Luke 11:14-20 (3)

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-We’re going to be in Luke 11 again this morning...

And we’ve come now to verse 14.

-And as always, I would encourage you...

…to find it, and follow along in your own Bibles.

-We’ve been looking at passages...

…that have been connected together, either...

Chronologically

Thematically...

…since we began Chapter 11...

…back in the middle of December.

But, as far as I can tell...

…there’s a break in that continuity...

…when we come to verse 14.

And to be honest...

…I’m not exactly sure...

…where to place this event chronologically.

It seems to closely mirror an event in Matthew 12...

But it also has language...

…reminiscent of events in...

…Matthew 9 and Mark 3, as well.

And even though all of that...

…makes it harder to make a chronological determination...

It makes it much easier to see...

…that it is...

An event

A set of teachings...

…that the inspired gospel writers...

…considered to be very important...

And I think we’ll see why, very quickly.

-Also, because of...

The length of this section...

The amount of parallel passages...

…we’re going to have to break it up...

…into at least two sermons...

(If not more)

So, please bear with me...

…and be patient.

At best, we’ll only make it through Verse 20 today.

-Well alright, let’s read our text.

It begins in Verse 14.

This is God’s inerrant and infallible Word:

Luke 11:14–23 (ESV)

14 Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled.

15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,”

16 while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.

17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.

18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.

19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

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Pray

-I mentioned to you in the introduction...

…that this event interrupted the continuity...

…that we've been seeing in the rest of chapter 11.

However… there is a broader continuity...

…within Luke’s Gospel...

…that we need to keep in mind.

Philip Ryken summarizes it well:

This was only the latest in a long series of conflicts between Jesus and the devil, starting with the temptation in the wilderness, when Satan tried to turn Jesus away from the cross (Luke 4:1–13).

In the months that followed, Jesus often defeated the works of the devil by casting out demons (Luke 4:41).

On one occasion he cast out an entire legion of demons (Luke 8:26–39).

On another occasion he rescued a boy who was afflicted with dangerous and diabolical seizures (Luke 9:37–43).

This time Satan had silenced a man’s tongue. — Ryken

-Look at Verse 14 again:

Luke 11:14 (ESV)

14 Now he was casting out a demon that was mute...

Meaning that it caused the man to be mute.

So, what we have is...

…yet another Messianic Confrontation with the Kingdom of Darkness.

But this time, Luke doesn’t tell us much...

…about the details of the miracle.

He simply says:

When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, . . .

Another Messianic victory OVER the Kingdom of Darkness!

-Now, I think the reason that Luke...

…doesn’t say much about the circumstances of this miracle...

…is simply because that isn’t his focus, here.

He’s already sufficiently shown Jesus’ . . .

Power

Divine Authority

At this point...

…that’s just a given...

…for anyone who’s been reading through Luke’s Gospel.

-The thing being emphasized NOW, is...

…the way people respond...

…to that power and authority.

Luke records 3 responses (in a sense).

The first is at the end of verse 14...

...and the people marveled.

i.e., they were “astonished!”

This reminds us that the nature of biblical miracles....

...were so obvious...

…that they were impossible to deny.

(I don’t see any of today’s alleged “miracle workers”...

…doing anything like that!)

Look at the way Matthew described...

…a similar response...

…to a similar (if not the same) miracle...

…in Chapter 9:

Matthew 9:33 (ESV)

33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.”

Meaning, other than by Jesus.

(Important for later, is the fact, that...

…what the Jewish exorcists were doing...

…didn’t compare to this!)

-Also, in the presumably parallel account in Chapter 12...

Matthew describes this first response, like this:

Matthew 12:23 (ESV)

23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”

The Messiah!

The Anointed One

The Messianic King!

Only the Messiah...

…would be able to wield that kind of...

Power

Authority

-However, Man’s depravity being what it is...

…the fact that something is undeniable...

…doesn’t necessarily mean that it will...

…cause someone to have faith.

Look at the second response in Verse 15:

Luke 11:15 (ESV)

15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,”

Matthew identifies these folks as Pharisees

Mark (perhaps describing a separate event)...

…said the same thing of the scribes (Jewish lawyers)

And the fact is...

…that this is an accusation that...

…was made against Jesus repeatedly.

For example:

John 7:20 (ESV)

20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?”

