The Kingdom of God
THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT
There is an inherent logic that exists within the first three weeks of Lent, which rightly sets the Christian struggle within an unholy trinity of the world, the flesh, and the Devil. On the first Sunday of Lent, Satan takes Jesus up onto a high mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. And he promises to hand the world over to Jesus if he will bow down and worship him. Last Sunday, the Lord Jesus overcame the flesh, as illustrated in his merciful response to a Canaanite woman whose daughter was grievously vexed with a devil. And without moving a finger, the demon is cast from the young girl's body, and she is made whole. And of course, today, we find in St. Luke's Gospel, Jesus casting one of Satan's demons from a man, and in doing so, overcomes the strong man, the Devil. So we see a very intentional progression systematically laid out, week by week, that causes us to consider and confront each of these great enemies of the faith: the world, the flesh, and the Devil.
You see, we are not merely bystanders in the great spiritual battle which we see our Lord engaging in Holy Scripture. These historical accounts of Jesus confronting Satan and the demonic realm aren't an alien history, neither are they fables and myths. And they aren't detached from reality and from the world in which we presently live. The world, the flesh, and Devil have since the beginning, been opposed to God. They are his enemies. And they have always sought to destroy His people, of whom we have been grafted into by the gracious mercy of God. These ancient foes are alive and well (of course they have by the cross lost the war, but still, they rage like a wounded animal), and they are opposed to Christ's church; at enmity with every baptized Christian; you and me. "If the world hates you," said Jesus, "it hated me first" (Jn 15:18). And isn't our "adversary the devil," as St. Peter warns, "prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour?" (1 Pt 5:8). Friends, the world entices, the flesh desires base things, and the Devil seeks to destroy. The world, the flesh, and the Devil.
It sounds so antiquated. As if someone is speaking from another epoch, a remote and distant age. Of an enchanted time when magic was real, and men believed in spirits. A time so very foreign to us moderns who have finally matured (by the power of reason and the infallibility of science) beyond and ultimately outgrown the ancient constructs of reality. Man, at last, has finally mustered enough courage to shake-off the former imagings of children. Well, somebody has to be the adult! And yet, whether we be moderns or not, the world, the flesh, and the Devil (those enemies of old) are, in fact, our enemies as well.
We see them clearly identified in the baptismal liturgy found in our Prayer Books, where the baptismal candidate is asked to make a choice: The priest asks, "Do you renounce the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the sinful desires of the flesh, so that thou wilt not follow nor be led by them?" (BCP, 277). And, as you may remember, the answer is "yes!" "I will renounce them all, and, by God's help, will endeavor not to follow, nor be led by them."
In this short little response, we learn something essential about the baptized Christian life: though we have been brought from death to life and saved through the regenerative waters of the font, we have not escaped the war. You see, baptism in a real sense is our enlistment, the beginning of a life-long campaign against the enemies of Christ, waged by God's help, in which we endeavor to overcome the world, the flesh, and the Devil. And yet, the baptismal response holds out the possibility that setbacks, casualties, and short-term losses can and will be a part of the baptized life. In other words, we may and most likely will succumb to the enticements of the world or give in to the lusts of the flesh. And yes, we just may, at times, fall prey to Satan's lies or be victimized by his wicked devices. Because the reality is this: as citizens of heaven, we live amidst the great confrontation between two kingdoms: the Kingdom of Satan and the Kingdom of God. Two kingdoms: unequal in power, antithetical in rule, and only one assured of the final victory. Two wholly incompatible kingdoms standing in violent opposition to the other.
As we are about to see in today's Gospel, Jesus will use the occasion of casting a dumb devil from a man to confront the Pharisees and the surrounding crowd with this cosmic kingdom battle. And he will confront them with the reality of the kingdom: the Kingdom of God in their midst.
St. Luke writes, "And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass when the Devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered."
The Gospel begins with Jesus in the act of casting out a devil or a demon. He is not confronting Satan himself, but one of his many minions. "And it was dumb," notes the Apostle. Meaning, this particular demon could not speak. We further learn in Matthew's account that this demon was also blind (Mt. 12:22). So we have a dumb and blind demon possessing a man which Jesus is casting out. We understand then that the man was referred to as a demoniac, not because he was naturally blind and deaf, but he was blind and deaf because he was held in a high degree of demonic power.
"And it came to pass when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered." Freed from the demon, the dumb-man spoke. St. Matthew says, the man "spoke and saw." And the people wondered. Not meaning, they wondered what had happened or were trying to determine what they just witnessed. What the King James renders as 'wondered' is more akin to 'amazement.' The people were astonished and amazed by the supernatural battle that has unfolded before their very eyes.
In fact, they are on the point of publicly proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah, as we read in Matthew's account. It is this very culmination of enthusiasm that awakened the strongest reaction of the Pharisees, who now declare our Lord, not the Elect of God, but the instrument of Satan.
"But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven." Now we know that those who assigned Jesus' power over the demon to the power of Beelzebub, the chief of devils, were the Pharisees as we'll see in just a bit when our Lord confronts his accusers. But let's regroup and get the lay of the land. Jesus has moved in compassion towards a poor soul overtaken by a deaf and blind demon, which similarly incapacitates the man, and miraculously frees him in mind, body, and soul by casting this wicked demon out.
