Our nation grieves again this week, as deranged hatred was put on display. In an act most believe is nothing short of demonic, a young man sat for an hour in a bible study group and then proceeded to execute those who had just opened the Word with him, for the crime of being born with black skin. To carry this level of malevolence for anyone requires a commitment to hate that exceeds most “normal” human boundaries. To carry this level of hate is to be in league with the kingdom of Satan; to be at the very least, a soldier in his army. The question that remains is only … was the young man possessed by a demon; or was he simply this committed to hate all on his own, after an indoctrination in hate propagated by groups who at their core espouse the righteousness of God in the hateful actions they take and language they speak so carelessly. The response to this man’s actions runs the gamut from full forgiveness offered to him by the surviving victims of this heinous crime and yet another appeal to seek Christ … to proposals to arm deacons with guns in order to kill threats in church if they are perceived to be threats. It is Christians who offer ideas on both of these spectrums. But this is not the first time, the question of how Satan and his forces operate.
Early in the ministry of Christ, it was plainly evident that evil spirits who possessed men in his day, were powerless to resist the love of Jesus Christ. When confronted with this love, the evil spirits declared his identity as the literal Son of God publicly. Jesus commanded them to silence, and without exception, the demons obeyed and left their hosts. It is unknown to us, whether the hosts of these possessions were willing participants or victims who had refused the protection of God; only that having been possessed, they were made free in the presence of Jesus Christ. In all of recorded history, this had never occurred before. There had never been a Rabbi, or Prophet, who compelled demons to leave their hosts without exception, and of his own power. Demons, outside of confronting the power of Christ, do not seem to need to listen to the will of mankind. They appear to be able to supersede our desires and take up residence within us, if we refuse the protection of the power of Jesus Christ. This is unnerving both then and now. And whether these victims were even aware of their possession, or whether it was unknown to them until they were in the presence of Christ, is equally unnerving.
What was and is beyond question, is the Jesus Christ never so much as had a debate with any of the demons he came in contact with. They were driven from the power of love of Jesus Christ as being in close proximity to it was too painful for them. It reminded them of the absolute contentment and joy they had once known in the peace of loving others. It was contrasted by the infinite hunger and emptiness they now found in the pursuit of loving only self. Demons do not understand balance. “Balance” is a lie the devil preaches to mankind to attempt to deceive him into thinking we can love both self and others, it is not an all or nothing choice, but in fact, it is exactly that. Demons do not love us at all. They have no sympathy. They spare no believers, the heinous crimes in a Connecticut daycare / school, and recently in Charleston SC are evidence of that. When once the love of self is embraced it takes over everything within the consciousness. It represents the death of love for others in full. There can be no “balance”. So demons have no love for Satan, any more than they have love for God, or us. They, like their “leader” love only themselves. So the new question that emerges is, “how do they remain in league with each other”?
Peter recalled to John Mark in chapter three an incident where this topic was discussed. It began in verse 20 with a description of runaway sized crowds attempting to get into the presence of Jesus Christ. John Mark transcribes in verse 20 saying … “And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. [verse 21] And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.” The size of the crowds who pressed in on Jesus were so enormous there was not room to sit and eat, sleep, or take any normal human comforts. The response to being made free from possession, made free from the desire to sin, and restored to health no matter what the disease was overwhelming. The people saw in Jesus Christ salvation for their entire being. He restored their bodies, their minds, their wills, and their thinking. He was more than just a healer of body, he was a spiritual healer that offered hope in place of condemnation. And the lure of the love of Christ was so strong it drew all men unto Him.
His disciples feared all the demand on Christ was going to overcome Him. They worried about His ability to hold up under this kind of press. So they sought to get Him away from the crowds and give Him some relief and quiet time for a while. But this was not to be. The Sabbath Wars had begun, the Pharisees and religious leaders of the day had determined that Jesus Christ was a threat to their traditional way of thinking. This “Upstart” defied their traditions about the observance of the law, and as a result they determined Jesus was a threat to the Law, and to the Temple. He must be stopped at all costs, killed if possible. Imagine the irony of seeking to kill the author of the Law, because He did not agree with how “you” thought it should be kept. But none the less, Jesus had to die, and His words along with Him. However for the religious leadership, the inconvenient truth of seeing demons flee from the sight of Jesus, declaring Him to be the literal Son of God, was a tough nut to crack. The people witnessed these events in startling regularity. So how could the religious leadership declare Christ to be evil, while at the same time demons were fleeing His presence declaring Him to be the literal Son of God? This created quite a conundrum for the Pharisees.
