Are You With Me?
Luke 11:14-23
May 5, 2019
Well, you are aware that we are in a long segment in Luke’s gospel
Where we are afforded the privilege of listening to the preaching of Jesus
On many theological and practical issues.
It is so enlightening to us to have our Lord set the record straight
On so many important issues.
It’s really NOT a section like what we see in the Sermon on the Mount
Where Jesus just sits down to preach.
Rather in this section Luke compiles
What we really have is mini-sermons which are inspired
By questions or events or accusations or statements.
Jesus hears something or sees something and then addresses the issue.
It makes the section so practical in nature.
We already saw the first which was a lesson on prayer.
Jesus DIDN’T sit down and call the disciples and say, “Let me teach you now about prayer”
Instead, He prayed.
The disciples watched Him pray and asked Him, “Lord, teach us to pray”
• What followed is without a doubt the most famous lesson on prayer in the world.
• And not only did Jesus directly answer their question,
• But He even went beyond their question because He was on topic and there was more they needed to know.
WELL, THAT SORT OF PATTERN CONTINUES.
Jesus will be addressed or questioned or accused
And what flows out of that is His theology.
Incidentally, I think this is a
Very important FORM OF DISCIPLESHIP for us to model.
I am certainly not opposed to planned and structured
And even systematic times of teaching.
(Obviously, we do that weekly here)
But I am also aware that there is so much teaching to be done sort of
“as the moment arises” that we must also seize as believers.
• We address error as it presents itself…
• We encourage as the need arises…
• We preach and teach when it is opportune for the moment…
Any of you parents will recognize this form of instruction.
Certainly make effort to directly teach our kids truth,
But so much of that also comes as we walk through life with them
And help them digest what they see and hear.
THAT IS WHAT JESUS IS DOING.
They aren’t pre-scripted sermons here,
They are Jesus (the incarnate truth) addressing error as it presents itself.
Well, having taught on prayer,
Now Luke carries us into the next segment from Jesus
And we’ll call it a sermon on: AUTHENTICITY or “Being Real”
Of course by that we are referring to
“Authentic Christianity” or “Being a Real Follower of Jesus”
Or even in Jesus day, being a “True Jew”
Remember Paul addressed this issue in the Romans:
Romans 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”
WE ARE TALKING THEN ABOUT BEING REAL.
As opposed to being a false disciple or a phony Christian.
Authenticity matters:
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?”
2 Peter 1:10 “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;”
We know that NOT EVERYONE
Who claims to be a follower of Christ actually is.
1 John 2:18-19 “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”
Or of course there is the infamous:
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”
Or even:
Luke 13:22-30 “And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’ “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. “And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. “And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”
Being real matters.
Being an authentic follower of Jesus matters.
Merely disguising unbelief under a cloak of religion
Might fool others; it might even allow you to fool yourself;
But it will not fool Christ.
Notice what He says at the end of our text here:
(23) “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.”
Just look at that statement for a moment.
It is polarizing, it is divisive, it is direct.
Some would even have trouble believing
That our Lord would make such a statement.
He leaves no wiggle room there.
• You’re either all in or all out.
• You either love Him or hate Him.
• You either persevere in following Him or fall away.
The youth should be familiar with this reality.
This past Wednesday we saw this as we finished up John 6.
• We saw a great crowd of people who pretended to be followers of Jesus.
• They are even referred to a few times as “disciples”.
BUT JESUS KNEW THEIR HEART.
They only wanted miracles
When He started talking about true belief in Him, they bolted.
John 6:66-69 “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
You see it there as well.
You’re either all in or all out, but there is no middle ground.
We are talking about AUTHENTICITY
And make no mistake,
Our Lord will expose who is real and who is not.
Matthew 10:26 “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.”
1 Corinthians 4:4-5 “For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.”
Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
Jesus will expose every man.
In fact, Jesus did this often even during His earthly ministry.
He was continually pointing out genuine faith as opposed to hypocritical religion.
And the rest of Luke 11 really seems to zoom in on this reality
As you will see over the next few weeks while we study it.
The ironic part to this teaching moment from Jesus is that:
HE DIDN’T START THIS FIGHT.
THIS CONVERSATION STARTED BECAUSE
The Jews questioned the authenticity of Jesus.
They questioned whether or not He was real.
It’s almost as if Jesus responds by saying,
“It’s funny that you should bring that up.”
