Bless are those who hear the WORD (Luke 11c)

Blessed are those who hear the WORD

Luke 11:14-28

Key verse 28

As Jesus was heading toward Jerusalem, he met various oppositions. Many of them challenged his claim to be the Son of God and the peoples’ unwillingness to accept him as their Lord. Even though their oppositions were rooted in unbelief, those doubts were expressed in many different ways, resulting in confusion among the people.

In today’s passage, Jesus handled all of their various forms of unbelief. As he handled them, Jesus was not angry or upset with them, but  rather reasoned with them,  explored the depths of their thoughts and problems, and offered cures for their lack of faith .

How is this relevant to this passage?

Today’s story begins with Jesus’ miraculous work in driving a demon out of a man.

Luke 11:14 – “Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed.”

There was  man who was mute because of demon-possession. Because of his bizarre behavior and muteness, everyone in the town knew him well. Once I saw a crazy man who was possessed by an evil spirit. He was so violent that everyone ran away from him and no one was able to control him. I was also  scared of meeting him. The mute man might have been like the man that I saw. By his command, Jesus drove the demon out of  the man and he was healed and began to talk normally. It was so dramatic and the change was so evident that many were  amazed by Jesus’ power that  could even drive out demonic forces.

How could Jesus do such a powerful work, the kind of work  no man could do? Where did he get such power?

Luke 11:15-16 -  “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.”

Actually, the majority of the crowd saw this event and was amazed at Jesus’ power because they believed that  the nature of the miracle, driving out a demon, his power was of God and from God.

But some people considered  what Jesus did to be the prince of demons exercising his authority over his subjects. There was also another group of people who were not convinced that Jesus exercised God’s power. So they asked for a sign from heaven.

Despite these differences of opinions, one thing that they all surely acknowledged was that Jesus drove a demon out of this man. So there was no doubt whether or not Jesus  displayed such power in this man’s life. On the spot, his work was  evident, but the question was where or how Jesus got such power.

How come, seeing the same event, some were so sure of God’s power and others did not see this at all and instead attributed such power to the devil? Why were some of them  not  sure about whether what Jesus did was  from God or not?

The differences in their views came about because of what the differences they had in their minds. The eyes that looked at the event were different from each other. What did  each of these groups of people have in their minds as they tried to understand this event?

Before we proceed, I would like to characterize each of these groups. I would call the first group, strongly motivated and overconfident politicians, and the second group, skeptics. How did Jesus handle such opposition? He reasoned with them carefully and truthfully.

Proposing the idea that Jesus drove out demons as the prince of demon, i.e. Beelzebub, was preposterous and outrageous. This was also a form of defamation against Jesus. Such evil thoughts do not warrant  any response and are worthy of outright condemnation. But Jesus did not do that. First, he did not rebuke their unbelieving heart or distorted view of things; instead, he reasoned with them using godly truth. In today’s passage, we will explore Jesus’ words for the first group  in Luke 11:17-28. Next week, we will look at his response in v29-32 to the second group that was seeking a sign from heaven.  Overall, what were the believers to learn from the problems experienced by these two groups? This is answered in v33-36. Today, we will follow Jesus’ argument against those that attributed his work to a demonic source.

A.      Jesus did not use the power of the prince of demon (Luke 11:17-18).

Luke 11:17-18 “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.””

First, their way of reasoning was against the plain truth.

It is  plainly known that if any kingdom or  house is divided against itself and its members fight against each other, then surely that kingdom or  house cannot stand and will eventually be ruined by external forces. This man was under the power of demonic forces; this was evident by the nature of his problem - mute and living a very abnormal life. It was clear to all the townspeople and everyone who saw him  that he was demon possessed. This plainly indicates that this man was under the dominion of the demonic kingdom. If Jesus drove out the demon by the power of the prince of demons, then the prince was acting against his own kingdom. This is a logically wrong and even absurd argument. Jesus’ power was not of demons or Satan.

Can the peoples’ way of reasoning be applied to themselves?

Luke 11:19 – “Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.”