They did however, come up with a strategy to defeat Christ and humiliate Him in front of the people. They sent agents down to discredit Him publicly. John Mark recounts in verse 22 saying … “And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.” The hatred of the religious leaders for Jesus Christ was so great, they accused Him of being possessed by Satan himself. The logic being, since Satan was the leader of the demons, he would have the authority to cast out demons himself. He would also have the cunning to have those demons declare him to be the Son of God, in order to further deceive the people. In effect the Pharisees proposed the first anti-Christ, was actually Christ. Keep in mind, this entire concocted strategy came into being, because Jesus Christ kept Sabbath with Himself and us differently than the priests imagined He should. Jesus had the temerity to heal and restore a man in need on Sabbath, and this was a bridge too far for the Pharisees. To show love on Sabbath was less important to them, than to rigidly adhere to the traditions of keeping the Law as they had outlined. So their opinions of Jesus degenerated to the point where they believed Him to be possessed of Satan, and carrying the authority of Satan over his troops. There is no limit to where hate will carry your thinking, when once love of others has been rejected.
But the Pharisees did not understand the way a league of demons really works. It is not built on authoritarian hierarchies as no one is willing to submit; it is instead built upon common cause and common purpose. The love of self unites the league of demons only in an equal desire to see God suffer because they know they face their own demise and will see no redemption. They cannot hurt God Himself physically as He is much too powerful for that. They cannot defeat Him or Jesus in open conflict which is why demons flee from His presence so quickly and without struggle. They can however hurt us, the object of the love of Jesus and His Father God. Through hurting and deceiving us into hurting each other, they can and do cause pain to the heart of God. It is their only weapon. They have none other in their arsenal. If demons were to stop working to hurt mankind, God the Father would stop suffering. This is an outcome that none of them wish to see. So the battle to hurt mankind must rage on, and the hate they can inspire within us must continue.
Jesus however, was intent on demonstrating to them, the fallacy in their thinking. Peter recalls to John Mark in verse 23 saying … “And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? [verse 24] And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. [verse 25] And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. [verse 26] And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.” A common cause, and common purposes only succeeds if all the members continue to pursue it. If Satan were to cause others of his league to stop their efforts to hurt God, it would offer God relief from the pain of watching us hurt each other. This would bring comfort to God, and damage the only weapon Satan has against Him. It makes no sense to see Satan pursue this strategy, and Jesus Christ is calling attention to it to those who sought to concoct this strategy to humiliate Him. He is trying to enlighten them. But His message has a deeper application for us.
The common cause of the league of demons is founded on hate. It is the uniting principle behind the pain that will greet the heart of God who knows only love. When mankind reeks acts of violence and hatred on each other, it is the heart of God who breaks to see what our free will allows for when we choose to love self over loving others. The acts of the man in Charleston are horrific and based on a deep and abiding hatred for others that closely aligns him in cause with the league of demons. However, the response to his acts of hatred often elicit hatred in the hearts of those who hurt, or those who merely observe. In either case, when hate spreads like a virus, it is only the kingdom of Satan who gains ground … in common cause to hurt the heart of God.
When religious leaders like the Pharisees of old, or the modern Christians of today, espouse hatred in response to evil (whether real or perceived), it spreads hate like a virus and works only to hurt the heart of God. It is the temptation of Satan to greet violence with more violence, and hate with more hate. It is the temptation of Satan to assert you could possibly “prevent evil” if you had weapons and willingness to kill at all times, even in church, even while worshipping the God of love. To kill those who choose to kill, is at best, a strategy that promotes killing. It forces the Christian to murder, and live with the pain of ending a life before it could be redeemed. It may seem like the better choice, it may “feel better”, it may be viewed through the lens of preventing further or greater violence, but in the end, it is only uniting in common cause with a weapon that brings pain to the heart of God.
What we forget, and Christ remembers, is that the life of the victims is no less precious than the life of perpetrator. God cares equally for both, as both are His precious children. He grieves for both. He wishes for “none” of us to know the pain of taking life. He wishes for “none” of us to choose to so love self that we would even entertain the idea of hurting others. But this wish extends far beyond matters of life and death. When Christians choose to espouse hate to others in how we speak, and what we say, we equally align with the league of demons. “Hate” itself is the disease. Hatred enabled the psychotic killers of our day to do what they do. When people are bombarded by the language of hate day after day, because we believe them to be making bad choices, we only propagate the weapon of the enemy. Redemption and restoration cannot be accomplished through the means of hatred, only through the means of love. It is not love to spout condemnation and ridicule; that is the language of hate. We do not need to excuse sin, or think sin is in any way permissible. But to focus on sin and be free with our condemnation of it, does nothing to show the victim a way to see the pain of sin removed from their lives … instead it only perpetuates their misery in the very sins we enjoy condemning.
