Sunday
Morning Bible Study
March
6, 2016
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Regular: 2900
words Communion: 2500 words Video=75wpm
Luke was a doctor and a travelling
companion of the apostle Paul.
He wrote this book while Paul was
in prison.
In writing this book about Jesus,
Luke made use of other older documents like the Gospel of Mark, as well as
extensive eyewitness accounts.
Jesus’ ministry is well under way, and the people have been amazed not just
at the things He’s been teaching, but the things He’s been doing.
11:14-26 Demons and God
:14 And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the
demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled.
casting out – ekballo – to cast
out, drive out, to send out. Present participle
mute – kophos – blunted,
dull; blunted (or lamed) in tongue, dumb
had gone out – exerchomai – to go
or come forth of
Aorist active participle
spoke – laleo – to utter a
voice or emit a sound; to speak
Aorist active indicative
marveled – thaumazo – to
wonder, wonder at, marvel; to be wondered at, to be had in admiration
Aorist active indicative
:14 casting out a demon, and it was mute
In the New Testament, demon possession was manifested in many different
ways –
One person was blind and mute (Mat. 12:22)
(Matthew 12:22 NKJV) —22 Then one
was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him,
so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.
One man had great strength (Mk 5:4)
(Mark 5:4 NKJV) —4 because he
had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled
apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.
A child would have seizures and throw himself into fire or water (Mat.
17:15)
(Matthew 17:15 NKJV) —15 “Lord,
have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often
falls into the fire and often into the water.
One man spoke with a loud voice (Luke 4:33)
(Luke 4:33 NKJV) —33 Now in the
synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried
out with a loud voice,
Not everyone with a malfunctioning body is possessed by a demon.
It’s not the odd behavior that proves a person is demon possessed, it’s the
discerning of a demon that shows it.
Not all people who are “mute” are demon-possessed.
Some are just mimes.
:15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of
the demons.”
:15 He casts out demons by Beelzebub
ruler – archon
– a ruler, commander, chief, leader
Some of the people watching attributed Jesus’ power to:
Beelzebub
“Beelzebub” was one of the names of the Philistine god Baal (2 Kings 1:1-3).
“Baal” means simply “lord”, and “zebub” means
“flies”
Beelzebub means literally “lord of the flies”.
Did you have to
read that book in high school? It was the one about a group of boys marooned on
an island and how they descend into savagery until they are rescued.
Elijah had a brief encounter connected
to this god in regards to King Ahaziah.
(2 Kings 1:2–4 NKJV) —2 Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in
Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire
of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron,
whether I shall recover from this injury.”
Ekron is one of the
chief Philistine cities, located southwest of Samaria near the coast of the
Mediterranean.
3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king
of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in
Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub,
the god of Ekron?’ 4 Now therefore, thus says the Lord:
‘You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall
surely die.’ ” So Elijah departed.
Ahaziah was rebuked
because he felt he could get help from Baal-Zebub
instead of God Himself.
These people were having a hard time thinking that Jesus could be
performing miracles, so they attributed His miracles to Satan.
There are some well-meaning
Christians who have difficulty believing that God could be doing miracles
today.
Some churches teach that the gift
of tongues is not for today, and they inevitably conclude that if someone
speaks in tongues that it must be the devil.
That is so, so
wrong.
Lesson
Lord of the house
The actual form of the name used by Luke in the Greek is a variation of
Beelzebub.
Beelzebul
– “Lord of the house”.
Pay attention to our passage because Jesus is going to refer to “houses” in
several different ways.
The Jews often used beelzebul
when referring to Satan (Wiersbe).
The concept of demon possession is the idea that there is
a demonic spirit living inside of your body, affecting and controlling your
body.
Jesus said,
(Luke 16:13 NKJV) “No servant
can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or
else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.
There’s only room for one Lord in your life.
Your “Lord” is the one who sits on the throne, the one who calls the shots.
Who is it?
