The God of Grace Silences the Roaring Lion

1 Peter 5:6-11

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

The God of Grace Silences the Roaring Lion

It was an all-too-common experience. There you sat, in the dark. As little as a week ago, you had been home with your family breaking bread at the dinner table. Now you sat in the dust and the dark with your hands in shackles. You could hear the muted roar of a crowd somewhere above you. But that wasn’t the roar that caught your attention. There was another roar – one you had never heard before but could immediately identify. Long before the gate was lifted you knew what you’d see there waiting for you.

Nero started it. He hated Christians. He wanted to rid the world of them. So, he used their bodies soaked in pitch to light the streets of Rome at night. He executed them publicly for sport. And if you were especially unlucky, you might find yourself behind that gate dreading the moment that it’d be lifted, and you’d be left staring into the gaping mouth of a hungry lion.

That was the world that Peter lived in when he wrote his first letter. It was a world in which Christians lived in fear, and although the setting and circumstances have changed, the fear has not.

Do you ever wonder why life can be such a struggle? Do you ever wonder why your problems don’t just evaporate even though you go to church and pray? Do you groan because of the carelessness, lovelessness, recklessness of people in your life – even your own family? Well, Peter says, wake up and realize what you’re up against: you have a fearsome enemy – worse than a lion in a Roman coliseum, worse than a wicked Roman emperor. This enemy is the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.[1]

I began my study for this sermon thinking about the devil. I tracked down other passages about him that describe him as a red dragon,[2] the ancient serpent,[3] the father of lies,[4] the accuser who masquerades as an angel of light,[5] the ruler of the kingdom of the air,[6] the one who holds the power of death.[7]

I looked more closely at this passage and carefully parsed out each qualifier:

The word for enemy here is a courtroom term, which fits with the devil’s proper name, i.e. Satan, which means accuser. Satan is the one who stands before God and accuses you of having done something worth eternal damnation.

He prowls, meaning that he is not idle. He’s not sitting back on some hellish Lazy-Boy twiddling his thumbs. He’s on the prowl. He is actively searching for someone like you.

Peter compares him to a roaring lion. Lions are the king of the jungle. They’re fierce and fearsome. They have claws and teeth that can tear flesh from bone. They’re deadly.

And this one is roaring. He wants you to hear him coming. He wants to intimidate you. He wants to be the loudest voice in the room or in your ear. He doesn’t want you to hear anything else but the terror of his tongue, and to know that he is coming for you, to devour you.

The devil isn’t a plaything. He isn’t a character for some cartoon. He isn’t a sympathetic antihero. He is not trying to enlighten you to some truth that God has withheld from you. He is a being of pure malice and violence. He does not have your best interest at heart. He wants nothing less than to devour you.

I began my study for this sermon thinking about the devil. But after I did all that research, I realized that while this may be the one sentence in this entire passage that jumps off the page and captures the imagination, this really isn’t what this passage is all about. Peter’s comments here are much more about the God of power and the God of grace.

Peter begins this portion of his letter by saying,

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”[8]

Humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand. It’s easier said than done, isn’t it? When you’re dealing with those doubts and fears about the struggles and problems and pains of life, you don’t want to wait for someone else to get around to solving it; you don’t want to wait for someone else’s definition of “due time.” You want it handled now and preferably by you. Isn’t that why we get so stressed? It’s no accident that one of the first places you feel stress is the literal muscular tension in your shoulders and neck. Your body is reflecting the attitude of your heart that is saying, “I’ve got to buckle down and take care of this.”

We don’t naturally like to lean on God’s mighty hand. We like to imagine that our hands are strong enough. And if they’re not, then the lesson we often take away is that I’ve got to get stronger until I can handle all the problems in my life, until the power of my presence can silence all my opponents at work or my rivals at school (or trolls online).

