Kingdom Conflict

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.

Luke 11 · chapter mention

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.

Luke 11 · chapter mention

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

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you

you