Luke 11:14 NKJV
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.
This opens Christ up to accusations. This is really only a relative excuse to not deal with conviction though.
Luke 11:15 NKJV
But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
that name means "lord of the flies". Seems more like a statement designed to avoid the real issue.
Luke 11:16-19 NKJV
Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven. 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. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
A very logical point that Jesus makes to refute the accusation. Keep in mind this is also true of us and the church though. If we are against eachother we cannot stand Christian.
Luke 11:19-20 NKJV
And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Jesus is here and making sure that they were not able to use smokescrean questions to avoid the reality that the Son of God was before them.
Luke 11:21-22 NKJV
When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. 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.
This is all still in context to that driving out of a demon. Satan is the strongman and then along comes a stronger man = Jesus. We need Jesus in our spiritual battle. We need to put on the spiritual armor of God from Ephesians 6 in this spiritual battle. Cry out to the stronger man (Jesus) in our battle and He will deliver you from the evil one.
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.
James 4:7 NKJV
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Luke 11:22-23 NKJV
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. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
Jesus divides everyone here into two groups. Similarly we are told lukewarm is not acceptable. Too many people today are walking around saying they are simply undecided. Let me tell you that you are thus decided. It's either for Him or against Him y'all. If you are unsure, then you are in the against Him catagory. If you are attending church or Bible study just so that others see you doing so or because "its the thing to do", then you may also want to consIder yourself against Him. BEING A FAKE CHRISTIAN DOESNT MEAN YOU ARE FOR CHRIST. I encourage you if you havnt already decided to make you choice and be clear about it now... You may not have a later.
Luke 11:24-26
“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.”
It's important not just to turn away from evil and get your act together... but it's also important to get God in place of that evil, because evil returns and if it's home is still vacant, it may bring friends and u may now be even worse off. You must be cleaned inside out allowing the Holy Spirit to come in and work.
Luke 11:27-28 NKJV
And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Unlike certain religious groups who shall remain unnammed, Jesus very carefully leads them away from worshiping Mary and points out that the blessed are those that hear and keep God's word.
Luke 11:29-30 NKJV
And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.
Matthew 12:40 NKJV
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
The reference here is 3 days and a ressurection... if that's not enough of a sign for u then I don't know what is. One must be practically blind to the facts laid out in history to not see Jesus fulfilling all the prophecies foretold of the Messiah.
Luke 11:31 NKJV
The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.
Jesus is saying he is greater than Solomon and yet look how much a queen went through just to Co.e before Solomon. But they just aren't listening to the message.
Luke 11:32 NKJV
The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
They listened to Jonah but again, they wouldn't listen to Jesus.
Luke 11:33-34 NKJV
“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.
In order to see an object two things are required. Light. Is one of them and the eye is the other. Jesus is telling them that He is the light but their eyes aren't working correctly because they cannot see the light. He is calling them spiritually blind.
Luke 11:35-38 NKJV
Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.” And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat. When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.
They actually think Jesus is sinning here because they had made for themselves additional rules that were not given by God and they considered eating without washing your hands even down to the specifics way that one must was therefore sin before God.
Luke 11:35-36, 39-41 NKJV
Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.” Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.Luke 11:35-36, 42 NKJV
Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.” “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
They focused on the external value of things. And though Jesus doesn't condemn that, he does say that they must not neglect the inside works like greed and being just in relationships instead of just going through the outward motions. We must be so careful not to allow that to happen to us also as Christians. Yes serving in your church is great and doing Bible studies are wonderful and spending time in prayer is awesome but the inside must be delt with too. Don't put on that spiritual mask and become fake doing things only so that others see it.
Luke 11:35-36, 43-44 NKJV
Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.” Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them. ”
He is here comparing them with the ability to make others unclean before the Lord just as they believed they would be if they were to accidentally step on a grave (thus graves were to be clearly marked).
Luke 11:45 NKJV
Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, “Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also.”
These lawyers were putting burdens on people that weren't in the word of God. We need to be sure we do not do the same.
Luke 11:46-47 NKJV
And He said, “Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
They would build tombs for the prophets but indeed they are the very ones that killed them.. Jesus is pointing out their hypocracy here.
Luke 11:49-51 NKJV
Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.
Luke 11:52-54 NKJV
“Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.” And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.
They now press in on Jesus and try to catch him in His words.
There is no nueutral ground with Jesus. You are for Him or against Him and He demands one or the other. If you are not yet for Him but desire to be, you can be saved today and begin living a new life today. It's not by your own merrit but it is a free gift that is prepared for those whose hearts are prepared. Let me know if you are interested in accepting this free gift and beginning a new life with Christ today.
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