Who Is The Evil One?

Who Is the Evil One?

²⁶ Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ When he got out on land, a demon-possessed man from the town met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes and did not stay in a house but in the tombs. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before him, and said in a loud voice, “What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torment me!” ²⁹ For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was guarded, bound by chains and shackles, he would snap the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted places.

³⁰ “What is your name?” Jesus asked him.

“Legion,” he said, because many demons had entered him. ³¹ And they begged him not to banish them to the abyss. ³² A large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside. The demons begged him to permit them to enter the pigs, and he gave them permission. ³³ The demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. ³⁴ When the men who tended them saw what had happened, they ran off and reported it in the town and in the countryside. ³⁵ Then people went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man the demons had departed from, sitting at Jesus’s feet, dressed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. ³⁶ Meanwhile, the eyewitnesses reported to them how the demon-possessed man was delivered. ³⁷ Then all the people of the Gerasene region asked him to leave them, because they were gripped by great fear. So getting into the boat, he returned.

³⁸ The man from whom the demons had departed begged him earnestly to be with him. But he sent him away and said, ³⁹ “Go back to your home, and tell all that God has done for you.” And off he went, proclaiming throughout the town how much Jesus had done for him.
^{Luke 8 [CSB]}

You know when, in the Lord’s Prayer, we ask our Father to deliver us from evil? The King James has “evil one” instead.

There is no guessing as to which “one” this could be. In other places in the Bible it is really spelled out. It’s evil in person, in your face.

Like in our Gospel text for today. Like looking into this guy’s eyes—this Gerazeen. What is looking back? Not a devil, but many. Talk about evil—evil ones.

So why drop the reference to the devil in the Lord’s Prayer?

I am not sure, but there was a time… that in the meaning of the second commandment, in the Small Catechism, editors dropped the words “the use of satanic arts” or “witchcraft” as well.

What are satanic arts and witchcraft? They are playing and praying to the devil— tarot cards and the reading of palms. Mediums and séances. Fortunes telling. Horoscopes and zodiacs. Ouija boards. Water divination, Wee folk and wicka.

So… faith, hope, love and trust in anything… other than God.

I am told, however, that many of these editors of the catechism, and many church leaders of more modern times with more modern minds, thought it superstitious to believe in such things anymore. They thought it silly to suggest that modern people still do these things.

Oh, really? When was that? I don’t know, but look what we got down the street—a chance to win—by that force called luck, or chance, or fortune…the second commandment, remember.

Then what about the first commandment? Luck or chance becomes another god to trust—a goddess rather—Lady Luck.

The god of evolution—yes, it has to be faith, because it is not science.

These must be other gods, because the One True God does not work that way. There is no such thing as chance or luck. All is in His hands.

Okay, but real witches? And demon possessions—today? Where?

Ever take a trip to the east coast—to say, Salem, Massachusetts? For real. Real witches and devil worship. Occult bookstores and shops. Soon coming to a strip-mall near you… like up on North Avenue… or the corner of 53 and Army Trail Rd.

Yet, still…

…tell me the last time you saw a possessed person running around?

Their point, I guess, in dropping those words—”evil one”. No raving possessed people… or so they think….

So where is he—where are they… that we should have to deal with, in a more direct and more personal way?

It has not been the fad for sometime—not like at that time in history, anyway. No, the devil works just fine behind all sorts of disguises. Like money. Like the roulette wheel. Like pornography. Like the lies of science that promises that we will eventually have eternal life—all without God. Like tolerance of all sorts of sin. Life-styles they are called. Immorality in the name of fun. Enough said.

So evil slowly became some sort of general thing. Forces of nature. Bad luck—there she is again—well, her evil twin, anyway.

So, is there no person of evil, even if someone like Hitler could be called evil? No devil?

The devil and his fallen angels do personify evil. They are evil. They cause a lot of trouble, to put it mildly.

They do no good at all. Yet, to be sure, we would still kill each other even without him—without his demons.

We too are evil. Jesus says so—He says you are. Go ahead—confession is good for the soul—no, necessary for the soul—so confess it. Say it—you are evil. I am evil.

Is it a force then, a power in the world?

The devil is—and his hordes of demons are… they are the invisible powers of the air that do evil. But they are still beings, like us, created—doing evil. Not a negative force.

