Matthew 18:1-11; Revelation 12:7-12; Daniel 10:10-14; 12:1-3
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
You’ve heard the saying, “Pride goeth before the fall.” It comes from Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” How many fables, moral lessons, and stories are built upon this proverb, which we all know to be true? Those who are puffed up with pride and full of themselves may rise to lofty heights, but too often they also experience a precipitous fall.
Lucifer’s great sin, and the cause of his fall, was pride. Though he was one of the highest of God’s angels, an angel of light, he begrudged the Lord to be a servant, particularly a servant to God’s most treasured creatures, mankind. Did Lucifer want to be a god himself? Quite likely. But this much is certain: he did not want to serve mankind, whom he deemed beneath him. Yet God loved mankind. He gave man dominion over all that He had made, even the heavenly ranks of holy angels. Lucifer’s pride could not tolerate this. His pride consumed him, filling him with anger, resentment, and hatred for God, and, even more, hatred for man whom God loved.
Lucifer’s pride caused him to fall from the highest ranks of God’s holy angels to the darkness of hellish separation from God. In his fall, Lucifer became Satan, the adversary, the enemy, the accuser of men. He knew that he could not defeat God, so he attacked mankind whom God loved. He cunningly tempted our First Parents by appealing to their pride. He promised them that by disobeying God they would become like God. But it was a lie. They were already made in God’s image. They were already the highest of all that God had made. Yet Adam and Eve gave in to their pride, and they fell, just as Satan had fallen.
But God’s love for mankind moved Him to redeem us. Though our First Parents rebelled and fell from grace, God had compassion and mercy upon them. He set in motion His great plan of redemption through the sacrificial offering of His Son. Before the foundation of the world, God had ordained that His Son would become man, fulfill the holy Law in perfect obedience and righteousness, and suffer and die in man’s place, redeeming us from sin and restoring us to God.
Satan likely knew part of God’s plan. Yet once again his pride blinded him. He believed that by destroying Jesus he could thwart God. But when Jesus died upon the cross, Satan had not won. The opposite was true. Jesus knew no sin, but God placed upon Him the sins of all mankind. He took our sins to the cross, and there they died with Him. He alone rose from the dead.
The cross of Jesus Christ is the sign of Satan’s defeat. The Seed of the Woman, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, crushed the ancient serpent’s head. He rose from the dead on the third day, living proof of Satan’s defeat and of the forgiveness of sins through faith in the victorious and atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The war in heaven described in Revelation 12 is the result of Jesus’ victory on the cross. Satan, the accuser of men, has been thrown out of the presence of God. No longer can he accuse you before the Father, for your sins are atoned for and forgiven in the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ.
Satan cannot accuse you, judge you, or condemn you, for you have been justified wholly apart from yourself by the obedience, suffering, and death of Jesus for you. But Satan still prowls the earth in a violent rage, because he knows that his time is short. He cannot defeat God. He cannot defeat Jesus. But he does have a dangerous weapon: lies and deception. He tempts you to sin. He makes sin seem attractive, even righteous. And then, when you sin, he accuses you. He tells you that you are not forgiven, that you cannot be forgiven, that you have gone too far and are outside God’s grace. That is a lie.
But how often do you believe it? How often do you allow Satan to cause you to doubt God’s goodness, mercy, love, and forgiveness? Satan’s purpose is to separate and isolate you, from your brothers and sisters in Christ, from your neighbor, and ultimately from God. He hates God, and he hates you because God loves you. He wants to see you destroyed eternally. But there is no victory for him to win. Christ has already won. Therefore, Satan is your enemy. Indeed, it is true to say that no man is your enemy, but all men have the same enemy. Satan’s hatred of God and his hatred of you is what drives him.
And here we see the work of God’s holy angels. The word angel means messenger. The holy angels are servants of God, sent to serve and protect His children. They guard and watch over you, just as Luther teaches you to pray in the morning and evening. But remember: angels are servants. You do not pray to them or worship them. You thank God for them and honor and glorify Him for their service. And you may emulate the angels by serving your brothers and sisters in Christ and your neighbor in need. Put away your pride. Serve others in the faith and knowledge that when you serve the least of your brothers, you are serving Jesus. Bear with your brothers, sisters, and neighbors in patience and kindness, even those who do evil to you or hate you. God alone is judge, and He works all things, even the evil things men do, for the good of those whom He has called in Christ. God has ordained a wonderful order of service among angels and men by which His children are helped and defended.
So, do not be afraid. Whatever befalls you in this life, nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. That is the truth. Anything else is a lie of Satan. He will continue to tempt you toward pride, division, judgment, hatred, and isolation. He will try to turn your eyes away from the cross of Jesus Christ and cause you to forget the redemption He won for you there. Therefore, pray that God send His holy angels to protect and defend you. Pray that the Church of Jesus Christ would persevere.
And, more than anything else, continue to gather around the Word and the wounds of Jesus Christ. Receive again and again the forgiveness of your sins. Be strengthened and encouraged by His Word. Commune with your Lord and Redeemer, who laid down His life in selfless and sacrificial service for you, to purchase, win, and redeem you for eternal life.
And there, as now, in a foretaste of the great feast to come, you will worship with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven, God and the Lamb upon His throne, Jesus Christ, to whom be blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might forever and ever!
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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