:16 Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.
testing – peirazo – to try
whether a thing can be done; to try, make trial of, test: for the purpose of
ascertaining his quantity, or what he thinks, or how he will behave himself; in
a bad sense, to test one maliciously, craftily to put to the proof his feelings
or judgments
:16 sought from Him a sign
sign – semeion – a sign,
mark, token; that by which a person or a thing is distinguished from others and
is known
; a sign, prodigy, portent, i.e. an
unusual occurrence, transcending the common course of nature; of miracles and
wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove
that the cause they are pleading is God’s
What’s silly about this is that Jesus has already done more than enough to
prove who He was.
He’s cast out demons (Luke 4:35)
(Luke 4:35 NKJV) —35 But Jesus
rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had
thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.
He’s healed the sick (Luke 4:39)
(Luke 4:39 NKJV) —39 So He
stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she
arose and served them.
He’s cleansed the leper (Luke 5:13)
(Luke 5:13 NKJV) —13 Then He
put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
Immediately the leprosy left him.
He’s healed the paralytic (Luke 5:24)
(Luke 5:24 NKJV) —24 But that
you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to
the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to
your house.”
He’s even raised the dead (Luke 7:14)
(Luke 7:14 NKJV) —14 Then He
came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still.
And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”
John wrote that the miracles that Jesus did were enough to prove who He
was.
(John 20:31 NKJV) …these are
written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that
believing you may have life in His name.
There comes a point where you need to open your eyes and
realize who Jesus is.
:17 But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided
against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a
house falls.
knowing – oida – to see; to
perceive, notice, discern, discover; to know
Perfect active participle
thoughts – dianoema – a
thought
divided – diamerizo – to
cleave asunder, cut in pieces; to be divided into opposing parts, to be at
variance, in dissension
brought to desolation – eremoo – to make
desolate, lay waste; to ruin, bring to desolation; to despoil one, strip her of
her treasures
from eremos – solitary, lonely, desolate, uninhabited; a desert, wilderness
house – oiκος –
a house; an inhabited house, home
:17 knowing their thoughts
These fellows before Jesus were
just thinking about these things.
Jesus knew what they were thinking.
He knows what you’re thinking.
:17 Every kingdom divided
against itself
The civil war
:17 a house divided against a house falls
Remember that Beelzebul
means “Lord of the house”
Lesson
Dividing the house
I know that Jesus is talking about Satan’s kingdom, but the principle translates
into areas as well.
We’re seeing the Republican party wrestle with this right now.
The campaign has gotten so ugly with insults, that if they don’t work to
mend fences soon and coalesce behind a single candidate, there may be too much
bitterness and acrimony to unite for the presidential election.
Illustration
There was a story about two unmarried sisters who lived together. Because
of a slight disagreement over an insignificant issue, they stopped speaking to
each other. Unable and unwilling to move
out of their small house, they continued to use the same rooms, eat at the same
table (separately), and sleep in the same bedroom. Without one word. A chalk line divided the sleeping area into
two halves, separating a doorway and fireplace.
Each could come and go, cook and eat, sew and read without crossing over
into her sister's domain. Through the night each could hear the breathing of
the foe, but because neither was willing to take the first step to
reconciliation and forgiveness, they coexisted for years in grinding silence.
Their unforgiving hearts left them in a prison of affliction.
Is this a picture of what goes on in your house?
No marriage or family is “perfect”.
Everyone has difficulties.
The question is: Are you going to fight “for” your marriage, or fight each
other?
Are you going to humble yourself and talk to the other person?
Are you going to learn to forgive and let it go?
Solomon wrote,
(Ecclesiastes
4:9–12 NKJV) —9 Two are better than one, Because they have a
good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to
him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him
up. 11 Again, if
two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? 12 Though one
may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a
threefold cord is not quickly broken.
:18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?
Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.
be divided – diamerizo – to
cleave asunder, cut in pieces; to be divided into opposing parts, to be at
variance, in dissension
Same word as vs. 17
Satan – Satana – adversary
(one who opposes another in purpose or act), the name given to the prince of
evil spirits, the inveterate adversary of God and Christ
Beelzebub – Beelzeboul – “lord
of the house”
:18 If Satan also is divided against himself
Jesus is pointing out that their reasoning is ridiculous. If Jesus were
empowered by Satan, why would He be tearing apart His own kingdom?
