign over this earth, even in his defeat under Christ’s cross.
We do actually believe in angels and demons. They’re all around us. They’re fighting over you all the time. They’re battling. The demons are constantly trying to draw you away from Christ and His Church and the angels are constantly beating them back to bring you to the place where you are centered and reminded of His good mercy for you.
This battle is occurring around you all the time, and you’re never really aware of it. That’s because in this story, you’re not an actor, you’re just a prop. Jesus tells the people that no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his good unless he first binds up the strong man. Jesus, in His telling of the story, is not the strong man. He’s not the owner of the house. Jesus is the thief. He’s the one who steals into Satan’s house and binds him up. He’s the one who plunders the goods. You are the goods. You are what they are fighting for. You are why Jesus has done all of this.
This is why He is willing to forsake even His own blood relatives for your sake. He literally broke down the gates of hell so that He could bind Satan with His suffering, death, and resurrection, and rescue you from the clutches of sin, death, and the devil. He has come hunting for you, to steal you away from your master, Satan, and bring you to Himself forever and ever. And so, He can, and He will. He has. He bound Satan. He broke in, made His way to the bedroom, picked up the chains, and tied Satan to the bed so Jesus can take you and all the other slaves to sin away. And then He leaves Satan there to die.
The reality is that Satan is defeated. Satan sure seems like he’s busy doing work out in the world, and he does do a lot of evil, but his defeat is done through the cross, it’s just that the news hasn’t really reached Satan yet. It’s like news that comes really slow because its delivered by carrier snail. He can be working all he wants, but the reality is the war is done. All that’s left is the cleanup.
So, it might seem like Satan and his minions are attacking you heavily. They may be. I know they love to hit SPI as hard as they can. I’ve felt it, even in the short year that I’ve been here. They love to take our eyes away from Jesus and His promises. But, no matter how hard Satan comes at you, remember that he’s a dog on a leash that end 20 feet from its anchor and you’re standing at 21 feet. He can lunge at you, he can bark at you, he can snarl, he can pace, he can snap, but he can’t bite you. Jesus has chained him up, tied him down, defeated him forever.
What’s the best way to ensure that a dog never bites anyone again? Remove its teeth. Sure, you might say put it down, kill it, destroy it. But, it might not be time yet. If the teeth are removed though, it’ll never do damage again. Satan is wandering around like a toothless old dog, he’s less even than a maggot. What can he do when Jesus has saved you? What can he say that Jesus hasn’t promised you? How can he distract you when your eyes are on the cross?
You see, Satan and Jesus aren’t working together. Not even close. Jesus has all the power and he’s let Satan live for a little while, but for you, Jesus has removed the devil’s teeth. Satan, sin, and even death, when you are in Christ, are no longer a distraction for you, but simply open portals by which we are brought into the presence of Christ. Satan is evil, of course; so is sin. And death, my goodness, is never what God wanted for us. But now, through all these, God works to bring us ever closer to Christ, for, in doing the will of the Father, which is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved, we are Jesus’ brothers and sisters and mothers. We are His family.
Oh, and that unforgivable sin? That’s to reject the work of the Holy Spirit, which is to bring you forgiveness, life, and salvation in Jesus Christ. It’s nothing else but to reject Jesus and His promises to you. If you’re worried you committed the unforgivable sin, you didn’t, because you are still seeking after the Word of God. If you follow after the devil and his lies, forsaking Christ and life eternal in his name, rejecting the work of the Spirit as we confess in the third article of the Creed, then that’s ultimately unforgivable; you’ll be judged.
But, seeking after God’s will, trusting in Christ who delivered you from the bondage of death, that’s life. That’s forgiveness. That’s salvation, which He won for you. Jesus kicked down Satan’s door for you that He might steal you to be with Him, for Him to enjoy you forever. And He does. He loves that you’re in His family. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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