Possessed by Satan or Jesus
Luke 11:14-28
March 23, 2025 anno Domini
You are possessed. Every one of you. No exceptions. As much as you boast of your freedom, your independence, your ability to do what you want to do, you are possessed.
You are either possessed by the Devil or you are possessed by Christ. You belong to Satan or Jesus. There are no free radicals bouncing around on planet earth. It’s one or the other. If you don’t believe you are possessed, then you’ve bought the Devil’s lies.
This is the third Sunday in a row where Jesus has faced off against Satan. That should impress on you that this whole Jesus vs. Satan conflict is important. Anything the teacher (or preacher) says three times in a row is likely going to be on the test, so listen up.
What does possession look like? The text gives us the answer in the mute man and in the reaction to the demon’s demise.
The mute man was affected physically by a demon. He could not speak. Once freed from the demon he spoke. Whoever possesses you affects not just your soul but also your body. In today’s Epistle Saint Paul tells the Ephesians to be imitators of God, as beloved children. If you believe that Christ died for your sins, you belong to God the Father. You are His dear possession. He paid for your redemption with His only begotten Son. He redeemed you, the whole you, body and soul. Therefore, you are to walk in love as He loved you, and that love affects your body – sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you. No filthiness or foolish talk or crude jokes should come from your lips. When Jesus got hold of that mute man his mouth started working as it should.
How did those who witnessed the miracle react? First comes the accusation that Jesus is in league with the devil. “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons” This is a ludicrous conclusion, as Jesus points out, but it does reveal who possesses the crowd. When Satan has you, common sense goes out the window. You lose all reason and logic. A Kingdom divided against itself is laid waste. A demon isn’t going to take down his fellow demon. That’s friendly fire. One demon already possessed the mute man, why would another undo that demon’s work?
Besides that, the crowd should have seen the difference between the work of Satan and the work of the Son of God. The Devil takes. Jesus gives. The Devil breaks and destroys and kills. Christ heals and restores and makes alive. The Devil lobs chaos into our families and bodies and souls. Jesus restores order and peace by His touch and forgiveness.
The other reaction of the crowd was, “More miracles please.” By Jesus’ response we know this too was a request of the Devil’s disciples. They wanted a miracle for themselves. “Great, you healed the mute man, how about doing something for me. I could use a winning lottery ticket.” Or they just wanted to be entertained. The Ilk of the same crowd were beneath the cross. There too Satan’s supplicants wanted a miracle. “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Those people would not have believed, and Jesus would have saved no one if He had obliged such miracle mongers.
By the numbers Jesus doesn’t do so well in this miracle. He casts out one demon, but the whole crowd remains in the Devil’s dungeon. Why is that?
Well, in some ways, the Devil has an advantage. He possessed you from the beginning. Oh, not from the beginning of the world, but from the moment of conception you are his. This is what Scripture says. You are conceived a sinner, and the Devil has dibs on sinners. God only has the righteous and the holy and you are not that. You were conceived a sinner, and you weren’t too far from the womb when you started acting just like your father below. You learned to speak like him, “Mine” “No” and when you were disciplined you spoke his language to your parents, “I hate you.”
Because you are sinful the Devil’s dialogue is delightful. You like cunning and lies. If you don’t get your way anger and hatred is appealing. Batter your enemy with words if not fists. The Devil put sugar on sin and poison on God’s Word. Why would you want a restrictive Father above when your father below will let you do whatever you want?
For those reasons you are not going to come to faith naturally or easily. Like that mute man you have no power over the Devil. You cannot set yourself free from him. You cannot open your heart to Jesus or your lips to confess His name. That’s why Jesus must come and not only save you, but His Spirit must snatch you from the Devil by giving you faith to believe.
When it comes to His saving work Jesus again stands in stark contrast to the Devil. Jesus does not save by might or force. He has no luscious lies to entice you. In His battle against Satan, He uses truth, obedience, humility, suffering, and sacrifice. They are weak weapons to us, but in the spiritual realm these weapons bring Satan down.
Satan is the spirit of Pride. It’s all about him, so he cannot stand humility. Since he lost his high place in heaven he cannot stand the truth of God. It grates on his ears. He is the spirit who robs and steals, so he gets sick when he sees sacrifice. Because his greatest joy is to accuse and condemn, he goes into anaphylactic shock when forgiveness is given and spoken. He cannot stand Jesus, for Jesus is the truth, the sacrifice, the forgiveness of God in human flesh. This is Who Jesus is and what He does and in that He undoes the Devil’s hold on you.
Jesus does not snatch you by force. He certainly could have possessed you in that way, but love does not make captives. Jesus defeats Satan by obedience to the Father, by humbly drinking the cup of suffering our sins deserved. There is no pride in Jesus. He isn’t in this for Himself, but for you. He died for the sin of the world, even the billions of people who do not and will not believe in Him. Then He brings you the news that will deliver you from Satan’s grip. He sends His preachers to declare, “Repent and be baptized everyone of you for the forgiveness of sins.” “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” That Word which calls for faith delivers faith. The Word opens your heart to desire a way out of pride and lies and torment and chaos and then it gives you the way, “Be baptized. Believe in Jesus.”
What do you think the mute man’s first words were? Do you think he complained about the governor Pontius Pilate? Or swore at someone who didn’t help him? Or told a dirty joke he just heard? Or boasted, “Listen to me. I can talk again.” No, I think he probably said, “Thank you Jesus” or “Blessed be the Lord” and then he watched his tongue and the rest of his life because he has just been snatched from the devil’s house and now God possessed him in the name of Jesus. Amen.