The Beelzebul Controversy
Notes
Transcript
Open your Luke 11:14-26
It’s a sad day when college sports are no longer entertaining. Now, it’s just the semi-pro league. But you remember the good old days. When rivalries meet something. I remember one sticker of Alabama in one corner and Auburn in the other. With the phrase HOUSE DIVIDED in the center. It meant that within the family, there was inner turmoil, conflict, and a lack of harmony and peace. There was controversy.
That truth escalates more when AbrahamLincoln delivered a famous speech in the midst of state and civil strife, tearing the nation in two. “he said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.”
He spoke of a biblical principle and applied it to the nation-state.
And Jesus says these same words; they are, in fact, His words. And the context in which Jesus speaks to them is certainly far greater than a sports rivalry. And it’s even greater than a speech beckoning the call of freedom for all men. Because when Jesus says these words, the divided house was even deadlier and crueler than slavery. And required an even greater deliverance and freedom from its bondage. He was speaking, after all, against the divided kingdom and the fall of the kingdom of Satan.
Sermon Summary: The power of Christ is greater than darkness.
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. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; 22 but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. 23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 24 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”
This is God’s word, let’s pray.
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I. The Accusation – Denying the Power of Christ (v.14–16)
I. The Accusation – Denying the Power of Christ (v.14–16)
Luke interrupts Jesus teaching on prayer and shifts back to somethingJesus has done through his ministry in Luke’s gospel. The battle between good and evil is on full display, ever since the wilderness temptation in Luke 4, when Satan tempted Jesus to turn away from the cross. You then see Jesus bringing the kingdom through the preaching of the gospel, the healing of the sick, and casting out of demons. This has happened countless times in Luke 4, in Luke 8, and in Luke 9. And now here again in Luke 11.
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.
Jesus encounters a demon that was mute. That is, he couldn’t speak. And therefore made the man who he entered mute as well. And Jesus casts out this demon, and the man’s tongue was loosed, and he began to speak. And this brings forth a divided response from the crowd. You recall, Jesus is always dividing the audience, and that continues here on several fronts.
But the people see a powerful display of God through the work of His son. And they deny it. They deny the obvious work of God, and more than that, they accuse Jesus of working by the power of SATAN.
And on the heels of the Father giving good gifts, and NOT disguising evil as good. And now, is the working of the POWER of God, through His Son, by the power of the Spirit. And it’s denied. Oh man, this is the height of irony. You know the scripture gives a warning to those who confuse good and evil.
20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
This is the height of evil, it always is. Unwilling to call evil, evil, and declare what is good as good. We see this happening all over the place in our world today. Confusion about the basic principle of morality. Calling wicked abominations as acceptable and even good…The scripture gives great warning here, and calls us to agree with God, and here to agree with Jesus.
And they even bring a charge; they accuse Him of conspiring with Satan. Beelzebul, LIT, the LORD of the DWELLING”…It was an ancient term of a Pagan deity. It’s used in 2 Kings 1to speak of the god of Ekron. For the Jews, it was an understanding of the arch demons of hell, even SATAN himself….so they clarify what they mean, “PRINCE OR THE RULER OF THE DEMONS.” In saying this, they are saying that Jesus is a tool of the DEVIL. This is a wicked accusation. And the height of evil. And the height of demonic deception! And it happens today, well, in countless ways. It happens in our culture. It happens when the bride of Christis attacked and called evil. It happens in times of persecution. It is an assault on the goodness and deity of Christ. And it’s why when Saul is persecuting the Church of Christ, Jesus sees it persecuting HIM.
And I think the basic application here for us is to see good and evil rightly. Be able and willing to see it and call it out for what it is. That is when we see a perverse sexual ethic, to call it what it truly is. It’s NOT just GENDER confusion or preference. It’s evil! When we see a religion that seeks domination by violence and force, that demands worship of a false God, to bow the knee to BAAL or Allah, away from the TRUE MESSIAH, who is CHRIST, we call it EVIL. To call the murder of children in the womb reproductive freedom isn’t political jargon…. It's evil.
But for the rest of us….I mean, who would do that, call Jesus evil… so there are others who are just fence riders. With their finger in the air, waiting to see which way the wind blows. They won’t take a stand on Jesus. So, some MARVEL, both good and bad. Some accuse, and some others are still doubting and looking for a sign. They are desiring to test Jesus, according to Deut 13, the test of a true prophet. They want, instead, literally a sign from heaven. Maybe some cosmic miracle, then we will believe. They always need more. The skeptic always needs more, doesn’t He? The deliverance and exorcism of a demon wasn’t enough. And that’s why the word choice is in the imperfect tense. They kept on asking for a sign. But no sign would please them.