Humbling ourselves and letting go of all our anxieties and trusting them to someone else is the most unnatural thing to do, but it’s what God invites you to do – and not as some heavy-handed demand made by a disappointed dad, but with promises of comfort and hope from a father who loves you.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.[9]

The almighty God promises to lift you up in due time. Is the devil fearsome? Is your enemy fierce? Are the problems and pains he causes in your life severe? They may be, but God is stronger. He is the one who cast the devil out of heaven. Jesus is the one, as we read in our Gospel for today, who drove out demons. The devil may be a lion or a dragon or a serpent, but Jesus is the one who was born to crush his head.

I shared with you all those references that describe the devil. It’s funny – almost every one comes from passages that aren’t talking about the devil; they’re talking about how God frees you from the devil:

He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.[10]

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil.[11]

So the Lord God said to the serpent… “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”[12]

The he in every one of these passages is Jesus. Jesus was born to crush the devil’s head. Jesus died to break the devil’s power over you.

Are there doubts and worries and anxieties in your life? Absolutely there are! What about my mother’s health? What about the family farm? What about the most recent piece of legislation that’s all over the news? Or whether I’ll find a friend or place that feels like home?

The future is so uncertain. Except for one important thing:

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.[13]

The God of all grace has called you to his eternal glory in Christ. He’s called you – the same one who frets and worries, like Martha, over many things. He’s called you – the one who while trying to get out of a hole in your life just digs it deeper. He’s called you – the one who is guilty of what Satan accuses – you don’t always trust in God to do what is best; you can’t always wait patiently for his time; you all too often take matters into your own hands and make matters worse.

But that’s what makes him the God of grace. He doesn’t wait for you to pick yourself up and dust yourself off. He promises to lift you up in due time. He doesn’t insist on you being worthy of his glory to call you to it. That’s why he sent his Son – his perfect Son to share in your humanity and to die the death that you deserve, so that he could show you grace and forgive you your sin.

That’s how much God cares about you, and that’s why you can cast all your anxiety on him. He loved you so much that he was willing to sacrifice his own Son – not to lions in a coliseum, but on a cross outside of Jerusalem – so that you could live in the knowledge of his grace and peace forever. He loved you so much that he couldn’t bear the thought of eternity without you, so he defeated the devil and answered his accusations with the blood of his Son. “So what if every one of these Christians in this room is guilty? My Son has paid the price for them with his own blood and now they are free, from sin and death and the devil forever.”

Is the devil fearsome? Is your enemy fierce? Yes, but he’s been defeated by Jesus – the one through whom the God of all grace has called you. And it’s because of Jesus that you can humble yourself under God’s mighty hand. Letting go of your cares and concerns is scary. It makes you feel vulnerable to rely on someone else to take care of you. But who better than the one who sacrificed his own life to save you?

It’s hard to unburden yourself from anxiety. Sometimes it even feels irresponsible, e.g. “If I don’t worry about this who will?” God will and he does. Imagine that! The God who created the universe – who oversees all that exists – knows about you and every little thing that robs you of sleep at night. And he doesn’t just know; he cares. About you! You are the thing that concerns the Almighty God. You are the reason he sent his Son. If you can cast your anxiety on anyone, it is the God who has the power to do something about it and the grace to care.

Is the devil fearsome? Is your enemy fierce? Are the problems and pains that he causes in your life real? Absolutely. You are up against a lot in this world and on your own you wouldn’t stand a chance. But you’re not alone. The family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.[14] But much more than that the God of all grace will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast[15] so that you can resist the devil by standing firm in the faith.[16] You don’t have to rely on your strength. The Almighty loves you and cares about you. To him be the power for ever and ever.[17] Amen.

[1] 1 Peter 5:8

[2] Revelation 12:3,4

[3] Genesis 3:1; Revelation 20:2

[4] John 8:44

[5] 2 Corinthians 11:14

[6] Ephesians 2:1,2

[7] Hebrews 2:14

[8] 1 Peter 5:6,7

[9] 1 Peter 5:6

[10] Revelation 20:2

[11] Hebrews 2:14

[12] Genesis 3:14,15

[13] 1 Peter 5:10

[14] 1 Peter 5:9

[15] 1 Peter 5:10

[16] 1 Peter 5:9

[17] 1 Peter 5:11

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Jesus' Authority Undoes Demon Danger

Mark 1:21-28

21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

Jesus’ authority undoes demon danger

What was Jesus’ first miracle?