If Jesus drove out this demon by the power of Beelzebub, then did the Pharisees’ followers drive them out?  They certainly wouldn’t say that their followers were also acting as members of the demonic realm. If they applied such logic to Jesus’ work, then  the same logic should be applied to their followers, if they accomplish the same result. Would they call themselves  part of the demonic forces, since their followers were also driving out demons? If they could not apply the same logic to themselves, then they were wrong and their wicked scheme was revealed. They had no willingness to accept the truth that God spoke through this miraculous power.

Why did the Pharisees defy the plain truth and invite such an odd idea? Why did they force an idea onto Jesus’ work, which they could not apply to themselves or their followers? It is very interesting to learn why.

Such reasoning comes from the Pharisees’ inner desire to accomplish their own purpose. In order to achieve their goal, they were willing to bring any argument against the truth.  So I have labeled them as over confident and self-motivated politicians. What was their  primary purpose?

Through Matthew 12:22-50, we know that these people were Pharisees who had established their lives on good,  solid power and authority. I would also call this group, “men with rich human assets”. They would not give up and were not  willing to allow anything that would dismantle or destroy their assets. What things might be included in their assets? They trusted in their intellectual pride,  their knowledge, their righteousness, their obedience to the law,  their established social standing, their political power, and their material riches. Their lives were going so well, as long as the truth on which  they depended remained as it was. Whatever the real truth might be, if it was contrary to their establishment, it must be thwarted and defeated. In order to do so, such people have already built a wall around themselves with their own way of truth. So any truth that does not fit with their purpose and  premise, they would surely recruit all kinds of ideas in order to refute the real truth.

People born after 1980 are known as millennials. They share a striking similarity to these Pharisees. They are equipped with material, technological, and social riches, so the mindset of most  millennials is similar to that of the Pharisees. They are very fearful to accept anything with which they are uncomfortable. In order to protect their comfort and wellbeing of mind, they bring out all kinds of reasons to refute God’s truth, particularly biblical truth.

Only less than half of the millennials in the United States believe in Jesus, and they form the majority of the unbelieving group. If the United States is to continue to receive God’s blessings, the millennials must change and we have to pray and show concern for their faith. Can you believe that in Jesus’ time the millennial mindset existed? Actually, traces of such thinking has existed since the fall of men (i.e. Cain - Genesis 4:9b) and they are with us and even in us. This forms a most formidable challenge to God’s truth, the WORD of God.

First, Jesus appealed to the people with  plain truth; if there was  internal fighting in any kingdom, it cannot survive. Eventually, such a kingdom will be destroyed. Smart demons would know this and even the prince of demon would not do such a thing.

Where did Jesus’ power come from? If he had not driven the demon out  as the prince of demon, then where did his power come from? The power was strong enough to drive out demons! Who can go against the devil’s power and win, without much struggle? There is only one. God is the one, and Jesus the Son of God can only  do such a thing.

In these ways, Jesus strongly presented the truth that he drove out the demon by God’s power  and this also testified to the claim that he is the Messiah! But he did not express this at all; Jesus just left these things for them to consider.

Simply, Jesus’ work testified to the truth that he has the power that God alone can exercise and that he is from God. As he claimed, Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah! But he did not say anything along these lines  to the people. They had to think this over honestly, seriously, and soberly. Jesus gave them all the tools they needed for discerning the truth. Now, they had to decide, in their own minds, what was right?

What is the implication of this unspoken truth?

Luke 11:20 – “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

What Jesus did was by God’s power and that power was with them because Jesus was establishing God’s kingdom on earth. “The kingdom of God is upon you!” (Luke 11:20 NIV). This is a powerful testimony!

God  sent Jesus, and through him, He was bringing so much power to His people, Israel. These people had denied this stark truth. Now they had to rethink and reexamine their thoughts. Depending on how they decided, they would either see God’s presence or miss His blessings. It was so serious to think that they might miss  the kingdom of God completely.

Next, Jesus gave them the true implications of this truth.

Only a strong man can defend a house.

Luke 11:21 - "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.”

