A Study of the Book of Luke
Sermon # 30
“Who Then Is This Jesus!”
Luke 11:14-26
Dr. John R. Hamby
Several years ago (1972) Christian author Josh McDowell authored a book entitled “Evidence That Demands A Verdict.” This book is about the historical evidences supporting the Christian faith. God does not ask us to accept the claims of Jesus without evidence. The Bible gives us overwhelming evidence that Jesus is indeed the son of God. But the truth is that many of those who have chosen not to believe have done so not because they were unable to believe but because they were unwilling to do so. Some of those individuals have not be willing to honestly consider the claims of Christ because they fear that they would be convinced and as a result would have to change their way of life.
We have just that sort of case before us this morning, the incident relayed to us in Luke 11:14-28 presses three relevant questions upon us. The first is, “Is Jesus The Son Of God As He Claims?” The second is, “How Do I Know?” And the third is, “What Must I Do In The Face Of This Evidence?”
1. Is Jesus the Son of God As He Claims? (vv. 14-15)
“And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled. (15) But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."
We are told that Jesus delivers a demon- possessed man, but we are not told much about this poor man. None of the Gospel authors, (it also appears in Mark 3:22-27, Matt. 12:22-30) tells us his name, where he came from, nor how long he has been tormented. All we know is that a certain man was demon-possessed, and that this demon caused the man to be unable to speak (the account in Matt also says that he was blind). Jesus healed this man and he immediately spoke. This miraculous cure was met with varied responses. We are first told that “the multitude (crowd) marveled,” they were amazed and began to wonder who this Jesus was. The crowd was amazed by the deliverance of the demon possessed man but the religious leaders had a different reaction. The religious leaders present could not deny that an incredible miracle had transpired; a miracle that required explanation and interpretation. Since they could not deny the power that Jesus possessed, the man had indeed been delivered, they question the source of his power. The parallel account in Mark (3:22) tells us that the accusations came from “the scribes which came down from Jerusalem…”.
The scribes level two accusations at Jesus. First, they say that he is “possessed by Beelzebub” - the identity of Beelzebub is found in the Old Testament (II Kings 1) the name meant “Lord of Flies or Lord of Filth” and came to be another name for Satan. I agree with Kent Hughes when he says in his discussion of this passage that “It is a fitting name for Satan, but a monst-rous slander when used for Christ. . . It was a calculated blasphemy of immense perversity.” [R Kent Hughes. Luke :That You May Know the Truth. Vol I. (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1998) p. 426]
Secondly, in verse fifteen they take that reasoning one step further saying not only that he is possessed, but He is empowered by Satan. “But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." By saying this they were ascribing the gracious works of God to Satan. Matthew and Mark record that Jesus called this blasphemy against the Holy Spirit “the unforgivable sin.” (Matthew 12:31-31) "There-fore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. (32) "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”
A third response was the demand for more evidence. Some others, whether this is some of the crowd or some of the religious leaders we do not know which, do not want to make a decision about Jesus, they prefer to sit on the fence and ask for a further proof. Verse sixteen says, “Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven”
Perhaps like some today they thought of themselves as being open minded, willing to be convinced if enough evidence is presented. But they felt they needed more proof and they therefore requested some sort of cosmic sign from heaven. Don’t miss the irony here. Some of them have said that he performed miracles by the power of Satan, but they follow that accusation with the demand, “Show us more miracles.”
2. How Do I Know He is Who He Says He Is? (vv. 17-22)
Jesus answered the charges against himself with three arguments. First he tells them that their accusation is illogical by saying “It is illogical to say that Satan is casting out Demons.” It was as if Jesus had said, “Who willing and knowingly shots himself in the foot?” It is absurd to attribute the casing out of an evil spirit to the chief of all demons, Satan. What would he have to gain by such a move.
In verse seventeen and eighteen we are told, “But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. (18) If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.”
He tells them that a kingdom divided against itself can not stand. If Satan’s goal is to destroy and he is reversing that destruction by healing, then how can he be in the service of Satan. Everyone understands the principle that civil war destroys a kingdom.
