A sermon on Luke 11:14-28 for the Third Sunday in Lent. Delivered by Pastor Caleb Strutz.

Another word for one of the readings in the lectionary is a “pericope.” This word comes from a Greek word which means “cutting around” or “cutting out,” this one section is taken from its context and presented on its own. Now, most of the time, these pericopes are pretty straightforward, especially in the Gospels, it’s a single scene or event that’s pretty unified and has a clear beginning and ending. There’s other times, like today, the third Sunday in Lent, where maybe those barriers are less clear. It seems like we have three different sections each kind of dealing with different things. There’s the house divided section then Jesus’ further teaching on unclean spirits and you can see how these two work together, but lumped in with that, we also have the final two verses of our text, “blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” What’s that doing there? How does it fit? Why is this pericope cut like that?

Now, there’s plenty that could be said on this text and each section is worthy of a deep dive on its own. But today, I want us to view this pericope as a whole, to see how it fits together, why everything that’s included is included. And that means breaking it up and piecing it back together. In this pericope, we see a warning for the Christian, but also comfort and encouragement as Christ preaches about demons.

I. Warning

Now, part of what makes this account so fascinating is the second section, verses 24 to 26, because it tells us something about how demons think. Everyone seems to want to know how demons work and God in His wisdom has decided that, for the most part, that demon psychology is best left unaddressed, He tells us very much about that. But here we see something and it’s not to fulfill our morbid curiosity, but to give us a very real warning.

Jesus has just cast out a demon and now He’s going to tell us how that works. The demon wanders around, looking for somewhere else to go, but eventually, he’s going to come back. And if it’s empty, the person is swept and put in order but there’s nothing living there, it’s free real estate, he’ll come again with seven more spirits, “and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

Truly this is a terrifying prospect, that, once freed from the forces of evil, you might still be vulnerable and could end up even worse. And that’s really scary for us as Christians. Jesus has performed an exorcism on each and every one of you. In your baptism, He cast out all of the demons that we are under the influence of by nature and swept you and put you in order so that He might take up occupancy in your heart.

We might not think of baptism as casting out demons, but that’s really what it does. Luther’s baptismal services included an exorcism, “Depart, you unclean spirit and make room for the Holy Spirit.” That might sound harsh when you’re talking to a baby, but it’s the truth. By nature, we are sinful. Under demonic influence. Baptism is out with the old and in with the new. Sins are washed away, demons cast out, so the Holy Spirit can dwell in your heart.

But that’s exactly what makes this prospect so scary. If we fall from faith, if we fail to feed that seed so that it withers up and dies, if the Holy Spirit no longer resides in you, then you’re free real estate. Swept and put in order, but empty. Well, not for long. Only a matter of time until the demons come back. If we fall from faith, we’ll be even worse off than before.

There’s no neutrality. No middle ground. No such thing as an empty house. “He who is not with Me is against Me.” You’re either for Jesus or you’re for demons. A sobering thought. A painful thought, when I consider the weakness of my faith. Demons are strong. Powerful. Armed. What chance do I stand?

You know your weaknesses, your sins, your failings. The things you want to stop doing but keep struggling with. The things you want to start doing that never seem to stick. Paul warns us, “let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor 10:12). That’s a real warning. A real danger. And we see just how devastating the results can be.

            II. Comfort Jesus confronts us with the cost of our failure, warns us just how high the stakes are. But although we are weak against the strong man, susceptible to the attacks of the demons, Jesus is stronger.

There’s a lot going on in the first section of our text, but I think the main takeaway is one of comfort. We see Jesus’ power over demons as He casts one out. There’s not even a long, extended section describing this, it’s just simple, matter of fact, Jesus “was casting out a demon,” no biggie. And His words following this certainly rebuke those who oppose Him, but they also speak to us and give us comfort when we are discouraged.

“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.” Demons are stronger than us. We don’t stand a chance. There’s not even a fight, it’s peaceful. “But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.” Jesus is the stronger man. He is stronger than everything which would afflict us. And when He comes, there’s not even a fight. They don’t stand a chance. He overcomes them, takes away their tools, and divides their spoils—claims us as His own.

Jesus has rescued you from everything that would afflict you. He has given you liberty and freedom from everything that would oppress you. By His death on the cross, He has crushed Satan’s head. In Holy Baptism, He has cast out your demons and placed His throne in your heart. Where we are weak and would fail, Jesus is stronger and He defends us. You are free from your demons, liberated from the sin that would enslave you because Jesus has claimed you as His own and dwells in you by faith. He washes away your sins and keeps you secure, protected, and safe.

Jesus warns us of what we’re up against. And we need that warning, we need that reminder that we can’t do it on our own. We need the stronger man, we need Jesus to defend us from our enemies and to keep us in the faith which He has given us.

III. Encouragement

It’s easy to see how the first and second sections fit together, but the final two verses of our pericope maybe feel a little out of place. And indeed they are, when Jesus is talking, someone just kind of interrupts Him, but this is all part of the same discourse and Jesus’ reply strengthens the point He’s making and gives us a call to action.

As Jesus is giving this wonderful spiritual insight, someone interjects, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” Now she’s not trying to interrupt or be rude. Jesus is great, being His mom must have been a real blessing. And indeed it was, Mary says, “all generations will call me blessed,” repeating the words of the angel Gabriel, “blessed are you among women” (Lk 1:48, 28). It’s not that this is inaccurate. It’s just not what Jesus is trying to say. “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

We’ve heard the warning and we’ve received the comfort of this pericope. And now we are left with these words, given something to do. In view of how horrible it would be to lose faith and in view of the wonderful things that Jesus has done to rescue us, we want to make sure that we are hearing God’s Word and keeping it. And this makes us blessed, gives us more blessing than a purely familial relationship with Jesus would provide.

So hear God’s Word. This is how He strengthens your faith, entrenches His position in your heart. We can never get enough of this, we need to spend time in God’s Word daily, especially when we consider the strong men that we are up against. But hearing God’s Word isn’t just this magical formula to keep the demons away, it’s not enough for it to be in one ear and out the other, we need to keep it.

It’s hard to exhaust everything that keeping God’s Word involves. But, to put it simply, it means that it transforms every aspect of your life. Keeping God’s Word means not being mute. That demon has been cast out. We offer God prayer and praise and tell others about this saving truth. Keeping God’s Word means having a servant’s heart, doing everything that you do well, to glorify God and serve others. The entire life of the Christian can be summed up in hearing God’s Word and keeping it. This is how Jesus’ reign in your heart manifests itself, this is the truly blessed life of liberty that Jesus gives you.

So hopefully you’ve seen how everything fits together. In preaching on demons, Jesus really lays out the entire life of the Christian. By nature, we are under demonic influence, spiritually defenseless. But Jesus, the stronger man, has cast out those demons, given you freedom, and claims you as His own. Although there is the danger and warning of what would happen if you fall away from faith, Jesus also tells us how to avoid that: by hearing and keeping God’s Word. We are truly blessed because we have been washed clean in the waters of baptism, we are temples of the Holy Spirit in which God abides, we are defended and kept safe by the stronger, nay, strongest man, Jesus Christ. Amen.