Instead, when we point the erring to Christ, and LOVE them through their journey to Him, we enable them to find a way of relief. When we hold our tongues of condemnation, and instead empathize that surrender of who we are is equally difficult for us, as it must be for “them”, we join them in the journey towards perfection. It is not a race, but a journey. It is a destination all who seek Christ will find. But it is found in how we love others along the way. “Hate” must and should be the enemy of the Christian in any form. We should avoid embracing it, adopting it, or being perceived as speaking it in any form. We must be extra vigilant to keep our speech free from it. To love like Christ is to overcome evil, not embrace it. Christ did not meet the hatred of the Pharisees, and the very real threat they posed to His life, with weapons of war. He met them with the only weapon in the arsenal of God to defeat evil, He met them with love … for them. Christ genuinely sought to redeem the lives of those who sought to kill Him, both then and now.
Peter continued relaying the counsel of Christ in verse 27 … “No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.” Here Jesus is telling the scribes sent to discredit Him with a doomed strategy, that Christ is able to bind Satan and hold him powerless, while He casts out demons who align with Satan in common cause. Neither Satan nor any demon aligned in league with him will be able to resist the power of love Jesus offers. The memory of how perfect life was in heaven, with how wonderful loving others makes you feel, in comparison with how painful and empty loving self leaves you, was simply too much for demons who once knew what it was like to live eternally in the perfection of God’s love. They do not want to be reminded of that perfect love. They flee from it. What they have now is only misery, and misery is what they seek to spread in revenge to God for crimes they alone are guilty of. But the method of how demons are removed and by what power was still a question that required an answer.
Jesus continued speaking in verse 28 … “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: [verse 29] But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: [verse 30] Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.” It is the power of the Holy Spirit that frees us from our sin, and our desire to sin. It is the power of God made manifest through His love within us. It is the Holy Spirit that changes the desires of our hearts and brings them into alignment with the Law of God, and an abiding love of others, not self. When we cast aside the power of the Holy Spirit, when we accuse Him of being Satan, we cut ourselves off from the only power capable of removing sin. In so doing, there is no repentance, because there is no desire to repent. The still small voice within us goes silent. We embrace our sin with full abandon, and want no part of God. Without the Holy Spirit, our desire for something more goes away, and we become in league with demons aligned with Satan in the common cause of hurting the heart of God.
Jesus was careful to point out to his accusers that they could blaspheme His own name in any way they chose, but to reject the Holy Spirit, cut them off from the path of repentance and restoration. Nothing has changed today. When we embrace supernatural power for the purposes of control, we are embracing Satan’s power. When we seek to heal others for the credit we would get for doing it, for the fame of being known as a great servant of God, we are attempting to “use” the Holy Spirit for our own selfish purposes. When we reject the existence of God, and of His power, and deny the God of the Bible in favor of a more nebulous God, who “cannot be defined” in only one set of scriptures, but exists on a plane of many writings with many ideas, and paths to God, we are in danger of rejecting our only path to restoration. God is not just a concept. He is not just an abstract. He has been defined, as has His Spirit, and the work of the Trinity for our redemption outlined in scriptures. When we reject the work of the Holy Spirit, we cut ourselves off from the protection of God, the power of God, and our path towards restoration. We embrace self in its stead, and wind up looking eerily similar to demons who league together to seek the common cause of hate.
If the shooters in Charleston, and Connecticut, and around the world have rejected the Holy Spirit and joined in league with demons, they will not seek redemption or restoration for themselves. To see them redeemed it is we who must intercede with prayer on their behalf. God cannot overcome their will and choice to reject Him, but He can reach out again to them in love in answer to our prayers on their behalf. I imagine many, including me, will be praying for comfort for the victims of these shootings. I wonder how many Christians will pray for the perpetrators of this hate, to see their hearts reformed and their lives redeemed and restored. To see these shooters find redemption and restoration so that in the Kingdom of God they can be reconciled to their victims, and apologize with broken hearts for the evil deeds they did on earth is what restoration and forgiveness are all about. When you think about it, how will our responses in heaven be any different than theirs? We may not have killed another, but we have inflicted so much pain on others in the actions of self-love we chose to embrace while in this world of sin. Through the lens of perfect love for others in heaven, it is our hearts that will be broken as we encounter the victims of our pain, and beg forgiveness for what we did to them while here in this world of sin. If our future looks similar, can our present find common cause to align with the restorative mission of Christ for us here as well? Can we look to end evil and hate, by surrendering to God, and allowing the Holy Spirit to put an end to hate within us? Only in this way, can evil be truly defeated forever…
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