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Luke 11:14–23
“If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (v. 20).
With the record of some of Jesus’ teaching on prayer concluded (see Luke 11:1–13), Luke in today’s passage turns his attention to an encounter that our Lord had regarding His exorcising of demons. The exchange was sparked by Christ’s healing a mute man by casting a demon out of him. Many people marveled when they saw Jesus do this (Luke 11:14).
Not every observer, however, felt a sense of awe and wonder. As we see in Luke 11:15, some onlookers accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of “Beelzebul, the prince of demons.” Beelzebul was an intentional distortion of a name of a Canaanite god that the Jews used to mock pagan religion. It means “lord of the flies” (the god’s actual title meant something like “lord of the heavens”), and over time the Jews applied it to the devil as well. Thus, some people who witnessed Jesus’ ministry accused Him of being in league with Satan, of casting out demons to trick people into following the devil.
Jesus knew their thoughts (Luke 11:17)—a remarkable indication of His possession of divine omniscience—and answered their charges. First, He made a rather commonsense observation. A kingdom divided against itself will not endure, so it makes no sense that He would be empowered by Satan, since He was actively undermining Satan’s kingdom (Luke 11:17–18). Second, He forced them to consider how in accusing Him of working for the devil they were also accusing their own side of joining with the enemy. Although Jesus’ ministry was particularly characterized by exorcism, and it was clear that He possessed unparalleled authority over demons (Luke 4:36), other Jews performed exorcisms as well. If, indeed, Jesus cast out demons by the power of demons, that meant that the other Jews whom our Lord’s critics approved of also exorcised evil spirits by the power of Satan (Luke 11:19). In accusing Jesus of sin, they were accusing themselves.
No, Jesus cast out demons by the power and authority of God. His mighty exorcisms signified that the blessed kingdom of the Creator was being inaugurated through His ministry (Luke 11:20). Christ came not to help the devil but to war against him, to overcome the strong man and divide his spoil—that is, to thoroughly conquer Satan (Luke 11:21–22). Ultimately, anyone who does not recognize this by approving of Jesus’ work and following Him as a disciple stands against Him and the Lord God Almighty (Luke 11:23).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
The New Testament closely associates the coming of the blessed kingdom of God with evidences of the defeat of Satan, such as Jesus’ exorcisms. His power over the devil shows that Satan has been defeated, and though he retains power, he cannot finally keep the gospel from doing its work. We need not fear Satan, for he has been defeated.
for further study
- Psalm 145
- Matthew 10:24–25
- Matthew 12:22–32
- 1 Corinthians 4:20
the bible in a year
- 2 Chronicles 23–25
- John 16:16–33