Title: Jesus-possession

Do we believe in demon possession—that demons, which are fallen angels and agents of Satan, can come into human beings and take over their bodies and minds? Yes, we do, because the Bible tells us so.

Was there an awful lot of demon possession at the time of Jesus? Yes, there was, for at least two reasons. First, God had entered the world in the person of Jesus. The battle for the soul of mankind had reached its pinnacle. The prophecy of God, which He had made to Satan in the Garden of Eden—that the offspring of woman would crush Satan’s head, while Satan would only bruise His heal—this prophecy had taken flesh and blood. The offspring of Eve had arrived in the Son of God and Son of Mary, Jesus.

Satan wasn’t going to take this lying down, so he unleashed his army of demons, which brings us to the second reason there was an increased amount of demon possession when Jesus was among the Jews. The Jews had fallen out of God’s grace. They had abandoned the true religion of God, which God had lovingly taught them through Moses. When Jesus came to Israel, there were very few believers.

Here is a key point. Satan cannot harm a believer, unless the believer allows him. Every person, who is a child of the heavenly Father, through faith, is in possession of God the Holy Spirit. Where the Holy Spirit lives, an unholy demon cannot.

Yes, Satan can tempt you. Like a barking dog, he can scare you. Like a whimpering dog, he can entice, lure, and tempt you. But, like a dog on a chain, he cannot attack you . . . unless you go to him—unless you leave God, turn your back on your Lord, and turn to Satan.

That’s what the Jews did. Now, you might argue, there is no evidence, in the whole Bible, that the Jews were ever devil-worshipers. And, on the surface, you would be correct. But, you would still be wrong.

See, there are only two sides in the world: there’s good and there’s evil; there’s God and there’s Satan. If you are not on God’s side, you are on Satan’s side. Therefore, if you are not believing in the teachings of the true God, you are believing in the teachings of the lying devil. If you are not worshiping the true God, it doesn’t matter who or what you are worshiping, your worship is devil-worship, because your worship is a lie, and Satan is the father of all lies.

So, even though Jesus was born a Jew, and the Jews were descendants of the nation of Israel, there were very few Jews who were children of the heavenly Father, through faith. Their faith was false; their worship was a lie. They were no longer in possession of the Holy Spirit, thus there was open season on them to be possessed by the unholy demons.

When God-in-the-flesh Jesus landed in this place called the Gerasenes, it was as if the demon-possessed man were drawn to Jesus. But, it wasn’t the man, who was drawn to Jesus; it was the demons. Though the demons didn’t have faith in, and love for Jesus, they knew that Jesus was God, and Jesus was their Creator. And, remember, with God coming to earth in the person of His Son, Jesus, Satan’s big showdown was on.

The demons cried out to Jesus, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" Though the man was possessed by many demons, they spoke as one—as if Satan, himself, were speaking. And, notice what the devil called Jesus: "Son of the Most High God." Do you recall the first time Jesus was called this? It was when the angel appeared to Mary, to announce to her that she would bear God’s Son—the Son of the Most High God.

So, here we have, in this corner, the Son of the Most High God in the person of Jesus, the Christ. And, here we have, in the other corner, Satan, the father of lies, in the person of a pitiful sinner. It kind of doesn’t even seem like a fair fight, does it?

The demons should have run and hid; they never should have confronted Jesus. This showdown could only come to one end, and the demons know it. They beg the Lord not to send them back to the abyss of hell, but to enter a herd of pigs that were feeding nearby. Jesus gave them permission.

Are you troubled that Jesus allowed these demons to enter the pigs which, when they became possessed by the demons, rushed down the steep bank and into the lake, meeting their death? Didn’t Jesus just destroy another man’s property? Wasn’t this a sinful act on Jesus’ part?

No, it was not. Remember, these are pigs. Remember, the Jews were to have nothing to do with pigs. That a local farmer was keeping pigs was against God’s law for the Jews. What we have here is explicit evidence that it was commonplace for Jews not to be living the true religion of God, but living however they wanted.

Does this ring in your ears about how we modern Christians live? How concerned are you that you are obedient to the Lord—obedient to the Lord in the things you possess, in the things you do, in the things you say? If Jesus were expelling demons in Port Hope, today, would He find plenty of sinful things into which to cast the demons?

Let’s turn to the formerly demon-possessed man. After Jesus saved him from Satan, where do we find the man? "Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus . . . The man . . . begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’ And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him."

After the Lord’s Supper, you will sing, "Thank the Lord and sing His praise; tell everyone what He has done." Has Jesus done every bit as much for you as He did for that demon-possessed man? Has Jesus released you from the bonds of the devil and brought you into the safety of His Father’s family? He has and He has. Thus, you know what you should be doing.

That the man wanted to be at the feet of Jesus quickly reminds us of the woman, of last’s week’s Gospel. Where did we find her? At the feet of Jesus. What is the most natural place for a person to be, who loves Jesus Christ for the merciful heart that he has toward him or her? Of course, the most natural place to be is at the feet of Jesus.

Take note of one last thing from today’s lesson. This man had been possessed by Satan’s demons. This is what Satan does: He takes hold of people against their will.

Does God do this? No, He doesn’t. Indeed, take note how we use just the opposite language when we speak about our Savior. We say that we are saved because we possess Him.

Satan takes; Jesus gives. Satan spoke, and he took life away from Adam & Eve. Jesus speaks, and He gives eternal life to all who believe.

Jesus forces no one to be baptized. He gives the water, combined with God’s Word, to be a lavish washing of forgiveness, life, and salvation. You brought your children to be baptized because you were drawn by Jesus’ love, not because He forced you.

Jesus forces no one to commune with Him. He gives His body and blood, under the bread and wine, as nourishment upon His resurrected eternal life for the strengthening of your eternal life which is leading to your own resurrection. You approach His altar because you want to be with Him, and Him with you, not because He makes you.

Jesus is gift. He has freed you from the devil, from damnation, from death. He gave His life into death so that your death now leads to life. You love to sit at His feet, in this hour of worship, because He has saved you. You love to leave here and "tell everyone what He has done," so that many more will also be drawn to sit at His feet, in possession of Jesus, the Son of the Most High God, your Savior. Amen.