Luke 11:14-28
Oculi, the 3rd Sunday in Lent
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
In Isaiah 5:20 the Lord says of Israel, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” It is sinful human nature to call evil things good and good things evil. We see this all around us in the world. That which God forbids and condemns, the world celebrates as good. That which God says is excellent and praiseworthy, the world denigrates and despises as evil. The world, which is under the rule and sway of Satan, calls marriage evil and promiscuity good. It calls the fact that God made mankind male and female evil, and homosexuality and transgenderism good. It calls obedience to governing authorities evil, and vandalism and violence good. The list could go on. But the sinful heart’s denial of God’s good works reaches its height in today’s gospel lesson when, in response to Jesus casting a mute demon out of a man, some Jews say, “He casts out demons by Beezzebub, the ruler of the demons.” These men have hardened their hearts and allowed the devil to disorder them so that they refuse to see Christ’s work as one of mercy to this poor possessed man. They will only allow themselves to see His good work as a satanic ruse meant to deceive the simple. Others, just as deceived, ask Him for a sign from heaven, as if the work just performed isn’t enough.
Jesus shows them the absurdity of their own demonic thinking. “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.” It makes no sense for Satan to allow one of his servants to drive out another. The devil held this demon-possessed man captive and guarded him diligently. To sacrifice his hold on one man for the sake of deceiving others would divide his kingdom, and divided kingdom will not stand very long. Not only that, but Christ points out that if He casts out demons by Beelzebub, then by whom do the Jews’ sons attempt to cast them out? They very fact that Jews would attempt to exorcise demons from men shows that this is not a work of Satan, but a good work of God. And where they failed, Jesus succeeded, casting out demons not by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons, but by the finger of God—the Holy Spirit. Instead of calling this good work evil and Jesus a minister of Satan, they should open their eyes to see that Jesus is destroying the kingdom of the devil and bringing the kingdom of God.
While these Jews’ hearts are so disordered that they assume Christ’s work is the devils, they also fail to realize that only one stronger than the devil can drive out demons. Jesus tells them, “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his good are in peace.” The strong man is the devil, of course. Deep guile and great might are his dread arms in fight. His armor and weapons are lies and deceptions. He deceives men by His empty words so that they call evil good, and good evil. Lies are how he guards his own palace, which is the world. Paul calls him “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” in Ephesians 2:2. Jesus calls the devil the ruler of this world three times in John’s gospel. He guards this palace of his, and as long as he keeps men his deceptions so that they hold on tightly to the devil’s lies, his goods—the very men who he holds captive—are in peace. He is not going to allow another of his agents to wrest even one of his goods away from him.
That can only be done by one Stronger than him. “But when a stronger one than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils,” Jesus says. Jesus is the stronger one. This work of casting out a demon isn’t pantomime or play-acting. It is the work of God by which He overcomes the devil in this specific man, taking away His armor, and freeing the man from the devil’s dominance. He frees this man and divides the spoils by calling this man out of the kingdom of darkness and into His kingdom in which there is redemption, holiness, and everlasting life. Jesus is not on Satan’s team. He is his opposition. He is the Stronger One who has arrived to overcome him, take away his armor, and bring men into the kingdom of God.
Jesus is still the Stronger One who overcomes the devil, takes away His armor, and brings men into His kingdom. He overcame the devil by His innocent, bitter suffering and death on the cross, for that is how He made for the sins of the world. Whereas in the devil’s kingdom, he keeps men bound by their sins and their deserved guilt, the gospel presents us with the forgiveness of sins the release from guilt. By faith in Christ’s work on the cross, God has delivered you from the power of darkness and conveyed you into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom you have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins (Col 1:13–14). Whereas in the devil’s kingdom, he keeps men in his captivity with his armor—lies and deceptions about God. But in the gospel Christ disarms the devil, taking away His armor of lies and deception by teaching us His truth. He teaches you what is truly good and truly evil. He sweeps your heart clean and puts it in order, so that you see the devil’s deceptions and abhor what is evil and cling to what is good (Ro 12:9). By the gospel, Christ brings you into His kingdom where there is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
But there is still a danger. Jesus says, “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” Just as the demon recently cast out would attempt to return to the man, so the devil, though overcome by Christ and cast out with the gospel, will attempt to reclaim the spoils he has lost. Christ sweeps the house of our hearts clean by His gospel. He puts our hearts in order, directing us to virtue and piety—living in faith and love. But just as the devil departed from Christ until an opportune time (Lk 4:13), he lies in wait against us with temptations to sin, deceits, and schemes so that we fall into sin, let it reign over us, and by doing so, return to His kingdom. And we find it true than when the devil has been resisted in one way, he comes back with seven others, that is, other temptations which we may not be on guard against. But Christ not only sweeps the house clean and sets it in order, but He also dwells within the house, with His Father and the Holy Spirit. For just as houses are swept and put in order so that someone may dwell in them, so the human heart is swept by the gospel and set in order by Christ’s teaching so that the Triune God might dwell there with grace and blessing, strengthening the heart against every temptation and comforting it with forgiveness of sins each day. We must, like so many, allow the home of our heart to swept and set in order, only to let it sit vacant. If we do, the strong one will have no problem regaining his lost spoils since the Stronger One is not dwelling there.
How does the Stronger One dwell in the house of your heart? By faith, and faith comes by hearing the word of God (Ro 10:17). Today’s gospel ends with a woman crying out, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” Jesus agrees, but adds, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” What does it mean to keep God’s word? It means to treasure it, to keep it safe, even to guard it. Jesus uses the same word for what the strong man does, though that is lost in our translations. “When a strong man, fully armed, guards—or keeps—his own palace, his goods are in peace.” How diligent is devil to keep those who are his? How shrewd is Satan to guard those whom He possesses in sin? Quite diligent and careful. As Satan keeps his own palace—his usurped authority over this world—you are to keep God’s Word, guarding it as your most treasured possession, so that nothing comes between you and God’s Word. By keeping God’s Word, the Stronger One, your Lord Jesus Christ, along with His Father and the Holy Spirit, dwell in your hearts and make you His temples. This is true blessedness, to have the Triune God dwell in your heart by faith. The Stronger One has redeemed you from the devil, not with gold or silver by His precious, innocent blood. Now the Stronger One dwells in you, so that you might live in His kingdom each day and enjoy the spoils of His victory: forgiveness of your sins, new life, and salvation. Amen.
May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