John 8:48 (ESV)

48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

John 8:52 (ESV)

52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’

John 10:20 (ESV)

20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?”

Matthew 10:25 (ESV)

25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

But probably the most helpful, is in Mark3:22

Mark 3:22 (ESV)

22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.”

Do you see what they’re saying there?

It couldn’t be denied...

…that Jesus had conquered the demon.

But, rather than acknowledging...

…that this was proof that...

(At the very LEAST)

…he was the Servant of God...

…they concluded rather, that...

His Power came from someone else:

“possessed by Beelzebul”

His Authority had been granted by someone else:

“By the prince of the demons”

-Now, we need to understand...

…that this was a particularly egregious blasphemy.

Ryken explains:

To identify Jesus with Beelzebul was a wicked and pernicious blasphemy.

“Beelzebul” was an ancient term for a pagan deity. We find the term in secular literature, used with reference to one of the gods of Canaan.

We also find it in the Old Testament, where it refers specifically to the god of Ekron (see 2 Kings 1:2).

In time the Jews came to identify Beelzebul as one of the arch demons of hell, or even as Satan himself.

To say that Jesus was casting out demons by Beelzebul, therefore, was to say that he was the devil’s tool.

Since these people denied that Jesus was the Son of God, they had to give some other explanation for his power to cast out demons. The only thing they could come up with was that he was doing it by the devil’s own power. — Ryken

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-Now, we’ll see Jesus point out...

…the utter lunacy of this suggestion...

…in a minute...

But first, notice...

…the (almost unbelievable) third type of response in Verse 16:

Luke 11:16 (ESV)

16 while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.

We’ll deal more with the issue of “signs and wonders”...

…when we get down to Verse 29.

But for now, remember, that...

...my premise has been...

…that these biblical miracles, were ultimately meant...

…to testify to the heavenly authority...

…behind those who performed them.

-So, if that’s the case...

And Jesus has just conquered...

…yet ANOTHER demon without effort...

Why are these folks...

…continuing to look for that proof?

What greater proof can they get?

-What are they looking for?

What do they mean by “a sign from heaven?”

-Well, they appear to be making a distinction between...

Heavenly signs from above

Earthly miracles.

Let me show you a helpful example:

After Jesus had fed the 5,000 with almost nothing...

(an obvious earthly miracle)

…he was asked:

John 6:30–31 (ESV)

30 ...what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?

31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

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So... an inexplicable, undeniable miracle...

...isn’t enough!

It has to be something that can be seen in the heavens!

Only then... can they know for sure...

…that Jesus is here on heaven’s behalf.

That is wicked unbelief!

And Jesus will say that a little later on.

-But for now...

…notice the way he responds...

…beginning in Verse 17:

Watch this.

Watch this little detail that Luke includes...

…that (ironically) proves what they’re equivocating on...

…in and of itself.

Luke 11:17 (ESV)

17 But he, knowing their thoughts . . .

They hadn’t even said this stuff out loud!

This was, either...

The private musings of their hearts

The conclusions of their private deliberations.

And just like we saw back in Chapter 5...

…where Jesus knew men’s thoughts...

…and went on to prove, that...

…He had Divine authority to forgive sins...

...So, here too...

…this Divine ability is displayed...

…on His way to, once again...

…proving his Divine authority.

-He says this... in response to their thoughts:

Luke 11:17 (ESV)

17 . . . “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.

Do you see what he’s doing, here?

He’s employing...

…what, for them, would have been...

...a commonly accepted proverb...

…to point out the logical absurdity...

…of what they were thinking.

He tells them, essentially...

“What Kingdom is advanced by Civil War?”

“What Nation grows through internal conflict?”

None!

In fact, the opposite is true.

They usually don’t survive it.

-Similarly,

“What household/city (ambiguous in the Greek)...

…is solidified through division between its members/citizens?”

None!

That usually brings about its destruction!

(It’s a no-brainer, right?)

And, he’s telling them...

“that’s exactly what you’re saying...

…about what’s happening, here.”

(These folks need the old R.C. Sproul...

...”What’s wrong with you people?”)

-This is one of those, “Just think about what you’re saying,” moments:

Jesus says, in Verse 18:

Luke 11:18 (ESV)

18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? . . .

i.e., “how will it survive that?”

