Pentecost 3 "Jesus Stands With You"
Genesis 3:9-15 2 Corinthians 4:13-18 Mark 3:20-35
Suppose there was a time in your life when you lived in a luxurious apartment. But one day, you happened to meet up with a man who planted some seeds of doubt about the motives of your landlord. He offered you something that sounded better; a partnership in his apartment building. You do not have as much as he wants, but he tells you that he is willing to work with you. So you quickly gave all of your savings to this smooth talking gentleman and moved into his building without giving your old landlord any notice.
Your new apartment walls and ceilings have holes. You can see the wooden floor poking through the worn out carpets. The windows leak cold air in the winter and in summer the bugs come in as well as the heat. You are too embarrassed to go back and beg you old landlord to take you back. Besides you have no money to pay him rent let alone a deposit.
Each month the landlord comes to collect the rent. He has already tricked you into giving him all that you have. Still, each time He warns of an increase in the already high rent. When you hesitate, he threatens you with fewer services and higher rent because of your attitude. He puts the blame all on you for not taking care of his property better. Therefore, you are miserable, but since you have nowhere else to go, you keep paying.
One day there is a gentle knock at your door. Opening your door only a crack, you discover a nicely dressed and smiling young man. He gently explains that he has just purchased your apartment building. As your new landlord, he asks permission to come in and inspect your rooms. He is appalled with what he sees. He promises to begin repairs immediately and cancels all your debts. You can’t believe your ears! Where there was once nothing but shame and hopelessness, there is now renewed hope.
Immediately after he leaves, there is another knock at the door. You happily open the door wide only to discover your old landlord looking at you with the same old menacing glare. He demands extra rent, and full payment of what you owe him. Oh, what should you do—give in to his intimidations and pay? You’re too weak to fight him yourself. You cannot afford to be thrown out. Where would you go? But wait a minute!
The building doesn’t belong to him anymore. It now belongs to the generous new landlord. Why argue with the old landlord—tell him to take it up with the new owner. You are no longer bound to him. You do not owe any further explanation!
Still he is so demanding and you find it so hard to stand up to him. He has weakened you to the point when you have no strength left. He has convinced you of your guilt to the point that you feel totally worthless. My friends, that is still Satan’s strategy today. Satan tries to convince people that he may still win. And I have to admit, evil sometimes does triumph in the world—but evil cannot triumph!
Satan tries to control and dominate you and me. Satan attempts to discourage people from coming to Jesus by slandering Jesus’ name and power. He would have us believe Jesus’ gracious rule is evil, and his commandments are not for your own good. He even tries to discredit the church today through scandals, internal bickering, intimidation and-- well the list goes on and on.
Like the old landlord, Satan is always demanding, always attacking. Often, through the force of his evil manner and because his accusations of your sins are oftentimes correct, he intimidates you into serving him.
But you have been bought with a price! You now belong to Jesus, your new landlord. Whenever Satan reminds you of sins you have repented of, or tries to force you into serving evil desires, simply tell him to take it up with your new landlord Jesus Christ. Regardless of how often he keeps coming back, send him packing and trust the promises of the real owner of heaven and earth.
Jesus defeated sin, death, and the devil once and for all. Jesus bought each one of you and the price that He paid was outrageous. He paid with His very body and blood. Jesus did not pay Satan however. The real debt for our sins was owed to God the Creator and Father of all things. So when Jesus died on the cross, He paid for your sins and earned forgiveness for you.
So you see, you are very precious to Jesus. In our Gospel lesson, He calls all of you who believe in Him His brother, His sister or even His mother. That is truly a love that passes our understanding.
As we reflect upon Jesus’ love and forgiveness, we gain strength to overcome temptations and strength to battle against evil, never on our own of course. Our strength always comes by grace through faith in the work of our Savior. Recall Jesus’ words: “No one can enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man.” Although Satan is strong, Jesus is stronger!
Jesus overcame all the obstacles Satan placed in His path and went to the cross. Through his life, death, and resurrection, He has bound Satan. “It is finished,” Jesus called out from the cross. (John 19:30). And even though battles still rage, Jesus won the war on the cross. Victory is His, and final victory is assured for those who trust in Him even those yet unborn and those who are still living under the threat of punishment for their sin. The battle goes on for the sake of those who are still living in the house of Satan.
Even so, Jesus is stronger (1 John 4:4). He has tied up the strong man who would terrify us. Satan may threaten, abuse, hinder and discourage, but Jesus will not let him prevent the church from carrying out God’s work.
Jesus robs Satan of his ill-gotten gains and thwarts all of His evil plans. Satan falls whenever the Gospel is proclaimed and people are baptized into the kingdom of God. Through the means of grace, confession, absolution, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, Jesus sets His house in order and prepares us to live with Him for all of eternity. Jesus frees precious souls from Satan’s oppression and brings them into the safety of his marvelous grace.
So we pray as Jesus taught us to pray for the coming of his kingdom (Matt 6:10). Right now, we live in the tension of “the kingdom is here” (Matt 12:28), and it is yet “to come” (Matt 6:10). Our house is not yet in order, not yet ready. But our new Landlord has promised to make all things new. Therefore in this life we must be on guard and combat evil, but we do so knowing God is with us and we remain always confident of Christ’s victory.
You know that if someone has already told you the happy ending of a terrifying movie or suspenseful book, it no longer creates as much fear, even though at times, you may jump. The final outcome of the war with Satan is already known: Jesus has won. In the midst of Satan’s tempting, we cherish our knowledge of the end of this story—it ends with us resting securely in Jesus’ arms in heaven.
So we have been set free—free to proclaim Jesus’ forgiveness and peace. As the church militant—the church at war—we labor with Word and Sacrament to free others so they may join us in the church triumphant. In gratitude we do the will of God (v 35). It starts with the faith the Holy Spirit has placed in our hearts, continues with the confession of our lips, and reaches out to those still trapped.
We may be tempted to give in to the old landlord and his constant harassing. And as sinners, we cannot help but to sometimes give in. From time to time we may forget the victory that is ours. But please remember the grace of God and who has bought you. You are living in His grace and forgiveness is yours even when you bend under the pressure placed upon you by sin and Satan. Remember Jesus is there ready to stand beside you. In knowing that Jesus is stronger than Satan, you can stand with Him now and forever.
As we await the fulfillment of Christ’s promise of eternal life, we enjoy life under our new landlord, who has redeemed us. This is the abundant life of which Christ spoke of in John (John 10:10). In Christ we not only meet Satan’s challenge, we are more than conquerors—we are victors!
In Jesus Name, Amen.