At the heart of Luke 11 is a message about the battle for the heart.
This chapter contains 54 verses of 1,314 words with 10 paragraphs in the NASV, or 1,311 words with 6 paragraphs in the KJV, or 1,244 words with 25 paragraphs in the NIV. I didn’t get a count of these in the Greek New Testament. My word count function has a problem working with the Greek text that I have on my computer.
NIV divides this chapter into 5 sections or headings:
Jesus’ teaching on Prayer
Jesus and Beelzebub
The Sign of Jonah
The Lamp of the Body
Six Woes
Jenny, Jennifer, Rachel and I read this chapter over and over this week for our devotional time. After reading and studying this chapter all week, I’ve come to see it as a progression from peace to persecution, from prayers of Jesus to plotting against Jesus. What is in between these is a series of presentations by Jesus that build to a crescendo of warnings and woes against the scribes and Pharisees who are trying to discredit his ministry. At the end of this chapter Jesus openly accuses them. He doesn’t hold back any punches. He’s not trying to make them look bad, he’s just trying to make them look at themselves. He is also helping his disciples see who the enemy is, what he stands for, where he is headed and some of how he works.
The chapter opens with Jesus praying and then instructing his disciples on prayer after one of his disciples asked him to do so. We will talk more about that tonight. After that, beginning in verse 14, Jesus casts out a demon and gets three reactions: multitudes marvel, some accuse him of being in cahoots with the devil, others demand he show them a sign from heaven. Excuse me? Isn’t that what has just occurred? Have you ever noticed that, for those who do not want to believe, and for those whose minds have been poisoned against the gospel, there is a sort of fault finding mindset against it?
Now this is common and it happens with anything we chose not to believe in. We come up with rational reasons and arguments for our positions. This is especially seen within upper level educated circles, such as the scribes and Pharisees. Today, in the guise of expanding their students thinking, unbelieving teachers confuse and cloud the simplicity of faith in Jesus by clever questions or accusations that are sometimes open and sometimes concealed attacks on Jesus’ character. You see unbelief has to defend itself just as belief does.
It goes like this… Jesus casts out a demon and the crowds marvel, but the unbelieving ones look for excuses to remain in their unbelief. The arguments here are stated, “You know, it could be that Jesus is using the Devil’s power to perform these exorcisms. Have you ever considered that?” Or, “You know if Jesus really were from heaven he would be doing this kind of sign or that kind of sign to prove it, but you don’t ever see him do that, do you… He must not be from heaven then.” And so it goes.
There were these sorts of subtle and not so subtle attacks against Jesus. But Jesus knows their thoughts and openly addresses them. He comes up against the strong man and takes away his armor and releases his captives. In doing so, he issues a few attacks of his own.
Honest questions deserve honest answers, but these are not honest people, they are unbelieving faultfinders who neither want to follow Jesus nor let others do so. They are looking to punch holes in Jesus’ ministry and discredit him. Why? Because they don’t believe and they want to justify their unbelief. By the way, this still happens. The higher the education level the more cleverly crafted and convincing the attacks we see against faith in Jesus Christ. For all of you who send your kids to the elite private schools in this area, beware! If there are those who teach your children that do not believe in Jesus Christ and are not committed to following him, do you think they keep this unbelief and all it’s symptoms to themselves? They can’t! And they may poison your children’s minds with unbelieving arguments in the guise of expanding their thinking. Unbelief has an agenda! It is to discredit faith in Christ! You don’t think this happens? Wake up and smell the enemy! Belief and unbelief always determine our attitudes and behaviors. And we tend to influence those around us in the direction of what we strongly believe. Beliefs are like this strong man in verses 21-22. If your children’s belief in Christ is weak someone stronger comes along and overpowers them. Sometimes it is openly done, but many times and most dangerously, it is subtle and tacit like hidden cancer cells that grow unnoticed until they have spread beyond control. Would you trust your child to a witch doctor for brain surgery? Then don’t trust their minds with unbelieving instructors!
Get involved! Have your children’s teachers over for supper and get to know them. Find out what they believe about Christ. Perhaps your show of kindness and interest in them will win their hearts and you will have opportunity to share your faith in Christ. At least you will see who is shaping your children’s minds. If you are not doing it already, get involved in every aspect of your child’s learning experiences and especially get to know who is doing it.
Listen to me! Jesus said it plainly here! Look at verse 23. He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters! To whom does this apply? Everyone! Do we believe Jesus or not? Will we trust in his warnings, or will we find fault with them so that we can continue to walk in comfortable but dangerous paths that lead to destruction?
Listen to me! Alongside Language, Mathematics, Sciences, and History each of our children must be expected to learn Scripture and build a strong spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ. And this teaching must go on daily in the home. It’s not going to happen without cost. While it can be fun and enjoyable, and we should try to make it so, fun and games is not the goal. Strength in the Lord is! Expect it to be difficult and to have resistance. But never give up! And let me say plainly, that with God’s help, you can do it! Ephesians 6:10-18 is so clear. We are not fighting against flesh and blood, we are fighting spiritual forces of evil and we need the armor of God to protect us. Our kids need this armor!