Matthew and Mark record it like this:

Matthew 12:26 (ESV)

26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself...

Mark 3:23 (ESV)

23 … “How can Satan cast out Satan?

Mark 3:26 (ESV)

26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.

The Faithlife Study Bible simplifies it for us:

By explicitly linking Satan and Beelzebul (Luke 11:15), Jesus exposes a flaw in His accusers’ logic: If Satan were enabling exorcisms, he would be weakening his own demonic forces. — FSB

How absurd of a proposition is that?

Yet, (Jesus tells them at the end of Verse 18)...

Luke 11:18 (ESV)

18 ...you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.

The NIV is helpful, here:

Luke 11:18 (NIV)

18 If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul.

This makes absolutely NO SENSE...

But such is often the absurdity...

…that attends unbelief.

-Now, in Verse 19...

…Jesus takes it a step further:

Luke 11:19 (ESV)

19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? . . .

NIV says “your followers”

i.e., those whom you lead spiritually.

Who is He referring to?

Most likely, to Jewish Exorcists!

We know they existed from the NT itself.

Remember this?

Acts 19:11–16 (ESV)

11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul...

13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”

15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”

16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

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My Point in reading that, was just to show you...

…that there were functioning Jewish Exorcists...

…in Israel, in the 1st Century.

And apparently (although incomparable to Jesus)...

…they would, at times, have some measure of success.

How were they able to do that?

By what Power and Authority did they operate?

Sproul explains:

Of course, they didn’t want to say that they were doing it by the power of Satan, because that would reveal their wickedness.

If they claimed to be doing it by the power of God, Jesus would ask how they knew. They would say that only God would do this.

The only inference one could draw was that Christ was not on the side of Satan. — Sproul

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-Now, watch this.

Jesus says:

Luke 11:19 (ESV)

19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

And if I’m understanding that correctly...

Jesus is telling them, that...

…in this very act of inconsistency...

They have condemned themselves!

The fact that they praise and commend their own exorcists...

And condemn and blaspheme Christ...

…for doing the same thing...

…but to a superlative degree...

…will be an aggravating factor in...

…the condemnation they’ll receive...

…on the Day of Judgment!

Perhaps, their own exorcists...

…will literally appear as witnesses in their prosecution???

But, the certainty is...

…that they have been indicted...

…by the same indictment...

…that they were making against Christ!

-Now, with...

...the futility of their unbelief having been proven.

…their belief system...

…having been shown for what it was...

Absurd

Self-Refuting...

There’s only one logical conclusion to be made...

…from the data that Jesus has set before them:

Luke 11:20 (ESV)

20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

e.g., “has overtaken you by surprise”

Do you remember what that anthropomorphism connotes?

The invisible, eternal God… touching the earth!

The King of heaven...

…reaching down with power and absolute authority...

…and causing things to happen on the earth!

Do you remember that?

-Well, do you remember this?

Matthew 12:28 (ESV)

28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

That tells us that...

…it is the Spirit of God...

…that effectuates the Will of God...

…upon the earth!

It is the Spirit of God...

…that implements the power of God...

…upon the earth!

It is through, God the Holy Spirit...

…That God, the eternal Father...

…brings to fruition...

…the eternal decrees of the triune Godhead!

-Why is that so important to this text?

Because it’s profoundly Messianic!

Messiah = Christ = The Anointed One = The Man of the Spirit!

Remember the promises?

Isaiah 11:1–4 (ESV)

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him...

Isaiah 42:1 (ESV)

1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.

Isaiah 61:1–2 (ESV)

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God...

(Jesus said that this was fulfilled in Luke 4)

-So then...

if the Man of the Spirit

is conquering God’s enemies by the power of the Spirit...

What does that mean?

Luke 11:20 (ESV)

20 ...then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

You and I as well!

How should we respond to that?

Well, Jesus has already told us:

Mark 1:14–15 (ESV)

15 . . . “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

That’s how you receive your King!

Repentance

Faith

It’s that simple.

-But, here’s the thing:

-Without a touch by the finger of God...

-Without the power of the Spirit of God...

...We’ll respond no differently than...

…the Scribes and Pharisees in our text.

What does that tell us?

We must look to him.

We must depend on his power

We must rely on his grace.

Amen?

Let’s ask him to give us both, this morning

Pray