Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
Every Sunday Jesus Says Amazing Things and
Makes the Demons Flee
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!
Amen. Today's Gospel is from St. Mark chapter one. Jesus and His new
disciples came to the city of Capernaum. "Immediately on the Sabbath [Jesus]
entered the synagogue and was teaching." Jesus' teaching created two
reactions. The first reaction was that the people were totally blown away by
what they heard: "They were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them
as one who had authority, and not as the scribes." The second reaction was
from "a man with an unclean spirit." He responded to God's Word by
screeching at the preacher.
Dear Christian friends,
Listen to what St. Mark wrote later in chapter one, several verses
after today's Gospel: "Jesus went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their
synagogues and casting out demons" (Mark 1:39). With these Words, St. Mark
wants us to know that the synagogue visit in today's Gospel was not an
isolated event. It was not a strange thing for the people to be amazed at
Jesus' authoritative preaching, and it was not out of the ordinary for the
demons to react badly to Jesus' Words. "Jesus went throughout all Galilee,
preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons" (Mark 1:39). St. Mark
wants us to regard today's Gospel as a sample of the sort of thing Jesus was
doing in synagogues everywhere. Just as the people in Capernaum were
"astonished at His teaching," so people in synagogues all over the area were
experiencing the same astonishment at His Words. Just as Jesus manhandled a
demon here in Capernaum, so also were demons in other people at other
synagogues being told, "Be silent, and come out of him." What Jesus was
doing here in today's Gospel, He did repeatedly "throughout all Galilee"
(Mark 1:39).
Why is it so important for you to know that Jesus' Words create
miraculous reactions everywhere they are preached? St. Mark wants you to
understand rightly what happens also in your own congregation when the
powerful Words of Jesus are likewise preached to you here. Capernaum was not
an isolated event. It was a sample of what Jesus was doing in all the
synagogues. Later, after Jesus ascended into heaven, His disciples continued
the same work He began in today's Gospel. Just as Jesus did in today's
Gospel, His chosen disciples also taught in the synagogues and cast out
demons. Listen to how St. Mark's book ends:
Then the Lord Jesus. was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand
of God. And they [the disciples] went out and preached everywhere, while the
Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs
[miracles] (Mark 16:19-20).
You might think of today's Gospel as being like a pebble dropped into the
water. The pebble drops at one point, but rings and ripples soon expand out
ever wider from that one spot. In the same way, what happened in today's
Gospel at Capernaum likewise spread to synagogues "throughout all Galilee"
(Mark 1:29). Later, Jesus' teachings and miracles continued to spread wider
and wider through His disciples as they also "went out and preached
everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by
accompanying signs [miracles]" (Mark 16:20).
On the basis of these verses, St. Mark would have you believe that
even here in Versailles, even today, we are still living in the outer rings
of those ripples that Jesus created in today's Gospel. That is to say, Jesus'
powerful and miracle-producing Word is still preached for you in the Church
today, just as it was in Capernaum. When Jesus' powerful Words continue to
be heard-just as His Words were heard "throughout all Galilee" (Mark
1:29)-amazing and astonishing things continue to happen in your midst. Jesus'
Words to you today are NO DIFFERENT from Jesus' Words to Capernaum, where
the people were "astonished at His teaching" and where an evil spirit was
told, "Be silent and go away."
Immediately on the Sabbath [Jesus] entered the synagogue and was teaching.
and they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying,
"What is this? A new teaching with authority!"
I will venture to guess that not a lot of people at Grace Lutheran
Church in Versailles feel flabbergasted by their Sunday morning worship.
They might describe their worship as comforting, or nourishing, or
beneficial. Some of our grumpier Christians or our undiscerning guests might
complain that things are a bit too routine or that our hymnody is sometimes
a little dark. We will grant that there are probably as many opinions about
our worship as there are people who darken our doors.
