First Sunday in Lent “Away from Me, Satan! I’m Baptized!”
February 18, 2024 Mark 1:9-15
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Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
What rather well-known theologian is reported to have said: ‘Away from me, Satan.
I am baptized!’ ? If you’re thinking ‘Martin Luther’, you would be correct. When you are enticed to disobey God’s commands & teachings, when you’re tempted to sin against someone, say: ‘away from me, Satan. I’m baptized!’ Now, those exact words are not found among Luther’s voluminous writings; but those words do reflect his teachings on both baptism and resisting the devil. He did write this: ‘The only way to drive away the Devil is thru faith in Christ, by saying: ‘I have been baptized, I am a Christian.’
Well, that’s pretty close. And sometimes, the things attributed to Luther are from Luther’s students, who took notes while being taught in class. So, it’s likely he was heard saying that other phrase, because those words reflect the Scripture teaching on baptism and the devil. In particular, the Spirit -thru Peter- wrote: “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith.” (1 Pet 5:8–9). And is that not a ‘baptismal’ faith? The temptation to sin is real, whether from the world, from our sinful nature, or from a demon or the devil. We can resist with God’s own promise by saying: ‘Away from me, Satan. I am Baptized!’
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The reason the first part of that phrase sounds familiar, you recall, is that Jesus said something like it, … twice. The one time, Jesus spoke directly to Satan after the 3rd temptation in the wilderness. The Devil told Jesus he could have all the world’s kingdoms if Jesus would kneel down & worshipped him. Jesus said: ‘be gone, Satan! For it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ (Mat.4)
The second time we hear that phrase, Jesus is talking to Peter. Simon Peter had just given that awesome confession of Jesus saying: ‘you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Then, Jesus said that, as the Christ, He was going to be rejected by the religious leaders,
be killed, & rise after three days. Peter opposes Jesus & said, “This shall never happen to you.” (Mt 16:22). Jesus’ stinging rebuke of Peter was: “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Mk 8:33).
So, twice Jesus is found resisting the devil & the devil’s agenda by saying: ‘be gone’, and ‘get behind me, Satan.’
The devil & his evil agenda is constantly around to tempts US to set our mind on the things of man and not of God. We face the temptations to ignore the right things & do the wrong things; we are tempted to worry & not trust, to despair & not hope, to doubt God’s mercy & guidance. In our Lord’s perfect prayer, He tells us to pray: ‘lead us not into temptation.’ God doesn’t tempt us; but we pray that God would guard us, so that the devil, the world, & our sinful nature may not deceive us into false belief, despair, shame, or vice.
And altho we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory. That’s what our Small Catechism says. (6th petition, Lord’s Prayer) When we face temptation, those are good words to begin our resistance: ‘Away from me, Satan! I am Baptized.’ Those words are not magic; they are a confession of faith in the Savior who defeated the devil for us, and who’s baptismal promise calls us as His own.
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We should notice that Mark’s account of Jesus’ temptation is closely connected to Jesus’ Baptism. Jesus’ earthly ministry begins as He is baptized by John in the Jordan River. It was a Baptism for sinners who were called to repent. As Jesus comes up out of the water, immediately Jesus sees the heavens torn open, and the Spirit descending on him like a dove, and the voice from heaven says, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Jesus has now set in motion His messianic work to save sinners. He joins us in our sinful condition by being baptized with the sinners’ baptism. This pleased the Father, who has anointed Him with The Holy Spirit for this rescue mission.
So, this inaugural event of the messianic covenant of the OT has a ‘part A’ and ‘part B’, & by leaving out details, Mark closely connects these two things. In part A, Jesus comes to John, the one crying in the wilderness: ‘prepare the way for the Lord.’ The way is prepared by water-Baptism, and the Messiah joins with sinners as one of us. And then, part B, the Spirit of God drives Jesus out into the wilderness.
The Greek word ‘ekkbali’ means to ‘throw out’. Like a boxer pushed into the ring to take on his adversary, the Spirit thrusts Jesus into deserted places to face mankind’s most dangerous & evil opponent. For, if He cannot withstand the temptation, He cannot be mankind’s Messiah.
Mark leaves out details of both Jesus’ baptism and temptation. And by being brief, Mark emphasizes how closely connected these two things are. Jesus’ Baptism was the announcement that the Messiah had come to fulfill the covenant God made to save the world of sinners. And Jesus, being pushed out into the desert, was a declaration of war against Satan & all the forces of evil opposing God and us. According to the promise of Genesis 3:15, there was now going to be wounded heels & crushed heads; there was finally going to be a winner & a loser.
