Hand of the Lord Who Casts Out Demons

Text: Luke 11:19–20 “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.”

Tonight’s theme is “The Hand of the Lord Who Casts Out Demons.” We have to start by dealing with the first obstacle to hearing the message of this topic. As modern, American Christians, the activity of the devil and his demons in our daily life looks nothing like the activity that is described in the Bible. Our children can be a handful at times, but we only ever joke about them being possessed. I have never heard anyone describe the sort of behavior this son of the poor man in Luke 9 was experiencing. Talking about Jesus casting out demons seems like an anachronism. It seems like a thing of the past that really does not have a place in our world. So, first, I hope to persuade you that it is not. Jesus casting out demons is not a thing of the past. It is entirely relevant today.

Nor do you need to start seeing a demon behind every sniffle, for example, as if physical illnesses were examples of demonic activity. You certainly should not dive head first into the superstitions that pass for knowledge of the ‘spiritual’ in our day. But the devil and his demons are very real; they are present; and they are active in this world. Thankfully, I also hope to persuade you that the hand of Jesus is still casting out demons today.

So where should you look to see the devil and his demons at work? Well, allow me to answer that with a brief illustration

There was a book that was published several years ago called, “Do Fish Know They Are Wet”? The book is not about demons. It is not about the devil. But the point of the book is very relevant.

The point of the book is that, from the moment they hatch to the moment they die, they live their entire lives completely immersed in water. 24/7/365. Can they conceive of what it feels like to be wet? That is all that they have ever known and all that they ever will know. Obviously, that is a little oversimplified. Fishing is a ‘thing.’ They get pulled out of the water at times. There are species that leap out of the water for different reasons. But you get my point. They would not understand the word ‘wet’ because that is simply how they exist.

Well, in much the same way, you do not recognize the power of the devil because it is such a basic part of your existence. Ever since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they and all of their children were under his power. From the moment a person is conceived to the moment he or she dies, he or she is under the power of the devil. That sort of existence is all he or she has ever and will ever know. If you do not see the power and influence of the devil, that is why. It is part of how humanity exists.

We can go a step further, though. His work is undeniable. When the concentration camps were liberated at the end of World War II, they found all sorts of messages scratched into the walls of the barracks and the prison cells in the camps. In one particular cell, someone wrote, “I am still not sure if God exists but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is a devil.”

When you start to look for the devil and demons at work in this world, the devil would like nothing better than to persuade you to look for children convulsing and foaming at the mouth. If that is the only thing you are looking for, then you will miss the forest for the trees. The devil and his demons are very real. They are present. And they are active in this world.

So let me point you to the hand of the Lord who casts out demons. Jesus did, in fact, cast out the demon that had that little boy convulsing and foaming at the mouth. By the hand of God— or, more precisely, by “the finger of God” (Luke 11:20)— He cast out demons. He did it to prove that the Kingdom of God has come (Luke 11:20).

Nowhere did Jesus do that work of casting out demons more powerfully or in any greater way than He did on the cross. When His hands were nailed to the cross, the head of the devil— that ancient serpent— was crushed. When His lifeless hands were lowered from the cross, wrapped in that linen shroud, and laid in the tomb, it was really the devil who was being bound. When He ascended back to the right hand of the Father the Kingdom of God was established in this world.

His hand is still casting out demons. When He rebuked the apostles, He asked, “You faithless and wicked generation, how long am I to be with you?” Thankfully, we are not left to wonder and the answer to that question. “Lo, I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

His hand is still casting out demons. In fact, you have seen it, yourself. You have seen it countless times— right here at this font. At one point, our baptismal liturgy had an exorcism in it. It was nothing dramatic. The pastor simply said to the person being baptized: “Be gone, unclean spirit, and make way for the Holy Spirit.” There is actually an alternate form of the baptismal liturgy that we could use that still has it, but, by and large, it was removed. Why? Because baptism IS the exorcism.

How many times have you heard me recite those words: “God’s word 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…” (“Baptism Liturgy”, Lutheran Service Book, p. 268). As the pastor pours the water and speaks the words that Christ has given, it is the hand of Jesus delivering another soul from the devil’s house and into God’s Kingdom.

The good news is that God has put enmity between you and satan. He is now your foe, not your master. He will use every means at his disposal in his battle against you. He will try to snatch the kingdom away from you by deceiving you into false belief. He will try to lure you out of the Kingdom through great shame and vice. He will try to deceive you into despair by piling on you as much suffering as he can— often more than you can bear. He is vicious in his fight. But he is defeated. One little word can fell him: Jesus.

So “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:8–9). Resist him in the confidence that “He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). As often as you fall, repent and turn back to God in the confidence that “the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10).

If I have not persuaded you that the devil is real and present, then, perhaps, tomorrow’s headlines will. But there should be no question in your mind about the hand of the Lord who casts out demons. His hand has come to you and He has healed you so that, in due time, He might present you to His Father and your Father. And His hand will strengthen and establish you until that day.