Sermon: The Stronger Man is Moving In

Sermon preached for Lent 3 (Oculi) on March 23, 2025, by Pastor Julius Buelow at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE. (mtolivelincoln.org.)Theme: The Stronger Man is Moving In1. To a House Divided; 2. To a House DesertedText: Luke 11:14-2814Jesus drove out a demon, which was mute. After the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. 15But some of them said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” 16Others were testing him by demanding of him a sign from heaven. 17But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed. And a house divided against itself falls. 18If Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? You say that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 19But if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So they will be your judges. 20Yet if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. 22But when someone stronger attacks him and defeats him, he takes away that man’s full armor, in which he had trusted, and divides up his plunder. 23“The one who is not with me is against me. The one who does not gather with me scatters. 24When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, but does not find any. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house, the one I left.’ 25When it returns, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and dwell there. The last condition of that man becomes worse than the first.” 27While he was saying these things, a woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” 28But he said, “Even more blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Lk 11:14–28.