The reality is, they had enough to believe. But they refused.
The reality is that the type of skepticism is NOT any better. When we attribute the work of God to something other than the power of God. Or when we dismissHim, until we have more evidence on the table to evaluate. There are many skeptics. They want to ride the fence as long as they can. And maybe that’s you. But Jesus makes it clear in this text that it is NOT possible. You must choose a side. You must waive allegiance to Christ or countless false gods of the world. Needing more evidence.
And may we NOT be like this mute man, paralyzed and controlled by the forces of evil. Unwilling and unable to speak of the glory of God through Christ. But when we are released by the power of Christ, to instead boldly speak of the glory of Christ. There is no greater tactic of the enemy than to make good men, mute. To make spiritual men, silent…and remaining in confusion about the goodness of God, the power of CHRIST!!
Oh, how often we are mute men in practice. If by nothing else, then refusing to come to God in prayer. To come boldly unto Him, to petition our FATHER, through the Son and by the Spirit. May we NOT be men who become spiritually mute and silent. Prayerless men, and thus deny the power of CHRIST.
----------------------------------------------- The Accusation – Denying the Power of Christ
II. The Response – Proclaiming the Power of Christ (v.17–23)
II. The Response – Proclaiming the Power of Christ (v.17–23)
So the accusation and doubt come. Some marvel, some question, and some accuse. But all deny the power of Christ. And so Jesus responds. His response is fourfold. And that will take us the remainder of this sermon to unfold. But in short 2 parables, a warning, and an illustration.
The first is a parable of a divided Kingdom and the finger of God.
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.
Notice that Jesus gives here a repeated condition of truth. Three repeated “IF” statements. THAT IF one thing is true, then what can you say about the logical conclusion? Jesus is proving that their logic does NOT make sense.
And Jesus speaks of a kingdom divided against itself. It’s the rival in a home around the Iron Bowl. A divided kingdom. Yet, how much more in the division of GOOD and EVIL. And how much sense would it make that a divided kingdom could remain standing? That IF I’m casting out demons, who belong to the kingdom of darkness, and do it in the name of demons, then how would that kingdom stand? How much sense would that make for the kingdom of Satan to be divided against itself?
I mean, the very work of God through Christ was to destroy the work of the enemy. And is it NOT evident that an exorcism is expelling demonic control and possession? What sense would that make for a kingdom to divide against itself?
Then Jesus says, "Next, well, what do you say about other exorcisms?" (v. 19). Would you NOT agree that binding Satan, casting out demons, and casting out darkness are good things? Yet, you are saying I’m casting out demons in the power of demons? Well, what do you say about other exorcisms? What power are they done in? Are they NOT good?
And Jesus puts them in the crosshairs of denying their own exorcisms. Deny their work of God among them. So, they are put in an interesting predicament. We aren’t given their response, but we can imagine they are trapped. Their logic doesn’t work. Further, we’ve seen the Lord working through Jesus’ disciples. What do you say about them? We’ve seen others, beyond the disciples, casting out demons in Jesus name in Luke 9? What about him? You accept them, right….Oh, no problem? Got it!!
In fact, the judgment is seen right before, in that the kingdom of God is overthrowing Satan’s kingdom. That’s true whenever God’s kingdom triumphs over Satan, in casting a mute demon out of a man. That is especially true with the power of God through Christ. Well, they wouldn’t dare deny the power of God….they just doubt the authority of Christ. Jesus knows that, and he calls them on it. And says here, your problem isn’t with exorcisms, your problem is with me. Well, then, may the work being done be a judge against you.
Satan’s kingdom is being trampled. And it’s NOT because Satan is trampling His own kingdom, is it? That wouldn’t make any sense. It’s because the Kingdom of God has overcome Him! Which leads Jesus to his next point. V.20
20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
The finger of God is an Old Testament reference to Exodus 8, when Moses performed great wonders and miracles, which the Egyptians’ magicians often matched until the Lord made it evident of the work of God that only MOSES could perform and could NOT be replicated by the Egyptians, proving that Moses’ power came from the Lord – the finger of God!! The same language is used of the Law of God, to say it was written with the finger of God, meaning that it came from God!
And if what I am doing is from God…then God’s kingdom has come. And God’s kingdom has come through Christ, so you have a response needed. Where will you stand on the kingdom work? God’s kingdom has come through Jesus. It is here. The gospel is preached, the blind, sick, and the lame are healed, and the Kingdom of God is trampling Satan’s kingdom!! His reign is being destroyed right before your eyes! How will you respond to this reality?
