Photo by Mukund Nair

Have you come to destroy us?

That is the question posed by the destroyer.

It rings a bell of irony.

Start with the story:

He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath.

 

They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority.

 

In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, "Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God."

 

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!"

 

When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm.

 

They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, "What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!"

 

And a report about him began to reach every place in the region.

                                                                                                                                    - Luke 4:31-37

 

Again, the key question, "Have you come to destroy us?" 

 

Do you see the irony now?

 

The destroyer is concerned about being destroyed.

 

The accuser is worried about being accused.

 

The oppressor is complaining about being oppressed.

 

The one filled with hate, guile, and violence feels singled out.

 

The demon thinks it is all about him.

 

It is not about him. It is about the man who has been beaten down, oppressed, dominated, possessed, dehumanized, and discarded. It is about the demoniac, not the demon.

 

It is about Jesus of Nazareth coming to liberate.

 

This man had no other hope before Jesus showed up. However, when that happened, he suddenly had nothing bu hope.

 

Had he come to destroy?

 

John said, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." – 1 John 3:8

 

We don't actually see the demon being destroyed in this story, but we see his work crumbling to the ground in this man's life. Every time a soul is set free, that work is reduced to rubble. It is the flip side of rescue.

 

 "Ahhhhhhhh, you cursed brat!"

 

"I'm melting … my beautiful wickedness!"

 

It was not Dorothy' primary intent to melt the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz. She just wanted to set the captives free.  he wanted to save the scarecrow The witch's evil could not stand for that or live through it.

 

And the witch, incidentally portrayed by a very sweet Sunday School teacher who lived to a ripe old age, felt singled out for persecution. All she had lived for was to beat down the people and hold the realm captive for her purposes. She was a personification of the evil of the devil that Jesus came to destroy – not for the sake of a pile of rubble, but to liberate and redeem.

 

It is not unusual for those who seat in the oppressor's seat to cry foul. They may declare, "You are messing everything up."

 

"You are upsetting the apple cart. "

 

"You are disrespecting our authority or heritage or customs or history of noble bigotry and blind supremacy."

 

They are serving the devil and his evil purposes for sure, like the witch's minions.

 

They are not the demons though. They are possessed by their own demonic forces and they too need to be liberating.

 

And then, Jesus of Nazareth walks in with a bucket of fresh water to extinguish the flames.