Everett Henes: The battles we face

One of the themes of the Bible is that we all face enemies in this life. Sometimes we might think of these as merely a matter of circumstance, but even in our modern day we talk about someone “battling temptation” or “fighting cancer.” When someone dies, we say they “lost the battle.” There is a reason that this sort of language is comfortable to us. The Bible talks about this sin-cursed world as a battlefield.

In Genesis 3, after sin and death entered the world, God makes the first statement of promise: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) God speaks of an ongoing war that will culminate in a final battle where there will be a clear winner and a clear loser. Though temptation, sickness and disease would reign in the world, they would be defeated.

The Bible, then, can be seen as a record of this battle and the line of the woman from whom the promised offspring would come. As we study our way through the Gospel of Luke, we can see it in connection to this clearly in Luke 8:26-56. It’s a lengthy portion of Scripture that has three scenes. They move by, seemingly disconnected, but they are not.

The first scene is a stop in a place called Gerasene, where Jesus and his disciples would run into a man who was demon-possessed. This was a man who could be bound with chains and shackles, only to break free from supernatural strength. When confronted by Jesus, we learn that it is not one demon, but many. They reply, in unison, that their name is ‘Legion.’ The story in Genesis 3 put Adam, the son of God, against the Serpent. Here we have Jesus against Legion. Adam should’ve crushed the Serpent, but didn’t. Jesus isn’t at the point where he will crush the Serpent, but he does command them to leave the man and they must obey! Jesus has the authority of God, and the demons stand no chance.

The second scene takes us to Jesus being met by a man named Jairus, whose daughter was dying. He implores Jesus to come and heal her, and he responds. He desires to heal the girl, for he has come to defeat Satan, sickness, and death. But on the way, the third scene intrudes.

A woman who had been bleeding for 12 years desires to be healed as well. She makes her way through the crowd and touches the hem of his robe. Instantly, she is healed. She knew if she could take hold of Jesus, she would be better and she was. To her shock, though, Jesus notices, “Who was it that touched me?” It was just a light touch, and so many others were touching him. How could he know what she had done? Terrified, she comes forward and Jesus says, “Daughter your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

Just then, though, Jairus receives word that his daughter is no longer dying. She is dead. She lost her battle. They tell him “Do not trouble the Teacher anymore,” meaning Jesus. But he will not be deterred. He came to defeat Satan, sin, and death. He tells him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” You could imagine the fear and frustration that Jairus would be feeling. Does he believe this man? Ultimately, he does trust him, and his daughter is healed! Jesus defeats even death.

This is the reason that Jesus came from heaven to earth and was born of the Virgin Mary. This is why he suffered, was buried and died. This is why he rose from the dead. The whole story holds together and reminds us of the battles that we face. Every one of those scenes: the demoniac, the sick woman and the dead little girl represent the enemies we face: Satan, sickness and death. Luke’s Gospel was written to show us that Jesus is that offspring of Eve who would defeat all our enemies. He does this in an unusual way, though, as he faces them head on and dies on the cross. Jesus’ resurrection is his final victory, even as our resurrection will be ours. We face many enemies in this life, but we take heart that Jesus has defeated them all and we have to trust in him and we will be saved.

— Everett Henes, pastor of Hillsdale Orthodox Presbyterian Church, may be reached at pastorhenes@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Everett Henes: The battles we face and Jesus' salvation