Oculi Sunday (Lent 3) – Pr. Anderson sermon
St. Luke 11:14-28 “The Sign of the Devil’s Fall”
March 23, 2025 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
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Lord God, heavenly Father, You have sent Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh, that He might overcome the devil, and defend us poor sinners against the adversary: We give thanks to You for Your merciful help, and we beseech You to attend us with Your grace in all temptations, to preserve us from carnal security, and by Your Holy Spirit to keep us in Your Word in Your fear, that we may be delivered from the enemy, and obtain eternal salvation; through the same, Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, by Veit Dietrich, p. 153)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)
The sermon text for today is taken from the 11th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:
Now [Jesus] was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” while others, to test Him, kept seeking from Him a sign from heaven.
But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)
In Christ Jesus, who stands alone against the forces of darkness, defeats them, and casts them out in victory for you, dear fellow redeemed:
How much do we actually have to worry about the devil coming to get us? For many this is a genuine question. Some find it amusing that people still believe in the devil today. In Scripture, we see the devil does exist. In all of Scripture, we are basically getting a front row seat to the war that was fought over our very souls. Since the time of his rebellion, the devil thought that he would be able to pull ahead for the victory. When we look at history, maybe we can see how he could make such a claim, but in Scripture we find the truth. This was a great war, but while the devil tried this way and that way to win, God was never behind. He was never going to lose, and Scripture details exactly how the war was won. We hear and rejoice in Jesus crushing the serpent’s head! As the devil being defeated still hunts and uses his tricks against us, to protect ourselves, we go to our Savior. It is only in the Means of Grace where we see the signs of the devil’s fall.
On the first Sunday of Lent, a sign of the devil’s fall is seen in Jesus first interaction with him. They do battle in the wilderness and Scripture prevails over the devil’s temptations. As the devil looks for an opportune time, our text for today is one of those times where the devil thought he could trip up Jesus. Now [Jesus] was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” while others, to test Him, kept seeking from Him a sign from heaven. The first and correct mood of the people is the rejoicing in the fact the devil can’t just lay a claim to anyone and hold on to them forever. We see over and over again with one word Jesus sends the devil and his angels out of the people they were possessing. While Jesus doesn’t brag about being “the guy,” who saves, the devil comes with a different temptation. As the Father of lies, he throws out lies, hoping this will get the people upset with Jesus.
Jesus sees right through the lies of the church leaders. He refutes them and He also does not do another miracle for them. But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Not only the leaders, but those who don’t understand what Jesus is doing, they want Jesus to do many cool things. They crave more, even when they witnessed Jesus remove a demon from a man. While they wonder what else Jesus can do, Jesus in His humble state only does what is needed to serve and help His people. For the more aggressive response to His miracle, Jesus points out how silly their lies are. Why would the devil actively fight himself when he’s not in the slightest winning against God? He currently is throwing everything he has against Jesus.
While failing in his attack against God and losing, the devil is not done trying to tempt people to fall away. As he targets his enemies, Jesus warns how he will target harder those who have repented and turned from their evil ways. “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.” The devil though defeated, will not simply give up. It would also be bad for us if we doubt the power and motivation the devil has. As Jesus’ enemies were quick to spread lies about Him, we see in the world, lies are quick to spread about us.
The lies he uses are lies to get us to willingly leave God’s protective hands. He tries to convince us
that God will simply drop us. We know it isn’t true, but when temptations are strong and we try to defend ourselves on our own, the devil is stronger. Once we are in his trap, it is easier to conform to the world because by nature we gravitate to it. And if we are like our enemies and deny what God has done, then we will see what kind of life we will have without Him. St. Paul writes, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves” (Romans 1:21-24). And just like that, the devil has us in his claws to devour us. His lies will feel true, that God is the liar, and there is no escape.
God is always calling to His lost sheep who feel there is no escape. He calls his people back to repentance and revealing in His Word that He is the One who ties up the devil in victory. “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters.” The devil fights on a united front, but still loses. And while many will scatter away from Jesus, with great love, He still went on. He watched as all of His disciples fled. Yet, from the garden, He was delivered into the hands of the Gentiles. He humbly went to the cross, and it is there the people would see the greatest sign of all. They would see the sign of Jonah. They would see the sign of the devils fall. Jesus humbly gave up His life for the sins of the world, destroying the devils power to accuse mankind.
While the devil can’t hurl accusations, he continues to suffer blows when Jesus cures people from demon possession. With one Word from the Lord and they must take flight. Throughout Jesus’ ministry the people could see the signs of the devil losing. Every temptation the devil had used against God’s people, Jesus never gave into one. After overcoming the temptations, Jesus then following the will of His Father took it the distance. He saves His people as St. Paul writes, He 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 (Colossians 1:13-14). While Jesus was accused of being the devil, day after day, Jesus dismantled his kingdom until it could stand no longer. With His victory on the cross for the sins of His people, the devil only has one place to go with his angels, the fiery prison of hell and there to dwell forever.
Even in the penitential season of lent you still have a reason to rejoice and be glad. Jesus instructs and reveals to you why the devil’s prison is not your forever home. As He said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts at which You nursed!” But He said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” To hear and keep the Word of God is no easy feat. You know this from the many times you have failed. While the devil would have been able to accuse you of this, it is in Scripture you see the sign of his fall. You see how your Savior heard and kept the Word of God in your place. It is because of His work and then sending you the Holy Spirit that you keep it. He fought and beat the devil on your behalf. And now through His Word and your changed heart, He continues to fight for you and you hear and keep His Word.
In His Word you witness your Savior pay the ultimate price. In paying this price, Jesus tells you your chains are broken and your former owner is defeated. Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:31). There is the Word Jesus uses to send the devil packing and in His cross and soon resurrection, you see how you have all gathered into Him. Though it was the sins of the world that put Him there, it was God’s will He would die for them. In His Word you see that He did not have to do this for you, but you see the love of God. He did not forget about His creation after the devil tempted them to sin. Instead, He promised them the devils defeat and it is in this season where you gather together to hear this promise kept. The cross brings forgiveness of sins and the cross is the sign of the devil’s fall.
And this sign as Jesus says is a sign for the whole world to look up to, just like when the bronze serpent was lifted up for the people of Israel. The hard part is that many in the world would rather reject the cross. It looks like the devil is winning. You can take heart that this is not the case. Not only is Jesus winning, but you are gathered here today because Jesus has in fact won and you are redeemed. There will be times when the devil will try to lie to you and accuse you that you aren’t worthy of this redemption. When he does, you lift up your eyes to the cross where your Savior died for you. A Savior who still comes to you in the Means of Grace. You see Him at the Lord’s Supper. You hear Him speak to you in His Holy Word. This is your comfort and strength against the devil, the enemy you know for certain because of your Savior he is defeated. Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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