:19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them
out? Therefore they will be your judges.
:19 by whom do your sons cast them out?
There are records of all sorts of rituals that Jewish exorcists would
perform in order to cast demons out of people.
Josephus wrote about one fellow who performed exorcisms in the presence of
the emperor using magic rings and encantations.
Josephus speaks of many exorcists
in his time, who had this power of healing; and he himself saw one Eleazar, in the presence of Vespasian, his children,
officers, and soldiers, cure many that were possessed of devils: and his method
was, by putting a ring to the nose of the possessed, under the seal of which,
was a root directed to by Solomon, and thereby brought out the unclean spirit;
and as soon as the man was healed, he adjured the devil never to return more;
at which time he made mention of the name of Solomon, and rehearsed the
enchantments written by him: the said Eleazar, to
give a specimen of the efficacy of his art, set a cup full of water upon the
ground, and commanded the devil when he went out of the man, to turn it over,
as a sign that he had left the man, and the devil immediately obeyed his order:
Antiquities, Book 8; Chapter 2:46f
Luke tells a story in the book of Acts about
seven sons of a Jewish priest who were not always successful at casting out
demons (Acts 19:13-16).
(Acts 19:13–16 NKJV) —13 Then some
of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of
the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the
Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there
were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who
did so. 15 And the evil spirit
answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” 16
Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on
them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of
that house naked and wounded.
:19 Therefore they will be your judges
If Jesus is casting out demons by Beelzebub, then how can you say the
Jewish exorcists were any different?
On the judgment day, their own exorcists would stand as witnesses against
these people.
:20 But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of
God has come upon you.
:20 if I cast out demons with the finger of God
finger – daktulos – a
finger
When Moses was working to have Pharaoh release the Israelites from their
slavery, there was a sort of “contest” between God’s miracles and the tricks
that the Egyptian magicians were able to perform.
Yet there came a time when God’s miracles proved to be much greater than
magicians’ tricks.
Even the magicians realized this was God at work.
(Exodus 8:19 NKJV) Then the
magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s
heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.
Jesus didn’t have to perform elaborate rituals, He simply told the demons
to leave.
He’s laying claim to the same power that Moses used in Egypt.
He has been demonstrating the power of God.
The people Jesus is talking to are making a big mistake in not recognizing
that God has been at work.
:20 surely the kingdom of God has come upon you
surely – ara – therefore,
so then, wherefore
has come upon – phthano – to come
before, precede, anticipate; to come to, arrive at; to reach, attain to
Aorist active indicative
Lesson
When is the kingdom?
A kingdom of God is the realm where God is the king.
People have silly disagreements
over the kingdom of God and when it comes.
There are two simple truths that Jesus taught about when the kingdom of God
is coming.
Future
Jesus taught us to pray,
(Luke
11:2b NKJV) …Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
It is coming. It’s
on its way.
At the last supper, Jesus talked about the next time He
would drink wine:
(Luke
22:18 NKJV) for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until
the kingdom of God comes.”
The full kingdom of God has not yet come. It is established when Jesus returns.
Now
Jesus came to bring the kingdom of God here, right now.
(Luke
17:20–21 NKJV) —20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God
would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with
observation; 21 nor will
they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within
you.”
within – entos – inside, within, among
Until the day that Jesus returns at His Second Coming, the
kingdom of God is making its presence known through us.
It’s in us. It’s with us. It’s on us.
Lesson
Recognizing God’s Work
These Jews before Jesus are making
a mistake of missing out on what God was doing.
God in human flesh was at work
among them, and they are missing it.
Sometimes we are expecting big
fireworks and earthquakes when God works, but it isn’t always that way.
Sometimes it’s as simple as a man
beginning to speak.