Yet, talking about evil like this is still too general. Evil in general is just that, it is too general. You cannot fight what you can’t pin down. Another one of his ploys….

So, what is it?

Sin is so evil that God says the soul who slips-up, makes a mistake, errs, will die. Evil deserves death, and so we die. You can argue the point, but show me someone who gets out of this.

If this were not the case, God would not have had to do the extremely radical thing of becoming a man.

Things are so bad that He had to right the wrong—to do all things right and good—perfectly—without erring once, because we did not, and do not.

Then Jesus, after doing this, went to die a infinitely painful death in our place—as an evil one—as sin itself—a snake—sin personified as the Son of God, cursed on the Cross.

Our just desserts then became His… but then His become ours.

Jesus beat the devil at his own game. Great Good itself comes personified. Eden blooms again. Light in a dark world—a light that will eventually shine in every crevice in the universe, righting all wrong.

So, the devil and his fallen angels are evil for the same reason. Sin. He loves sin and loves us to sin right along with him. So, he is out and about with his servants, both demons and other people, living people, that is… to propagate sinful lives in sinful things…

…And will even possess someone just for fun. Just to hurt us and wreck God’s creation as much as possible—just for evil fun.

…And with more and more open use of those dark arts that I listed, you may just get a chance to really see a possession in your life-time. Something to look forward to, I guess. Is it fashionable again, yet?

Don’t seem so surprised. Those TV shows like Lucifer are popular for a reason. The Archbishop of Canterbury is also a Druid priest for a reason. Sin and the love of evil.

As spirituality is popular once again—in whatever form you like, other gods for other tastes—they—those imps, spirits and devils—will be back to have fun with those who consider evil—sinning against the first and second commandments—(and all the rest) is all in good fun.

Yep, possession will be here again as in our Gospel text, right out in the open.

Are you starting to get a bit spooked? Cold shiver down your spine? Don’t let it bother you. How did Jesus deal with it?

Like just another disease. Just what it is. No… it’s not some big scary—ooohhh, and yikes!

You see it is always the devil’s trick to make people think that he has some power, equal, or at least almost equal to God. Fear and Scare tactics are his game. Spooks or bogie men in the dark to get you. You like scary movies? Does the evil almost win?

This has never or ever will be the case. You see, the devil is really only a toothless roaring lion. He will try to gum you to death, if he gets hold of you, but you would be not too hard to extract.

And his demons are just wisps in the wind. They do parlor tricks with colored lights and mirrors. Nothing but shadows.

By the light of God’s Word—the very breath of God, His Word uttered, they are gone. They shake in their boots. As Luther has in His Hymn: “One word will fell him.”

The devil is already defeated. Remember, Jesus has come and won—He has taken away any power the devil had—which was even limited then.

Yet any retreating army still does try to get pot-shots off at the victory forces. Most however are just wild shots—wounding, but almost never fatal. Never beyond God’s help.

This because the devil’s main weapons have been taken away. No more sharp teeth. He only is gumming—the old roaring toothless lion—gumming at you. It is all he can do. Drooling noise. Lots of hot air. Lots of noise. Just loudly yelling lies in the dark of his dungeon.

Yes, one of these major weapon Jesus took away from the devil was our guilt. So, the devil has nothing on us. Even if captured, he cannot hold us. Jesus took all that shame, vice and guilt upon Himself on the cross. There is no more guilt in Jesus.

All gone—sorry devil. No more condemnation left for us.

The victorious Jesus took away even his scary darkness, because Jesus is the light that came into the world—those (we) who sat in darkness have seen a great light. The devil cannot hide in the light. He cannot hide us in it any longer either, as we are also in Jesus’ light, becoming lights ourselves—at work lighting the world with him.

Most importantly Jesus took away the devil’s biggest guns—the very keys to death and hell. Jesus gives life away free. Jesus opens heaven for us Himself.

So now even hell is no longer the devil’s strong-hold, but rather the place he is held in—chained to its walls. His base of operations is now his prison.

Only those who want to be there die and go to hell. Only those who want the devil’s lies listen. The devil makes them pay, but Jesus gives freedom freely.

He and his devils can yell loud—as we still can hear the lies. Yet, God’s Word is heralded above that din. People are saved.

He and his devils can still move a little on their chains—enough to take hold of one of their human minions, but none of them get very far on such short leashes.

Amen.

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