Teaching on Luke 11:14-28

Okay. After teaching his disciples or apostles to pray we now read beginning at Luke 11:14.

Jesus and the Dumb Spirit

Luke 11.14-28
Meat
December 8th 2019

Luke 11:14 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. 15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. 16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. 17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. 18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. 19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. 20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. 21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: 22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. 23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. 24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. 25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. 27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. 28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

Reactions and Responses

Because we covered lots of ground last week relative to Satan we will progress a bit faster through some of these verses and try and extract the general meaning out of them as we go. So, verse 14:

Luke 11:14 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. Matthew tells either a similar story or the same but adds that the man was blind too. He also adds that after casting the devil out of this man that the people wondered out loud if Jesus was actually the Son of David – meaning they wondered if he was the prophesied Messiah.

They wondered this in the face of Isaiah 35:5 who prophesied that of a descendent of David in the following way, saying:

"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped;"

Which is a direct reason Jesus came healing in the manner that He did.

15 But some of them said, (Matthew identifies them as Pharisees) “He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.”

When anyone seeks to deny something true about another, they have to come up with an alternative reason for their strength or success. Here is was necessary for the Pharisees, in the face of the people who were openly admitting that Jesus was perhaps the Son of David (who as Isaiah said would come healing) and so in the face of this miracle which was beyond the pale of what a normal human being could do, they had to admit the power was supernatural, but not from YHWH. So they naturally gave the victory to the power of Beelzebub.

The Decline of Religious Authority

In the face of the situation at hand, the authority and power of the Pharisees was in decline and when we think about it, it was about to become virtually extinct. And so they were scrambling to snuff out anything that contributed to their demise. I think this is the case today with most organized religious groups and those that have lead them with an iron hand and claims of entitlements. The end of their ways is near – they can sense it in the faces of their congregates and the community at large. And anyone who steps up with

Understanding the Miraculous Signs

A way that challenges them is labeled heretical, faithless, rebellious and worst of all, unchristian.

So acknowledging that there was superhuman power involved (which is all that they could do) they therefore ascribed it to “the Prince” of the devils, who we talked about last week –Beelzebub. In doing this they sought to accomplish two things apparently: To admit to the people that a miracle had been done but more importantly, make Jesus look like an evil doer in the worst way possible by assigning his name to the god of filth, idolatry and all abomination.

The Demand for a Sign

Luke adds something that Matthew does not, saying at verse 16:
16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. Which sounds like they wanted more than just a healing or exorcism but to produce something from the skies which apparently would have really convinced them of His being the Messiah.
17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house (meaning against it’s own self) falleth.”

First of all, the line about Jesus knowing their thoughts. In Psalm 139:1 David wrote:
1 O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

Jeremiah 17:10 reads:
“I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”

The Insight into Divinity

We remember in 1st Samuel 16:7 the following:
But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

1st Chronicles 28:9 reads
“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.”

And Romans says:
Romans 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

For Jesus to know their thoughts is a direct insight to the Deity living in Him – God with us for nobody can know the thoughts of another but God. So knowing what they were thinking and seeking to do, Jesus says:

18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. In other words, how can any kingdom or house remain intact if those of the Kingdom work opposite of each other? You can’t see a construction company as reliable if they have deconstructionists tearing down what is being put up. A house of peace cannot remain peaceful if those in it are against peace itself.

This is what Jesus is asking or pointing out to them. I have just cast out a devil from this man and you are saying that I did this by the power of Beelzebub! Does that make any sense to you? And he adds:
19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.

Jesus didn’t seem satisfied with showing them the absurdity of their argument and so He takes them to a new level and applies what they said (because it was so diabolical) and applies their thinking to themselves, saying: “Your sons” (meaning, I think, your disciples) “who were taught by you, and encouraged by you, cast out devils?”

Now, this does not make sense if taken as it reads. Jesus has just proven that a house divided cannot stand, right? That devils do not cast out devils. So what he is saying here is your disciples are pretending to cast out devils, not that they actually are. That is what the conclusion must be here. Get it.

He is not saying that the disciples of the Pharisees are actually casting out devils because IF they were, they they really were, by the power of God, because devils cannot cast out devils. So again, “IF I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.”

Divine Power in the Ministry of Jesus

By Satan cast our Satan, so therefore your disciples must have made a covenant with him also. But since that it is impossible for that to be, for the house would be divided, they are not casting anything out – but I am. And your disciples will be your judges because they will condemn you and your lousy arguments. In the end, Jesus is telling them to just admit that all He does is by and through the power of God. That is why he says:

20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

That phrase is interesting to me – but if I (meaning Him and His person) using or with, the Finger of God, cast out devils. To me it seems to admit that Jesus was a man who had the free and total use of the power (or finger) of God. In the line I see him saying that it is by the power of God, someone separate from him and his flesh, that He did all of these things – and I cannot get away from this interpretation. IOW, “If this work is not by the aid of Satan, then it is by the aid of God. Then his kingdom, or reign, is come or is about to come fully to earth.