:21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in
peace.
strong man – ischuros – strong,
mighty
fully armed – kathoplizo –
furnish with arms, “fully armed”
Satan is “fully armed”. Be careful.
guards – phulasso – to
guard; to watch, keep watch
palace – aule – among the
Greeks in Homer’s time, an uncovered space around the house, enclosed by a
wall, in which the stables stood, hence among the Orientals that roofless
enclosure by a wall, in the open country in which the flocks were herded at
night, a sheepfold; the house itself, a palace
goods – huparchonta –
possessions, goods, wealth, property
:21 a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace
Lesson
Reluctant Loser
Satan
The strong man is Satan. He is not just “strong”, but he is also “fully
armed”.
When a person gives a part of their life to Satan, Satan
makes their life a “palace” where he rules from.
He’s the “Lord of the house”
Satan doesn’t give up territory very easily. He will resist every attempt to unseat him
from his throne.
When a person has been dominated by Satan, and you as a Spirit filled
Christian come into their life, they are going to be uncomfortable around you
and may even get upset at you. When
Jesus met a demon possessed man in a synagogue, the man responded to Jesus …
(Luke
4:34 NKJV) saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of
Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
Satan is going to put up a fight to defend his territory.
Addictions
There is a parallel here with our addictions as well, whether they are
demonically empowered, or simply the product of our own foolish, fleshly
choices.
Unlike Satan or a demonic force, you aren’t going to be
able to get rid of your flesh.
Your sin nature is going to be with you until you die.
As believers we have to learn to “crucify” or “deny” our
flesh.
When your flesh is the “Lord of the house”, it does not like it when you
begin to encroach upon its territory that it’s protected for so long.
When you start dealing with your flesh, it reacts like the Wicked Witch of
the West when Dorothy flung water on her…
Video: Wizard of Oz – Witch Melting
:22 But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes
from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.
stronger – ischuros – strong,
mighty; comparative form (“stronger”)
overcomes – nikao – to conquer
armor – panoplia – full armour, complete armour; includes
shield, sword, lance, helmet, greaves, and breastplate
spoils – skulon – a
(beast’s) skin stripped off, a pelt; the weapons and valuables stripped off
from an enemy, spoils
divides – diadidomai – to
distribute, divide among several; to give over, deliver
:22 But when a stronger than he comes
Lesson
Jesus is stronger
Jesus is the “stronger” one who can easily beat Satan.
Do not be fooled into thinking that Satan is the opposite of Jesus.
Jesus is the Creator, God in the flesh. Satan is a created being, a fallen
angel.
There is no comparison between the two.
Jesus is the one who brings a gun to a knife fight…
Video: Indiana Jones Raiders – Gun
and Sword Fight
And for you Star Wars’ Fans, there’s this version…
Video: Indiana Jones vs Kylo Ren
Jesus has actually already won the battle, and He did it at the cross:
(Colossians 2:13–15
NKJV) —13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of
your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all
trespasses, 14 having wiped
out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to
us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having
disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them,
triumphing over them in it.
Some of you are struggling with things in your life and you feel like you
have absolutely no strength to fight it.
You’re actually correct with the idea.
But Jesus is stronger than you are.
He’s stronger than any demon.
He’s stronger than any addiction.
Lesson
Seizing Territory
When it comes to the battle, some of us are a little “shell shocked”.
I think the sooner we realize that we are in a real war, a spiritual battle,
the better.
I think that sometimes I am so awed at Satan’s ability to exercise power
over people that I give up. I think it’s hopeless.
Yet God has given us weapons in order to take the battle to Satan.
Prayer
(Matthew 18:18
NKJV) “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound
in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
God’s Word
Paul calls it…
(Ephesians 6:17
NKJV) … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
When Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus responded with the Word of
God.
Holy Spirit
(1 John 4:4 NKJV) You are of
God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is
greater than he who is in the world.
We don’t need to be afraid of Satan because God is way
bigger and more powerful than he is.
And when we belong to Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells in us.
Helping Others
For those of us who have walked with God a little longer, we have a
responsibility to help others in the battle.
When we help others, we often end up helping ourselves.
Sometimes this helping comes across a little like teaching or sharing our
experiences.
