Eyes and Fingers
Grace to you and peace from
God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Lord is not in
league with Satan or Beelzebub. When you’re being charitable, you want to think
that, deep down, His hearers know that. They may want to think the worst about
Jesus. They may want to convince themselves and their neighbors that Jesus is a
tool of the devil. But even a fool would be able to figure out at some point
that Satan isn’t going to help anyone, and he certainly isn’t going to help
anyone cast out his own demons. As Jesus says, “A kingdom which is divided against itself cannot stand.” So if
Jesus was casting out demons with Satan’s help, Satan’s kingdom would be
divided, too. That’s not going to happen. Satan knows the Law, and he knows how
to keep his cronies in line. The devil won’t let his own minions work against
him in his desperate fight against the Son of God.
But consider this:
What if God’s hand is working through what our Lord is doing? What if the
finger of God is the power behind the miracles Jesus is doing? If that’s the
truth, then the kingdom
of God truly has come!
What if God really is coming into our world and into our lives? What if Jesus really
is like a guy breaking into a house that’s guarded by the strong man, Satan?
First He ties up the strong man who is guarding the prize. Then, after He has
overcome the strong man, the spoils—the souls that should belong to the devil
because of our sin—now belong to Jesus. He takes us back, redeeming us from our
sins, from death, and from the power of the devil. The devil is tied up,
defeated—but not merely because Jesus is stronger than the devil. He is, but
that’s not what defeats the devil. The devil is done in, defeated, overthrown
by the Son of God who dies for your sake. Jesus suffers and dies for the sin of
the whole world. That’s the victory that overcomes the devil.
Give up living
life with your eyes closed to the truth. And what is that truth? All by
yourself, by your own strength, you are a whitewashed tomb—good works covering
a body dead in sin. You are a poor, miserable sinner. You are under the control
and watch of the devil. Jesus has come, and He has saved you by dying for you. There’s
nothing inside of you worth saving—nothing in and of yourself worth rescuing. Our
Lord does what He does because of His grace. And when He rescues you, when He
saves you, it is accomplished by the finger of God. Our Lord’s hand lifted the
water that drained down your head at the Baptismal font, and that water washed
your sins away. His voice absolves you and puts salvation into your ears
through the Word. His fingers put the Body and Blood of Christ into your mouth.
Your pastor is doing these things, but he does them by the finger of God. Our
Lord Jesus is working through him.
This Sunday is
known as Oculi—Eyes Sunday. With that in mind, pay attention to what you see during
worship this morning. Don’t concentrate on what you think you feel. Don’t be concerned
with what you think about yourself. Instead, fix your eyes on Jesus and what He
is doing. He saves you by binding up the strong man, the devil. He saves you by
delivering His salvation to you through His means: His Word preached into your
ears, His Baptismal waters poured over you, and His Supper placed into your
mouth by the finger of God. And when our Lord does that—when He breaks into
your world and saves you—then you know the kingdom of God
has come upon you. And it has, for Jesus has come to you and lives within you. In
the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The
peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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