BiblicalMastery Buddy's bible blog

Lesson 32

A House Divided

Luke 11:14-28

Over the course of my lifetime I have attended on a regular basis or belonged to five different churches in three different denominations.  Of those five in three of them I have experienced some type of discord within the congregation related to the Pastor. In those situations there has been open hostility towards the man the church called to be its leader.  The earliest recollection of this type of divisiveness occurred when I was just a teenager.  The church asked the minister to leave because in the mind of the people he did not fit the bill of what they saw as a good preacher or pastor. 

In one church a beloved pastor left because he could no longer work in an environment where everything that was done was compared to what his predecessor had done.  He continually lived in the shadow of that man.  He finally decided that the church needed someone without ties to the previous man.  Sadly, the next minister was an aggressive individual who believed that he was called because the church wanted to move in a new direction.  When he suggested changes or began to implement them he ran headlong into the establishment of those who were not about to budge, because they liked things exactly as they were.  After a number of years the minister was actually driven out of that church.  The last Sunday I attended there I just sensed that the Holy Spirit was not present in such a hostile climate.  That church has since closed its doors.

If there is one weapon that satan uses more than any other it is division and strife in the church.  We become his unwitting allies when we fight either among ourselves or attack the leadership of the church.  Christ and the writers of the New Testament constantly called the followers of Christ to be unified.  Many of the epistles were written because of problems in the church, especially those things that cause division.  Jesus on the last night before His crucifixion prayed that the disciples and those who would come after them in the faith would be one with Him and His Father.  In at least the letters to the Corinthians, Galatians and Philippians Paul had to deal with cliques or individuals in conflict with each other and sometimes his teaching.  The apostle John, especially in 3^rd John had to call out those who were destroying the fellowship of the church in Ephesus. 

Whenever members of the church loses their focus on Christ and His work and look at their own ministry, small groups or teams as central to the church then division is standing at the door waiting to keep the people from being unified.  We are then in danger of seeing satan gain victory over us and slowing down the impact a church might have on the community.  When David drifted away Nathan had to tell him that his actions actually allowed the nations around Israel to blaspheme God. In the eyes of His enemies he had made God appear too weak to receive complete dedication from the one king who God had placed on the throne of Israel. David was a man after God’s own heart but certainly did not behave in that way.

Luke 11:14

As He had done so often before Jesus cast out a demon from a man.  Unlike before the demon did not speak and had caused the man to be mute.  When he was freed the man began to speak. Luke wrote that the crowd was once again amazed.

1. In what way was the action of that particular demon different from the ones previously faced by Jesus?
2. What impact had he had on the man’s life?
3. Why was the crowd amazed?
4. How is it that we are so often amazed when God does something in our midst?
5. What does our reaction show about our faith?

Luke 11:15-16

There were two responses to the miracle done in the man’s life.  The people reacted by:

• Accusing Jesus of casting out the demon under the authority of Beelzebul, the chief of the demons.  Beelzebul is just another name for satan. When a person does not have an answer for what he has just experienced the easiest thing to do is to attempt to demean what a person does or says by ridiculing him, accusing him falsely or using intimidation. The militant atheist uses these tactics because they have no answers to refute the truth of God.
• Testing Him by wanting to see some kind of sign from heaven.  It was not enough that they had just seen a man cured.  The crowd always wanted more.  By denying His power over demons they were actually questioning God’s ability to work through Him.  This is called blasphemy.

 

1. What were the two different ways that the people responded to the miracle?
2. In what way were they the same? (Both were mean to discredit the miracle that Jesus had performed.)
3. Why do people use such tactics when they hear what they do not want to hear? (Because they have no answers for the truth.)
4. To what have the militant atheists resorted to doing in debates over the reality of God and Christianity? (They no longer answer questions or give a reasonable argument for their positions but resort to be belligerent.)

Luke 11:17-18

Jesus knew what they were thinking and spoke to them using a tool of logic.  His opening defense was:

A kingdom that hopes to continue cannot be divided.  Two things will happen to it.  It will be laid waste and it will fall.  They should have understood that satan was not going to do anything that would weaken his forces or bring defeat on himself.  If he was allowing a person, like Jesus and the other Jewish exorcists to cast out demons his whole plan for the control and destruction of man would fail miserably.

1        Why was the accusation made against Jesus by the people problematic? (It was not logically possible.)

2        What are satan’s tactics?

3        How would what they were saying go against everything that the devil is trying to do in the world?

4        Can you name a time when you may have made such illogical statements concerning what you understand about God? What was the occasion?

5        What does Jesus’ statement say about churches when there is division to be found in them?

6        How does this principle operate in homes, among friends or other organizations?

Luke 11:19

The second point in Jesus’ defense brought the issue closer to home.  He used a logical argument to show that to accuse Him was to bring judgment upon them.  The steps look something like:

• The fact that a demon had been cast out was undeniable.
• If He is in league with satan in the casting out of demons
• The Jews who cast out demons must also be in league with satan
• Therefore because they approved of their actions they also were guilty of working with the devil.