Paul talked about this influence we have on others’ lives like this:
(2
Timothy 2:24–26 NKJV) —24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but
be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps
will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that
they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil,
having been taken captive by him to do his will.
We can help set the captives free.
:23 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me
scatters.
gather – sunago – to gather
together, to gather; to draw together, collect; to bring together, assemble,
collect; to join together, join in one (those previously separated)
scatters – skorpizo – to
scatter; of those who, routed or terror stricken or driven by some other
impulses, fly in every direction; to scatter abroad (what others may collect
for themselves), or one dispensing blessings liberally
:23 He who is not with Me is against Me
Lesson
Where do you stand?
There is no neutral ground with Jesus.
What do you think of Him?
Do you think He was just a “good man”?
Do you think He was just a harmless philosopher?
Do you think you’re just “neutral” with Jesus?
You are either for Jesus or against Jesus.
When you get to the elevator in a building, there are just two buttons – up
or down.
There is no “undecided”.
Are you going up or are you going down?
:24 “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.’
goes out of – exerchomai – to go
or come forth of; of those who are expelled or cast out
goes through – dierchomai – to go
through, pass through; to go, walk, journey, pass through a place; to go
different places
dry – anudros – without
water
rest – anapausis –
intermission, cessation of any motion, business or labour;
rest, recreation
I will return – hupostrepho – to
turn back; to turn about; to return
:24 goes through dry places, seeking rest
Jesus is giving us a little insight into the world of demons.
Demons want a place to inhabit.
They want living creatures to inhabit, not dry dead things.
I wonder if this isn’t going to be a bit of a warning to the fellow from
whom Jesus has just cast out a demon.
:25 And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order.
swept – saroo – to sweep,
clean by sweeping
Perfect passive participle
put in order – kosmeo – to put in
order, arrange, make ready, prepare; to ornament, adore; metaph. to embellish
with honor, gain honor
Perfect passive participle
This is a picture of a person who has been delivered from demonic
possession.
:26 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.”
takes – paralambano – to
take to, to take with one’s self, to join to one’s self; an associate, a
companion
more wicked – poneros – full of labours, annoyances, hardships; bad, of a bad nature or
condition; in an ethical sense: evil wicked, bad; here it is a comparative
form, “more wicked”
dwell – katoikeo – to
dwell, settle; metaph. divine powers, influences, etc., are said to dwell in
his soul, to pervade, prompt, govern it; to dwell in, inhabit; to dwell,
settle, temporarily
worse – cheiron –
comparative of kakos;
worse
:26 the last state of that man is worse than the first
Lesson
Fill the emptiness
Because demons want a living body to inhabit, they may try to come back to
the original host if the house is empty.
The original demon might bring seven others to all inhabit the same person.
Jesus met a man nicknamed “Legion” because he had thousands of demons
living inside of him.
It is a wonderful thing when a person can become free from the power of
Satan.
But an empty house is a dangerous thing.
The house needs to be filled with Jesus.
Addictions can be similar.
Some addictions can indeed be linked to the demonic, but for most, their
addictions are simply a problem of their own sin nature.
I have had many friends who have come out of addiction tell me that there
is a danger when a person breaks free from their addiction.
If they’re not careful, they will simply swap one
addiction with another.
They may move from being an alcoholic to becoming addicted
to prescription drugs, sex, pornography, over eating, or even rage.
Jesus talked about how we can try to satisfy our inner
thirst with things that don’t satisfy.
(John
4:13–14 NKJV) —13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will
thirst again, 14
but
whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the
water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up
into everlasting life.”
We need Jesus to fill our emptiness.
This is why it is vital that the first “step” you take is
to realize that Jesus is greater than your addiction, and fill your life with
Jesus.
The question is, how does this happen?
Imagine your car’s warning light goes off to tell you that
you are low on oil, so you buy some oil and …
Video: Blond and Engine Oil
Pouring oil on your engine is like coming to church and
expecting that to satisfy your thirst.
What you need is to get the Holy Spirit deep into the
engine, deep into your life, deep into your heart.
Don’t stop with external, superficial experiences.
Let Him go deep into your life.