In the United States, it takes a two-thirds vote of Congress to declare war against an enemy. In the battle against sin & evil, there is not two-thirds – but a unanimous consent of ‘the Three’, the Trinity = Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. At the Baptism of the Son, the Father’s champion is prepared, washed & anointed. Heaven’s David will be the One to face hell’s Goliath. The declaration of war is voiced, and the warrior is committed. The Holy Spirit immediately drives Jesus into the wilderness to face Satan, and the battle is engaged.
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At this point, we might wonder why Mark’s account is so sparse, saying only that Jesus is out in the wild where Satan was tempting Him for 40 days. We also might wonder why Jesus took so much time sparring with the Devil, who would be no match for God.
We think: come on Jesus, what are you waiting for? knock this guy out already! Why did Jesus suffer Satan’s temptations for forty days? It is part of proving for us that He is the OT Messiah. The proof is in connecting Jesus back to the various events of God with His people.
The God of Abraham/Isaac/&Jacob delivered the people of Israel out of slavery & death in Egypt, thrusting them out into the wilderness toward the Promised Land. Along the way, those Israelites gave-in to the temptations of the devil; they ignored God’s laws; they turned from God’s ways, did not trust His Word; and they despaired of God’s promises. Therefore, God made them wander forty years in the wilderness.
Forty is a proof = a sign. Israel was God’s chosen son, to bear His word & worship & salvation in the world; but they fell away under temptation. Now the better Son, the Father’s only begotten, endures the forty and is absolutely faithful, fully trusting the Father in all things. As Hebrews 4 says, ‘he was tempted in every way, just as we are — yet he did not sin.’ Jesus is the promised, worthy Messiah.
As we know, there would be other attacks on Jesus by Satan. Satan used the pharisees & teachers of the law; he used Jesus’ own family; he even used Peter to try to lure Jesus away from completing God’s plan. Even to the very end, the Devil used Roman soldiers, the mocking crowd, and even a dying criminal to entice Jesus away from paying the price which our sin demanded.
We might even say that the worst of those temptations was not when Jesus was being attacked openly, but when the crowds shook their heads & walked away; when the disciples refused to be with Him at his bitter death; when the favored Son was utterly abandoned by the Father. It’s hard enough to do a difficult thing when others are cheering you on. But who can endure when everyone mocks & abandons you? It might make us wonder how close Jesus was to giving up & giving in? ‘My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me?’ And yet,
He endured because He had you in mind. As Hebrews 12 says, ‘who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, ignoring its shame, & now is seated on the throne of God.’
So the mission & work that began with part A & part B, with His baptism & temptation, was finally brought to a finish on the cross. Finally, Jesus says, ‘It is finished.’ And with that, the battle is over; the enemy is defeated, & the war is won. Paul writes in Col. 2 that Jesus now descends into hell to make ‘a public spectacle of [Satan and his evil angels], triumphing over them by the cross.” After this victory parade thru hell, Jesus rises from the dead on the third day. His resurrection announces to the world God’s victory over sin, death, & the devil!
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He is the One in whom you & I are baptized. So, Martin Luther is correct when he says that we are able to resist the Devil, in all his forms & temptations, by making the good confession: ‘Away from me, Satan! I am baptized!’ Those are not magic words, but are a confession of faith of the historic truth that Jesus defeated the devil. And by His promise, being baptized into Jesus means that Satan’s power over us is defeated.
As Romans 6 says, ‘don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him thru baptism into death
in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead thru the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.’
While we wait for the Son of God to return in His power & glory, we are warned that the devil continues to prowl around looking for someone to devour with his lies, accusations, temptations, & doubts. But just as Satan is not stronger than Jesus’ work on the cross, so Satan is not stronger than the Lord’s promise in your baptism.
When Mark closely connects Jesus’ baptism with His temptation, he gives us courage in our connection with Jesus. +If the Devil should tempt you to doubt that Jesus’ forgiveness is for you, you have that connection, and can say, “Get behind me, Satan! I am baptized!”
+When the devil tempts you to despair, thinking your life is empty & hopeless, when he tempts you to indulge your sinful nature, you have that connection & can say, “Be gone, Satan! I am baptized!” +When you fall short of God’s commandments, and the Devil shoves your guilt in your face, you have that connection & can say, ‘Away from me, Satan. I am baptized.’
In any temptation or sin, you will run to the cross, and to your strong Savior for mercy.
And that is our battle strategy until the heaven’s are opened one more time, and the world’s Messiah descends again in power & glory, to cast away our enemies forever.
Amen