This is an interesting crossroads taking place. But Jesus is ascribing the work of God, through the Son of God, and also attesting to the work of God through the Son of God by the Spirit of God. In other words, everything that God does is through the working of His TRIUNE nature. And to deny the Son is to deny the Work of the Father, and to deny the work of the Son and the Father is to deny the work of the Spirit through the Son. Which cuts dangerously close to the unpardonable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Luke 12:8). That is the Spirit who is the good gift of the Father, and belongs to all those who are in Christ…Is the same Spirit’s work through the Son at the resurrection, and at Pentecost, Acts 2, and also here at the exorcism...do you see the connection in context here? It’s all intertwined together, isn’t it?
The Second Response is the parable of a Strong man
21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; 22 but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.
This illustration of a STRONG man who is overtaken would have been a common Roman illusion. The culture would have understood the analogy of Rome’s strength and dominion. It’s logical to understand. A person is secure until a stronger army overtakes them, and they are plundered, overthrown, and resources are divided as the reward of victory. And think about the progression here. What began as an accusation and suspicion of Jesus authority, and accused of conspiring with Satan…Jesus says, " No, NOT at all.” In fact, God’s kingdom has come, and now, God’s kingdom has overtaken the Kingdom of Darkness. In which Satan is the strong man, and has been overtaken by the strong man, Jesus….OVERCOMING, DEFEATED, CONQUEROED by the power of CHRIST!
That’s evident in what is happening through the preaching of the gospel. That’s happening through the healing of the sick. That’s happening through the casting of demons. And the deliverance of this mute man, who is now speaking. You are witnesses to this truth!
Satan is overtaken. The power of Christ is disarming and triumphing over the power of Satan.
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
The kingdom of darkness is being overtaken by the kingdom of God. And will be plundered fully at the cross and resurrection of Christ!! There, the power of God through the Son, by the Spirit, will be on full display and completely plunder Satan’s reign.
The third is a warning about one’s allegiance to Christ.
23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Jesus is pushing towards full allegiance here. Again, Jesus has constantly divided the crowds. He’s put them in situations where they cannot ride the fence. And perhaps he’s looking now at the skeptics than the accusers, but Jesus is making it clear, there is no middle ground or riding the fence for Jesus.
Jesus is either who He says He is, or He is NOT. And you either bow your knee in worship to him, or you deny Him as Messiah. You are either FOR Jesus or against Him. But you cannot have it both ways. Neutrality is no option.
Jesus said something that sounds like the opposite in Luke 9:50, speaking to His disciples. He said the one who is not against you is for you. And he says this here. And the difference is huge. In the first, Jesus is speaking about the difference in approach of ministry, which might be different than that of the apostles, but was still focused on Jesus….Here, Jesus is speaking of the allegiance to commit to Christ as a disciple.
You see the work of God, the power of God through Christ. How will you respond? Are you with Jesus or NOT?
And there would have been many who think – well, is it the work of God, or is it the work of Satan? I mean, I dunno, I hear the crowd. They make a good point, I wonder too where this power comes from, so maybe just keep seeking a sign, and we will figure it out later. And Jesus says, "You aren’t with me, then, you are against me, and if you aren’t with me in the work of the kingdom, you will be scattered.”
The same thing happens today. Many want to play the field, if you will. They have divided allegiance. They want Jesus, but also want to keep their sin. They want a little Jesus, but a Jesus that keeps them comfortable. They want religion, but NOT a relationship. They want Christianity without the cross. They want a cultural type of Christianity, NOT one that pursues a Cross, requires the death of self, and following Jesus into suffering.
There is no neutrality. Either we are for Christ and his kingdom, or we are against him. And if we are with Him, we will join Him in His Kingdom work.
J.C. Ryle wrote well when he said, “Let it be the settled determination of our minds, that we will serve Christ with all our hearts, if we serve Him at all. Let there be no reserve, no compromise, no half-heartedness.”
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III. The Illustration – Receiving the Person of Christ (v.24–26)
III. The Illustration – Receiving the Person of Christ (v.24–26)
Now we turn the final turn in this section, though it is difficult to break this from what follows. But I want to try and make some sense of it for us.
24 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”
This passage is mysterious. It's like Jesus is allowing us to see behind enemy lines, revealing the enemy's tactics and schemes, like an intro course in demonology. Jesus tells us demons can enter people, they can leave people, and then return. Jesus declares that demons are searching in desolate places. That’s what we saw in Luke 8:29, of a man living among the tombs. Demons occupy waterless, barren, and lifeless places. Because that is akin to their nature. Dark and dead. But they always search for a body, the soul of a person in which to operate, and find a home. So what is happening here?