 

1        How did their accusation bring judgment on them?

2        In what ways does Jesus’ logic make sense to you?

3        How could you use a process like this in sharing Jesus with others?

4        How often have you been caught in a verbal trap as the people in that crowd did that day?

5        How have you handled situations like this when you have been falsely accused of something?

Luke 11:20

One final point was made that summed up what had really taken place.  Jesus words also would have been encouraging to the people as well.  If indeed Jesus had cast out the demon under the authority of God then the kingdom of God had truly come upon them. It would also mean that those among them who had done the same would have cast out demons by the finger of God.

1. What had really taken place?
2. How would Jesus’ words be an encouragement to them?
3. What did it mean for the people for Jesus to have accomplished the work that He had done in the man’s life?

Luke 11:21-22

Jesus painted a picture for the people that very clearly pointed to Himself.  In the parable:  

• The strong man with all of his weapons and guards surrounding him feels he is perfectly safe in his domain.  Truly that attitude is one of false security. The devil believes that this world is his playground and he is king of the hill.
• The stronger man who entered into the domain is Jesus. He had come into the world to reclaim all that was His.
• The devil was no match for the more powerful Jesus who took out of his hand all he had possessed and gave it to the conquering people.

 

1        Who are the different characters in this parable?

2        Why does satan still maintain that this world belongs to him?

3        What are his weapons and who are the guards around him that give him a false security?

4        What weapons does Jesus bring to the battle?

5        Who benefits from the defeat of satan?

Luke 11:23

There is no middle ground with Christ.  Man either chooses to give his life to Him or chooses death.  Many throughout history have tried to live on the spiritual fence.  They have not been willing to make the commitment to follow Jesus with their total being.  All that one has to do is look at the state of the church today to see how this continues to be played out.  Attendance is sporadic at best and ministries within and outside the walls suffer for lack of people who are willing to serve.  Jesus made it very clear in another place that those who do not give their lives to them that He never knew them.

1        What did Jesus mean by the statement about either being for Him or against Him?

2        What are the indications that a person has made that choice?

3        How have people tried to live as if they are sitting on the fence?

4        What will be the response of Jesus to each of those groups?

Luke 11:24-26

As if to explain what a man would look like who had not committed his life to Jesus.  He was like a man who had been possessed by a demon.  The man may have somehow been freed from the demon and cleaned out all of the evidence from his life that the demon had been there.  The problem was that he left the place where the evil spirit had left empty.  He may have tried to fill it with religion or other meaningless pursuits. 

In the meantime the demon had tried to find a new home but was unsuccessful so he returned to see how things were going with the man.  Finding him empty he found seven other spirits. All of them took residence making him seven times worse that he was previously.  Every person is going to be filled with some spiritual relationship good or bad.  Unfortunately the man was one who thought he could continue to sit on the fence and not have to make a decision.  It ended up costing him his peace and life.

1        In what way was this man an example of those who are unable to decide whether they wanted to be a disciple of Jesus or not?

2        What is the problem with just getting rid of the bad in our lives?

3        How is this picture like those who have religion and not Christ?

4        What does it mean when we understand that there is a void in our lives that only God can fill?

5        What commitment have you made in your life?

Luke 11:27-28

As Jesus finished speaking a women cried out.  She invoked a blessing on the woman who bore him and nurture Him during His early life.  Jesus indicated that there was one thing more important than all the things done to sustain human life. The real blessing comes to one who hears God’s word and follows what it teaches.

1        Why did the woman cry to bless the one who had given Him life? (Because of His ministry.)

2        What was more important to Jesus?

3        How does the world know that we have heard God’s word?

4        What are the things that we do that indicate we have indeed received His word?

•   Do not take part in any group that seeks to divide the church.
•   Seek the truth in every situation.
•   Be careful not to condemn someone just because you do not agree with them.  What    

  they believe may be helpful to you.

•   Fill your life with that which will help you to grow spiritually.
•   Remember it is not religion but Christ who will give meaning to your life.
•   Hear the word of God with an open heart and mind and believe the message within its  

  pages.

One of the things that the church has done to hopefully eliminate dissension is enact the elder model of leadership.  With this kind of team in place reduces the focus on one individual.  It is so easy to criticize when there is just one person in a leadership role.  We have worked hard to make sure that it is not a house divided but one of unity.  Much more can be accomplished for God’s kingdom when we are all working toward the same goal.  We want to be messengers for Christ who do not get sidetracked by peripheral issues.  Great care must be taken to make sure the world does not see a number of diverse groups with their own agendas at work in the body.  Let us not be a house that is ready to collapse from within, but one built on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ.