42 Luke 11.14-32
Luke 11:14-32
v I have an uncle who suffered a stoke the day after Carrie and I were married 8 years ago
Ø We had a post-reception reception
§ Mother got the call during the reception
· Paralyzed on one side
· Never recovered the power of speech
· Cannot read or write
· He understands what is being said to him, but cannot respond at all
¨ What a prison!
v Being Mute
Ø One of the worst prisons a person can be in
§ Especially in Jesus’ day!
· This man probably did not know how to read or write
¨ Could only communicate his needs through facial expressions, body language, gestures and sounds that he alone understood
v In today’s text, we meet a man who is freed from this prison by Jesus
READ 11:14-16
v Jesus miraculously frees this man
Ø And you would think that the reaction of the people in the crowd would be overwhelmingly positive
§ What an amazing, powerful, kind, merciful, gracious act to perform
· On someone he didn’t even know
v But the reaction was mixed
Ø We are told that the crowd was amazed
§ And in that amazed crowd there were various reactions to Jesus
First Reaction we see in verse 15…
v But some of them said, “By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.”
Ø This is simple Disbelieve
§ Disbelief in who Jesus is
· They saw the miracle, but refused to acknowledge what it meant
Ø You see…
§ The reason Jesus came healing and doing sign and wonders was twofold…
· He was simply moved to mercy
¨ Mark 1:41
Ø Saw man with leprosy and was filled with compassion
§ One of the great refrains in Scripture is…
· you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love
· Secondly, to point to who he was
¨ Healings give evidence to Jesus’ claim
¨ Jesus’ answer to John the Baptist’s question
Ø Luke 7:21-23
§ OT prophesied that first advent would be accompanied by signs
· Isa 26:19, 29:18, 35:5, 61:1
· Jesus’ healings simply supported his claim of being the messiah
Ø But some in the crowd dismissed that
§ And instead of putting 2 and 2 together, they slandered Jesus
· In a very ill-thought out statement
¨ “It is by Beelzebub that he is doing these things”
v So Jesus responds to their statement
READ v. 17-19
v Jesus here is simply answering their illogic
Ø They are saying that he is casting out demons using Satanic power
§ In other words…
· Satan is willing to sacrificing one to deceive the many (the crowd)
Ø But Jesus shows the folly of this thinking by giving us the wise adage
§ “A house divided against itself will fall”
· What Jesus is saying here is nothing can survive internal war
¨ No house, no army, no business, no team, no movement, not even a spiritual Kingdom
Ø It is impossible
In 1986, a peace march began in Los Angeles only to stall out when internal quarreling came to a head. Ironically, about half of the 1,200 marchers went home. Soon the remaining people polarized over those who were real “marchers”, those who were walkers or those who rode in vehicles. Civil war broke out! They even fought over a dress code. Finally they decided to hold an election but could not agreed on who could vote. Finally when the election was held, it was declared invalid. Many ended the peace march not speaking to each other.
v No movement can survive if it is divided
Ø That is true of the kingdom of God as well
§ Perhaps that is why the Holy Spirit took such great pains to relate to us the need for love and unity
· Eph 4:3
¨ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace
· John 17:23 ~ Jesus’ High priestly prayer for all believers
¨ May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me
§ There is no worse witness to the world than Christian infighting
· When church’s split
· That is why Paul was inspired to write…
· Romans 15:5-6
¨ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
Ø Our unity glorifies God
v Jesus not only refutes their illogic…
Ø He continues and explains to them what is actually taking place through the exorcism
READ v. 20-22
v Here Jesus uses the phrase, “The Finger of God”
Ø This metaphor reminds his Jewish audience of another spiritual confrontation many thousands of years ago…
§ Between Moses and the Egyptian magicians
v When Moses was sent to free the Jewish people
Ø The Lord performed miracles to prove to Pharaoh that it was from the one true God
§ Staff to snake ~ Magicians duplicated
§ Plague of blood ~ Magicians duplicated
§ Plague of frogs ~ Magicians duplicated
§ But when Moses brought on the plague of gnats
· Magicians could not duplicate
¨ They turn to Pharaoh and say…
Ø Ex 8:19 ~ This is the finger of God
v This is what Jesus wants them to remember and apply to this situation
Ø This is not magic from Satan
§ This is the work of God!
v You see…
Ø There were people that could perform exorcisms
§ Just like the Egyptian magicians could perform magic
· That is what V. 19 tells us
¨ “By whom do your followers drive them out?”
Ø But Jesus was telling them that this was the “finger of God”
§ And with his finger, he is taking back his kingdom
· That is the other lesson the “finger” metaphot teaches us
Ø V. 21-22 figures Satan and a strong armored adversary
§ But God is infinitely stronger and overpowers him
· God is so much more powerful than Satan that he only has to use his finger! (pinky)
¨ Illustration
Ø Kung Fu movies
Ø Always scene where young apprentice gets fed up with master and fights him
Ø Master uses one hand to defeat the young apprentice
Ø Displays how much stronger he is than the apprentice
v God is using his pinky to push back the Kingdom of Satan here on earth
Ø Isn’t that comforting!
The second reaction we find in the crowd is found in v. 16
v Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven
Ø What they are saying in effect is…
§ We need more information
v People always looking for signs that point to God
Ø In 45 AD, just 12 years after Jesus, a man named Theudas claimed to be the Messiah
§ Had a great following
· Persuaded a great many to follow him to the Jordan with the promise of parting its waters
¨ Failed so followers fell away
Ø The people’s faith depended on signs
§ In this case it was good that they fell away
v But we cannot approach to Jesus with that one-dimensional faith
Ø A signs and wonders faith is a shallow, hollow one!