Because what follows is a message from our Lord
On the necessity of being real and of being a real follower of His.
And the CATALYST event for this line of teaching
Was Jesus casting a demon out of a man.
(14-16) “And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” Others, to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven.”
On this day, Jesus “was casting out a demon”
And this particular event was EASILY VERIFIABLE
Because “it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke”
This was an obvious spiritual work here.
No one could call it a “fake” or a “manufactured” miracle.
This man was “mute” and it comes with good reason
That the man was probably also deaf.
But in an instant this man was healed
Because Jesus cast a demon out of him.
What is more, Matthew’s gospel adds that this man was blind.
Matthew 12:22-24 “Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
Matthew also gives us a little more detail about the response of the crowd.
• Luke says that they “were amazed”.
• Matthew sort of fills in the gaps by revealing that they “were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?”
The crowds were actually seeing this as a Messianic indicator.
(As they should have)
Jesus here again demonstrates
Absolute and total authority over the realm of Satan.
I once heard someone say, “The next time you think you’re important, try giving an order to someone else’s dog.”
Well, Jesus can.
He can take these servants of Satan and tell them to whatever He wants.
It is power like the world had never seen before.
• He controls nature…
• He controls disease…
• He controls death…
• He even controls demonic activity…
When He says leave, they leave.
We’ve seen that power greatly documented already in Luke’s gospel.
Well here Jesus does it again
And the crowds are on the verge of believing.
HOWEVER, “some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of demons.”
It is a direct accusation against Jesus’ authenticity.
They could not deny that He worked the miracle.
They could not deny the power He demonstrated.
So instead they seek to draw doubt as to the source of His power.
And they insist that the reason He has such control over demons
Is because He in fact is in allegiance with
“Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons”
They call Jesus a servant of Satan.
The name “Beelzebul” was a Jewish name for Satan.
In Israel’s history they encountered a PHILISTINE GOD named “Baal-Zebul”
Which meant “prince Baal” or “exalted Lord”
The Jews made a slang modification to that name and called him “Beelzebul” which meant “lord of the flies”
(MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary; Luke 11-17; Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL; 2013] pg. 62)
It was a mocking slang name, and the worst name they could think of.
And here they explain Jesus’ power over demons
As that which came from Satan himself.
• Jesus is accused of not being authentic.
• Jesus is accused of not being real.
• Instead Jesus is accused of being a servant of Satan himself.
It was their only explanation for His obvious power.
And it seems that the crowd was willing to buy into this explanation
For they immediately put Him on trial asking Him to prove
That He was in fact from God and not a servant of Satan.
It was a witch hunt:
(16) “Others, to test Him, were demanding Him a sign from heaven.”
Now they want a sign, but one that is unmistakably “from heaven”.
One would think that casting out a demon was about as “from heaven” as it gets,
But obviously the crowd wants something else.
They put Jesus on trial.
• They attack His authenticity.
• They claim He is from Satan.
• And they dare Him to prove otherwise.
That is the catalyst for this sermon.
Jesus will answer their question,
But He will follow with a sermon of His own regarding authenticity.
Jesus takes their judgments and flips them on their head
And addresses, not only His own authenticity,
But their lack of discernment and the danger it has landed them in.
4 points
#1 YOUR THOUGHTS ARE ILLOGICAL
Luke 11:17-18
Here we read that “He knew their thoughts”
John 2:24-25 “But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”
And Jesus can see that the crowd is processing this lie
And actually thinks there might be some truth to it.
They are buying the propaganda of the Pharisees.
So Jesus addresses exactly how illogical this notion is.
“Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls.”
Now that’s just a basic principle.
Civil war never strengthened a nation.
• Any coach will tell you that the worst thing you can have on any team is
division amidst that team.
• Even in the church we are continually commanded to “be of one mind” and
not to let division exist.
• Regarding the family unity, God says that He hates divorce.
You don’t make things stronger by fighting within.
That’s just a universal worldly principle.
If you want to build a strong team or a strong church
Or a strong family or a strong nation,
Then division won’t help you there.
That’s just a truth.
And Jesus takes that truth and applies it to the Pharisees assessment
Of Him casting out demons as a service to Satan.
(18) “If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.”
Now I suppose someone could make the argument
That for deceptive purposes
Satan might actually let a false prophet cast out a demon.
(More likely is that Satan would simply cause a demon to go dormant and appear to have been cast out so as to give credibility to one of his false prophets)
And someone might could make that claim about Jesus,
That Satan has simply used this to anoint Jesus as the real deal,
But the Pharisees saw through the deceptive tactic.
Even if you can make that case regarding a false prophet,
It is impossible to make that case against Jesus.
For it’s not like He just cast out 1 demon.
Jesus has been casting out demons everywhere.
Luke 4:40-41 “While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them. Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ.”
Luke 6:17-18 “Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.”
Luke 7:20-21 “When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, ‘Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?'” At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.”
Or who can forget the Gadarene Demoniac?
The man whom Jesus cast an entire army (Legion) of demons out of.
If someone wanted to claim that Jesus ever was a servant of Satan
Then they’d have to admit that He obviously He WENT ROGUE.
This is far more than a deceptive stunt.
Jesus is abolishing the armies of Satan.
And Jesus even gave that power to His followers.
Luke 10:17-19 “The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.”
To claim Jesus was doing Satan’s work by casting out demons
Is what we call A STUPID ARGUMENT
It was illogical to say the least.
If that is Satan’s plan he’s about to self-eradicate himself out of Israel.
Their thoughts are illogical
#2 YOUR JUDGMENTS ARE HYPOCRITCAL
Luke 11:19
Another problem the Pharisees and the crowds had was that
Jesus was not the only one who went on the offensive against demons.
Judaism also had its fair share of their own exorcists.
Now, there is little evidence that they had much success, but they did exist.
We are given one account of them in the book of Acts.
Acts 19:13-16 “But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”
There we see a group of these Jewish exorcists
Who supposedly cast demons out of people.
More likely they were nothing more than a gimmick, not a true source of deliverance.
However, what is true of them is that
They universally viewed the ability to cast out a demon
As a sign that they were from God.
The Pharisees gave them credibility as undoubtedly being from God
Because they cast out demons.
And so Jesus challenges their inconsistency and hypocrisy here.
He basically asks:
“Why is it that when your sons cast out demons it proves they are from God, but when I do it, you say it proves I am from Satan?”
It’s just evidence of extreme hypocrisy and blind stubbornness.
They have no evidence, they just hate Jesus.
And Jesus says, “So they will be your judges”
That is to say, “Your acceptance of them will be evidence of your hypocrisy on the day of judgment.”
When you are hauled before God and condemned for your failure to believe Me,
These men who you believed will be called as “Exhibit A” to indicate that
You knew that someone who casts out a demon must be from God.
And thus they will condemn you.
So the Jews attacked the authenticity of Jesus,
But in reality Jesus has now exposed them
As being both illogical and hypocritical.
Their plan is clearly backfiring.
#3 YOUR DISCERNMENT IS DYSFUNCTIONAL
Luke 11:20-22
Jesus already squashed the idea that He cast out demons by Beelzebul.
No one could logically or honestly believe that any more.
But since they could also not deny His power
THAT ONLY LEFT ONE OPTION.
Jesus must get His power from God.
That’s the only conclusion which can be made.
So Jesus moves forward on that.
“But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
It’s NOT JUST about determining where Jesus got His power.
The more important question is
What does this demonstration of power mean?
If this Jesus really has been sent here to earth with power from God to overthrow the kingdom of darkness, what are the ramifications of that?
That’s what they should really be asking.
Jesus goes on:
(21-22) “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed. “But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder.”
The analogy here is clear.
• The “strong man” is Satan.
• And he being “fully armed, guards his own house”
• That would have been this man that Jesus just delivered.
• And Jesus says, so long as Satan was fully armed and the strongest among you, when he determined to keep a possession “his possessions are undisturbed”
• That is to say, no one on earth could take from Satan what he didn’t want to give up.
However:
“when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which had relied and distributes his plunder.”
This is a great declaration by Jesus.
That He came to ATTACK the enemy, to OVERPOWER him,
To RELEASE all that he guarded and to set it free.
Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
1 John 3:8 “the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”
We read it Easter Sunday, that through His death and resurrection:
Colossians 2:15 “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.”
To borrow an analogy from the garden,
Jesus came to crush the head of the serpent.
• Jesus was not working for Satan.
• Jesus was not depending on Satan’s power.
• Jesus was attacking Satan and Jesus is much stronger than Him.
