There he was, outnumbered. One against the many. There seemed to be no way to win, no escape. He hadn’t been the same since this all started. It had taken its toll on him, both physically as well as emotionally, and spiritually. And there was no peace in any of it. His situation left him in a desperate way, tormented, ostracized from his family and friends, all alone.

We love to root for the underdog. There is something about overcoming great odds, of surprising everyone, of getting the upper hand. But that’s only when there is hope, as slight as it might be, that one can overcome the odds.  This man had no hope. He was at the bottom, and the only way to go was further down, down to the abyss where torment awaited.

So when this demon possessed man sees Jesus, he cries out and falls to the ground. “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do no torment me.” He knows who Jesus is, the Son of the Most High God. Maybe another way of saying it is, “Why don’t you leave me alone, Jesus.” That’s what demon possessed man wants, to be left alone, to have nothing to do with God, for he knows that eternal hell is what he deserves. They beg Him not to command them to depart into the abyss. They fear going to hell, and rightly they should, for it is a place of eternal torment and separation from God.

But really now, who is speaking here: the man, or legion?  “Why do you not leave me alone?” if voiced by the demon, is answered by Jesus as Lord who has conquered Satan by his death and resurrection.  Jesus has authority even over the demons, and they know it. And it scares legion.  Jesus won’t just leave the demon alone because he has come to destroy evil in all its forms and drive it from the face of the earth.

But, “Why do you not leave me alone?” is also the question of the man, who has been possessed and beset by evil. From him (and from us) it’s a cry of lament, of complaint. In the midst of terrorism and war, bloodshed and shootings, the need for a Savior is all the more pressing and obvious. Make no mistake, evil is all around us, and all that is evil is of the devil of His followers. God could justly abandon us to the sin, pride, and arrogance of our society and of each one of us. And there is no victory over them by our own willpower or our own efforts.  Do you think this demon possessed man wouldn’t have tried to fight? Most assuredly he did, and he failed over and over again. The underdog who would always fail.

We feel outnumbered, like we’re one against many. And we are. There are more non-Christians in the world now than there are Christians.  According to the 2010 census, Nampa, Idaho 59% of people claimed to have no religion whatsoever.  These are commonly called the “nones.”  About 16% of the population is Mormon. That means that only 34% of our population, only 1 out of every three people in town, is Christian.

And it makes us afraid, or feel helpless, and all alone. Maybe you struggle in your school or work to publicly live out your faith because when you look into the world it seems like everyone is against Christ.  Maybe you fear speaking up in a church meeting because you think you’re the only one who feels a certain way and you don’t want to be the lone naysayer.  Maybe you struggle with depression, or loneliness, or pain and you don’t think anyone will understand. Maybe you walk into church on Sunday mornings broken by the last week because of your sin and the sins of others, but you feel as though everyone else is ok and doesn’t have any problems. Your bad thoughts, your malicious deeds, your evil words outnumber all the good that you can muster up in your heart.

What do you have to do with me Jesus. Just leave me alone. I’m not worth it. Maybe you have felt at time that life would be easier if God would just stop. God has every right, in His justice, to leave us alone and abandon us. Sometimes it is easier to face a legion of demons leading us into sin and despair than it is to face a holy and righteous God. But this is a question, ultimately, of faith. But for the grace of God, He does not leave us alone. He breaks in to our world to be with us, to become one with us, to deal with sin decisively in his body. Here is only begotten Son of God, the One and only, taking on the sinful world. Outnumbered. Alone. One vs the many.  He visits His people, His fallen and sin broken creation, in the incarnation of Christ and He takes the many sin and evil of the world upon Himself. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me”, Jesus cries out before His death. Alone, with the weight of the sinful world upon His shoulders. He dies upon the cross. The loneliest place on earth is the cold and dark grave because Jesus isn’t there. He is risen!

And He calls you out from among the grave of your sin, He snatches you out of the clutches of the devil through the waters of Baptism and by the power of His Word, and He gathers you into His family. So that when you are outnumbered and overwhelmed, you may call out with assurance, Abba, Father. The Church is the home of the broken, the lonely, outnumbered by sin.  Christ is for sinners. He is for you who are outnumbered.  He is the One vs the many, and He takes the many sins, the many hurts, the many demons and He dispels them. He casts them out of us as easily as He did the possessed man. He commands and they obey. Your sins are forgiven, and they are. Your fears are dealt with, and they are. Your security with Him is assured, and it is! You are joined together with the One who stands against the sinful world and deals it a lethal blow by His death. The one and only sacrifice for our sins.

We don’t come to church to escape the world, but we come to receive God’s healing and Gods’ grace in Christ while living in the midst of the world, to not be alone with our sins or our faith, but surrounded by the family of God and in the presence of Christ Himself.  Only then can we return to our homes and declare how much God has done for us. With our families. We should be talking about the service and the sermon, the Scripture readings, Bible study and Sunday School over lunch and dinner on Sunday nights. We should be taking that message into our work and our schools throughout the week. When we see others who are hurt, who are suffering from the pains of living in this sinful world, who are tormented by the devil day and night over their sins, where healing is to be found.

Here Jesus demonstrates, again, his all-encompassing power to us. In this text we are driven to faithful confidence. Even in the midst of crushing and overwhelming forces which we cannot comprehend or battle, the power of Jesus is undiminished. “What do you have to do with me?” can be the yell of the enemy, the unbeliever, opposed to God and his power. But it can also be a cry of faith, a cry of wondrous confidence in the God who always responds to save His people. The psalmist praises, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! (Psalm 139). “What a God,” we say, “who has to do even with me!”