And [Jesus] was teaching them on the Sabbath, and they were astonished at His teaching, for His word possessed authority. (Luke 4:31-32)
In the rite of Holy Baptism, we hear it confessed, “The Word of God teaches that we are all conceived and born sinful and are under the power of the devil until Christ claims us as His own.” We see this in the Gospel reading today, people who were under the power of Satan, possessed by his demons. We see Jesus rebuking those demons, and also rebuking sickness. Our Lord has the authority to do this; the authority to rebuke and overcome all that binds you; the authority to give you the freedom of everlasting life.
Living in the United States, we don’t often think of ourselves as being bound or being under the power of others. We have liberty and freedom in the US. Yes there are laws and rules that we follow, but the American ideal has always been individual liberty. “No one can control me.” This may be true in some ways when it comes to our lives as US citizens, but it’s not true when it comes to Satan, sin, and death. We may have been born in the land of the free, but we aren’t free. Whether we want to believe it or not, we’re bound to sin and death.
All of us were conceived and born sinful, just as the rite of Baptism says. At no point in our life have we ever been innocent and free from sin. It’s this very original sin that David confesses in Psalm 51.
There’s a video called Easter Showers that Pastor Peters and I watch with parents when we do Baptismal counseling with them. And in that video there is an important question: Are we sinners because we sin; or do we sin because we’re sinners. God’s Word tells us that we sin because we’re sinners. That’s who we are. Descended from our first parents, we’ve inherited sin. We’re born with original sin and are under its power and control. We’re sinners, so we’re going to sin. And because of that, we’re going to suffer the consequence of sin: sickness and disease and death.
God warned Adam and Eve that on the day they ate from that forbidden tree they would die, and ever since that first bite, all of creation has been dying. Every single person has felt the effects of death. Every single one of us has suffered illness and disease. None of us is free of it. No matter how hard we try, no matter how much we exercise and try to live a healthy life, eating all the right things, doing everything the doctors and experts tell us to do, none of us can escape illness. None of us can escape death. We’re bound to it, under its control just like that fever that overtook Peter’s mother-in-law.
Sickness, disease and death are a consequence of our sin, and so too is being under the influence of Satan, including demon possession.
We don’t talk much about demon possession, do we? In our world, we don’t think it’s a real thing. Demon possession is only for the movies. Being enlightened, we think demon possession was just a way to describe mental illness in ancient times. But if that’s the case, then Christ would be a liar. Demon possession is a real thing. It’s as real today as it was in Jesus’ day.
Satan has influence over us. He uses temptation; he uses our culture; he uses the world around us in an effort to get us to turn from the Lord. And he uses demon possession for that very same purpose too. We may not see possession like those described in Scripture with our own eyes, but it still happens. Our Lutheran missionaries in Madagascar, one of the places where the Christian faith is growing the quickest, have witnessed demon possession as the people there are coming out of the pagan religions. Playing with unholy things, worshipping false gods and spirits, it opens us up to this kind of control.
Satan’s whole goal is to keep us enslaved. He doesn’t want us to know Christ. He doesn’t want us to look to Him for salvation, and he’ll use whatever means possible to accomplish that. But our Lord has all authority and He has come to free you from.
In the Gospel reading today there were a couple words that were repeated: “authority” and “rebuked.” The people were astonished with Jesus' teaching, how He spoke with authority. And this authority was seen when rebuked the demon and illness.
It’s important to note that Jesus freed the man possessed by the demon and healed Peter’s mother-in-law in the same way. He rebuked the demon and He rebuked the fever. He spoke authority over both, and both listened. Seeing this, the people brought more people to Jesus to heal. He healed all sorts of disease and freed more from possession. The people wanted Him to stay. But Jesus couldn’t. He didn’t come to just be a local Miracle Max. Jesus came to “preach the good news of the kingdom of God” (Lk 4:43). He came to preach freedom and release through the Good News of His death and resurrection.
The Gospel of Christ has the authority to rebuke that which binds. He has overcome it all with His death and resurrection. Jesus has liberated you. He has redeemed you, a lost and condemned person. He purchased and won you from all your sin, from death, and from power of the devil with His holy precious blood and innocent suffering and death (Luther’s Small Catechism). Satan has no more claim on you. Sin has no more claim on you. Death has no more claim on you. Jesus paid that penalty. By His cross and empty tomb, your Savior has set you free. You are His and you live eternally under Him in His kingdom.
One thing that always stands out to me from this part of Luke’s Gospel is what Peter’s mother-in-law did after Jesus healed her. Luke tells us that she “immediately rose and began to serve them” (Lk 4:39). Being free of our illness, she used that freedom to serve. Normally we think of freedom in a selfish way, “I’m free to do what I want.” But that’s not the purpose of the freedom you have in Christ. The freedom you have in Christ is the freedom to live a life of love and service. This isn’t forced upon you. It’s a privilege and joy. Knowing the freedom and salvation that comes from the Gospel of our Lord, we can’t help but share that Good News with others as we serve them and tell them what our Lord has done.
Christ has all authority. He has authority over the devil and his demons. He has authority over disease and death. And with that authority He frees you from the power of Satan, sin, and death. He frees you with His death and resurrection. He frees you and claims you as His own in the waters of Baptism. And with that freedom, we get to serve and share the Good News. We get to tell others what the Lord has done. And in hearing that Good News, He will free them as well. In Jesus’ name…Amen.
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