In seeing this, many in the crowd are amazed and begin to connect Jesus to the Messianic promise. And on the other hand, the Pharisees, seeing the enthusiasm of the people towards Jesus, publicly pronounce that he is working as Beelzebub's agent. In other words, they attribute the power and performance of Christ's miracle to the Kingdom of Satan. Jesus' power, in the assessment of the Pharisees, is demonic, not divine.
O, foolish Pharisees! Who is indeed dumb, and who genuinely blind? You see Jesus raising the dead, giving light to the blind, cleansing the lepers, and curing every kind of infirmity and disease, and still, you say that He casts out devils by the power of Beelzebub? I ask, when did Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies, ever do such things? A significant charge has been publicly leveled against Jesus, amidst many who are beginning to see him as Messiah. And so he refutes his accusers by the following three arguments.
But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? Because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. In other words, why would Satan oppose and thwart himself? How could the Kingdom of Satan or any survive by unleashing its power of destruction upon itself? And surely Beelzebub would have wholly lost his power, his leadership, and his kingdom. For if the spirits of evil are waging war against each other, then how could they ever succeed in their unholy war against men?
Next, our Lord raises a most potent refutation saying, "And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out?" Now, by 'the sons of the Pharisees," Jesus is referring to their spiritual sons, their disciples, and in particular, their exorcists. In the nineteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, we read of itinerant Jewish exorcists. His argument being: if I Jesus exorcise by satanic power, then what about your sons, the Jewish exorcists?" His point? What the Pharisees accept for themselves must be the same for everyone else who does similar things. If Jesus exorcises by Satan's power, then so do they. But, if they exercise by God's power... then so does Jesus!
And now, our Lord makes his final argument in the illustration of the strong man. "But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils." Here our Lord makes his final point with a picture of war. In this context, Satan is the strong man whose home is secure, but Jesus is the stronger man who overruns him. For the Devil was strong, but Christ is stronger. He has entered his court; He has come into this world which Satan held as though it were his own house, for the time draws near for the prince of this world to be cast forth forever. Christ has bound him; He has broken his armor, and the unhappy people he held captive have been delivered from Beelzebub's bondage! Praise be to God! Only the Almighty God, the Strong One, can overcome the strong man, Satan.
And here, Jesus presents the two kingdoms: the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan. The strong and the Stronger. And with these words, demands a choice between the two be made by his hearers in saying, "He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth." To which kingdom will you sware allegiance too? As the greater Joshua, Jesus challenges his audience, "choose you this day whom ye will serve" (Joshua 24:15).
Will you join me, says the Lord, in gathering, or will you ally yourself with the scattering kingdom? Because the Kingdom of Satan is one of scattering not gathering. It doesn't cast out devils but unleashes them to overtake men. Neither does it heal. It doesn't gather in the flock and lead it into living pastures, but confuses, divides, kills, destroys, and drags down to death and eternal damnation as many as it can.
You see, the sign of God's Kingdom is life. ItsIt's works are salvation, redemption, freedom, emancipation from evil, and restoration. And its hallmark is love. The Kingdom of Satan is a dung pile where flies swarm, and death lingers. The demon-possessed man is an excellent illustration of the two. As a citizen of Satan, he became less human, blind, unable to speak, bewildered, and maniacal. But freed from demonic bondage he speaks, he sees. In the Kingdom of God, he regains himself, restored and made whole again.
"He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth." In these words, our Lord not only forces a decision of allegiance but provides a warning as well. "He that is not with me is against me." For those who cannot see the Kingdom of God at work, and in fact, attribute it to some other power, whether it be Satan, or science, or aliens, or mans rational mind... whoever does not attribute the workings of the kingdom to the power of God at work in Christ is by definition at odds with the Lord; they are against him.
Therefore, we implore God to be merciful, to be gracious to those who cannot see and cannot hear. For the eyes of the lost to be open wide and their ears to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. "But if I by the Finger of God cast out devils, doubtless the Kingdom of God is come upon you." In other words, through the incarnation, Jesus ushered in the reality and presence of the kingdom in a unique way, into the world of men, a world which for a time was held captive in the Kingdom of Satan.
But in the appearing of Christ was manifested the kingdom of heaven among men, demonstrated time and time again in the casting out of demons, healing of the sick, returning sight to the blind, and restoring the lepers decaying flesh. In each and every one of these, the finger of God is at work, the mighty power of the Kingdom of God, conquering and overcoming the strong man, Satan. The Stronger has bound the strong. The Kingdom of Satan will be crushed under the King of Heaven's heal.
Friends, The demon-possessed man, is a powerful reminder of the Father's power at work in our lives. For, at one time, we too were dumb, incapable of singing praises unto Him, blinded to his love and forgiveness. But by his Son Jesus, has overthrown the grip of Satan's Kingdom upon lives. In the words of St. Paul, "[Our Father] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (1 Col 1:13-14).
Jesus has overcome the Kingdom of Satan by wielding a power incomparably greater than any demon or man can conjure; he has overcome by the power of Divine love. Hear the Apostle Paul again, who says, "Christ hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor." And in Christ, we too have overcome the world, for the Apostle tell us, "in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Rom 8:37). It was the finger of God that raised Christ from the grave, the very power by which he overcame the Strong man. And it is the same Divine finger by which you and I have and shall overcome the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Know this: the Kingdom of God has come upon you. Amen+