Jesus came to overthrow the kingdom of darkness
Which held men in bondage of all kinds (physical and spiritual)
And Jesus came to set free his captives.
And nothing should have made that more obvious to the people
Than the fact that Jesus went everywhere casting out demons.
If you picked up on nothing else you should have been able to see
THAT JESUS WAS FIGHTING SATAN AND WINNING.
But the fact that the people didn’t see that
Is a testimony to their dysfunctional discernment.
They didn’t get it. They didn’t see it.
It is a testimony to their willful unbelief and persistent blindness.
This segment begins with people questioning the authenticity of Jesus.
But in answering, He reveals that they are the ones who aren’t real.
Their logic is flawed…
Their judgments are hypocritical…
Their discernment is dysfunctional…
And all of that leads to this strong statement from Jesus.
#4 YOUR STUBBORNNESS IS DETRIMENTAL
Luke 11:23
Based on their irrational rejection of Jesus,
All we can say is that these people were simply against Jesus.
• They opposed Him despite sound logic…
• They opposed Him despite obvious power…
• They opposed Him despite Him clearly doing the work of God…
They just opposed Him.
And to that Jesus makes perhaps
The MOST POLARIZING STATEMENT of His entire ministry.
“He who is not with Me is against Me;”
Now you and I know the world in which we live.
It is a world that increasingly hates absolutes.
• Our world is continually trying to blur the lines.
• Our world is continually trying to soften the edges.
• Our world would have you believe that all religions are basically the same…
• Our world would have you believe that all relationships are equally
acceptable…
• Our world would have you believe that all people are basically good…
Truth is under attack.
Tolerance is the virtue of the day.
Our world hates it when people demonstrate a dogmatic view of anything.
No one is more praised than the person who will say,
“We just can’t be sure of anything.”
But listen to this statement of Jesus.
• Here He undeniable separates all of humanity into 2 distinct groups.
• He is dogmatic and polarizing.
• It’s one or the other.
You are either with Jesus or you are against Jesus.
He said it another way in Luke 9:
Luke 9:50 “But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you.”
That is the same truth stated backward.
But it is just as distinct and dogmatic.
There is no gray area in this regard.
There are no fence sitters.
You are either a follower of Jesus or you are an enemy of Jesus.
Now for sure there are those who would immediately argue with that.
“Well, I’m not a follower of Jesus, but it’s not like I hate Him. I’m not His enemy, I just don’t follow Him.”
But according to Jesus, that isn’t possible.
See Jesus came as the King of the World.
He is God’s chosen Messiah.
And you either bow the knee to Him
Or you stand in rebellion against Him.
You can tell yourself all day long that
Just because you won’t bow that it’s not personal,
But the King only sees that as defiance and rebellion.
And do you want to know the problem with those who are against Him?
“he who does not gather with Me scatters.”
That is to say they flee in fear.
Psalms 2:7-9 “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'”
Fast forward to the Revelation when the sky is rolled back like a scroll and see rebellious man at that point:
Revelation 6:14-17 “The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
Finding yourself in opposition to Christ will not be a pleasant place to be.
Jesus said it Himself:
Luke 20:17-18 “But Jesus looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written: ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone’? “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”
You either fall in this stone in broken repentance,
Or this stone falls on you and scatters you like dust.
THERE IS NO MIDDLE GROUND.
You are either in or you are out.
What a message for this crowd!
It started with them attacking the authenticity of Jesus.
They said He wasn’t really from God
But was actually a servant of God’s enemy; Satan.
JESUS REVEALED JUST THE OPPOSITE.
• He was the One serving God; in fact He was bringing in God’s kingdom,
• They were the ones serving Satan as evidenced by their rejection of God’s
King.
He wasn’t the phony, they were.
And I don’t mind telling you, He’s only getting started.
This morning I just simply wish to ask you to not be like this crowd.
This morning I simply want to remind you that you are presently in 1 of only 2 camps.
You are either those who are 100% for Jesus.
Or you are those who are 100% against Jesus.
Don’t deceive yourself as though you are Switzerland
And just choose to remain neutral. There is no neutral here.
You either acknowledge, and bow to, and serve God’s King or you don’t.
And the greatest fraud of Israel was that
They were religious and claimed to love God
All while actually declaring war on God’s anointed king.
They were the ones who were fake.
Don’t be them.
Serve Christ.