It depends on who you ask. John tells us that Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding of Cana was “the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory.”[1] And we have no reason to question that. Water to wine must have been Jesus’ first miracle.

But, when Mark writes his Gospel, he doesn’t start there. The first miracle that Mark records for us is an exorcism. And so, in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus explodes onto the scene with authority and power in Capernaum.

Why demon possession? What does this account from the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel teach us about demons, about Jesus, about ourselves?

The first thing that I think I want you to know – that I want you to take with you when you go home today – is the knowledge that demons really do exist and that the devil has real power and influence in the world; and not only in Jesus’ day, but in our time too.

Have you ever heard this quote?

“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”

Film buffs may recognize that as a part of Kevin Spacey’s dialogue in The Usual Suspects, but the quotation actually originated from a book called Quakerism Examined by John Wilkinson back in 1836. Whoever said it first, doesn’t really matter. It’s true.

One of the greatest dangers to your soul is believing that the devil is not a threat to you. Look at the passage again:

Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach… just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out.[2]

Before we go any further – and before I plant any nightmares in your brain – I want you to know that no demon can ever intrude into your heart or mind and possess you if you are unwilling. The devil and his demons have power, but not unlimited power.

With that said, look at where this impure spirit is active – in their synagogue. The devil cannot claim your heart if you are unwilling, but Christians are not immune from his influence. This demon was active in the synagogue.

Here’s the thing about first century synagogues: they didn’t have their own resident pastor. There was no one dedicated spiritual leader (that’s why men like Jesus were invited to speak Saturday after Saturday). And that had consequences.

It is well documented that many of those first century synagogues were spiritually adrift. Traveling teachers would ramble on and on about the proper way to wash your hands to stay ceremonially clean and they would spend precious little time on the people’s relationship with God. There was plenty of talk about sin and guilt and shame, but practically no talk about grace, forgiveness, or the promise of salvation. Instead, they’d be taught how to try to be perfect people, how to accomplish their own reconciliation with God, with no comfort for when they inevitably fell short.

Christian, that’s fertile ground for the devil to do his work – when you only have a tangential relationship with Jesus.

That may help to explain why there are so many examples of demon possession in the New Testament. At the time of Jesus, Christianity was in its infancy. If the devil could interrupt Jesus’ work before he even finished it, then no one would ever believe in Jesus to begin with, let alone start a religion in his name. And that’s what the devil and his demons want to do more than anything else. They want to separate you from Jesus.

And it may just be that we haven’t seen the same degree of demon possession today, because the devil doesn’t have to go that far to drive a wedge between believers and their God. Why would the devil need to possess anyone if he could convince them that he doesn’t exist? Why would demons need to hold hearts captive if they could captivate imaginations with lies and false teaching, or even just dazzle us into spiritual oblivion with shiny distractions?

It’s often been said that if there were such things as aliens and if they landed on earth on any given day and observed human behaviour, they would think that malls and stadiums and concert venues are our temples, because that’s where the people are. They would think that our god is a rectangular black box because that’s what we give all our attention to.

The devil doesn’t need demon possession when people are content to call themselves Christians and leave it at that – even to come to church every week (like this man in Mark’s Gospel) but fail to inform their faith with God’s Word and grow in their love and trust for God in their lives. Demons don’t need to possess you, when you have already handed over ownership of your heart to any of the hundreds of things in your life that contend with Christ for your love and attention.

The devil and his demons are real and powerful. Christians are not immune to their influence. In fact, Christians are their target audience, especially when you only have a tangential relationship with Jesus. They do their best work when you think you’re a Christian but don’t cultivate your Christian faith and life around an active use of God’s authoritative Word.

