Good MORNING. Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to see Jesus in person? We sometimes imagine that if we could travel back in time, everyone around him would be filled with awe, listening carefully to every word and celebrating every miracle. But the Gospels show us something very different. Even when people saw undeniable miracles with their own eyes, many still rejected him, especially along the final road to Jerusalem.
We have a lesson today where Jesus casts out a demon from a mute man, and he not only begins to talk, but he praises God with his newfound voice. And some people in the crowd marveled and glorified God as well. But not everyone. Even seeing the miracle up close, many people weren’t rejoicing.
We do have the obvious group, which I will talk about first, who were very jealous of the attention Jesus was getting, and constantly lying about Him. This time they tried to claim that Jesus power came from the devil. That’s what that funny name, Beelzebul means. Since they denied that Jesus was from God, but he obviously had great spiritual powers, they had to come up with something.
But not everyone who rejected Jesus did it openly. They enjoyed the spectacle. They liked the miracles. But they would not commit. They kept asking for more. They’re the perfect epitome of many who want the comfort of Spirituality, but don’t want to bend the knee to God. They don’t believe that they are hostile to Jesus, despite their sin. The bottom line for many of them is that deep down, even thought they might not admit it, they feel they’re good enough, and Jesus or spirituality helps, but they are a good person, they try anyway.
Let’s walk back through the lesson, seeing how Jesus responds to those who openly oppose him, and then shares a wonderful parable for those who stand in the middle, about how impossible it is for us to save ourselves.
First, when it comes to those who openly oppose him, he tries to show them how Irrational the claim they are making is when they say that he is casting out demons by the power of the devil.
But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them, If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?
Abe Lincoln paraphrased that around the Civil War, and also made it rather famous. Jesus was saying that it was utterly irrational to think that the devil would undo the very work that the devil had taken such pleasure in.
Satan, for many years, had bound the man’s tongue so that he could not praise God. Why would Satan then loose the man’s tongue so that he was now worshiping his creator, rather than muzzled? That did not make sense at all.
Jesus also reminds them that he wasn’t the only one casting out demons.
And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges.
Here’s a little-known fact. Exorcisms were somewhat common in Judaism at the time of Jesus. One neat thing to know was that Psalm 91 was commonly read for protection against the devil’s power. Psalm 91 is also misquoted 3 times by the devil when he attempts to tempt Jesus in the wilderness.
It was certainly believed by all that God was at work when demons were cast out of people. So, if Jesus was casting demons out of people by the power of devil, then they should be saying the same thing about their own exorcists.
Jesus next proves that casting out demons means that the devil is being overpowered. Jesus gives an illustration to explain what he was doing in 21-22,
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.
Jesus portrays the devil as the strong man, the wealthy man sitting in his palace, believing all his treasures are safe. That’s us. The one stronger is Jesus, who overpowers him. Ultimately, this victory over Satan reaches its climax at the cross. It may not have looked like victory when Jesus was arrested and crucified, but in that moment, the Stronger Man was binding the enemy, defeating sin, death and the power of the devil for us.
Jesus presses them to recognize where His power is from. If it’s from God, then accept what He teaches, because there’s no neutrality with Jesus. We are either for Jesus, or we are against him. And if we’re for him, we need to recognize Him for who He is. Which brings us to that second group. Quick illustration-
Now, I’m not the lifeguard expert here, so I stand to be corrected, but one of the most dangerous thing lifeguards can try to do is to save a swimmer who is panicking and thrashing about in the water. Their fear, and attempt to “try to save themselves” can easily end up drowning both. Often, instead of trying to grab a thrashing swimmer to rescue them, lifeguards will make sure they know they are there, but wait until the swimmer stops fighting and accepts help.
For us, it is only when we realize we are sinners, and need Jesus to completely cleanse and change us, and are willing to let him, can we become clean. Jesus closes our lesson with a Warning to those who wish to save themselves.
“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.”
Jesus describes a self-made person who experiences the departure of a demon but never submits to God. He knows he has issues, addictions, other troubles, but he tries to fix it himself as the master of his destiny. He had a temporary relief but eventually, but after a while, the demon returns, and things became worse than before.
This is one of the clearest illustrations of the difference between a Christian and a self-made person you can find. As a Christian, it is Christ who we invite into our heart as the Head of our House. The house must not only be swept, but a new Landlord must be introduced. The Devil must not only be cast out; the Holy Spirit must take his place, and Christ must dwell in our hearts by faith.
We are either servants of Jesus or we stand against him. There is no neutral ground. The good news of the Gospel is that the stronger one has come. Christ has broken the power of the enemy, and he invites us not to save ourselves, but to trust him as the Lord of the house.