Some say what we need today is to put the Bible and prayer back in school. I disagree. We need to put Christians in school. Praise God for every Christian teacher we have in our schools today. But if you put the Bible and prayer into the hands of a secularist, you will not get what God wants. The scribes and Pharisees had the Bible and prayer too! Did that fix them? What you and I and our children need is to be constantly instructed and influenced by faithful instructors who walk with Christ Jesus. If your kids need math daily, how much more do they need spiritual encouragement and instruction daily? We need the armor of God to stand up against and face the demons of this world.
Notice Luke 11 again. When some in the crowds began to speak against him, Jesus defends his ministry! He didn’t ignore the influences. He didn’t see them as harmless either. Some accuse him of working with the Devil’s power and others of not doing the right signs. His defense begins in verse 17-20 starting with three points: 1. Is Satan against Satan? If so, his kingdom is history! 2. If I do this by Satan’s power, by whom do your sons do it? 3. If I do this by God’s power, the kingdom of God has come upon you!
Jesus is great with logic. He presents the obvious. Satan is not having a civil war. If so, his kingdom is over. They know better than that. Second, as Jesus points out, they also have friends and family who cast out demons too. It appears that in those days demons were recognized and cast out by others. Jesus even says that on judgment day some will say, “Lord, Lord, did we not cast out demons in your name?” Matthew 7:22. And just earlier in Luke 9:49 we see a case of someone casting out a demon in Jesus name who is not even following with the disciples.
Jesus point is that what he is doing is in agreement with what some that they know and love are also doing. And finally, Jesus tells them, “If I cast demons out by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you!”
In other words, be careful! Your rejection of me is of greater consequence than you think! What’s the lesson in all this for us? When you find out that the cause of Christ is being challenged or criticized in the ears of your family, do like Jesus. Take action. Point out the obvious and use clear God given logic to persuade and convince and confirm the faith for them. Arm yourself and your family with the armor of God! This is a kingdom affair. Who’s kingdom are we to serve in? We can’t serve the Devil and Jesus too.
Next, Jesus describes what happens to a person that is freed from an evil spirit who does nothing to arm against evil. He gets his demon back with seven more! Vs. 24-26.
A woman cries out, “Blessed is your mother!” Jesus replies, “Blessed are those that hear God’s word and obey it!” vs. 28.
Crowds increase as Jesus now speaks about their demand for a sign. Look at verses 29-32. Look at the words, “this generation” that he uses over and over. Sign? You want a sign? What sign will you believe? No! The only sign you’ll get is that of Jonah. Jesus is predicting his death, burial and resurrection here.
He now speaks of light which seems to mean their view of things. Where are your eyes? What light is in you? If the light in you is darkness, watch out! Jesus by the way is the light of the world! His illustration points to the light of his teaching, which, if rejected leaves you in the darkness.
Finally, Jesus has supper with those that are so spiritually blind they can’t see themselves or Jesus. He turns up the brightness and flashes with clear exposure of their condition. It’s not very pretty. Jesus’ spiritual x-ray vision sees all. The sword of his tongue slashes away at the hidden agendas of their hearts. I highlighted the words “you” and “your” in verses 39-48 and found that they occur 23 times in these 9 verses. Jesus finds nothing to compliment.
Reading these makes you wince a bit. Where’s the gentle, loving Savior? Where’s the kind and compassionate Christ? Who has the right to talk like this? Then it hits…
He’s the King, and he speaks just like one with ultimate authority.
The King is speaking to his disloyal subjects. God is talking to those who should know better. He is rebuking those who are damaging the kingdom instead of supporting it.
The Pharisees love attention. They crave the front seats. Their outsides look good but inside they are dead and rotting and defiled.
The Scribes speak up… Wait a minute Jesus, you’re insulting us too.
Wow! All that did was get Jesus attention.
Jesus turns to them and calls them murderers who have taken the key of knowledge away. They won’t go into the kingdom and they prevent others from coming!
Ouch!
Their hand is forced. Will they submit to Jesus and admit his words are true? Or will they resist him and harden into their unbelief? Jesus already knows. This will lead to his crucifixion. Everyone knows he tells the truth, but what gives him the right to say it?
If Jesus were to speak to your heart today, what would he say? Would his words be soothing or painful? Jesus isn’t asking you to come to him, he’s telling you to. He’s the King, you know. Jesus doesn’t ask you to let him be Lord, He is the Lord! He doesn’t need your permission. He demands your submission. Christian faith is not an option among many, it is the only way. If you don’t believe that, you’ll resist and the light in you will be darkness. If you do believe, you’ll follow and walk in the light. What does it take to make believers out of us? The only sign is the sign of Jonah. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is it. Believe it.