That’s what made Jesus different. That’s what amazed these Galileans when they heard Jesus preach, i.e. “because he taught them as one who had authority.”[3]

Jesus wasn’t like the traveling teachers of first century Israel. He didn’t concern himself with manmade rules for how to lead a more holy life. He didn’t lean on anyone else’s opinions, research, or theories. He spoke God’s Word to them. He reminded the people that he was who the demon said he was, i.e. “the Holy One of God.”[4][5]

That’s who Jesus was – the the perfect, sinless Son of God. And we see it in the first sentence. It’s a blink and you miss it moment, but Mark is doing more than just setting the scene for us when he says,

“They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.”[6]

This was Jesus’ habit. No matter where he was, he made public worship a priority – the hearing and meditating and growing in God’s Word, and doing that with other believers.

Isn’t that so often where the devil gets us? Isn’t that how the devil can still be active in our synagogue – tempting us to choose between the two?

“I believe! I read my Bible everyday. I’m a Christian.” But you isolate yourself from other Christians – you’re content to live without the community of faith – and you make yourself vulnerable to lies and deceit and trials and temptation.

“I go to church every Sunday. I’m a member and that means something.” But you skip out on Bible class, forget to do your devotions at home, let your prayer life languish and the fledgling faith that’s fed on Sundays struggles to survive the other six days of the week.

Jesus didn’t give in to that temptation. He made public worship a priority – the hearing and meditating and growing in God’s Word and doing that with other believers.

Jesus really was the Holy One of God! Sinless, spotless, perfect, in every way that you and I are not.

But Jesus did not come to do to us what the demon was concerned that Jesus would do to it:

“What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?”[7]

Jesus did not come to destroy impure people like you and me. He came to deliver us from impure spirits like this – to defeat the power and purposes of the devil, and to preach a message of peace to all men and women who by guilt are driven.[8]

What is the devil’s goal? To separate you from Christ by attacking you at your weakest point

Jesus did not separate himself from you because of your sin. It was quite the opposite. Because of your sin – and because of his love for you – he “entered our human story” and became like one of us. He entered synagogues and preached God’s Word to souls who were thirsting for it. He still speaks through that same Word to you today and everyday that you open your Bible and meditate on his love for you. Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus,[9] because he shored up your weakness in his own flesh and blood.

The devil loves to deceive us into thinking that he doesn’t exist or isn’t a real threat. Jesus knew otherwise. He knew that there was an impure spirit in that man in the synagogue in Capernaum that day, and with two short commands – and in no uncertain terms – he told that demon where to go.

That’s what Jesus did on the cross for you. He took the teeth out of the devil’s accusations by paying for your guilt with his holy blood. He showed the devil what he wants with you – your salvation through his sacrifice. He put the devil on a leash, making it clear to him and us that we have nothing to fear.

The devil and his demons are real and powerful. Christians are not immune to their influence. But Jesus is more powerful and filled with more love for you than all the petty malice and violence of all the spiritual forces of evil put together. Jesus has all authority and power in heaven and on earth, and he uses it in love for you.

So, what are you going to do with it? Are you going to go back to a tangential relationship with Jesus and make yourself vulnerable again? Are you willingly going to walk back into the reach of the devil on his leash and toy with sin and temptation? Or are you going to stay close to the Christ who came close to you on the cross? Are you going to follow the lead of the Holy One of God and make not only public worship a priority but Bible study and personal devotion too, because you know that he still speaks to you today in his Word?

It’s not even a question, is it? This is Jesus, the authoritative preacher, the powerful demon defeater, your loving Saviour. Be quiet and listen to him. Amen.

[1] John 2:11

[2] Mark 1:21-23

[3] Mark 1:22

[4] Mark 1:24

[5] King David was the first one to use that name for Jesus in Psalm 16, but he wasn’t the only one. Asaph wrote psalms about him. So did Ethan the Ezrahite. Isaiah used it liberally – in history (1 Kings 19:22) and in prophecy (26 times! Isaiah 5:19,24; 10:17,20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19,23; 30:11,12,15; 31:1; 37:23; 41:14,16,20; 43:3,14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 54:5; 55:5; 60:9,14).

[6] Mark 1:21

[7] Mark 1:24

[8] Rise, Shine, You People (CW:744); stanza 2

[9] Romans 8:39