Jesus enters Capernaum and
immediately, on the Sabbath, enters the town synagogue. Jesus, synagogues and
Sabbath all fit together nicely, a worshipful trifecta, as it were. The Sabbath
was made for man’s day of rest from a week’s labors so man could rejoice in receiving
the gifts of God. Synagogues were made for God’s people to gather in their
communities to receive the gifts of God in the reading and teaching of the Torah,
the Writings and the Prophets and, in return, to offer their prayers to God. It
makes sense, then, that Jesus – who is the Word incarnate – would go to the
place where the Word is preached and taught, the Word that foretold of Him and His
salvific work, and in His preaching, the Kingdom would be present.
We don’t know the specifics of what
Jesus was teaching, but He was doing it with great authority – so much so that
it was amazing the scribes who would normally hold forth on the Law. In Jewish
tradition, scribes and teachers of the Law would cite the great rabbis, as if
reading the footnotes of a dissertation: Rabbi A received this from his
teacher, who heard it from his teacher, who was taught by his teacher,” and so
on, if possible tracing it back to Moses. It was an ancient form of two
children playing and arguing until one or the other cries out, “Oh, yeah? Well,
Mom says…” Jesus doesn’t need to cite rabbis; he doesn’t need a chain of argument
that concludes at the foot of Mount Sinai. He doesn’t need to qualify with, “Here’s
what I think.” Where others teach about God’s Word, Jesus is the very Word of
God enfleshed, so with His full Divine authority, Jesus is able to say, “You
have heard it said…but I say to you.”
Martin Luther once said something
like this: Wherever the Lord builds a church, satan builds a chapel next door.
He wants nothing more than to stop God’s people from receiving God’s gifts that
deliver forgiveness, life and salvation. Anything satan can do to keep people’s
eyes from Jesus, their ears from the preaching of the cross, their hearts from
trusting Christ, their minds from following only God’s Word, their conscience
from their identity as a baptized child of God, he’ll throw it at Christians,
trying to drive a wedge – no matter how great or small – between them and God.
In Capernaum, satan isn’t content
with a next-door chapel; he tries to invade Jesus’ Kingdom that has appeared in
the synagogue. The devil hates that the poor in spirit are being enriched. He
hates that those who mourn Israel’s unfaithfulness were being filled with joy
in the words of Jesus. He despises that people who are hungering and thirsting
for righteousness are satisfied and that empty cups are filled to the top. He
loathes that the beggar’s sacks of sinners are overflowing with the eternal blessings
of God that neither rust nor fade. Something needs to happen…something needs to
interrupt Jesus’ authoritative teaching and preaching.
St. Mark says, “And immediately
there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,
“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I
know who you are – the holy one of God!”
Today, satan isn’t content with a
next-door chapel; he tries to invade Jesus Kingdom that is the Church, here and
across the globe.
Some of it seems relatively
harmless. In fact, we’ve grown so accustomed to it that it now seems ordinary
and mundane: the coach calls for practice on Sunday morning and the implication
is if you go to church and skip practice, you aren’t dedicated to the team’s
success. Oh, well…pragmatism wins. Binge-watching a new TV show late into the
night leads to a late morning start which takes up our personal devotion and
prayer time. Oh, well…Jesus knows what I need anyway. We are surrounded by
images on screen and in print that glorify the sexuality of the human body in
the name of “art” while degrading the gift of husband and wife to each other. Oh,
well…it’s just the way it goes.
Other times it rears its sinister
and ugly head and we see it for the evil that it is: Political differences lead
to vile, angry name calling among friends and family, all under the guise of “free
speech” (of course) while tossing the 8th Commandment out the
window. Violence and mayhem are portrayed as a perfectly good strategy to deal
with anger and disappointment...unless you disagree with their position. Our culture teaches that if you want
something, get it by any means necessary – even if you have to beg, borrow,
steal or murder. We see people scream at each other; love for others is left
behind; selfishness is fueled, grudges are held and honed to a razor’s edge.
And we – the people of God –
stand in the middle of it, in the world but not of the world – and see the
chaos around us. But, if we’re honest, it’s not just around us. We get
caught up in it, too, wrapped up in it, distracted by it so that we lose sight
of the one who can rescue us from this world: Jesus. And satan giggles with joy
that he’s pulled our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds away from Jesus and the
cross, and instead focus on ourselves and how we can win and how we can
retaliate and how we can overcome.
Jesus entered into this very
chaos to put satan back into his place. He comes to establish the Kingdom of
God and put down the kingdom of darkness. He comes to destroy the destroyer. He
speaks truth to the father of lies. He comes to rescue and save.
Here is why Jesus entered
Capernaum’s synagogue and why He continues to enter into the Church still today:
to face satan’s lies and distractions, to silence the devil’s minions and
return order to creation. With a Word, Jesus silences the man with the unclean
spirit. Jesus is able to speak for Himself; He is able to show His own power
and authority – He doesn’t need the devil to do it for him, or to mislead those
gathered. Jesus speaks again and the evil spirit is driven out. This
demonstrates Christ’s power, not only in Word but also in action. In that moment,
Jesus is showing that the Kingdom of God is truly present and that He has come
to establish His throne.
It’s not much of a throne,
really. It’s made of rough wood. The throne isn’t housed in a palace. It’s
driven into the ground outside of the city walls. And instead of a kingly crown
of gold, He will wear a crown of thorns. But from that throne, Jesus defeats
and silences the devil eternally and restores perfect order into the world.
We’re not there, yet. While these
things have all happened in Christ’s cross, we are still waiting for the
fulfillment of them in His return. We live in the “now,” as we wait for the
“not yet.” For a little while, the devil roars about like a hungry lion seeking
whom he may devour, and he does everything he can to distract us. Hear the Word
of the Lord: repent, for the Kingdom of God is here. When your eyes are
tempted, look to Jesus. When the siren songs try to pull you away, listen to
Jesus. When the chaos of this world incites fear, trust in Jesus. And, when you
do sin, do not despair. Turn to Jesus: confess your sins and trust in His
perfect forgiveness that He won for you at that very cross. No tricks…no
distractions. Simply Jesus and His promises for you.
When those people left the
Capernaum synagogue, they went back out into the world, but they did so telling
what they had heard and seen that day. In a few moments, you will leave this
house of God and re-enter the world with all of the devil’s distractions. Do
so, likewise remembering all that you had seen and heard this morning. Go back
to you homes and places of work, to your restaurants and grocery stores in the
sure and certain confidence that is yours in the cross of Christ. Remember your
baptism and trust the promises that God made for you there. You are His; He is
yours. Nothing can separate you from
Him. In His name. Amen.
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