The Stronger One

This line automatically suggests that the reign of Satan over men, and the reign of God, are in opposition. If God expels Satan from his dominion over men, then his reign, and his kingdom, has come. How else could Jesus overwhelm the being that held the title deed to the world? Only by the reign and ultimate kingdom of God entering in and rendering him incapable of holding people captive.

This is what leads Jesus to now say:

21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divides his spoils.

This was a direct illustration Jesus gives to explain what was going on right before their eyes. The prince of the power of the air, Satan, was a strong man armed and keeping his palace. But a stronger one than he (meaning Jesus, armed with the finger of God) comes he will come upon him, and overcome him and take away all of this armor therein he trusted, a divide his spoils, in this case, those held captive by Him and his powers.

Collusion with Satan Denied

In other words, no man could break into the house of another man and take his property unless he had the power and or ability to make the master of the house powerless. To prove that the man had more power than the homeowner would be the fact that he took possession of his goods – which is exactly what Jesus does here – He took possession of Satan’s goods – the one possessed, bringing him back to a state of freedom. This was clear proof that Jesus had the power to subdued Satan himself. Then Jesus adds:

23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

To me, He is going back to the idea of two forces existing in the world – to the argument that they can exist in the same house or else the house would wind up divided. What he says is really quite profound and meaningful when we think about it and it takes some huge maturity to receive in in the way I think it is given. In the first place, he is denying outright collusion with satan in casting out the devil in the man. But he presents a principle that is pretty straightforward and important, saying:

23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

Many people use these words to focus on the enemies of Christ and His Kingdom – that there are plenty of people who, certainly not with Him and His gathering are by definition, scattering. I don’t want to address them – we know who they are as they make their resistance to Him and His kingdom reign obvious. I suggest we love them despite of this choice but nevertheless they are usually very apparent. But I want to focus on the first part of Jesus's words – and want you…

Being with Jesus

23 He that is not with me (is against me): and he that gathereth not with me (scatters).

So I want to talk about what it means to be “with Jesus” and what it also means to “gather with” Jesus – with and gathering with Jesus. What does that look like in the life of a person today? It seems that it is describing people who side with His teachings and directives and commands, and those who seek to gather others into His flock to do the same.

His commands, teachings, and lifestyle all evidence love – agape love, and so gathering in His name seems to mean helping other people experience and even to understand embracing agape love. If you are not with him in this and gathering with him in this, Jesus says, you are scattering. Destroying His aim and cause. So when we look about for other Christians, those who are with Him and who do gather with Him, to me we are locking arms with sons and daughters committed to living His love and sharing His agape love with the world.

The rest are living in opposition to this and actually seeking to destroy (scatter) it. Jesus himself makes this plain in this statement. In the context of all that has happened here, Satan is the destroyer and divider, Jesus is the healer and gatherer, and so His comments were directly addressed to them/then. But I love the open accepting part of his words that often go un-emphasized are telling.

Insights on Spirits

At this point Jesus provides an insight. To me, the insight was provided to the man who had just been liberated from the demon that possessed him. And Jesus says:

24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.
26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

Questions About Demons

Now, last week I covered the topic of Satan, and Hell and all of that, at the victory of Jesus, being taken care of. There remains the question—are there demons still, unclean spirits and the like, that are testing and trying people the way Satan did? In Matthew 25:41 Jesus says that the Lake of Fire was created for Satan and his angels – so that seems to suggest that no, even the demonic angels were taken care of then.

But there is some question about those souls (who are not sons and daughters of God and therefore do not inhabit the New Jerusalem upon death) but instead die and receive resurrected bodies that exist outside the city walls, and whether they, in their resurrected bodies which are incapable of abiding in the Light, have any play or influence over this world and the people in it.

I don’t know—of course— all I can say is anything is possible. And I will add the rare anecdotal story to this to show why I even wonder about it.

When I was born my parents lived in a small house in Whittier California with my four other and older siblings. We lived there until I was five years old and I occupied a room with my sister Shannon. The room we were in faced the east and I know this because the sun would shine right in through the window in the morning filling the room with bright yellow light.

My bed and the direction I laid in it had my head lined up with the door to the room and if I was laying on my pillow looking toward the door, if it was open, I could look right down the hall to some other doors with were my siblings.

Right out of our bedroom door was a bathroom door to the left.

One morning I woke up to the blazing sunlight pouring into the room as usual. Nobody in the house was awake to my knowledge. I opened my eyes and laid there looking at the walls brightly lit up by the rays of the sun. Without any notice or sound a woman poked her head out from the bathroom and peered into my room right next to it. She came out of the bathroom and was dressed in a yellow nightgown, with small flowers.

Encountering the Unknown

On it, with ruffles on the neckline, and she appeared to sort of dangle with her long arms by her side. Her hair was curled but not brushed out, but the most distinguishing thing about her was her face – which I can still draw to this day. It was flat – broad and seemed pock-marked but very white in color. Her head also seemed large for her body which again was long with slim limbs. I watched her – unafraid, and she seemed friendly – then she slowly pulled back into the bathroom. The reason I know that this was not a dream was because immediately after she slipped back into the bathroom, my oldest sister Kathy came out of her room and walked into that same bathroom to get ready for either seminary or school.

