I think it’s fair to say that most seminary training these days does not include driving out demons. Our synod’s seminary does a fantastic job of training pastors. I would contend that it is the best in the world and I can’t think of any other place that I would have rather gone to or that would have better prepared me for pastoral ministry. Our seminary works hard to make sure students are rigorously trained academically, and also gets students involved in a lot of hands-on experience. Students assist at local churches during their years on campus. I was assigned to a small church a few miles away from the seminary. I helped with services and attended some of the church meetings. Then we have our vicar year, a little like an internship, where we spend a whole year helping at a church full-time. For that, I was sent to Salem, Oregon. I preached there, I taught classes for youth and adults, I visited shut-ins, I learned a lot from my supervising pastor.
What I didn’t do was drive out any demons.
I doubt any of you are surprised by that. If I had said the opposite though, “Let me tell you about the time I drove out a demon,” then you might have been surprised. We don’t see many demon possessions around us. So few, even, that many people deny the existence of demons entirely. But how fascinating it is to read about these things in Scripture. Here spiritual things are unveiled to us that are full of mystery and wonder. And these are important things for us to know, things that our God has revealed. How wonderful are his mighty angels, how wonderful are his works, how wonderful that he uses all this for our salvation!
When I was a seminary student I didn’t drive out any demons. But Jesus’ students did. In Luke 10 we read about the 72 disciples that Jesus sent out ahead of him. Here we’re reminded that the Twelve were not Jesus’ only disciples, but were leaders for a larger group of disciples. And we also see the beginnings of what their mission would be. After Jesus rose from the dead he told his disciples to wait until the Holy Spirit would come at Pentecost and then go out into all the world, proclaiming the gospel, the good news of salvation. That wasn’t their mission yet, but this was a little like our student pastor training. They weren’t going too far away or for too long. They were going to share the good news of the kingdom of God, and just like Jesus had been doing, they would perform miracles, such as healing the sick. This would be proof that it was God who had sent them. Their mission wouldn’t be easy. There would be people who would reject them. But how important it was!
And when they returned, they returned with great joy. They had been seeing the results of their work, and the results were amazing. They said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!”
We don’t see all that many demon possessions today, but in first century Israel it seems like they were everywhere. Some of the modern opponents of the Bible chalk this up to ignorance or embellishment. They’ll say that people didn’t have much medical science back then, so they probably blamed all sorts of things on demon possession that were just plain illness. Got a cough? It’s probably a demon. But then why is it that we can read about both illnesses and demon possessions? The Biblical writers certainly describe them as two separate things. Or the other argument is that these stories were later additions or embellishments and never actually happened. But there’s no evidence at all that they were added later, and these miracles were public and well-known.
So why were there so many demon-possessions that they seem almost commonplace? The best answer is probably this: that the Devil cannot create anything, but he can try to copy what God does. God’s own Son had become true man. Satan couldn’t do that, he couldn’t become man. But he could possess men.
It may not happen so commonly anymore, but demon possessions still do happen today. Wherever people go praying to spirits they invite the devil into their heart. It’s frightening stuff. The stories from those who have encountered demon possessions are chilling. I’ve never driven a demon out of a possessed person, and really, I would prefer not to.
But these 72 disciples didn’t return to Jesus saying that they were so scared that they couldn’t sleep at night. They returned to Jesus with joy saying that the demons submit to them in his name. And Jesus’ response seems like a joyful one too. He said, “I was watching Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19Look, I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy. And nothing will ever harm you.”
Apart from Jesus, demon possession was a problem with no solution. What sort of medicine can heal you from Satan? Think of how helpless people must have felt. What do you do with a demon-possessed person? The Gadarene demoniac lived in caves and cemeteries, and when they tried to chain him up he broke the chains. Other demon-possessed people hurt themselves and threw themselves into fires. What do you do if that person is someone you love? For the first time, there was hope, there was an answer. These disciples drove them out in Jesus’ name. And Satan fell like lightning from heaven.
And so here we have a little glimpse into what was happening as these disciples went out ahead of Jesus. They went out to heal and tell people the good news, and as they were doing it, they were overthrowing Satan’s kingdom. Satan, the ancient serpent, the dragon, the devil, could not stand against them, because they were preaching the gospel of Jesus, they were proclaiming salvation in his name.
Behind what was seen, in spiritual places, a great battle was going on. That’s how it’s described in the pictures and symbols of Revelation. St. Michael, the archangel, leading the charge against the dragon and all his demons. It’s the kind of epic picture that seems like it belongs in paintings or in the movies, but it’s using descriptions of things we understand to tell us of things we don’t. Go ahead and picture angel armies. Go ahead and imagine this great war in heaven. Think of Satan as a great dragon who is thrown down to earth. But in reality the defeat of Satan doesn’t come at the point of St. Michael’s sword. It comes from the gospel.
This is what overthrows the Devil and his kingdom still today. It’s what drives away demons. It’s the weapon carried by saints and angels alike. And so we are a part of what Jesus describes too. Because of our sin, Satan became the prince of this world. His rule was unbroken, his power unchallenged. But Jesus came to crush his head, just as God promised in the Garden of Eden. The cross was that battle to the death, and Jesus’ resurrection was his unstoppable victory.
Today, just as with those 72, you are equipped with everything you need to chase the Devil away. It’s the Word of God. It’s Jesus’ holy sacraments. Satan cannot stand to hear that Jesus is Lord. He accuses you with his powerful accusations of guilt. “Look at you and all your sins. How can God love you?” But his power is utterly smashed as you point to your baptism. “How can God love me? This is how: I am baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. He counts me as his own dear child for Jesus’ sake. He promises that with him I will judge the angels. Away from me, Satan! God has put his claim on me!”
And when we gather around the Lord’s Supper, you have a perfect defense against the Devil. How can he possess you when Christ dwells in you by his own body and blood? How can Satan direct you when Jesus is your head?
Surely then we see how great our Lord’s gospel is. When we are here, gathered in his name, what is it that we are doing? We’re not here for fun and entertainment. We’re here to tear down the devil’s kingdom. We’re here to knock him from his perch, to undermine him in the world and to throw him out of our own hearts and lives. Only the gospel has such power. We are truly driving out demons. Maybe it wouldn’t have to be such a scary thing after all to run into a demon-possessed person. We have the gospel, the only thing the demons fear. But even when we aren’t dealing with those who are bodily possessed, we are driving out demons as we proclaim the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
There are many great mysteries about angels and demons. There are things we wonder at, and things we would like to peer more deeply into. But Jesus took this opportunity to direct the attention of his disciples and us to an even greater mystery. He said, “Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names have been written in heaven.”
This driving out of demons and throwing down Satan from heaven by the power of the Gospel was no small thing. But compared to the mystery of what Jesus has done for us it is really nothing at all. Your name is written in heaven! You, with all your sins and impurities. Jesus came to take those away. He came to be your brother. He came to shed his blood on your behalf. He came to declare you righteous and holy, a saint before God.
This is the mystery that even the angels wonder at. God so loved the world that he sent his onlybegotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. You don’t need to fear Satan and his demons. God’s angels will protect you at your side. And you don’t need to fear death and hell. Your name is written in heaven. Praise be to the King of Angels, Our Savior, Jesus. Amen.
— Pastor Seth Georgson