Brothers and sisters in Christ, God’s Word for us this morning describes the bondage that sin brings in our lives. Our Introit talks about the troubles we face as if we are buried in the depth of the earth. “You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.”
Some Christians feel guilt ridden when day after day they feel buried beneath the earth with troubles or despair or depression. They blame themselves for the bondage they find themselves in. People think, “if I feel this bad, I must be doing something wrong. A good Christian is joyful and not sad and weighed down by grief.”
This is a mistake to feel this way, to feel this guilt over the amount of troubles present in your life. Your guilt means that you think you can free yourself from the bondage of sin. “I should do better, I have a strong faith.”
This guilt keeps you from seeing that Jesus alone is who frees you, who brings you out of the depth of the earth. This morning God’s Word loudly proclaims that Jesus and Jesus alone has set you free!
In our gospel lesson we can see how helpless a person can be to free himself from the chains of sin. Jesus and the disciples are in the place called Gerasanes, a land just outside of Galilee. Jesus had not yet made it into the city when already a man possessed by demons met him. This man’s bondage to the demons and bondage to his own sin was so great that he no longer even lived in the city. He no longer took part in society at all- so great was his torment, no clothes, no interactions, using the cavernous tombs as a place to stay.
It is clear that this man is not in control of his own life, he is a slave to the demons who posses him. Even when people tried to guard him and contain him with chains and shackles he broke out of them- so great was the power of the demons within him.
One of the signs of a demon in the New Testament is that they know who Jesus is from the start. The Legion of demons greet Jesus in this same way, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.”
The demons see Jesus as the Son of God, but they do not see him as someone who can heal them or save them. It’s amazing to think about this, the demons see Jesus for who he is, and instead of worshipping him or repenting before him and asking mercy- they dig in with their defiance and scoff at Jesus.
This is not much different than what we do in our sinful nature. We see only the power God has over us to destroy us and we scoff at God, we do not in our human nature have the ability to come to God and trust in God’s goodness to us. That is why we confess in the explanation to the Third Article of the Apostles Creed that “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus as my Lord or come to him.”
But Jesus did not turn his back on us while we were enemies of God. He set us free from our bondage. He gave us new life in Him so that we could live for the first time in a freedom from the drive of our sinful human nature. Now for the first time we are able to live to serve God instead of living to serve our sinful nature.
Sometimes you might doubt if you really are free in Christ, because all you see is your sin and how it holds you from being a child of God in your actions. If you doubt how much different your life really is because of your faith- if you feel your attempts to bear good fruit in God’s kingdom are second rate at best then how important it is that you see there in the gospel lesson how without hesitation Jesus commanded the demon to leave the victim.
To Jesus there is no reason for a man to stay in bondage and slavery to sin and the forces of evil. Jesus came to free us from all that would leave us chained up and buried under the earth.
The demon begged Jesus to not send him into the abyss but to enter into the pigs. It is not easy for us to understand why Jesus agreed to this, or for what purpose this served. Jesus knew that the demons would have a harmful impact on the herd of pigs, and that this attention would drive people of the town to be afraid of him.
However, for our benefit this sacrifice of the herd of pigs to the evil demons gives us a clear image of the destructive nature of the demons, that from the time of the possession they drive the pigs to jump off a cliff and destroy themselves. This is such a clear picture for us of the destruction of Satan.
Many people today, especially younger generations are drawn to have sympathy with witchcraft or satanic arts- almost as if it is a good thing because it is the underdog type of belief that nobody would give a chance for. This is part of the lie Satan tells to our young people, that Christianity is the largest religion in the world, that it doesn’t give a fair view of witchcraft. It is the lie of Satan that the Majority will always oppress the minority. But here the destructive nature of demons is visible for all to see.
In the same way, what destruction we can invite into our lives when we chose the chains of sin over the freedom of Jesus. It may not be as dramatic as a herd of pigs falling off of a cliff, but without the shield of our faith the impact of Satan’s influence in our life has the same destructive results.
In our Epistle reading we heard St. Paul talk about how before Jesus was born into the world we were like children or slaves who were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. Living only for this world leads us to play right into Satan’s hands.
If you only have hope for this world, then whatever deal Satan offers can be hard to pass up. ‘What do I have to lose, I might as well have what I want while I have the opportunity.’
I am grateful that God’s Word has led me on a course in life where every decision I make in life is not driven by the slavery of what I think I want for myself regardless of any understanding of what good things God prepares for me in his kingdom. This is the freedom Jesus brings us from servitude of our sin.
Here at Christ Lutheran, as of late many of our members struggle with challenges of health and we struggle with building repairs and other needs to keep a congregation moving along. It is important that we can see a bigger picture, that it is not only for this life that we live, that our church is investing in more than just managing a building and paying of a building loan, or targeting attendance numbers. We are building up treasure in heaven as our faith grows and as we seek to share the gospel- especially now with the Deaf Community. Being a part of a church is more than just keeping up with what needs doing. It is participating in the freedom and joy of life lived no longer as slaves to sin, but as heirs of our Heavenly Father.
By the end of our gospel reading, the man who was possessed by the demon Legion ends up in a blessed state. He went from someone who was an outcaste to the extreme to someone who had the pleasure of sitting at the feet of Jesus.
He wanted to follow Jesus and continue in the blessed freedom from slavery that Jesus just brought to him. Instead, Jesus tells him to stay in his home town and declare how much God has done for him. And that is exactly what he did, he told everyone in the city what Jesus had done for him.
You also can speak about how Jesus liberated you from slavery to your sin. You can tell people that without God’s Word living in you, that you cannot imagine where you would be in life.
You might look at your life and see ways in which Satan had his way with you and you feel like you have not met your potential in your life, that you could be such a greater servant in God’s kingdom if you made better decisions.
The man possessed by demons was healed and all of the damage was undone, he was a new creation in Christ. And in the same way you are a new creation, he heals you of the mistakes from your past, he forgives you and restores you- so that you can tell others about him.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, know today that Jesus has set you free from bondage. He has raised you up out of the deep pit of your own sin and despair. Even as he will raise you up on the last day. Amen.