WALKING WITH THE FRIEND OF SINNERS Day 62

Read Luke 11: 14-28

JESUS ANSWERS HOSTILE ACCUSATIONS
There are two train of thoughts on these verses: 1) Some of the Pharisees’ followers drove out demons. If this was so, the Pharisees’ accusations were becoming desperate. Too accuse Jesus of being empowered by Satan, the prince of demons, because Jesus was driving out demons was also to say that the Pharisees own followers were doing Satan’s work. Jesus turned the religious leaders accusations against them.
2) Another possibility is that the Pharisees’ followers were not driving out demons; and even if they tried, they did not succeed. Jesus first dismissed their claim as absurd. Then He engaged with a little irony. Finally He concluded that His work of driving out demons proved that the kingdom of God had arrived.
Satan, who had controlled the kingdom of this world for thousands of years, was now being controlled and overpowered by Jesus and the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus’ kingdom began to come into power at Jesus’ birth and grew as He resisted the wilderness temptations. It established itself through His teachings and healings, blossomed in victory at His resurrection and at Pentecost, and will become permanent and universal at His second coming.
Regardless of how great Satan’s power is, Jesus is stronger still. He will overpower Satan and dispose of him for eternity.
There is a conflict between God and the Devil. In this battle, if a person is not on God’s side, he/she is on Satan’s. There is no neutral ground. Because God has already won the battle, why be on the losing side? If you aren’t actively for Christ, you are against Him.
Your desire to reform often does not last long. It is not enough to be emptied of evil; you must be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish God”s new purpose in your life.
Jesus spoke to people who put extremely high value on family ties. A man’s value came from his ancestors, and a woman’s value came from the sons she bore. Jesus’ response to this woman in verses 27 and 28, meant that a person’s obedience to God is more important than his/her place on the family tree. Consistent obedience is more important than the honor of bearing a respected son.