June 23, 2013 at Calvary
Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA
“When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met Him a man from the city
who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in
a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down
before Him and said with a loud voice, ‘What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son
of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.’”
The beginning of an account can
tell you much with few words. The more famous first lines of novels possess the
same quality. It is so in today’s Gospel Reading: “Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite
Galilee.” The Gospel Writer is concisely telling where Jesus and the Twelve
went in their travels. They have sailed from the western shores of the Sea of
Galilee to the eastern shore. The country of the Gerasenes lies opposite
Galilee in direction. But there is a bit more to this; the country of the
Gerasenes is “opposite” of Galilee in more ways than one. Jesus and His
disciples have entered Gentile lands, a location where the way of the Lord was not followed. They have left
the Holy Land and entered an unclean region. And what takes place after their
arrival puts that fact on clear display.
When the boat reaches the shore,
who serves as the greeting party? “When
Jesus had stepped out on land, there met Him a man from the city who had
demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house
but among the tombs.” Jesus beholds the epitome of uncleanliness. But this
is more than a lack of hygiene, a failure to use soap and bleach. No, being
unclean as it relates to God is a matter of lacking holiness—both in the sense
of not having perfection, as well as not being set apart and belonging to the Lord. That’s what is seen in the country
of the Gerasenes. With this demoniac, the unholiness reaches the highest level:
living without clothing, dwelling among the corpses, being occupied by an
unclean spirit.
That lack of holiness, that
state of being unclean, leads to the question that flows out of the man’s
mouth: “When he saw Jesus, he cried out
and fell down before Him and said with a loud voice, ‘What have You to do with
me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.’” A gap
exists between that man and Jesus, even though they are right next to each
other. Proximity has nothing to do with the matter. The gap is present because
Jesus is the epitome of holiness; He is what the demoniac says about Him, “the Son of the Most High God.” And the
man’s begging reveals an outcome that should be realized when Jesus’ divine
holiness encounters the demonic uncleanliness: “I beg You, do not torment me.”
But what does Jesus do there on
the shore? Does He torment the man? Does He destroy him? No, that is not what
Jesus does. For that is not His role there. Jesus has come into the world to
bring divine holiness to the unclean: “He
had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.” Jesus gives the
man what no one in the country of the Gerasenes could provide. Remember how the
Gospel Writer told you about their attempts to deal with the man: “For many a time [the unclean spirit] had
seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he
would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.” But
Jesus’ command frees him. Legion is sent away: “Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd
rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.”
And what happens to the man
after this? “[People] came to Jesus and
found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus,
clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.” The man had been made
clean. He was saved. The gap between him and Jesus was overcome. That is what
Jesus did for him. It was a dramatic act, for sure. It caused fear. None of the
people had ever seen this before. They had not been expecting someone to come and
do that; these Gentiles had been given no prophetic promises about a Messiah
coming to them. Jesus’ work confounded them greatly: “Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked
[Jesus] to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear.” But
what Jesus did in their land revealed His identity. He demonstrated what He was
in the world to do—not to torment, but to save. And He gives the man the
command: “Return to your home, and
declare how much God has done for you.”
What happens in the country of
the Gerasenes summarizes Jesus’ work in the world, including His work that
takes place today. The encounter between Son of the Most High God and all that
is unclean and unholy continues in this age. It happens now. You must know how it
has occurred in your lives. For that is how Jesus’ identity as your Redeemer is
revealed.
Jesus has come to the land of
the Pennsylvanians. The Eternal and Incarnate Word of God has caused His authoritative
word to be present here. It has traveled through the centuries from the Holy
Land to the region way opposite of it. And what does Jesus behold when He steps
foot in this country? He encounters the same unholiness found in the country of
the Gerasenes. He sees you who are naked and dwelling among the dead. That is
the way the Scriptures describe your natural state. There is no righteousness
and no life. You stand like Adam and Eve did in the Garden after their sin. All
that is necessary to be in the presence of the Son of the Most High God is
lacking. The unclean spirit dwells within you.
So what is Jesus to do? Has He
come to torment? Has He come to punish? No, that is not His role here. Even
now, the divine holiness has come into the world to bring remedy to the
unclean. That is what Jesus does here. He speaks and commands the unclean
spirit to come out of you. In fact, that is why the traditional baptismal rites—even
the Lutheran ones—include the statement spoken by the minister: “Depart unclean
spirit, and make room for the Holy Spirit!” Jesus removes the nakedness by
giving you His righteousness. So you heard about what happens to you in
baptism: “For as many of you as were
baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Or a bit more literally, “have been clothed with Christ.” And
Jesus does not leave you as citizens of an unholy nation; instead, you are
adopted into the Father’s household: “for
in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”
That is the work of Jesus in
this world. That is what He has done for you. This is how Jesus has become your
Redeemer. Through baptism He applies His great work of bringing holiness into
the world on a personal level. You are united to His being put to death and
rising to life again. That was His role: “When
the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born
under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive
adoption as sons.” He incorporates you and others into His chosen company
of disciples, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female. All the
baptized are one in Christ Jesus.
But Jesus did go away from this
world, just as He sailed from the country of the Gerasenes back to the land of
Galilee. And like the healed demoniac in the Gospel Reading, your desire is to
be where Jesus is, since you still live in a land that is unclean and unholy. The
“elementary principles of the world”—the
powers of evil and darkness—are still present here. They are seen in the
unrighteous and sinful acts daily committed, even your actions that are not
consistent with the Lord’s will.
But Jesus tells you that you cannot now come with Him. Instead, Jesus tells you
several things as He departs: first, that He and His power are present
in this land; second, that you are to go home with a purpose; third,
that He will return.
These statements of Jesus govern
what you do as His redeemed people. Jesus’ presence is among you wherever His
Gospel and His Sacraments are found. That means that if you want to receive His
healing and forgiveness, you must be present where you hear of Jesus’ identity
and work. But when you are sent home after gathering around Jesus’ Gospel and
Sacraments, you have a task. You are to declare how much He has done for you.
And as you remain in this country, you live in expectation of His return. But
when Jesus comes again, His role will be different. When He returns, Jesus will
bring judgment and cast out all the unclean into the abyss. But what is reserved
for you, “the heirs according to the
promise,” is the entry into resurrection where you dwell eternally with
Him: “I will bring forth offspring from
Jacob, and from Judah possessors of My mountains; My chosen shall possess it,
and My servants shall dwell there.”
That is what Jesus is for you as
His holiness has encountered your uncleanliness. The Son of the Most High God
has set you free. He is your Redeemer who does not torment, but who heals and
saves. He has put His Spirit in you, making you holy people who belong to Him. So
may you believe this about His identity. And so may you speak about how much He
has done for you.
+ In the Name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
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