Context No. 4036 of 4322 · Luke

Luke 11:14-20: in context

14He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the multitudes marveled. 15But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.” 16Others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven. 17But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. A house divided against itself falls. 18If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19But if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20But if I by God’s finger cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come to you.

After Jesus casts a demon out of a mute man, some accuse him of driving out demons by the power of the prince of demons. Jesus exposes the absurdity: a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand; if Satan is casting out Satan, his kingdom is finished. And then he makes a stunning claim: if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Jesus' power over the demonic was not evidence that he was in league with evil, but a sign that God's kingdom was breaking into the world, that a stronger power had come to overthrow the reign of darkness. Two things stand out. Jesus' victory over the demonic showed the kingdom of God arriving; where Jesus casts out evil, God's reign is breaking in, pushing back the darkness. And the hardness of heart that could look at an obvious good, a tormented man set free, and call it the work of the devil. But the main note is hope: in Christ, the kingdom of God has come, a power stronger than all the forces of darkness, breaking in to set captives free.

Do I recognize in Christ's victory over evil the inbreaking of God's kingdom, a power stronger than all the forces of darkness, and do I guard against the hardness of heart that would call his good works anything but good?

Sources

Luke 11:20: "But if I by God's finger cast out demons, then God's Kingdom has come to you."
Luke 11:17: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. A house divided against itself falls."
Luke 11:15: "But some of them said, He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons."