The Words of Jesus - Study 2

Merciful Reasonings.

Luke 11:14-28

Introduction.

Imagine that you are 25 or 35 or 45 years old and have never spoken a word! Imagine what that must have been like, especially if you were in a culture where very few could read or write? Its almost certain that the poor mute man in this scripture passage could not write. His needs and feelings could only be conveyed by a frustrating combination of facial expressions, body language, gestures and sounds that probably only he could understand. There were times when he must have felt like a prisoner in his own body. That feeling was not unfounded because his tongue was chained by a demonic spirit! His muteness satisfied its perverse pleasure by keeping the man inarticulate.

A Miracle Denied. Luke 11:14-16

The exorcism.

“Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed.” Luke 11:14 When the mute man stood before Jesus, he could feel his tongue was free and he spoke! Praise God, thank you Jesus, Hosanna! Seeing this, the crowd was amazed. They had grown accustomed to the man’s muteness and hadn’t imagined that the situation would change. Everyone witnessing this event knew they had observed a miracle. But Jesus’ enemies found a way to mix in some bitterness with the sweet. He wasn’t going to let them go on complaining without explaining to them exactly what they were doing. He was not going to let them think that reason was on their side. He was not going to allow them to reject the miracle which had just been performed in front of their eyes. In the words of David Gooding:” knowingly and deliberately they must call black that which in every other context and circumstance of like would have called white!”

The Logic of Mercy Luke 11:17-22

^“¹⁷Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. ¹⁸If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. ¹⁹Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. ²⁰But 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 and overpowers him, he takes away the armour in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.” Luke 11:17-22 Jesus’ opponents had accused him of being in cahoots with Satan in this miracle. So, he sets out to show them the logical impossibility of this position. As we read the gospel account, we often see Jesus directly confronting Satan and his strongholds by driving out demons. In Luke’s gospel alone there are at least ten instances of healing, four of them explicitly involving exorcisms. So, we must conclude in the light of Jesus’ wholesale ongoing attack on Satan, that it was impossible for an evil alliance between the Saviour and Satan to exist (which is what they were suggesting). Jesus’ detractors were on shaky ground. Jesus mercifully reasoned with them with two parable-like utterances.

A kingdom divided:

The first word picture Jesus gave was that of a divided kingdom. “Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. ¹⁸If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub” verses 17-18.

No kingdom
No house
No army
No business
No team
No church….. can survive on internal war. There was no way Jesus and Satan could be marching together!

Jesus then went on to ask a telling question: “Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges” verse 19. Josephus – a Jewish historian tells us that Jesus’ contemporaries did perform exorcisms and most people believed they did it by the power of God. Were they also on Satan’s team? Were all who cast out demons in league with the Devil? Absurd! The final thrust of the mini-parable drove this point home → “ but if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Verse 20. This allusion to “the finger of God” calls to mind when Moses delivered the Israelites from Egypt by repeated acts of displays of supernatural power – in sending the plagues so that even Pharaoh’s own magicians warned him “the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said. Exodus 8:19 Jesus had the same delivering power. The inescapable conclusion? The power of God that enabled Christ to cast out demons was positive proof of the presence of the kingdom of God.

The Strong Man Bound.

The other parable-like description Jesus used was that of a strong man overpowered. . “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. ²²But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armour in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.” Verses 21-22. This picture isn’t of a house but of a well-armed castle. The owner wants to maintain the safety of his estate. His possessions are secure – until someone stronger attacks. So, the strongman, the well-armed owner is Satan. His possessions are people, such as the poor mute man in the story. The stronger man is Jesus.

Conclusion.

The fact that Christ has delivered the mute man from Satan’s clutches was evidence that he was not on Satan’s side. Rather, He was and is the Devil’s super-powerful enemy. Jesus defeated Satan in order to deliver the man.

Application.

Sadly, it happens quite often that people resort to slander and accusation and seek to discredit the character of others. When they have no argument (or when they’ve lost the argument) and we must be careful here because none of us is free from this particular sin. How often do we tend to think the worst of others even though there may be no firm evidence to hold such an opinion? How often do we deliberately impute impure and low motives to someone whom we dislike?

