The Joyous Conflict

Text: “23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.” (Mark 3:23-27)

By now you’ve heard me say several times— and you’ve probably seen for yourselves— that I’m a big fan of irony. I really enjoy it. Well there’s a subtle case here in today’s gospel reading that is easy to overlook. It comes at the very beginning as the scribes say about Jesus, “He is possessed by [Satan],” and “by the prince of demons he casts out demons” (Mark 3:22). They’re completely wrong, of course, as Jesus points out. And there’s also a bit of irony there. The irony forms the basis for the theme that I’d like to focus on this morning. The irony is that they were the ones trapped under the devil’s power, not Jesus. In fact, the good news today is that Jesus has come to restore conflict with Satan.

Abraham Lincoln used Jesus’ words, “A kingdom divided against itself can not stand,” to say that the ‘house’ of our nation could not stand if it continued as it was: divided against itself on the issue of slavery. In other words he was making the appeal: “We cannot continue to be divided if we hope to stand.” With apologies to President Lincoln, let’s just say that he was using this line with a different meaning than Jesus had. Jesus was assuring them: “Don’t think for a moment that the Devil’s house is divided. If it were, then there’s no way that it could stand.” It’s true that there is plenty of conflict in the world. But that conflict, itself, is often proof that Satan’s kingdom is perfectly unified.

Several years ago now, I had the privilege of traveling to Europe. On that trip, one of the things we did was visit one of the WWII concentration camps in Austria. Among the things they have preserved there so that we “never forget” is a line that was reportedly spoken by one of the soldiers who liberated the camp: “I’m still not sure if I believe in God. But, from what I’ve seen, I don’t have any doubts about the devil.”

Do we need to list the evidence that is still all around us that the devil is real? Do we need to review the evidence— not only horrific acts carried out on a national scale, but the countless lives that have been destroyed in a million different ways?

To say it another way, could they really not tell the difference between the works of God and the works of Satan? The answer, unfortunately, is ‘No’. Those scribes were so firmly held in Satan’s power, so thoroughly deluded by it, that they mistook one for the other. And before we get too critical of them, let’s consider whether you and I know any better.

The fact that we struggle with what it means to blaspheme the Holy Spirit suggests that we don’t. The Apostle John points out how clear and obvious the works of Satan are: “8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning” (1 John 3:8). If you are clear on the works of God as opposed to the works of Satan, then why do you insist on doing the works of Satan? Why do you make a practice of sinning? Why do you nurse grudges against one another? Why do you harbor anger against one another? Why do you make provision in your life for drunkenness and sexual impurity?

If we are so clear on the works of God as opposed to the works of Satan, why has private confession and absolution all but died out among God’s people? Do you not need to root out those sins from your lives that would put you back under Satan’s power? Yes, these scribes were sorely deceived. And that challenges us to evaluate how clearly you and I see, as well. Repent. Repent from all works of Satan.

Repentance is, after all, the antidote to the great unforgivable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is to call Him a liar. To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is to tell Him, “I don’t need what you wants to give me.” To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is to insist, “I don’t care what you say, I’m not who you say that I am.” And what is it that the Holy Spirit desires to say about you? That you’re forgiven. What does He want to give you? Eternal life and salvation. What has He said about you? That you are a child of God. Those are the gifts that you and I reject every time you choose anger, hate, drunkenness, sexual impurity, or any of the works of Satan instead of the works of God.

To put it simply: todays readings invite you to rejoice in the conflict that Jesus has, in fact, brought. But that conflict is not within the kingdom of Satan. Satan’s ‘house’ is not divided. No, it is under attack from the outside. Jesus has, as the Father told the serpent in the garden of Eden, put emnity between the serpent and Eve— between his offspring and hers.

You and I are, by nature, enemies of God. You and I are, by nature, under Satan’s power. Who are the “offspring” of the serpent? All who bound by sin. Ever since Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they and all of their descendants were set with Satan and against God. That’s why Adam and Eve hid when God came into the garden. They knew, instinctually, that He was now their enemy. And that is why God’s statement to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman” is such good news. Because, from that moment on, they and all of their descendants— all the way down to you and me— are firmly bound within the devil’s house. That house is not divided in the least. There is no group of rebels, no counterinsurgency, no opposition fighting back within it against Satan’s power. There is plenty of biting and devouring one another, but all are peacefully under Satan’s power.

That is, until the Offspring— singular (the One Son) of Eve— came. He was not under Satan’s power because He was born sinless. And He had come to restore, to renew, to bring back the conflict between man and Satan.

Of course, it’s not just the fact that we’re born with a sinful nature that puts us under Satan’s power. “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin,” Jesus warned on another occasion (John 8:34). The devil is called the “Prince of this World” for good reason. You and I delivered ourselves over to him by our sin— our rebellion against God— not just once, at a tree in a garden thousands of years ago, but every day you continue to give yourself over to him. You and I are not neutral parties, bunkered down in our houses, just trying to live our lives while a spiritual battle rages around us. You were firmly bound in the devil’s house.

What they were witnessing as Jesus cast out demons was not the devil’s house divided. It was the exact and complete opposite. Jesus is the Promised One from Genesis 3. He is the One who would restore emnity between the serpent and the offspring of Eve. It is a sign that the Promised One has come, He has bound the strong man, and is plundering his house. It is the return— the breaking in— of the Kingdom of God, as God breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh.

Jesus, Himself, is the Promised One who was willing to be bruised in order to crush the serpent’s head, just as He had promised to Adam & Eve. That is, of course, precisely what happened on the cross. As He bled there, as He suffered there, as He died there, the great conflict between man and Satan raged. In fact, not only did Christ bring emnity between Satan and the offspring of Eve, He ended the contest, once and for all. As one of our Good Friday hymns puts it: “Sing my tongue the glorious battle, sing the ending of the fray. Now above the cross, the trophy, sound the loud triumphant lay. Sing how Christ, the world’s Redeemer, as a victim won the day” (“Sing My Tongue the Glorious Battle,” Lutheran Service Book, #454).

By taking away sin, has removed Satan’s claim on you and has reconciled you to God. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). And He has. The Good News is that there is, now, enmity between you and Satan— Satan is no longer your master, he is your enemy! Your sin was paid for by Christ on the cross so that you could be gathered into His kingdom and set free.

You’ve heard the words in the baptismal liturgy a number of times, just since I’ve been here: “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. We would be lost forever unless delivered from sin, death, and everlasting condemnation.” In baptism Jesus continues to plunder the devil’s house. He has plundered you from out of the devil’s power by claiming you as His own in baptism, writing His name upon your forehead and upon your heart.

That’s why we still sing the son of Zechariah with such joy: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Abraham, He has come to His people and redeemed them. He has raised up for us a mighty savior, born of the house of His servant David. Through His holy prophets He promised of old that He would save us from our enemies, from the hands of those who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant. This was the oath He swore to our Father Abraham: to set us free from our enemies. Free to worship Him without fear, holy and righteous in His sight all the days of our lives.”

Even now God’s will is being done in you as He beats down Satan under your feet, as He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and your sinful flesh, which do not want us to {teach His word in its truth and purity and lead holy lives according to it}, and when He strengthens and keeps us firm in His word and faith until we die.

Consider what Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller said a couple of years ago in a discussion of the book of Job: It all started, he points out, when God bragged about Job to Satan. God said, “Hey, look at Job, I’ve got Job. He’s mine, he belongs to me. He’s my Christian.” And He uses… Job to mock and taunt the devil. The Lord continues to do the same thing with His Christians. He uses His Christians to mock the devil. And we have this in Romans chapter 16[1], where Paul says that, even now, the Lord is putting the devil under *our* feet! …The devil is under His feet already, Genesis 3:15 is fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus, He’s crushed the devil under His foot, but now Jesus is ruling and reigning and putting the devil even under *our* feet and using *our* feet to crush his head. That’s what He’s doing here in the book of Job—taunting the devil with His Christian.” (Issues, Etc., episode 1553, “Introducing the Books of the Bible: Job” with Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller, June 4, 2018, approx. 20:00 – 22:00)

Rejoice in the conflict between you and Satan. Rejoice as he is crushed under your feet.

Rejoice as you live in the promise made to you in baptism— that you were born again by water and the power of the Holy Spirit. Rejoice as the Holy Spirit continues to pour out His gifts to you through the Word. Rejoice as you confess your sins and receive absolution through the power of the word. And rejoice as you do the works of God— greater works than casting out demons and miraculous healings— works of God like giving the gift of faith by sharing the word; works of God like living holy lives by the power of the word; works of God like loving even your enemies by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the word.

“How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.” It is true. Satan’s kingdom is not divided in the least. It has been conquered and plundered by the Son of God. Repent and rejoice in that conflict. Rejoice in His victory.

[1] Presumably Rom. 16:20– “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”