And I got up – and started to do whatever I a kid did. I never mentioned it to anyone. I don’t really know why because I remembered it vividly. Years later as an adult, married and with kids, we were at my parents' house in Huntington Beach with some of my siblings and the stories of ghosts came up and I recited what I just said to you. My older sister got all wigged out and said to my mom, “Does he know? Does he know?” And my mom proceeded to tell us that prior to buying the house I was born to, a sheriff came home from work, attacked his wife, pulled her curlers out of her hair, then after beating her severely, shot her in the face in the bathtub of the house. My dad added, “yeah, I had to wash the blood off the walls before we moved in.” There is always the chance that I had heard that story as a young child and then concocted the imagery in my head laying there that morning, but what I do know is I saw what I saw, and it has convinced me that there is something somehow that exists after this life that is NOT just angelic and peaceful.

Understanding the Nature of Demons

In any case, Jesus gives a little dissertation on the way demons think and move in the next few verses, saying:

24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, (remember, Jesus just cast an unclean spirit out of a man) he (the unclean spirit) walketh through dry places, seeking rest;

Dry places appears to mean through deserts or regions of country that are un-watered, sandy, barren, desolate. This was the opinion of the Ancient Jews who believed that evil spirits had their homes in desolate uninhabited regions. The Bible also suggests the same, as we read in Revelation 18:2: "Babylon–is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit;" meaning that in its desolation, it became a place where evil spirits appropriately dwell.

Biblical References to Desolation

Speaking of Babylon, Isaiah 13:21 says:

21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. 22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

I don’t know about you, but I am very uncomfortable in dry desolate places – like that Alababi place out near the Great Salt Lake – freaks me out spiritually. In any case, Jesus says that the demons go out seeking rest in a place in the dry desolate places and finding none, he says, (showing personality by the way)

“and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.” In other words, I will go back and check out my former apartment, which was in the person I possessed before.

25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.

Matthew adds, Empty. In other words, the house (or the man) was left empty (or dispossessed) when the demon was cast out and so going back he finds the house revamped by the person who has been in their right mind. It’s nice, even garnished, meaning adorned, put in order, and perhaps furnished.

The State of the Possessed

The meaning being that the individual is in a healthy clean state. Now, I think this is describing a house before Jesus steps in and heals the individual of the demonic possession. It’s hard to see it as after because that would make Jesus' power and victory quite tenuous in their world, wouldn’t it.

So, he

Understanding Demonic Activity Before Jesus' Victory

This text explores the operations of demons prior to Jesus' total victory over all things. It details how demons acted and the consequences of their actions. The focus shifts to a passage where a demon, after being cast out, seeks to inhabit a person again.

26 Then goeth he (the demon – who apparently likes to share space with other demons more evil than himself), and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

Seven denotes a large but indefinite number and it was a favorite number with the Jews and so it could mean an endless number of evil spirits.

The State of Israel After Jesus' Miracles

In Matthew, Jesus adds something missing here in Luke, saying:

“Even so shall it be with this generation,”

Which appears to be the case. IOW, I think Jesus is saying here indirectly that He has come and cast demons out of people, and he explains what those demons were going to actually do – they were going to leave, wander about, visit desolate places, then return later – and finding the man empty (of Jesus in my opinion) and in an improved state, they will go get a bunch of other demons and re-inhabit the soul, leaving him far worse off than when he began.

And this was certainly the state of many in the Nation of Israel after Jesus came to them and did the miracles that He did. They were barbarically demonic in the end, doing things that deny description to each other in the end of that age.

A Woman's Blessing and Jesus' Response

We will end today with another short story Luke shares, saying:

27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.

On the one hand it could be that the woman, from her heart of hearts made this proclamation because she was so overwhelmed with the Messiah before her; that she said it from a heart directed by faith and joy. If this was the case, Jesus response seems to be almost harsh. This was obviously some sort of accepted salutation or pronouncement that others would have understood – one that Jewish women perhaps would say in honor of the mother of a good son. Verse 28:

28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

There are some variations on this verse depending on the translation considered.

(MNT) "No, rather," he answered, "blessed are those who listen to the word of God, and keep it."

(NKJV) But He said, "More than that, blessed [are] those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

(RSV) But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

(WEB) But he said, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it."

In the one sense Jesus begins by agreeing with with woman, saying “Yea,” (as in my mother is blessed, but rather . . .

In the other sense he corrects her and says, “No or not so, but blessed are they who are hearing the word of God and keep it.” (meaning His commands).

Because Jesus was able to discern thoughts, and because of the tone of this engagement, I tend to believe that He was calling out such hollow statements that were customary in that day, and making the truth clear – perhaps especially in the life of the woman speaking – with the truth being that “in the long-run, the most blessed people on earth will be those who are able to hear the Word of God,” (which is somewhat of a play on words because the term is logos, and could refer to the Old Testament OR Jesus could have been referring to Himself) “and keep it.”

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