JANUARY 18th, 2026 PASTOR DON PIEPER
A GOSPEL OF GRACE Eph 6:10-18/LUKE 4:31-41
“SILENCING THE DEMONS”
Around the time we moved here from KC 30 years ago, the business model of creating mission statements was all the craze, even in churches. Here's a few of my favorites: “We aim to spread the power of optimism, even when it's a bit cloudy.” What's cloudy – the weather or the mission statement?
Another business offers “To help you find what you're looking for, even if you don't what it is.”
?! Another one offers: “To deliver excellent work, while still finding time to look blankly at the wall and question everything.” I visited someone at their work and noticed a sign on the wall that simply read, Whatever! I was told that it was their mission statement, written when they switched to decaf.
I had a waiter once who stopped at my table for the upteenth time, and coyly said: “I apologize for repeatedly interupting...and asking if everything is okay but that's part of our mission statement.”
I saw a quip of a staff meeting, working on their mission statement, in which they'd a posted a few options on the wall: 'TGIF', and 'Let's Do Lunch!', and You Want it When? Their boss urged them set their sights a bit higher..., and then turning to one employee, said, “And Jerry, I do appreciate that a mission statement should be sincere, but I'd leave out the 'don't get caught' part.”
On Jesus' first day on the job he laid out his vision, with a mission statement he borrowed from the prophet, Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor,…to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” (Isaiah 61:1-2 / Luke 4:18-19)
No sooner had he made this known than he begins to put this vision into action by casting out a demon from a man in the Capernaum synagogue, healing Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, as well as countless others, who're likewise ill, impaired or demonized. So, what do you make of all that?
Little Ethan, trying to make sense of things, while watching his mother delete a long list of junk E-mail on her computer, asked: “This reminds me of that prayer at church, Mommy!”
“What prayer? What do you mean, Ethan?” “You know. The one in which we pray, ‘deliver us from E-mail!’” He mistook evil with junk email. Makes sense, but what about this demonized guy?
Years ago a Christian magazine conducted a survey and discovered that a high percentage of Lutherans...do not believe that demons are real or exist today. I found that rather ironic since Martin Luther himself was convinced that demons were active in the world, both in and outside of the church, trying to compromise the ministry of Jesus Christ in the hearts and lives of God’s people. As the lyrics to his most well known song put it: “Though hordes of devils fill the land all threatening to devour us, we tremble not, unmoved we stand, they cannot overpower us. God's Son holds the field victorious!”
(from Martin Luther's A Mighty Fortress Is Our God)
Certainly Jesus took demons seriously. Paul wrote that “Jesus came to disarm the spiritual rulers and authorities. What's more, he shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.” (Colossians 2:15)
Jesus' beloved disciple John echoes that mission statement in his letter to the church with one of his own, when he writes: “The Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8) Or as Jesus declared: to proclaim that captives will be released, that the oppressed will be set free! (Lk 4:18)
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Luke records that Jesus began his ministry by doing just that. Let's take a closer look.
A couple of observations. First: Luke informs us that Jesus has moved north, relocating his base of operations from his hometown in Nazareth to the city of Capernaum. Capernaum was a booming metropolis, just north of the Sea of Galilee, and a hub for the Roman army and international commerce. His move is prompted by the rejection of his neighbors back home, who take issue with his assertion that Isaiah's prophecy was about him and try to push him off a cliff. Jesus' famously responds to what must've been a heartbreaking rejection: “No prophet is accepted in his hometown.” (Luke 4:24)
Second, the reaction in Capernaum to his teaching is in sharp contrast to back home. Luke tells us that the Jews worshipping in the local synagogue, where Jesus has set up camp to teach and preach, “were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.” (Luke 4:32)
They instantly recognize there's something different about him, both in his confidence and his character. His message is compelling. His confidence comes from the clarity he has gained regarding his identity. He know's who he is. God declared it at his baptism and Jesus experienced it in the wilder-ness as we heard last week. It won't be the last time his authority is affirmed in these ten verses. Upon casting out the man's demon, the locals affirm his authority yet again: “What authority and power this man's words have! Even evil spirits obey him and flee at his command!” (Luke 4:36)
A third observation is this – the demonic attack in question is directed towards the worshipping community of which Jesus is now a part. There's something vitally important that Luke is trying to direct our attention to here in how he's telling Jesus' story. In the sequence in which Luke is unpacking Jesus' life and ministry for us he's showing us something crucial. He's revealing the enemy's strategy.
Any military tactician will tell you how crucial it is to know the enemy's strategy. Luke is exposing for us some of Satan's schemes and strategies. Last week we read of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. There Satan takes a subtle, yet insidious approach of whispering suggestions in Jesus' ear, among them the suggestion that he's not who he thinks he is, who God says he is. He does the same with you and I. He's constantly in our ear whispering lies about our worth and value.
Satan's approach failed miserably. Jesus battles back and the experience, as weakened as Jesus is at that moment, only serves to fortify and strengthen not only his identity but his authority. That's why Luke is making sure we see the difference here. Jesus now speaks with confident authority.