Well, contextually, a demon has just been expelled from a person, making him mute, and now he’s been released. But Jesus is also giving a warning here. He’s warning of superficial cleansing without heart renewal. To tie to the greater context that we are only truly safe from Satan and his demons when we have the Spirit of Christ living within us. The Spirit through whose power Jesus lives. The Spirit of Christ, whom the Father gives to those who ask. The Spirit that belongs to the CHILDREN of God through Christ.
In other words, you can’t just put on superficial religious garb and cleansing, and then expel darkness. It may leave, Jesus says, but it will return to find a place, swept, cleaned, put in order…..ready for occupancy again!! So it goes and brings with it 7 others more evil than itself. And they dwell there together – 8 total – 7 fold more evil than before. And the last state is worse than the first.
This ought to cause sobriety to the hearer. That we NOT experience the power of God, are awakened to the truth of God, only to put on a superficial garb of righteousness. We put on morality. We put on religion. We put on do right and do better, but we never put on the righteousness of God by faith in Christ, and live according to and with His Spirit. That is, we make only moral recovery but NOT inward transformation. Satan leaves, but CHRIST never enters! The man swept his own house, but never asked Christ to cleanse it and take up residency. He was only partially reformed, but never renewed by the Spirit of God!
These are those who merely replace vile sin with lesser sin. They have merely put on outward morality, but their hearts are corrupted. They have only changed one kind of devil for another. They are now governed by decent, kind, moralism. A Pharisaic devil. NOT audacious, riotous, unclean type. But the tenant is still the devil within. And their last end, Jesus says, will be worse than the first.
This is true for this man who has been delivered. This is true for Pharisees, Scribes, and the religious leaders. It’s true for the generation of Israel in this text. It’s true for us. It’s a universal truth and principle that Jesus declares here. And it’s true of the attacks of Satan and evil, if NOT destroyed and put to death, it will return 7-fold stronger.
And it’s interesting that the suspicion, doubting, skepticism, and accusation hurled here at Jesus, on His way to Jerusalem, will also grow louder and more evil soon as well. When the chief priest and the scribes conspire against Jesus, they will add to their collusion Herod and Pontius Pilate. And the Roman authorities. They will persuade the crowds to see that Jesus was put to death when He is mocked, beaten, and humiliated through the streets of Jerusalem. “HAIL the KING of JEWS!” “CRUCIFY HIM, CRUCIFY HIM!” He’s saved others, let HIM SAVE HIMSELF!” ….If you are the Son of God, pull yourself down from there….This is an evil of exponential severity. And the last state is far worse than the previous. It’s the truth of this principle now demonstrated at the crucifixion, and the height of EVIL to crucify and kill the Messiah!!
What is happening now at the cross. I would submit to you. The devil left, and he was replaced by a superficial moralist, cleaning the outside of the cup, but inwardly you are white-washed TOMBS – RELIGION!! But there was no inward transformation… and so EVIL returned, greater than the first!
This is a frightening thought. That Satan finds a home in our souls. And yet, that is the danger of superficial religion: a lack of heart transformation.
This is what Peter warns in 2 Peter 2:20-22
20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”
And this is the warning that the author of Hebrews speaks. That we NOT just cling to superficial religion, but inward transformation. And now just flee from evil, but we CLING TO CHRIST!! We don’t just need the Devil out. For He will return with greater fury…..We need the Holy Spirit to dwell in us (take up residence). This is what Paul means when he uses this same word for “dwell” in Ephesians 3:17
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
Christ must dwell in our hearts by faith. NOT only moralized, but spiritualized. NOT just reformed but born again! NOT mere professors of Christ, but possessors of Christ! Beloved, again, there is no neutral ground! That’s the point of Jesus here….A house DIVIDED will NOT stand. That’s true of Satan’s kingdom. And the power of Christ has overcome Him and destroyed His kingdom and plundered Him. A divided house will NOT stand. – WHOEVER is NOT WITH ME is AGAINST ME…A DIVIDED HOUSE will NOT stand. And that’s true for you…..You cannot have divided loyalty towards Jesus. You can’t ride the fence. If you try, you will be destroyed!! MORALISM or RIGHTEOUSNESS of God by FAITH in JESUS. CHRIST OR SATAN? GOOD or EVIL? Choose wisely! The power of Christ is on clear display before you. Declaring His victory. Don’t be so foolish as to look for another sign from heaven, when His Cross and the empty tomb are on full display! Look to Jesus today! Turn to CHRIST in repentance and FAITH!! THE kingdom of DARKNESS is destroyed through Christ's death and resurrection! Look to Christ for refuge and salvation. Trust in Christ to save you by HIS SPIRIT, claim you as HIS OWN. SECURE you by HIS SPIRIT. AND KEEP you from the attacks of the ENEMY!
He is our only hope!! So, may we take our STAND!!
Sermon Summary: The power of Christ is greater than darkness.
