Sermon for 6/9/24: Third Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 5b)

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The Stronger Man
Mark 3:20-35

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

It was early in our Lord’s public ministry. He had been traveling from place to place, proclaiming the Gospel, and miraculous signs accompanied His teaching. The news about Him had gone before Him, and He had become quite popular. But with popularity came criticism. The religious powers sent their representatives to keep an eye on Jesus. They wanted to know if He was going to be a problem. It didn’t take long for them to figure out that Jesus wasn’t their ally. Last week we heard that the Pharisees held counsel with the Herodians, seeking to destroy Him.

Today it’s the scribes who opposed Jesus. They claimed, “He is possessed by Beelzebul;” “by the prince of demons He casts out the demons.” The miracles of Jesus are so public, so well known, that His enemies cannot deny them. Instead, they try to discredit these wonders. They accuse Jesus of working His miracles in league with demons. They claim that Jesus is able to cast out demons because He Himself is demon possessed. But their accusations make no sense. Demons are surely evil, but they are not stupid. Why would they fight against themselves? Jesus said as much: “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.”

Jesus went on to teach about what it takes to defeat Satan. “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.” Satan is, indeed, very strong. Only the One who is stronger than Satan can plunder Satan’s household and rescue those held captive by him and his demons. That One is Jesus.

The plundering of Satan’s stronghold is important to each of us. As we hear in the rite of Holy Baptism: “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 would be lost forever unless delivered from sin, death, and everlasting condemnation.” Sinners by nature belong to Satan. But the rite goes on: “But the Father of all mercy and grace has sent His Son Jesus Christ, who atoned for the sin of the whole world that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus Himself is the stronger One who binds Satan and delivers us from sin, death, and everlasting condemnation.

But how were we already under God’s condemnation even at conception? This morning we heard about Adam and Eve, about the results of their fall into sin. In tempting Eve to doubt God’s Word, Satan made sin look pleasurable. And then after the sin, he had laid on the burden of guilt. Adam and Eve now saw God differently. Before, God had been their beloved Creator. Now, He was the terrifying Judge. Adam and Eve had not merely cursed themselves with their sin; they had cursed all of creation.

Nevertheless, even as God announced the result of sin on the serpent, He also announced the hope of salvation. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” With these words, God promised a Savior: a strong Man who would bind Satan and free us from our captivity. This promise of the head-crushing Seed was passed on from generation to generation: from Adam and Eve to Seth, down through the generations for thousands of years. And when the time was exactly right, God kept His promise by taking on human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, who gave birth to the God-Man, Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the One who bruised the serpent’s head, a prophecy our Savior fulfilled on the cross. It seemed that Satan had the victory. When Jesus died, it appeared that the tempter had defeated the promised Seed. But then Jesus rose from the dead, proving that He won the victory, that He has crushed Satan forever. Jesus is the stronger Man who binds Satan in order to set us free. Jesus now plunders Satan’s stronghold in order to carry off those who belonged to God the first place, His own creatures. These sinners—you and me and all people of all times and places—He once again claims us as His own.

Sadly, there are slaves in the house of Satan who do not want to leave. They reject our Lord’s gift of eternal freedom. When Jesus binds Satan and offers to carry them to safety and freedom, they turn away from Him. For reasons that we cannot understand, they reject the work of the Holy Spirit. They reject the forgiveness that Jesus won for them. Some people wonder, “How can a loving God send people to hell?” But that’s the wrong question. The question should be, “Why would anyone reject God’s gift of eternal life? Why would anyone choose eternity in hell rather than eternity with a God who loves them?” The Bible does not tell us why some people reject God’s love, why some people reject God’s forgiveness, why some people choose eternal death when the Holy Spirit wants to give them eternal life.

But that condemnation is not for you. When Jesus suffered and died on the cross, He bound Satan for you. Now He plunders Satan’s stronghold in order to free you, to release all those who were enslaved to sin. He sends the Holy Spirit to work faith and to give you the forgiveness of sins. With the forgiveness of sins comes salvation and eternal life. You are redeemed! You belong to God in Christ. Our Lord Jesus has conquered Satan, and He freely shares His victory with 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.