Jesus gave them a simple and plain truth, in the context of a house or kingdom, and its protection against an enemy’s invasion, i.e. war. The story’s context is in line with that of these people. Listening to Jesus or seeing God’s power in him is not just a casual encounter with a wise man. It causes a war within those who see and listen to him. The war within a man has  great stakes; if one wins the war, he can keep his life. If not, he will surely lose his life. So the war should be won at all costs. What constitutes at all costs here? 

First, we must recognize the principles of this war that we face. The first principle here is  that only a strong man can guard his house and make it  safe. In other words, as long as we are engaged in conflict, and both parties cannot agree upon what is right, the language that ultimately  speaks is power. So in order to defend one’s house or one’s kingdom, one must have power.

Luke 11:22 – “But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.”

The second principle is that, even if one may be strong,  there may always be stronger enemies. So if a stronger enemy comes, then the house will be in trouble.

Lastly, the best and only option is to invite the most powerful and good defender to protect one’s house or one’s kingdom.

After Jesus drove the demon out of the mute man, it was clear to the crowd that Jesus was the most powerful man. This was because Jesus had the power of God, the power that only God has! This message challenged the Pharisees’ contention that they were strong enough and that they could defend themselves from either Jesus or  the devil. Their confidence was  dangerous, prideful, and foolish. They neither had such power nor were they  willing to welcome Jesus as the defender of their house! It was a very fearful thing to treat Jesus as their enemy, since he had such  great power! The outcome of their internal war was all too clear; they would  surely be defeated!

 All men begin to sense the war within their hearts from the moment they hear God’s words or see and experience godly power. Jesus’ power is the best option. Rejecting or ignoring his offer for help will surely end in defeat.

So these people needed to make a sober judgment on whether or not they would accept Jesus and his power.

What about you and me? Are we strong enough to wage war against the demonic forces of the devil? If we think that we are stronger than the devil, this is very dangerous! But we know that none of us is strong enough to fight against devil. So we have one choice: to bring  Jesus into our lives, the only one who is stronger than demons!

Practically, we all were  enslaved by the demonic forces of this age at some point in our lives. We played their games,  followed their way of thinking, and suffered greatly under  demonic governorship and satanic power. Unless we bring in someone more powerful than these demons, we cannot win our fight against demonic forces.

Luke 11:23 - "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

Here Jesus is declaring that, unless one decides to follow him in his way,  his teaching, and  his purpose, they are his enemy.

As we noted earlier, the entire context of this teaching is a war, a spiritual warfare within one’s heart or within a kingdom. The moment one decides not to be with Jesus and to not gather with him, they are  enemies of Jesus. We cannot stay neutral or be indifferent. Jesus does not consider such people as his company; they belong to someone other than Jesus and  will not receive any benefit from his power. Such men will be destroyed by demons, because no one is stronger than demons except for Jesus. Jesus explains the warfare in such people:

Luke 11:24-26 "When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 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."

Who might be the people who were not with Jesus? Who were those who didn’t gather with Jesus? Jesus was heading toward Jerusalem. There was  great anticipation that he was the Messiah and  would go to Jerusalem, where he would restore the kingdom. So there were a larger number of people that followed Jesus. Among them were those who were amazed at his healing of a demon possessed man. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were there as well. Also, there were people who were raising questions about who Jesus was and demanding a sign from heaven. Among them, who were with Jesus, following his thoughts, his goal, his purpose, and his hope for God’s kingdom? Undoubtedly, these were the ones who believed Jesus to be the coming king and followed him with the hope of the coming kingdom that he would establish. If anyone did not share this hope in Jesus and follow him as he made his journey to Jerusalem, then they were against Jesus. Unless someone  decides to follow Jesus, they would be among those who were against Jesus and did not gather with him. This implies that those who are not with Jesus have no commitment to him and those who move themselves to gather around him were not part of his team, no matter how favorable their affections or  thought were towards him. They are against God and against His kingdom! They are not joining in with His kingdom. If they chose to this way, then they would automatically be exempt from the kingdom of God. They are actually God’s enemies.

Hanging around Jesus without full commitment seems to be a benign idea or may even  be preferable, but, here, he made it clear that those who do not gather with him are not  members of his party! Many have very favorable dispositions towards Jesus and his truth. Nevertheless, uncommitted hearts receive little benefit from God’s blessing.

