(The risen) Jesus said, “Do not hold on to Me…Go instead to My brothers and tell them….”

Frank Peretti wrote the novel, This Present Darkness. It is a novel about angels and demons and the spiritual warfare that rages around the people in a small town. Much like C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters written years before it, it uses a fictional setting to point out some very real things, things like demons and deception, rescue and redemption. As I was paging through these two books and pondering this week’s lesson about Mary Magdalene, I came across descriptions of demons at work.

I’ve paraphrased a few of them for you: like a slimy, black leech, the little demon clung to Marshal. The taloned fingers of one hand seemingly dug into the floor dragging Marshal nearly to a standstill. The other hand gnarled and deformed, sought to grip his heart. The demons’ yellowed eyes bulged out of its contorted face and its sulfured laden breath made Marshal fell strangely short of breath. He should have gone after his daughter Sand. Yes, they’d “had words” and even though she’d walked out, she needed him now even more but it was if some strange unseen force was holding him back. Some would call it pride; others, hurt; still others stubbornness, but was it something different….

Possessed by Seven Demons. Luke tells us in the beginning of chapter 8 that Mary Magdalene was possessed by seven demons.(8.2) We aren’t given much detail as to how that demon possession manifested itself. We don’t know if she spewed green slime like the little girl in The Exorcist, or had a deep Darth Vader voice or had super human strength like the man possessed by a legion of demons that Luke tells us about further on in chapter 8.

We don’t know much about how Jesus cast the demons out. We don’t know if they put up a fight and cast her to the ground as we hear other demons did to their unwilling hosts. We don’t know if they shrieked as they were cast out, all we know is that the living Word, Jesus, cast them out. Jesus came to set people free and that freedom comes by and through His Word.

I don’t believe that know anyone currently who is possessed by demons; I’ve only encountered one person who I believe was. However, I do believe that we are very much entangled and snared by sin. I believe from Scripture that Satan and his henchmen seek to trip us up, discourage us and lure us away from the light and life of Christ into the darkness of sin and death. Paul records that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the dark forces of this world and against the spiritual forces of evil. (Eph 6.12).

What are the sins that entangle us and trip us up? Oh, the list is long! For some of us, it is unforgiveness or forgiveness with strings attached. For some of us, it is sinful pride, or indifference or selfishness. For others of us, it is resistance and rebellion to God and His Word, Still others of us, it is jealousy, gossip and discord. Like I said, the list is long and varied. The aim of those dark forces is to ensnare us and to eternally separate us from God in the hell of hopelessness

But Jesus came to set us free.

Our freedom was bought by His sacrifice. He took upon Himself the bonds and entanglements of our sins. They bound Him to cross. Our sinful pride, unforgiveness, indifference toward others, our rebellion, our discord... all of our sins were taken from us and He allowed them to bind Him to cross. There He suffered and died. He suffered the hell of God’s wrath against sin for us. He suffered the agony of separation from God in our stead, crying out, My God My God why have you forsaken Me. He went down into the grave that should have been ours.

But three days later He rose up victorious. He rose up to set us free from the bonds of sins and death. He rose up to forgive us, to give us life even now amidst a fallen world. He rose up to give us life, breath, hope, joy all the gifts I mentioned in our baptism this morning.

Did you listen to the beginning of the baptism? It has in it what is called “the little exorcism”. “Do you renounce the Devil and all his works, and all his ways?” And the answer came back, “YES!” We didn’t hear it, but there must have been shrieks and gnashing of teeth as Zooey (the baby we baptized), the one whom Satan had laid claimed to, was taken from him.

The rescue from sin, death, and Satan are also there in the act of confession and words of absolution. “O almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor miserable sinner, confess to You all my sins and iniquities…I sincerely repent of them…”, and we hear “Upon this your confession I announce the grace, the forgiveness, of God to all of you.” The demons must hate that and cringe and cover their ears when we confess the creeds and gather together to hear and study God’s Word.

We know that the forgiveness of Jesus transformed lives. At the end of chapter 7, in Luke’s Gospel we hear the story of the woman who had lived a sinful life. We don’t know the nature of her sins, but everybody else in town seemed to know. If you go back read the story, you read she bought a bottle of very expensive perfume and came to the house where Jesus was having dinner with a Pharisee. There she unashamedly washed His feet with her grateful tears and anointed Him with that perfume. Of course, the self-righteous Pharisee was put off by all of this. Jesus knowing his heart told the story of two men who owed a third man differing amounts of money: one 50 denarii and other 500 denarii. Both were forgiven their full debt. Which one do you suppose loved the generous man more? The Pharisee answered, I suppose the one who the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly. This woman has been forgiven much and loves much.” We don’t know who that woman was or what she was forgiven of, but we know that forgiveness meant a lot to her, it transformed her.

Jesus came to refashion lives by and through His forgiveness, His acceptance, His do-overs, and His promise of heaven for those who honestly deserve hell. He came to replace the old with the new; hopelessness with hope, anguish with real comfort; death with life. This is what He held out to the sinful woman who we hear, returned to anoint his feet. The forgiveness was there for a demon possessed Mary Magdalene; it is there for you and me.

That transformation begins with His Word; it grows when we study His Word. Mary followed after Jesus daily listening and pondering His Words, which are after all, the Words of God. It is there in Godly fellowship.

Now this side of heaven, hard as we try, as attentive as we might be, we will not fully understand God’s Word and His ways. This is evident with Mary Magdalene and the other women. In our lesson today Mary and the other woman were going to the tomb. Mark tells us in chapter 16 they were carrying spices to anoint the body.

They were looking for the living among the dead. Of course, we know how this part of the story ends…Why are you looking for the living among the dead? Despite all He had taught them.... the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of Chief Priests and Teachers of the Laws, be crucified and three days later be raised to life. (Matt 20.18) They didn’t comprehend it, especially after having seen their Jesus die on that Roman cross.

We can chide Mary and the others for their lack of belief but how often do we fail to remember to hold on to the promises of Jesus. For Mary it was: “I will rise again.” For us it is: “I am with you to very end of the age.” How often do we live as though Jesus is far, far away in heaven and the challenges of this life are solely up to us?

He isn’t far, far away. He is here now when and where two or three are gathered in His name. He is here when and where His word is read, proclaimed and studied. He is here at the font. He is here in bread and wine of communion. He is with us whether we go to the highest heights or the deepest depths. He is with us and abides with us. He has given us the Holy Spirit that we might believe all that He has taught and done for us. He has given us the Holy Spirit that our lives might be made new.

Come let us stop flirting with the demons cast off us and throw off the sin that seeks to entangle us. Let us meet with God’s Son and be set free to live life now and forever. Come let us go and tell the others, “He is risen! He is risen indeed!”