Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The sermon text is from Mark 1:21-28.
I have a pastor friend in our Southern Illinois District who in my single days invited me over to hang out and watch games or just to pass the time. He had one of those little, yippy dogs. From the time you came in the house, the dog hopped around you with its shrill bark until it made your head throb. He had a muzzle, so if the dog wouldn’t stop barking – which was always the case – he put the muzzle over the dog’s mouth so he couldn’t open it. It was amazingly transformational. Once muzzled, the world’s most annoying dog lost all courage and heart. He would sit defeated, with ears drooping, and moping to the point you could honestly imagine real tears in his eyes. Once muzzled, the world’s most courageous 6 inch tall dog was literally and figuratively toothless.
As St. Mark wrote His Gospel by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it’s striking how early and how often we see Jesus’ ministry as a head-to-head contest with the devil and his demons. In our text Jesus is teaching in the synagogue of Capernaum, and a man possessed by an evil spirit challenges Him. The demon knows Jesus is the “Holy One of God.” In the original text, Jesus literally said to the man: “Be muzzled! Come out of him!” As God in the flesh, Jesus’ muzzled the demon with His Word.
I read the Gospel thinking of that little dog, loud and proud and bold, hopping and barking and then muzzled and deflated and broken in the corner. That’s the power of Jesus that His Word binds and muzzles the demon and snatches the man from the devil’s power.
Let’s get a couple things straight. Jesus and the devil are not equal powers – not even close – not even as close as Pittsburgh and Arizona in the Superbowl. Jesus is true God with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus existed from eternity and God the Father made all things through Jesus. John wrote: “Without Him nothing was made that has been made.” Jesus is God. The devil is a creature. He is a fallen angel – an angel whose pride caused him to seek God’s place. Make no mistake the devil is not for us to trifle with, but Jesus is God. The devil isn’t.
Sometimes when we look at the world, and maybe even our own lives, it feels like the devil has won. We look at the world and, even at the church, and you don’t get a strong feeling God’s truth is really important to people. Most people think all churches are the same. Faith for most is a nice tradition or a fuzzy feeling, not a conviction of Divine truth. You have your view of God’s Word, I have mine, but there is no right or wrong – or so it goes. It feels like the devil wins when people are deluded into believing there is no truth, or we can’t be sure we know it is. It feels like the devil wins when we stop asking, “What does God’s Word say?” and start asking, “How do you feel about it?” It causes Bibles to sit dusty on coffee tables at home and empty seats in the church’s Bible classes and Sunday school. In a health-conscious world addicted to the fitness craze, the modern church is weak and flabby – without the strength of conviction to convince itself much less a dying world.
All appearances to the contrary, let’s be clear about this – the devil has lost. That is universally and unanimously true – the devil has lost. But this great war which Christ won, has many individual battles, and your heart is the battlefield. Whose side are you on?
I love our text, because it shows Jesus’ power over the devil. Jesus was God even when He was conceived and born of the Virgin Mary, but He didn’t always use that power. In our verses, Jesus showed His Divine power by casting out the demon. But even though Jesus wins in our text, He willingly allowed Himself to be mandhandled by the devil. Jesus willingly allowed Satan to use Pilate and the Jewish authorities to kill Him. Remember even in the Garden before Jesus was put on trial and killed He knew He was following God the Father’s plan. He died for you and me so He could crush death and the devil. He died to empty death of its power, and Jesus said, “Because I live you will live also.”
Jesus’ won. The devil is a damned and defeated enemy. Hebrews 2 says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
Dr. Martin Luther described the devil as a mad dog on a chain. Jesus defeated Satan. He’s bound. The devil’s territory has been reduced to a puny pittance of what it was. Just like our text, when Jesus muzzled the demon, Jesus’ resurrection binds Satan – ties him in knots. Now, it’s still true, when my friend muzzled his dog, the dog could still bite me if I put my finger in the breathing holes. That would be pretty stupid, but even though the muzzled dog seemed dispirited and defeated, I’m sure he would have taken a bite if he had the chance.
This is reality – Satan the wild dog is bound. He’s lost. Christ won the battle, and that wild dog the devil is raging. He stalks back and forth with the chain straining. His teeth are bared. With a hideous growl, his eyes are locked on your throat. That means we need to be cautious – be smart. Peter wrote: “Be self-controlled and alert your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
We need to put on our God eyes – and even if we can’t see the devil – we need to trust God’s Word and stop walking in to pet the cute puppy. We’ve won the battle in Jesus – why do we choose friends at school or hang out in chat rooms or on websites where the devil is running wild? Much of popular music is straight from hell; same with many movies. Why are we opening ourselves to the devil’s power? Why don’t we surround ourselves with our fellow Christians and God’s Word to encourage each other? This is especially true for men, I know it is for me, why are we such cowards about being God’s men in our homes and church and community? Why are we so willing to let everyone else do it? The women can handle it! Why can we men talk for hours about games, but we’re muzzled when it comes to sharing Christ or studying the Bible with other Christians or talking with our friends and family about Jesus or leading our family in devotions? Why do we men let the devil keep us boys, spiritual infants, let him keep us from being God’s men?
The devil is finished. That raging dog will prowl and growl and foam at the mouth until Jesus comes again, but if you leave with nothing else, believe with all your heart that He’s finished. He’s the loser and Jesus is alive. Paul wrote, “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Jesus allowed Himself to be torn savagely at the cross. He suffered, died and rose from the dead to make you a winner with an eternal home in heaven.
So how do we who are on the winning side live? How do we who have been declared victorious for Jesus’ sake live until He comes again? Ephesians 6 says, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
2 Corinthians 10 says, “The weapons we fight with are not of this world. They have Divine power to demolish [demonic] strongholds.” “Pray without ceasing.” Be bold and prayerful. Your Savior invites you to come to Him. Run to the One God and Father who loves you and calls you His dear children. Pray for God’s strength and wisdom to see the devil’s schemes. Be strong in God’s Word. Learn who Jesus is for you and who you are in Jesus, and you’ll be better able to resist the temptation to be a loser on the devil’s side. Get in the Word. Pray. Jesus said, “You are the Light of the Word… Let your light so shine before men that they see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” In all this, rest in the Savior who muzzled the demon with only a Word, the Savior whose word of forgiveness sets you free from the devil’s bondage. “If the Son sets you free, you will be free, indeed.” Amen.
And now may the peace of God which surpasses human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.