I wonder if you've ever had one of those situations where you think, who does this person think he is?
How dare they say that? How can he possibly get away with it?
Well, as we come to our section in Luke's Gospel this morning, we might be tempted to think the same of Jesus.
We might even think it's a bit confusing all that's going on.
I know that I did when I first opened it.
Well, as I prepared for this this morning, it was really helpful listening back to what Graham said last week.
And he helpfully reminded us that in this part of Luke's Gospel, we're in Jesus' school of discipleship.
We are following Jesus to the cross. That's our Gospel foundation for all that he says.
And the big question is, what does it mean to follow this King?
We saw in the story of the Good Samaritan that there's an external part to following Jesus.
Last week with Mary, Martha and prayer is an internal part to following Jesus.
And our passage this evening ties together why Jesus is able to make these claims, make these demands on our lives.
So if you have a Bible, please come with me to Luke chapter 11.
If you've got one of the red pew Bibles, I believe it's page 1043.
Let me read for us verses 14 to 28 of Luke chapter 11.
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute.
When the demon left, the man who had been mute, and the crowd were amazed.
But some of them said, by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.
Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined.
And a house divided against itself will fall.
If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?
I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul.
Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out?
So then they will be your judges.
But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his own house, his possessions are safe.
When someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
When an impious spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and finds none.
Then it says, I will return to the house I left.
When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.
Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there.
And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.
As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out,
Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.
He replied, blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.
I am a woeful writer.
Everything I write, my wife Amy proofreads for me.
Just last week, I was writing a new CV, an updated CV.
And in the skills section, my wife Amy wrote,
Craig has a specific skill to add on unnecessary words in sentences just to see if I would spot it.
And that struck me as it came here that Luke could not be any different.
There is no wasted ink, no wasted words here.
Have a look at this amazing description Luke gives of this amazing miracle in verse 14.
Luke couldn't be more succinct here on his description.
But look at verses 15 to 16.
Nothing is said of the reaction of this man.
Instead, it's all the reaction of those who witnessed it.
People are amazed, they marvel, but they don't like what they see.
Some reject Jesus as being from Beelzebul, that is Satan.
Others want more, just one more sign, one more sign from heaven.
These people are skeptical of what they've seen.
They don't doubt that miracles happened,
but rather they are doubting how it was able to happen.
Perhaps you're here this evening, this morning, sorry, or listening online,
and you are skeptical also of Jesus.
Let's see how Jesus answers these skeptics,
and perhaps it may answer our questions also.
We don't know what the sign is that people are looking for,
yet Jesus has enough confidence of what we see in verse 14
that it is enough to know who he is.
As I mentioned, Luke doesn't go into much detail about what Jesus does,
but there's two things we can know from it.
First off, that Jesus has power of the physical realm.
He has a physical man here with a physical issue
and produces a physical solution.
And secondly, in this verse,
we see that Jesus has the power of the spiritual realm.
The reason why this man is mute
is because he was possessed by a demon,
and Jesus casts out the demon,
and the demon comes out.
Jesus has power over the physical realm
and his power over the spiritual realm.
Jesus has power over the heavens,
and Jesus has power over the earth.
He is this God of Genesis 1-1.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Jesus is the cosmic king,
and the cosmic king has come.
But more than that,
in verses 17-23,
we see the cosmic king has conquered.
Some were seeking a sign in verse 16,
and I think verse 17 is wonderful.
Jesus is knowing their thoughts.
They want a sign, he's done a sign,
he knows their thoughts,
they get another sign for free.
It's two for one,
but it isn't enough for them.
Look down at verse 17,
how Jesus responds to this.
Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined,
and a house divided against itself will fall.
It clearly shows Jesus' point, doesn't it?
It simply makes no sense for Satan's kingdom
to be casting out another.
It's divided.
It will not stand.
It's a formula for failure.
By logic alone, it is ruled out.
Jesus did not cast out this demon
by the power of Satan.
And you can imagine the crowd there going,
okay Jesus, we get you.
But if it wasn't that then,
how did this happen?
Well, three things Jesus goes on to say
to expand his point.
Look at verses 18, 19, 20.
See the if, if, if there
at the start of the verses.
Let's see how Jesus draws out his argument.
Verse 18.
If Satan is divided against himself,
how can his kingdom stand?
I say this because you claim
that I drive out demons by Beelzebul.
How can the devil have a kingdom
working against itself?
It won't stand.
You can't say that it's a strong
satanic force in the world
and then say it's fighting against itself.
That can't work.
It doesn't make sense.
So Jesus moves on in verse 19.
Now, if I drive out demons by Beelzebul,
so whom do your followers drive them out?
So then they will be your judges.
Who are these followers
Jesus is talking about?
Or in ESV you might have,
who are these sons
that Jesus is talking about?
If you turn back to chapter 10,
verse 17,
I think we have our answer,
which says,
the 72,
that is the 72
that was sent out by Jesus,
returned with joy and said,
Lord, even the demons
submit to us in your name.
Jesus is saying,
these disciples,
these fellow heirs with Israel,
if I cast up demons
by the power of Satan,
then so do they.
And therefore the opposite,
if they do it by another power,
then so do I.
To reject them also means
they will be your judges.
Do you see what Jesus is doing
to their arguments?
They make a claim
and Jesus draws out the conclusions.
If you say this,
if this,
but if that,
leaving us with a final if
in verse 20,
but if I drive out demons
by the finger of God,
then the kingdom of God
has come upon you.
Jesus takes their argument
and says,
no, it can't be that
because that means this.
It can't be that
because that means this.
Therefore,
it's got to mean this.
And look at his explanation
in 21 to 22
of what's going on.
When a strong man
fully armed
guards his own house,
his possessions are safe.
When someone stronger attacks
and overpowers him,
he takes away the armor
in which the man trusted
and divides up his plunder.
Jesus didn't cast out
the demon of verse 14
by Satan,
but by strength.
Jesus pictures here
a cosmic war
between the power
of the kingdom of the devil
and the power
of the kingdom of God.
And it's a cosmic war,
but it is no struggle.
For in these verses here,
in this example Jesus gives,
he shows us that
in Jesus the king,
the kingdom of God
has come in presence
and in power
to plunder.
I mean,
this scene in verse 21
is formidable,
isn't it?
We've got this strong man.
He's fully armed.
He's in his own palace.
He's on his home turf.
He knows where
every nook and cranny is.
Then in comes
the stronger man
on the offense.
And he attacks him
and he overcomes him.
He takes away his armor
in which he trusted
and he divides his spoil.
Satan has a strong grip
in verse 21,
but in comes
the stronger man,
the one for whom
the gates of hell
could not prevail.
And Jesus barges in
and he overcomes
for he is the cosmic king,
the one with the ultimate power,
the one with power
over the physical realm
and the spiritual realm.
And with this victory
come the spoils of war,
distributed to those
who fight with him.
And what are these spoils
Jesus has won for us?
Well, I think it's everything
that is wrapped up
in salvation,
forgiveness of sins,
the coming of the spirit,
his gifts,
union with Christ,
eternity with the king.
Jesus' work means
that Satan
is no longer in control
and that's the point
of these miracles.
They are audiovisual testimony
that Satan
has ultimately lost.
That Christ
is the one who reigns,
that he is the one of power,
that he is the king.
The presence
of the kingdom of God
is seen not
in good advice,
but seen in power
that overcomes evil.
Now how is this
power that overcomes
evil seen today?
What we see
in verses 21 to 22
is something
that is literally true
of those
who are demon
or are demon-possessed.
But it's also
an image
of every person
that has ever lived
who has ever come
to know
the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Paul's letter
to the Ephesians
at the beginning
of chapter 2,
he speaks about
how everyone
who is not with Jesus
is under the rule
of Satan,
the prince of power
of the air
to use Paul's language
in Ephesians.
So if verse 21
is true of everyone,
how does Jesus
break in
and defeat Satan?
I think it's Paul's letter
to the Colossians
really helps us here.
From 1.13
he says,
For he that is Jesus
has rescued us
from the dominion
of darkness
and brought us
into the kingdom
of the Son
he loves.
And chapter 2
verses 13 to 15
he goes on to say,
When you were dead
in your sins
and in the uncircumcision
of your flesh
God made you alive
with Christ
he forgave us
all our sins
having cancelled
the charge
of our legal indebtedness
which stood against us
and condemned us
he has taken it away
nailing it
to the cross
and having disarmed
the powers
and authorities
he made a public
spectacle of them
triumphing over them
by the cross.
What Paul speaks of
in Colossians 2
is exactly what
Jesus is doing
in this journey
on the way to Jerusalem.
He is travelling
to the cross
to do these things
for it's at the cross
where Jesus stood
toe to toe with Satan
and won his great victory.
It's at the cross
where we see the power
of the gospel.
It's at the cross
where we hear
of this crucified Christ
and the power
of the Holy Spirit
comes to those
who believe in him.
This is how we know
the power of Jesus today.
This is how we see
the power of Jesus today.
This is why Paul
could say
at the beginning of Romans
in 1.16
for I am not ashamed
of the gospel
because it is the power
of God
that brings salvation
to all who believe
first the Jew
and then to the Gentile.
The gospel
is the power of God
for salvation.
The power of God
where Jesus
takes the house
by force
where he keeps it
and he rules it
and he reigns over
what was rightly his.
So that means
when we tell people
about Jesus
as we do evangelism
we are infiltrating
enemy lines
in one sense.
As the Holy Spirit
uses the gospel message
we share
to break down
the rule and reign
of Satan
in that person's life
and set in throne
to Christ there
as a rightful king
over what
is rightfully his.
that means
that small conversation
you have with a friend
about Jesus
was anything
but insignificant.
That stumbling
sharing of the gospel
with a colleague
with a neighbour
was anything
but weak.
That means
that church's plan
for some people
to commit
middle class
social suicide
and move to a housing scheme
is anything
but foolish.
For the gospel
is the power
of God
for salvation
and the gates
of hell
will not prevail
over it
for Jesus
has attacked
he has overcome
and he has conquered
Satan.
Now don't want to leave
here thinking
that Satan
is a complete weakling
because that's not true
just read the start
of Job.
Just remember
verses 21 here
he is the strong man
but the Lord Jesus Christ
is the one
who is even
stronger
he is the cosmic king
and that's why
Jesus draws
this line in the sand
the bottom line
of this cosmic result
one on the cross
where Jesus is heading
in our passage
look at verse 23
whoever is not with me
is against me
and whoever does not
gather with me
scatters
in a cosmic war
there are no spectators
as one commentator
says in a cosmic war
there is no Switzerland
you are either
for
or against
Jesus has shown us
who he is
and he says
who do you say
I am
in response
he leaves us
no wiggle room
no grey area
and the point is clear
do you stand
with Jesus
and help gather
in those
who also stand
with him
praying for his work
making the most
of the opportunities
we have
or do you go out
and scatter
and influence others
not to come to him
or to put more starkly
are you with Jesus
in the kingdom of light
or of the devil
in the kingdom
of darkness
there is no in between
and Jesus calls us
to make a decision
the cosmic king
has come
the cosmic king
has conquered
and the cosmic king
calls
for a response
Jesus draws this line
at the end of verse 23
and then in verse 24
and 26
it's as if he peels
back the scene
giving us
some sort of insight
into the spiritual realm
going on behind
possibly explaining
what's happened
since verse 14
remember
we don't know
this man
at the beginning
has repented
and believed in the Lord
all we know
is that he had a demon
removed by him
by the Lord Jesus Christ
and in verse 24
we see that the spirit
goes wandering
seeking rest
and it finds none
so it returns home
that is
the body
from which
it was removed
as the spirit returns
it finds a man
in good order
morally upright
life has been tidied up
but still open
to demons
there's nothing
protecting it
no stronger force
nothing has replaced it
no protection
from God
to the Holy Spirit
dwelling in that man
this is a picture
of a man
who had a demon
removed by God
sorted his life out
began to live
an upright life
but ultimately
was not
saved
he had not acted
on God's goodness
towards him
he had not received
the Holy Spirit
the spoils
that came from
Jesus
defeating the strong man
and so he's left
himself open
to more demons
and it's a tragic
picture
truly tragic picture
and it's the most
direct way
of talking about
the activity
of demon possession
but what can we learn
from this
we don't learn
that everyone
who's a Christian
has the Holy Spirit
dwelling within
and everyone
who isn't a Christian
has a demon
dwelling within them
that's not true
and that's neither
the point
of this text
but I think
we see a picture
of someone
who's trying
to clean up
their life
trying to do better
trying to live
a moral life
and perhaps
may even have
succeeded
perhaps this person
to many of us
may look like
a Christian
but they aren't
they may not
be demon possessed
but they aren't
a spiritual vacuum
either
Christ is not
dwelling in their
hearts
Satan still reigns
over them
they are not
on the side
of Jesus
so that's how
verses 27 to 28
fit in with this
as Jesus was
saying these things
a woman in the crowd
called out
blessed is a mother
who gave you birth
and nursed you
and he replied
blessed rather
are those
who hear the word
of God
and obey it
this woman
struck by what
she's seen
struck by what
she's heard
just blurts out
this praise to Jesus
the point of a blessing
is not to eulogise Mary
but instead Jesus
and Jesus agrees
with the blessing
he says yes
that's true
but
and he raises
the bar up
to a greater blessing
he raises the bar
up to a more
specific
particular blessing
he says yes
but
blessed rather
are those
who hear the word
of God
and keep it
this is what
it looks like
to be
on the side
of Jesus
to hear his word
and keep it
let's take a step back
let's see
how this fits in
with what we've seen
in Jesus'
school of discipleship
so far
remember we are
following Jesus
on his way
to Jerusalem
Jesus is off
to bear the wrath
of God
for our sin
off to transfer
all those
who will believe
in him
from the domain
of darkness
into his kingdom
of light
he is off
to defeat
the strong man
and take his spoils
this is our gospel
indicative
our gospel foundation
for all that Jesus
says in this passage
in Luke's gospel
and as he travels
there to the cross
to Jerusalem
he is teaching
what it looks like
for us to follow him
that is to hear
his word
and keep it
and that's our
gospel imperative
our gospel
actions built
upon that
gospel foundation
think back
to chapter 10
where we see
that teaching
about the Samaritan
and the Mary
and Martha
and prayer
three examples
of following Jesus
on his way
to Jerusalem
in story
of the Samaritan
obeying God's word
looked like
care for others
external
with Mary
and Martha
looked like
obeying God's words
looked like
attention
to Jesus
internal
and on prayer
dependence
to God
obeying God's word
praying to him
as father
again
internal
as we heard
last week
and in our passage
I think Jesus
ties all this together
obeying God's word
looks like
believing who
Jesus is
that he is
the king of all
the one who
created the heavens
and the earth
so
obey him
to hear God's word
and to not obey it
is in the language
of verses 21
and 22
like
having Jesus
the stronger man
dwelling within us
but at the same time
hearing the whispers
of Satan's strong man
at the back door
trying to sneak him in
up the stairs
into the spare room
I think
why would we do that?
Why would we try
to welcome Satan
back in?
the strong man
Satan
and the demons
they're homicidal
they're out to destroy you
trying to stop you
from hearing God's word
trying to stop you
from obeying God's words
and they will not
stop coming back
so to try to
welcome them in
to let them in
to some small area
of our life
to go against
the word of the
cosmic king
is a guess
spiritually suicidal
and for each of us
trying to sneak Satan
in the back door
will look different
perhaps things
come to mind
right now for you
as you're aware
of the temptation
you face
to go against
the word of Jesus
and instead go after
the words of Satan
I wonder what has
your authority
in your life
in the way you spend
your time
in the way you use
the internet
in your giving
in your spending
in your relationships
who is the ultimate
authority
yet in the face
of this great
challenge
we find great
comfort
for not one
Christian
will face that
daily battle
alone
for dwelling
within the believers
is the cosmic
king himself
one of the most
wonderful passages
I think
in John 14
23
Jesus says
anyone who loves
me
will obey
my teaching
and my father
will love them
and we will come
to them
and make
our home
in them
the same Jesus
who conquered
the devil
on the cross
now dwells
in all those
who love him
who keep his
words
which means
that when we hear
those whispers
at the back door
we are able to say
no to the strong man
because we have one
dwelling within us
who is far greater
than he
we have one
dwelling within us
who has transferred us
from the domain
of darkness
into the kingdom
of light
we have the one
dwelling within us
who is the cosmic
king
who has come
who has conquered
and now today
calls for a response
let me pray
our great God
and Father
rejoice that we
can come to you
in prayer
not based on our
sincerity
but based upon
our status
in your son
because of what
he did
on the cross
Lord Jesus
we thank you
and we praise you
for the cross
for the life
that we now
have in you
and yet
at the same time
we are
conscious of our sin
of our shortcomings
forgive us
of our sin
we ask
show us
in our lives
where we are not
following you
and so in light
of all that you
have done
on the cross
bring us
into your kingdom
to a seat
at your table
to sit at your
right hand
help us therefore
to live in light
of who we are
in you
and as we think
over what we've
looked at this morning
as we go to
wherever
you have called
us
in this world
as we go
to seek
to tell others
about you
the great
cosmic king
may you help us
to speak
your gospel
in confidence
knowing that
it is the gospel
that saves
not us
help us
not be ashamed
of this glorious
gospel
for it is the
power of God
for salvation
to all who believe
so Jesus
help us
to live
as you call
us to
to be a people
who are known
by people
who love you
because they hear
your words
and they obey it
we ask all these
things for your glory
Lord Jesus
and for our joy
in you
Amen
you