Bonjour from Vannes in Brittany, France. We arrived last Friday, travel went well with Malaysian Airlines, luggage arrived, the flat was in good order, the internet and mobiles worked, and the Summer is here! It should be a bit more comfortable than last year now that we have a proper kitchen and completed a lot of maintenance since last time, including replacing the hot water cylinder. Our body clocks are still adjusting to the new time zone so please excuse the brief sermon this week. You might think that’s a good thing anyway! Now that we have finished our 101 series on Spiritual Warfare, let’s return to Luke with eyes open to the extent of spiritual warfare going on and how Jesus dealt with each situation.
Luke 9:37-42
Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him. Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, “Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.
Jesus' response seems to be directed at the disciples suggesting it was a lack of faith on their part that prevented them from casting out the demon, he even called them perverse! According to Matthew's account of this same incident (Matthew 17:14-21), the disciples later asked Jesus why they couldn’t cast out the demon and he told them that for that type of demon, they needed preparatory prayer and fasting to drive it out. As we learned in our 101 series, do not engage in spiritual warfare if you are unprepared! Jesus makes mention of an extra weapon to the armour of God found in Ephesians 6. Fasting is required in some cases because some demons are powerful. I remember when we were young going on a mission trip to Fiji with Every Home Crusade. One of the Fijian guys told us the importance of fasting to him before going out evangelizing. Jesus has authority over all, so he was able to cast out the unclean spirit, but we know from his time battling Satan in the desert that he was accustomed to fasting and I’m sure that’s why he mentioned it.
Luke 9:43-45
And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, “Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.
Having watched him take control of such a difficult situation and overcome a powerful demon, and at another time a Legion of demons all at once, the disciples did not understand when Jesus told them he was about to be betrayed into the hands of men. Surely if he can defeat demons that easily, he wouldn’t have any problem with mere mortals? But they were too afraid to ask him that question, he had already called them faithless and perverse. No doubt they had other questions they wanted to ask him but didn’t want to display their ignorance so they left the question unanswered. However, sometimes we have to humble ourselves and this was a question about their understanding of the Messiah and what he would do, and I don’t think we should ever be afraid to ask the Lord such a question as that. It’s not wrong to ask the Lord a question! But sometimes he’s going to give us an answer that humbles us. At other times though, we just have to put our doubts aside and simply trust him.
Luke 9:46-48
Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.”
The Kingdom of God is upside down compared to this world. Here on Earth, people contest for higher status, a better house, a better job, sadly even a better partner, one with better looks, more money, a higher social status. When we think of the GOAT’s in sport, we think of the ones who won the most championships, scored the most goals and so on. That’s how the disciples were thinking when they argued about who was the greatest. Their argument may even have had a spiritual twist to it. Who had won the most souls, who had cast out the most demons, who would get the most rewards in Heaven. But Jesus told them that the least would be the greatest, the one most like a little child. A child doesn’t naturally worry about performance or status but just loves people for who they are, loves and trusts their Mum and Dad and goes where the family goes. Those early days of our innocence should hold the best of memories for everyone, woe to anyone who ruins that for a child. How we treat the least is a test of our true character. We can learn something important from anyone, but we should pay special attention to the ones the World considers the least because they don’t contribute economically, the kids, the handicapped, the mentally ill, the ones with low paying jobs, the elderly in rest homes all fall into this category. They are often the least in our society, but they are not overlooked by the Lord. Jesus affirmed in the Sermon on the Mount that the least are the ones who are blessed.
Matthew 5:3-10
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 9:49-50
Now John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side.”
We can spend a lot of time criticising other Christians, can’t we? We tend to think we’re right about everything, I’m guilty of that as much as anyone. We are supposed to keep an eye out for false teachers, false doctrine, that’s important. But we must be careful that doesn’t cross over into sectarianism, where we believe only our group is right as the disciples were doing here. That’s a mark of a cult. If someone is doing the work of God, and here it was casting out demons, let’s remember they are on our side, and think twice before opening our mouths to criticize. I’m looking at myself in the mirror here!
Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them. ” And they went to another village.
James and John were next level, weren’t they? They wanted revengeful judgment on those who rejected the Gospel. Unfortunately, the church today is seen to be a little like James and John in harshly judging others. But Jesus told them to move on, his purpose is to save people not destroy them. God alone will judge people in the end, and he gives them Grace to repent in the meantime because he is not willing that anyone should perish. God is long suffering and merciful and so do we need to be and aren’t we relieved about that when all is said and done?
Let’s pray.
Father, help us as we do battle for you to remember you are a God of mercy as well as justice. Help us to be like children in how we present your message to others.
Help us to recognise the real enemy and to be prepared whenever we have to face him.
Amen.