Embedded in this story also is the danger of needless divisions in the church. Of course, there will be divisions. Better those who love the gospel and the Bible and the truth than those who don’t. But then there are divisions of a different kind which are to be rejected. e.g., divisions between those who agree on the main points but then divide on secondary issues; on forms and ceremonies or church arrangements about which scripture is silent. Divisions of this kind should be avoided and discouraged by all genuine, faithful Christians.

The best way to prevent this is:

1) A humble spirit,

2) A readiness to make sensible concessions in these ‘secondary’ areas of church life and worship, 3) a good and sound working knowledge of scripture and

4) we need to distinguish between things which are essential and things which are not. In all this, may our Lord grant us all wisdom.

Jesus Further Warnings.
“Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven” verse 16 This is an interesting verse. These were pretty decent, ordinary people, listening to this discourse. They were against demon possession and they didn’t appreciate the inflammatory, illogical, Beelzebub accusations thrown at Jesus. Nevertheless, they also don’t feel any need to align their lives with Christ. They wanted to remain neutral, until perhaps some great cosmic sign convinces them to believe.

There Is No Middle Road.

Given the massive claims of Jesus – there can be no neutrality on the question of who Jesus is. Nobody can sit on the fence. Every man, woman and child must make up his/her mind. To try to be neutral towards Jesus is in fact NOT to believe. We are either for Him or against Him.

In Harm’s Way.

As the challenge of His words settled in (made their mark), the Lord tells a grim story. “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ²⁴“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ ²⁵When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. ²⁶Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.” Luke 11:23-26 It is not absolutely clear whether the evil spirit leaves the man in search of a better home or whether it is in fact exorcized. But in any event, its journey through desolate places doesn’t find it a suitable place to rest, and so it returns to its previous abode. In the meantime, its former victim has swept clean his inner life and reordered it – so that the space is now even more inviting. The returning demon is overjoyed at what its finds and seeks out seven other foul spirits to take up residence again. We’re told that ‘the final condition of that man is worse than the first’ verse 26b Jesus is saying to His religious hearers that self-restoration without regeneration and the indwelling of God (Holy Spirit) is fatal. Temporary moral reformation is inadequate. Anyone who purges evil but doesn’t fill the vacuum with God is in grave, mortal danger. This shows us something of the dangers of today’s post-modern world. With its profound inwardness and focus upon self, its tendency to employ (use) techniques and technologies that leave a house swept clean and in apparent order, yet is empty. If a man or a woman, teenager or young person is empty and without God, any sin, any perversion is possible. A vacuum has to be filled with something and if its not the Spirit if God, there’s no telling what it might be. So, neutrality is impossible – the human heart is either inhabited by Christ or Satan. The way to fill the empty void is to come to Jesus. “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7:37-38

A brief summary:

Jesus’ reasoning in answering those who credited his power to Satan was overpowering. A kingdom divided cannot stand – it takes one stronger than the strong to rescue the victim of sin. Jesus’ warnings also cut to the quick. There is no neutrality possible regarding him. We are either with him or against him. Reformation without regeneration is an empty affair, leaving one open to the demonic community.

The Possibility of Mercy. Luke 11:27-28

Now we can imagine that at this stage the scene was quite strained between Jesus and the antagonists. No one was smiling and it was all quite tense. Then all of a sudden, a woman in the crowd cries out: “………….. a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” To which Jesus replies: “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” In the midst of all the disbelief, doubt and downright opposition, at least one voice was raised in recognition and adoration. In the eyes of this woman, Jesus is so wonderful that she praises his mother! Jesus doesn’t disagree, but basically the response is “yes, but blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” Jesus liked what the woman had said. He did not reprove/correct her but improved on it. He said in effect: ‘what you have said is right but there is a higher truth.” She was blessed who bore me. But, surely more blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” This blessedness rested on some in the crowd who heard this exchange between Jesus and his opponents and who’d heard His reasonings and warnings. They opened their empty souls to Him and became part of His spiritual family. This puts the highest blessing of God within reach of all of us. There are only two steps to blessedness: *To hear the word of God and *To obey it. We need to listen to the word seriously, we must hear it with understanding and know what it means. Then we must do what it says. How this cut through all the dark objections to Jesus. The woman’s cry above the slander of the Pharisees and the murmurings of the crowd was brave and right. Jesus had mercifully reasoned with them and mercifully warned them and now He gave them a merciful possibility that tugged at their souls.

Peter Wessels, Minister,

St Olav Church.