In some sense, Jesus was alluding to the weakness of those who were unsure of his authority and power, and were instead asking for a sign from heaven as evidence.

This story is about what is going on in one’s mind or spirit. Men’s minds are filled with impure spirits, but, when one hears Jesus’ words and accepts them, then the impure spirit leaves that man. However, when  men do not commit to Jesus and his teachings and  causes,  then many other evil spirits come back to their hearts and play the role of host. So the person becomes worse than before.

So when one hears God’s words or see His work, it is better to accept and  believe. God gives us opportunity to believe Him through His many works and  teachings. He gives such opportunity so that that man might have a chance to clean his house and accept Jesus as the Lord of his house. But when one rejects Jesus’ word or become skeptical of his teachings, then, in the course of time, their mind will become dark with all kinds of unclean and evil spirits.

Jesus was talking about those who saw God’s miraculous work and yet did not yield their hearts to him as Lord. The outcome of these people’s lives would be much worse, worse than ever before.

So when God speaks, we must listen to and accept what He says!

As Jesus was saying this, a woman called out in a loud voice: "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you" (Luke 11:27). What did she mean?

She thought that all of Jesus’ power and wisdom was a great blessing to his mother, and that all the blessings of his wisdom and power did not mean as much to her as to Jesus’ mother. However, Jesus did this miracle for their sake on behalf of God because He was his father. Jesus  showed such power for their sake, but the woman did not realize or did not accept the miracle and teachings as God’s but rather as the words of a  man of great wisdom and knowledge! She saw this as wisdom from God, which we may or may not need to take! This was certainly  great praise for Jesus’ wisdom, but she was missing the biggest part!

What was she missing?

Luke 11:28 – “He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."”

What did Jesus mean by ‘the word of God’? Was he taking about the Torah, the first five books in Scripture written by Moses, the words of the prophets, or David’s psalms? This is possible, but highly unlikely! Jesus did a miraculous work, a work of God. He spoke the truth and that truth was not of man, but  of God. The word of God is not just a spoken language; the powerful work of miracles is also a language to speak to men’s hearts. So driving out demons is the WORD of God. This is also evident in Jesus’ discussion with his disciples at the Last Supper. Soon after his last dinner with his disciples, one of the disciples asked Jesus: “show us the father” (John 14:8a). Jesus answered them, “Anyone who has seen me, you have seen the father…Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me” (John 14:9b, 10a).

What does this mean? So far, what Jesus had done and taught was all from God; actually, they were all God’s words and acts, including the miracle of driving out the demon from the mute man! God was never seen and there was no hint of His visible presence; instead, they saw Jesus in his 5’7” physique and such  wonderful truth came out of his mouth. In all these things that Jesus did contained God’s words and the people needed to discern and hear those words. What does this mean? How can we hear God’s words when Jesus, a man without beauty, appeared in such a humble manner? It is not possible without true fear of the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, the creator, who has authority over our lives. Jesus is the word of God, but only a few hear God’s word from Jesus!

But when one hears God’s words in and through Jesus, this is the beginning of receiving God’s blessing! When one cannot hear His words, they will be given over to the devil and cannot see the truth for their life; such people suffer and are tormented greatly under unclean spirits, spirts of evil desires, malice, envy, sexual immorality, dissension, and so on..

What can we learn from this? Jesus taught God’s words in stories,  parables, and by the miracles  he performed, on behalf of many who remained under sin’s power. Driving the demons out of the mute man was the word spoken to the hearts of those who believed in him. The work itself was very comprehensive and a thorough expression of the entirety of God’s word in a most powerful and forceful form of language. In this event, the driving out demons from the mute man, Jesus spoke powerfully with the words of God, “I have the power and will to save men from the power of satanic forces.”

The most powerful word that he spoke was provided by his own life, the life that he gave to sinners on the cross. If one fails to see the word of God as spoken through the cross of Jesus, then His blessing is impossible! Miracles are the most powerful words of God, because He speaks to each individual heart through that act. Even now, God is speaking through Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection!

We all must hear God’s words, so that we may be richly blessed!