Pastor Tom Johnson, January 31, 2021
The healing of the man with the unclean spirit reminds us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood...but against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). Those who heard Jesus teach were already astounded. Because he taught with authority—not like the scribes. He had a commanding presence and delivery. But even more than that, his teaching transformed the lives of those who heard him. But this is just the beginning. Jesus will lead them from astonishment by his teaching to amazement by his cleansing of a man from an oppressive spirit. He shows by his teaching and now his healing that his reign extends to the world of ideas, thoughts, the tangible world around us, and even the world that is unseen.
They are all in the synagogue on the sabbath. For us, this would be for all to be in church on Sunday. They were enjoying Jesus’ teaching and worshiping God when the door flings open and a loud intruder interrupts Jesus. He cries out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God!” Jesus responds, “Shut it. Put a muzzle on it. Come out of him. Withdraw your defiling presence.” The demon convulses the man and loudly cries out. The man is purged and cleansed. Those who witness this exorcism were already amazed by Jesus’ teaching. Now they are astonished that his authority extends beyond the world of ideas into world around them—even those things which are hidden from our sight. Jesus heals us—body, mind, and spirit. Soon, their astonishment leads to faith. That same evening, they bring all their sick with various diseases as well as those oppressed by demons. They realize that there is no limit to Jesus’ healing power. His reign extends to those ailments that plague us which are seen and unseen—material and immaterial—physical and spiritual.
Notice the lie shrouded in half truth: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God!” The unclean spirit wants Jesus to question his own reality. The unclean spirit rightly identifies Jesus. But it is mere intellectual assent. It falls short since the spirit has no faith. He does not trust in Jesus. He fears Jesus. He knows his time is short. And his power over this man will soon be broken. We do not know much about the unclean spirit that oppressed the man. But the words “unclean spirit” tell us what we need to know. It was a spirit of lies that defiled the man mentally, physically, and spiritually. Just he intrudes into the synagogue on the sabbath and interrupts the Word of Jesus. So the spirit intruded the temple of this man’s body and mind. He showed up to distract him from the truth, to believe a lie, and to prevent the Word of Christ being preached to his soul. And that is what demons do. They gain a foothold. Their unwelcome voices intrude our lives, our minds, our bodies, and our communities of worship. They would like for us to question our own reality and prevent us from hearing the Word of Christ. They use lies shrouded in truth and half-truths.
What are the false beliefs that hold you captive? What are the lies you hear inside your head? Is it that you are not worthy of God’s love or any love at all? Is it that you will never be good enough? Is it that what you have done can never be forgiven? Is it that the power of Christ may be for others but not for you? The reformer Martin Luther had a spiritual battle when he was translating the Word of God into common German. The unclean spirits oppressed him mentally, physically, and spiritually. A few years ago, I had the privilege of standing in the room where it happened—in the Wartburg Castle in Eisenach, Germany. But I did not need to be in that room to understand this spiritual battle. It happens every week as I study and prepare sermons and Bible studies. It happens in my own mind as I battle to believe that this Gospel is actually for me. There is that sinister, self-defeating voice of the adversary—the accuser—who can only be shut up and purged by the power of the risen Christ.
In Luther’s service of baptism, he says, “the Word of God also teaches that we are all conceived and born sinful and are under the power of the devil until Christ claims us as his own. Therefore, depart, you unclean spirit, and make room for the Holy Spirit.” It is so easy to fall into the demonic trap of intellectually assent of the Word of God. As James says, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” (James 2:19). God not only wants us to cognitively understand the Gospel. He wants us to experience it to the very core of our being.
The word “unclean” in our text is where we get the word “cathartic.” It means “cleansing.” This “unclean” spirit is anti-cathartic. It defiles, corrupts, and poisons what God wants to do in the Gospel. These evil spirits and false beliefs are toxic to our minds, bodies, and souls. Like the the man in our text, we need to be purged of our demons. Otherwise they will prevent us from receiving God’s Word and to grow into the joyful and free people God intends us to be.
So Christ by his Word purges the lies we believe out of us. He cleanses us of half-truths. When we encounter him in his Word, he gives us a cathartic experience. We can finally shed the old skin of our fears and false beliefs. This means you and I experience exorcism every time we hear the Word of of God. We purge the deceptive lies of unclean spirits when we make the sign of the Cross and remember our Baptism—that we are royal daughters and sons of the Heavenly Father. We are forgiven. We have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. As Scripture says, “Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them all; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
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