Whose Side Are You On?

The Gospel of Luke  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  34:27
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(Brief) Opening Prayer
We have a comedian, magician, jack-of-all-trades entertainer in our church family—Mike Bliss. He juggles, plays with fire, rides a unicycle, makes you laugh, steals your watch or belt without you realizing it. He practices slight of hand and illusions—meaning he would explain to you that his magic is not about supernatural ability but merely his skill in diverting your attention, tricking your mind, and so on (using any tools at his disposal to impress you). The point is entertainment, and he does it exceedingly well. While he won’t tell you his secrets, what Mike would never claim is that there’s something miraculous going on. Furthermore, it’s a salient point to note that his audience members are impressed, but they don’t think there’s anything supernatural happening either. They know they’re being tricked, and they love him for it.
What happens in our text today (Luke 11) is that Jesus does something genuinely miraculous, something good for a hurting man, freeing him from demonic possession and restoring his speech. But the main focus of the passage is less on the miracle and more on the controversy arising from it. There is skepticism about the source of Jesus’ authority to accomplish such things. (Notice: not questioning whether or not it happened, but by whose power—Satan’s or God’s?) Jesus responds with skillful argumentation. Here’s my paraphrase of Jesus’ answer: ‘Let’s press the logic of your skepticism. Understand the inevitable conclusion. Finally, recognize that in your response to me, you are choosing sides in the war.’
Luke 11:14–26 ESV
Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. “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.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. 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.”
As one should expect, Jesus is incredibly smart and a skilled teacher. (even atheists and agnostics would admit this) If you simply read through this account one time, you won’t come away with a full grasp of what Jesus is saying. This takes work.
Reading to understand and apply God’s word is not a lazy man’s game. (Especially with certain texts. And what we have today is one that takes attentiveness and critical thinking—serious argumentation, evaluation, and decision-making.) I hope you didn’t check your brains at the door.
Now to what sets the stage for this controversy: Jesus performs an exorcism that clearly works, but among the people it is met with some skepticism about how he is doing such things.

Exorcism (v. 14)

Demon that caused muteness in the man
Evidence of the effectiveness of the exorcism is the man’s immediate ability to speak (and see… from Matthew’s account, 12:22-23.) As with other miracles—same result: immediate restoration)
Note that the marveling of the people is not automatically in the category of a right response

Skepticism (vv. 15-17a)

As we said, in case you missed it. There is no question as to the result of the miracle. The question raised, the skepticism is regarding the source of Jesus’ power to do these things. While Matthew includes the response of some to wonder if Jesus could be the Son of David, Luke keeps the emphasis on skepticism, noting two different forms:
1. Some apparently decided, perhaps influenced by the murmurings and accusations of the religious leaders, that Jesus was in fact colluding with the devil. - The term Beelzebub is connected to the old Canaanite god, Baal. It seems plausible that Jews had taken to derisively referencing this God as Baal-Zebub, the Philistine god Ekron, whose name meant “Lord of the flies.”
What matters more here though is that they had taken to calling Satan, the prince of demons, by this name Beelzebub. - According to this charge, the source of Jesus’ power is demonic (Satan himself, in fact). Yikes! - BTW, the parallels in Matthew and Mark single out the Pharisees (in Matt.) and the scribes (in Mark). Luke’s broadening of it to more people in the crowds must mean that they had likely caught this idea suggested by the religious leaders.
2. Others decided to keep pressing him for more signs to ‘prove’ himself (If he didn’t give in to this with the devil himself at the temptation in the wilderness, he isn’t going to cave now.) A bit less harsh in their skepticism. They want more proof. - Could he levitate everyone present? Could he make the heavenly bodies stand still (stop movement of the time)? (or maybe what they want is even more selfish...) Would he feed another crowd at their request?
Jesus rejected this signs-on-demand approach to trying to convince the undecided. He knew that no sign would overcome their unwillingness to believe. He had done sufficient things already. They were blind in their unbelief. - Though Jesus doesn’t respond to this skepticism here immediately, he deals with it in his discussion about the only additional sign they are to receive concerning him: the sign of Jonah (vv. 29-32).
-But as we transition to Jesus responding to the worst skepticism, Luke gives a note of irony about these other skeptics: Here they are wanting more signs of his power and authority, yet he can read their minds to give them answers to things they have not voiced to him directly. (v. 17a)
Jesus now turns to demonstrating the only two options they might choose in explaining his power.

Two Options (vv. 17b-20)

He skillfully argues that there are really only two overarching possibilities:
By Satan’s Power — an illogical conclusion
First Jesus leads with an illustration (probably not an uncommon one) to show that it seems pretty illogical to think that he is doing this in Satan’s power, for then Satan would be fighting himself. The underlying assumption Jesus makes that his audience would agree with him upon is that there is strong satanic presence in the world.
The picture is one of a divided house, a divided kingdom. Division leads to destruction. - We learn in the OT of Israel’s divided kingdom that led to her destruction. (which was temporary only because of God’s mercy and plan for his people) And we perceive from experience all around us, sometimes imminently close to us to home, that divided houses cannot stand for long. Self-centered disharmony destroys itself.
What Jesus so skillfully suggests without even directly asking it is, ‘Is it at all reasonable to think that Satan is sabotaging his own designs?’ And the logical next step then: It’s absurd to suggest that I am fighting Satan by the power of Satan.
Jesus adds that they must be logically consistent as well: By whom do your sons cast him out? - Practicing exorcism, whether phony or legit, was not uncommon in Judaism (see Acts 19:11-16 for evidence of this point). Jesus’ argument seems to be that if they’re going to conclude that his work is being done by the devil, then (for logical consistency) his accusers and doubters would need to use the same conclusion as measurement of others who perform exorcism.
They will be your judges. If they are performing exorcisms by the power of Satan, it is either fake or Satan is always fighting Satan, which Jesus has argued makes no sense. And if they are in fact successfully casting out demons, then Satan cannot be the source for them either. They are the judges in that sense based on logical consistency.
Having thoroughly trounced the option that he is doing this by the power of Satan, the only conclusion by sound logic, Jesus argues, is that he is acting…
By God’s Power — The miracles are evidence of the arrival of God’s kingdom in the person and work of Jesus.
In this contrasting option (if by God), which Jesus is proving is the only logical explanation, we might wonder why Jesus uses the specific words “the finger of God.”
Jesus’ listeners are probably meant to remember a similar sounding situation recorded in the Torah. Context: “Pharaoh’s magicians, attempting to imitate Moses’ miracles, are forced to admit that the true God is working through Moses but not through them.” -Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Lk 11:20.
Exodus 8:19 ESV
Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
Jesus presses the conclusion that this be from God even further: If then I do these things by the power of God, this means the kingdom of God has come upon you. The miracles are evidence of the arrival of God’s kingdom in the person and work of Jesus.
For our own purposes, how are we to understand what Jesus means? In what sense has the kingdom come? - Kingdom can refer to God’s rule and God’s realm. We understand that there is in fact nothing outside the scope of God’s realm. It is all his. What we are referring to then is Jesus inaugurating HIs rule in this earthly realm via spiritually ruling in the hearts of those who belong to him through faith. (The kingdom coming upon them is enacted by Christ death, resurrection, ascension, and empowering his people by the Spirit.)
So we could say the Kingdom is in its “invisible” phase, the first phase. Jesus is not visibly, physically present, but the kingdom he rules is still expressed in the ministry of the Spirit in the hearts of lives of his people. Christ’s kingdom rule will, however, in a second phase of God’s kingdom program, one day be consummated in this realm in visible form in the millenium and eternal state.
What’s actually happening, then, by contrast to the illogical conclusion that Satan is fighting his own purposes: What you see taking place in the power of Jesus is in fact evidence that…

A Stronger Warrior Has Come (vv. 21-22)

The brief parable Jesus gives is a picture of war. The first strong man seems a capable and formidable warrior, until someone more powerful overtakes him.
Jesus’ work indicates that Satan is no longer in control. A stronger one has come, and he is working by God’s power.
As Darrell Bock explains, dividing the spoil here should be understood as “the whole of salvation benefits: forgiveness, the Spirit, his gifts, and living eternally with the king.” (1083)
Jesus keeps pressing them here now into v. 23. Their skepticism isn’t good enough. The evidence indeed calls for a decision one way or the other. They are…

Taking Sides in the Battle (vv. 23-26)

One or the other (we are taking sides)- The Danger of Deriving Wrong Answers (about Jesus) - wrong team, wrong army… losing side
Also gather with me or scatter: in or out, either being one who helps Jesus with the harvest, or have deserted the harvest… to their own detriment. You will either be one who joins with me and gives aid in bringing others to God, or you are in fact one who is yourself on the other side as well as hindering others from coming to God.
No Neutral Ground
There are no Switzerlands in this war.
There is no neutral zone. There are no dead ball situations. We don’t line up quietly due to a temporary ceasefire in order to resume the next battle.
In our day this is in incredibly salient point: Not only is Atheism the wrong conclusion based upon the evidence (Rom. 1), but Agnosticism and ambivalence aren’t options either. - … Agnosticism (we can’t know for sure) and ambivalence (I don’t care)
Sticking with this theme of demonic possession, Jesus uses an illustration in vv. 24-26 that flows out of his statement about neutrality not being on option: To not be fully invested in following Jesus as Lord will land you in a… worse condition than before.
The picture is one where the man is given temporary relief from Satanic oppression—perhaps experiencing some kind of moral reformation in his life, whether by Jewish exorcists or maybe by his own will power and determination. The relief seems wonderful, but the problem proves to be, as Matthew Henry describes it, Satan gives order to his troops to retreat temporarily in order to draw the deluded soul into an ambush.
So the demon is restless because to him to not be in possession of a human captive, where he makes his home, resembles a barren wasteland (metaphorically described as waterless places). Because the change was not a complete conversion to Christ (but only resulted in a bit of tidying up), the spirit returns with seven others worse than himself. The result is a condition that is worse than before.
As Martyn Lloyd-Jones points out, “we must always remember that there are other powers, beside that of Christ, which can give ‘results.’ … It is possible for men and women to get relief from many of their ills and troubles apart altogether from the gospel” (Evangelistic Sermons [Banner of Truth], p. 179).
J. C. Ryle says it well: “How dangerous it is to be content with any change in religion short of thorough conversion to God.” Jesus’ words “are a solemn warning to us, never to be satisfied with religious reformation without heart conversion.”
With this illustration, Jesus has begun a series of warnings about how people should be responding to Him, which Luke continues in four additional ways in the subsequent sections. (These warnings and calls to trust in him carry through to the end of chapter 11.)
Conclusion: Responding to the Miraculous Power of Jesus
Jesus’ miracles are not for our mere diversion. Jesus didn’t come to entertain us with his impressive healing and his unique perspective on true love for mankind. No, Jesus miracles draw attention to who he is and why he came: He is Lord of all, commissioned by the Father to accomplish the saving work which no human can possibly do apart from him.
What we have seen in the text today is that “His work forces people to decide who he is and contains a visual picture of what his ministry represents: either Satan’s power or God’s power.” (Bock, 1084)
The only right conclusion is that Jesus is commissioned by God and is (himself) Lord over all.
Who has the power to overcome Satan? Who has the authority to inaugurate God’s kingdom program on earth and guarantee its future consummation, when God’s kingdom will be manifest in its totality?
Our culture today persecutes those of us who have sided with Jesus, saying that God’s authority is complete, and therefore his written word is final… even as Jesus himself taught. Morality is being rewritten, and they are telling us that we are on the “wrong side of history.”
But Jesus himself teaches that you are either all in with him, trusting in him alone to transform your soul and make you right with God, or you are in fact siding with Satan and opposing God. To reach wrong conclusions about Jesus, or even attempting some kind of neutral stance, is to in fact to be not merely on the wrong side of history but on the wrong side of eternity.
Maybe you have a decision to make today. Whose side are you on? Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.
For those who know that you are on God’s side because Jesus has made you his own, take heart. The side that seems to be winning has already been defeated in Christ. Keep fighting boldly in the strength that he provides, because he victory is already assured. Jesus came and he conquered, and he is coming again.
PRAY
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