Of all the things you could say about our worship, the words "amazing" or
"astonishing" probably are not the first words that come to mind. The people
at Capernaum were amazed at Jesus' "new teaching," but you probably do not
feel quite so amazed because the teaching is no longer new. You have been
hearing essentially the same message every Sunday since your arrival here.
The Words your God speaks to you here might not seem new to you,
but these Words truly are amazing and astounding nevertheless. The whole of
our worship service-every worship service-boils down to one message: Jesus
Christ forgives you all of your sins. With the very same authority by which
Jesus spoke in Capernaum, I likewise speak to you on Christ's behalf. I do
not speak to you by my own authority, and I do not speak to you as one of
those patsy scribes that the people in Capernaum were accustomed to hearing.
As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I forgive
you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit (DS I, LSB p. 151).
You don't think those Words are amazing? Those are Words the Baptists will
not speak to you! They are Words the Roman Catholics will make you pay to
hear! What an amazing thing: You and I hear these Words from Jesus Sunday in
and Sunday out, without fail, with divine mercies new every morning
(Lamentations 3:23). Great-and astonishing-is your God's faithfulness! No
matter where your week takes you, no matter what harm you have created or
have endured, your Lord Jesus meets you at your Sunday-morning synagogue, as
it were. Here, just as He did at Capernaum, here Jesus teaches you a truly
new thing. Here Jesus declares to you something you cannot find or hear any
place else in the world: You are not condemned, but you are forgiven.
Just as Jesus' Words to you today are NO DIFFERENT from Jesus'
Words to Capernaum, so the power of Jesus' Words to you is NO DIFFERENT and
NO LESS than the power of His Words at Capernaum.
And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit.
And he cried 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." But Jesus
rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean
spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.
I have been your pastor for a joyous and blessed eight years, two
months, and twenty-seven days. Try as I might, I do not remember anyone
shrieking at me during a sermon. Little babies or small children cut loose
now and again. More than one person has been irritated by the things I
preach. But I do not recall any screaming demons.
We must not allow ourselves to be misled by this strange quiet in
our pews. We know that when Satan fell from heaven, he brought many other
angels with him into the darkness. We know that these devils and demons have
devoted themselves to our misery, afflicting us and tempting us so as to
drive us away from our Christ. We know that repentance and faith make for a
daily struggle. And we struggle, not against friends and neighbors, not
. against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).
Your Lord Jesus does an amazing and astounding thing for you here
in your worship, just as He did at Capernaum. Jesus makes the demons flee.
The first thing your Lord does for you when you gather here is to put His
powerful, demon-chasing name upon you again. "In the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." With these words, your Lord Jesus
returns you to the miracle of your Holy Baptism, where the unclean spirit of
your sin and unbelief was first driven away. Jesus' name at the beginning of
your worship is the name from which the demons must flee and the name by
which you are saved (Acts 4:12). "In the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit." This name-given to you at your Baptism and
re-applied to you in your weekly worship-this name is the very armor of God
by which you "stand against the schemes of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11) and
"extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one" (Ephesians 6:16).
Jesus rebuked [the demon], saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the
unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of
him.
With or without the convulsions, your Baptism steadfastly holds the devil
and his demons at bay and your weekly worship forces these dark powers into
retreat.
A long time ago, in a land far away, Jesus and His disciples "went
into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath [Jesus] entered the synagogue
and was teaching." This was the same thing that Jesus did many times
"throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out
demons" (Mark 1:39). The pebble dropped in today's Gospel still ripples for
you today, even this far away from the days of Your Lord's humiliation. All
Christian worship traces back to this Gospel, where Jesus' teaching amazed
the people and banished the demons. Jesus continues His amazing teaching for
you here in your worship, no less present among you as He was among the
people in the synagogue at Capernaum. The Words you hear from Him in this
place are so powerful and mighty that not even the demons or the devil
himself can stand against them. These Words are now yours forever.
___________________________________________________________________________
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