So now Satan tries a more direct approach. He gets in Jesus' face. He sends someone who looks religious. He's there in the synagogue, after all, supposedly to worship with all the other 'church goers', but Satan has his ear and his heart. Manipulated by the enemy he's there to disrupt Jesus' ministry and to negatively impact those in the community of faith. He's had a go at some of us lately too!
Four more tactics are revealed here. Number One: he accuses Jesus of not being one of them. It's the first thing out of the demonized man's lips. “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth!” (Luke 4:34) Note 3 key words: What, us and Nazareth. With the word, what, he takes Jesus to task. He questions Jesus' motives & authority: What? What do you want? Who do you think you are? You're not even from around here! You're from Nazareth; this is Capernaum, Jesus!
As one of your own disciples put it: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46) It's an attack on Jesus credibility. Why should we listen to him? What do you want with us? With the word, 'us', he tries to draw everyone else there into his camp. Suddenly it's an us and them/him issue.
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We're subject to the same in our schools, work place, media, entertainment – in all these places Jesus relevance and authority is being openly questioned. What's more, even in the church, when we fail to recognize the biblical witness that Jesus is God with us, as one of us, who was tempted just like us, experienced heart ache just like us, had to rely on the Spirit within him to do God's will in his life, just like us! When we miss that, we miss out on how we can overcome the enemy, just like him.
Number Two: the enemy tries to compromise Jesus' impact by prompting fear in those who came to worship. “Have you come to destroy us?” (Luke 4:34) Again, the enemy speaks of “us”. Sermons I've heard on this text always assume that the us is other demons, but the context suggests otherwise. He seems to again be speaking for his fellow Capernaum worshippers. He's trying to induce fear. How often do we buy into that one? It's no coincidence that the most commonly articulated command in scripture is “Fear not!” Fear inhibits us from trusting God to be God, from leaning into him when life's journey gets bumpy, to trust that Jesus came not to condemn us for our mistakes, our harshness, our selfishness, our addictions, but to redeem them and make beauty from our baggage!
The demonized man is being used here to draw those who come to worship into a fearful mind set in which they'll be seduced to circle the wagons, to keep outsiders out, not unlike so many fellow believers are being seduced to do these days in our country. The enemy wants us to act upon our fears!
Strategy Number Three: the enemy tries to force Jesus' hand. “I know who you are – the Holy one of God!” (Luke 4:34) The demons publicly identify Jesus as divine not out of faith or devotion but because if the Jews and their leaders learn that is his claim they'll see to it that he's put to death – three years too soon. The enemy wanted to undermine his ministry, cut short his preaching the good news and setting captives free even as the enemy strives to do so publicly with the body of Christ today. To that end Satan seeks to infiltrate the church from within, poisoning Christians with longings and secret desires that are bred from unresolved anger, unconfessed sin and buried garbage from the past.
Consider the fall of nationally reknown pastor, Ted Haggard. Newsweek quoted him as saying at one point, “To be a Christian is to be in a constant state of war.” What no one saw was the war within haggard himself. It was discovered that Haggard was buying crystal meth from a male prostitute in Denver with whom he was 'involved'. The article concludes with this telling statement: “After three decades battling Satan on earth, Haggard has fallen victim to the demons within himself.”
And Strategy Number Four? - to drown out Jesus voice. “In the synagogue, there was a man possessed by a demon. He cried out with a loud voice, 'Go away...Jesus...!'” (Luke 4:34-5)
That's been a pretty effective tactic as well. The enemy likes to get loud. He's constantly at work trying to drown out Jesus voice with distraction and deception.
Joe had been slowly sinking into the abyss. His drinking problem was having major repercus-sions at work and at home. Somehow his wife talked him into coming along for an evening of Alpha. That evening led to another and eventually he broke down and shared his struggle with his inner demons. The drinking was his chosen remedy for the deep sense of worthlessness he had long battled.
That evening his small group circled around him, laid hands on him and prayed for him. What followed was a growing attentiveness to Jesus speaking truth into his heart, mind and soul. God gave Joe a new appetite and revealed to him the value of his life! Jesus didn’t come to condemn him but to connect with him... As his new, Spirit filled friends came along side of Joe, Jesus silenced his demons.
“'Silence!' Jesus said sternly. 'Come out of him!' (4:35)
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To overcome the enemy it's crucial that we know his tactics. In the way Luke has unpacked this opening story in Jesus' ministry, he has exposed the enemy's evil schemes and strategy. We need this to perceive how Satan may be having a go at us, at you. It's clear that a fundamental reason Jesus came was to bring healing to our wounded hearts and to silence the demons within and around us. We can learn from him in this... I love the way he healed those who so suffered there in Capernaum.
“No matter what their diseases were, he healed them all with a touch of his hand....and by refusing to let the demons speak.” (Luke 4:40-41)
What a difference a loving touch and authoritive word can make. “So be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor...and pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere!”
(Ephesias 6:10,18)