day 54

Luke 11:14–26 (NIV)

¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” ¹⁶ Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.

¹⁷ Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. ¹⁸ If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. ¹⁹ Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

²¹ “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. ²² But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils.

²³ “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.

²⁴ “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ ²⁵ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.”

Pray for God to show you something to use from the passage

Read the Passage

Who is in the passage?

What action verbs do you see?

What other words stick out in your mind

Questions

What is different in how this crowd is treating Jesus compared to others he has been around?

What does Jesus’ answer about not being from Satan say about Jesus power?

In verses 24-26 Jesus talks about it not being enough to take away evil. It must be replaced with good. Are you doing this in an area you are struggling in?

Notes

Jesus is once again driving out demons, The crowd is once again amazed but his time there is an undercurrent of objection being raised. Actually saying Jesus is doing this to fool you, to get you to listen to him when he really is from Satan. Luke does not say who is suggesting it; Matthew says it is the Pharisees Matt 9:32-34. Others are wanting a sign that Jesus is from God. Once again we see Jesus causing people to make a decision 2:34-35

Beelzebub, is just another name for Satan, viewed as the prince of demons- Assumes that Satan also has a kingdom that he tries to establish.

vs 17- Jesus refutes this belief that he is from Satan with reason.

1st- can a kingdom that fights itself (having a civil war) last? If I am driving out demons then I am hurting Satan’s cause. Note this assumes Satan is in control of demons

2nd -vs 19- if I drive out demons by Satan what does it say about people you approve of and how they drive out demons. Are they from Satan also? Go ask them by what power they drive out demons. They will tell you it is the power of God

3rd- vs 20- If how I drive out demons is by God then it tells you I am from God. More than that it tells you my words are true. Therefore God's kingdom is coming, in fact is here. The proof is in the miracles I do.

vs 21-22 Jesus continues his argument. Showing it is by God's power he does this.

strong man, fully armed, guards his house.- This strong man may refer to a roman commanders house in the city. It would be well guarded, stocked with weapons. But also could simply be a well-to-do person with power to protect his things.

Point is it takes someone stronger to overtake the man's defenses and take the house. Jesus making the point that I am stronger than Satan. No matter how great he thinks he is he will be defeated. Proof is I can overthrow demons and he cannot do anything about it.

Not only does Jesus win the battle he also shares the spoils.

vs 23 Jesus now pointed asks the crowd. Your choice- do you believe in me or not? Do you believe that I am from God or not? If you do not believe in me then you are against me (assumption based on what he has said is that you also would be against God) If you don't work with me (Just a thought, isn't great that we are included in his work) then you are trying to destroy the work of God.

The implication is to those who say Jesus is not from God but rather from Satan, they are the ones who actually are doing the work of Satan. They are scattering the flock of God Matt 9:36

vs 24-26- Jesus warns that just removing demons is not enough. You have to replace it with something good, implying you need belief in Jesus. Otherwise all you have done is opened yourself to more evil coming into your life.

Using Jesus example of the strong man's house, We are not strong enough to defeat Satan on our own and keep him out of our house (lives) . We need Jesus defending the house!

You cannot fix yourself. You have to have faith in Jesus. Without it you are doomed!

Remember how the miracles of Jesus also require faith in Him.