Jesus goes on to say in verse nineteen, “If I by Satan cast out demons as you claim by whom do your sons cast them out?” Jewish contemporaries of Jesus also performed exorcisms and most people believed they did so by the power of God. Were these men also empowered by Satan? Was everyone who cast out demons in league with Satan? No of course not. Then if the miracle is not performed by dark powers, it must have its source in the power of God.
If Jesus wasn’t of Satan then only on alternative remained: He must be of God! In verse twenty Jesus says, “But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
Logic would demand that the religious leaders acknowledge that Jesus was God or that His power was God’s power and yet in the face of all the evidence they refused. Moreover, he says in verses twenty-one and twenty-two, in order to be able to deliver men and women from demon possession Jesus had to be greater than Satan. “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. (22) But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.”
3. “What Must I Do In The Face Of This Evidence?” vv. 23-26)
This evidence does demand a choice because in verse twenty-three Jesus tells us that not only those who were negative to Jesus were his enemies so were those who thought they were neutral. “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”
The actions of both the religious leaders and some of the people was that could straddle a fence, inhabit a non-existent spiritual neutral ground, and not make a decision about Jesus. It is based on the thought that there is some safe middle ground. But there isn’t. The truth is that it is impossible to be neutral in this spiritual war. There are two spiritual forces at work in the world, and we must choose between them.
Paul says in Ephesians 6:12, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
There is only two sides, God’s side and Satan’s side. There is no other side. Neutrality then means that we are standing against him. We are either for him or against him. We either gather in or scatter abroad, we do good or we do harm to His cause.
Standing still is not possible, for standing still is doing nothing for God. Standing still, attempting to be neutral, is actually working for evil by allowing evil to continue and to grow without opposition.
Some people today want to say that Jesus was a good man, perhaps even the greatest of men, but that he was deceived as to who and what he was. C.S. Lewis said it well, “I’m trying to prevent anyone from saying the really silly thing that people often say about Him (Jesus); ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That’s the one thing we mustn’t say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things that Jesus said wouldn’t be a great moral teacher. He’d either be a lunatic - on the level of with the man who says he’s a poached egg - or else he’d be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for being a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God. But don’t let us come with any patronizing nonsense about Him being a great human teacher. He hasn’t left that open to us. He didn’t intend to!” [C.S. Lewis. The Case For Christianity. (New York: Touchstone Books, 1996). P. 45]
Jesus illustrates the danger of neutrality in verse twenty-four by telling the story of the man and the demon. "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, "I will return to my house from which I came.’ (25) And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. (26) Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first."
It is not enough to merely clean up our behavior. Self-reformation without regeneration is not only worthless it is dangerous. If man or woman is empty and without God, then a vacuum exist in their soul and that vacuum will be filled by something.
During the infamous O.J. Simpson trial, Johnny Cockrane, one of the lawyers for the defense brought the jury to a crisis moment of decision when he said: “If the glove does not fit, you must acquit.” Jesus likewise brings us to a crisis moment of decision when he says in verse 20, “if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” And later in verse 23, “he who is not with me is against me.”
Conclusion
The evidence has been presented. Jesus has healed the sick, raised the dead, caused the blind to see and the deaf to hear. Don’t misunderstand me though. Jesus is not on trial. But eternity is at stake. Perhaps the most important question that Jesus ever asked was the question that he once asked Peter it was, “Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29)
The entire Christian faith all of its claims and all of its promises hangs on the witnessed, historical verifiable event, the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Jesus says of himself John 3:18, "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he
who does not believe is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God.”
We do not have the option of believing that Jesus was a good man, a wise spiritual teacher, one of the great prophets of the ages. Simply because Jesus claimed to be more than that, he claimed to be the son of God. This forces us into a choice; either he was who he said he was or he was a liar. If He was a liar he was one of the most despicable men who ever lived, because he called people to place their faith in what he knew was a lie. If he is not who he said he is he is not a good man but a evil man, not a wise teacher or a great prophet but cheap huckster.
The evidence has been presented to you, but Jesus is not on trial, your heart is. There is no middle ground, you cannot be neutral about Jesus, “Who do you say that he is?”