§ For when the signs and wonders cease, so does your faith
v So Jesus points to the one sign that proves who he is
Ø The one sign, the one wonder, the one miracle that we should alone rest in
§ The Sign of Jonah
READ v. 29-32
v Jesus is saying here…
Ø The sign that my body is going to give will be the greatest sign ever given to mankind
§ My death, burial for 3 days and resurrection is what to look for
v You see…
Ø The Queen of Sheba came to faith through the wisdom of Solomon
§ 1 Kings 10:1-13
· Jesus greater than Solomon
Ø The people of Nineveh came to faith through the preaching of Jonah
§ Jesus greater than Jonah
Ø Jesus is saying…
§ If wisdom and Jonah’s preaching touched the heart of mankind…
· Wait until the resurrection
Ø Jesus will point the whole of mankind to God through his death, burial and resurrection
§ His victory over death will be the greatest sign ever given
· And if you continue to ask for more signs…
¨ If you continue to need for information to believe
Ø Sheba and the Ninevites will stand at the judgment and say…
§ Why didn’t you believe?
v Because the resurrection is the only sign you ever need!
Ø We have to stop looking for sign and wonders and look at THE SIGN that God the Father gave us
§ Jesus Christ’s death burial for 3 days and resurrection
· All other signs pale in comparison to the sign of the resurrection
v What sign are you waiting for to believe?
Ø Is being healed of cancer a greater sign than the resurrection?
§ No…Look to the resurrection and Believe
Ø Is getting the right job a greater sign then the resurrection?
§ No… Look to the resurrection and Believe
Ø Is being cured of a disease a greater sign then the resurrection?
§ No… Look to the resurrection and Believe
Ø Is making the mute speak a greater sign then the resurrection?
§ No… Look to the resurrection and Believe
Ø Are you waiting for a sign from God to believe…
§ It has been given
· The resurrection is the greatest sign ever given
The third reaction we find in the crowd is found in v. 23
READ v. 23
v Apparently, Jesus looked into the minds of many in the crowd and saw nothing
Ø They did not react positively or negatively toward the healing
§ They were Neutral towards Christ
v These are the people today who say
Ø “Christ is good for you”
§ They do not react positively or negatively toward Christ
· They think it is “good for you”
¨ I’ve known many people like this
Ø This is the hardest person to witness to
§ They simply do not care one way or the other
v But when you really think of it…
Ø Given the massive claims of Jesus, neutrality is actually a self-deceiving dodge
§ Jesus claims to be the lone forgiver of sin
§ Jesus claims to be the only way to heaven
§ Jesus claims to have risen from the dead
§ Jesus claims to be God
· You cannot simply ignore these claims
¨ You have to deal with them
§ Kent Hughes:
· “(Jesus’) claims are so great that protestations of neutrality are in fact declarations of disbelief”
Ø And that is why Jesus says here
§ If a person is not for Christ, they are against him
· If you choose “no choice”, you are really choosing against him
¨ You are either “on the way” or “in the way”
¨ You are either blocking for the Lord or a stumbling block
v Kent Hughes continues in his commentary and says…
Ø No person’s life is neutral in it’s effects. If you are not part of the gathering process, your life is destructive, no matter how many philanthropies you claim
· There is no place for neutrality in the Kingdom of God
¨ Oswald Chambers wrote
Ø Neutrality in religion is always cowardice; God turns the cowardice of a desired neutrality into terror.
§ And that is what Jesus illustrates for us in v. 24-26
READ V. 24-28
v Jesus is showing that there is real danger in neutrality
Ø Demon left body for some reason
§ Man’s situation improves
· But he did not fill the void with anything
¨ So demons come back and make the person’s life much, much worse
v You see…
Ø A person who is neutral towards Christ tries to keep the space in their heart void, empty, uninhabited
§ But this parable teaches us that that is impossible
v You have to fill the void with something
Ø You just cannot leave your heart empty, because it will not stay empty
§ I was told by one of my mentors that Jesus is a gentleman
· Rev 3:20
¨ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
Ø Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks
§ And he waits for the right reaction toward him
READ V. 28
The Right Reaction ~ Hear and Believe
v The right reaction is to open the door of your heart to Jesus
Ø A very simple act
§ It does not require a pilgrimage
§ It does not require you to prove yourself
§ It does not require great acts of bravery
§ It does not require the right person, place or thing
· All it requires is for you to hear the truth and believe it
Overhead
Dr. Stuart Holden tells of a boy who was hearing from his father the story of Christ standing at the closed door, as depicted by Holman Hunt in his picture, The Light of the World. As the father told the boy about the love and patience of Jesus, the little lad burst out, "Father, did He get in?"
"Well, son, no, I don't think He did."
"But why, Father? Did they not hear Him knock?"
"Well, yes, boy, I think they heard Him knock, but I don't think He got in."
The boy thought a little. "Father, they could not have heard Him, could they? Perhaps they were living down in the cellar, and that's why."
v It may be that some who have heard the call of God have been living away down in the cellar, in the lowest of all life's levels of desire and have never realized the knock’s meaning and tremendous importance
Ø When all they have to do is open the door
Notes:
v Jesus is also giving us an example for us to follow…
Ø Tell people when what they say is way off base
Ø E.g
§ Big one today is…
· Synchronistic belief
¨ i.e. ~ New Age
Ø Take a little from Buddhism, a little from self-help, a little from Christianity
§ Illogical
· Illustration: Woman at Gas station
¨ Buddhist and Christian
v