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Luke 11:14-36
Reading hostile thoughts 14 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. 15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. 16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. 17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. 18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. 19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. 20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. 21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: 22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. 23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. 24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. 25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. 27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. 28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. 29 And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. 30 For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. 31 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 33 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. 34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. 35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. 36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light. |
Margin notes:
"It was dumb." (11:14) - "He was mute." Refers to the possessed man, not the devil. "Tempting him." (11:16) - Means, "testing him." Jesus will be tested over and over again (Matthew 12:38; 16:1; Mark 8:11; John 6:30). "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation." (11:17) - "Every kingdom that fights itself is destroyed." "If Satan also be divided against himself." (11:18) - "If Satan fights against himself." If Satan gave Jesus the power to cast out demons, how could he survive? "By whom do your sons cast them out?" (11:19) - The "sons" are followers of the Pharisees who preformed exorcisms (Acts 19:13-16). The Pharisees did not question the source of their exorcist's power. For them to say you needed Satan to perform an exorcism was, in effect, to accuse their own exorcists. "Therefore shall they be your judges." (11:19) - The Pharisees own exorcists will judge them harshly for saying their power comes from Satan. "If I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come." (11:20) - However, "if the power of God allows me to cast out devils, then truly the Kingdom of God has arrived." "Keepeth his palace." (11:21) - "Guards his palace." "His goods are in peace." (11:21) - "His property is safe." "He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth." (11:23) - Means, when it comes to Jesus, you either believe, or you don't. There is no neutrality. To take the middle road is to reject salvation. Jesus reinforced this teaching in Matthew 12:30, Mark 9:40, and Luke 9:50. "He walketh through dry places." (11:24) - "It wanders through the dry wilderness." "Swept and garnished" (11:25) - "Swept and made clean (of God)." "The last state." (11:26) - "The final state." "Blessed is the womb that bare thee." (11:27) - "Blessed is the woman who bore you." This anonymous woman in the crowd unknowingly echoed the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:26-28), Mary's cousin Elisabeth (Luke 1:42), and Mary herself (Luke 1:48). Indeed, everyone who keeps the word of God is blessed (11:28). "Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." (11:28) - A similar message can be found in Proverbs 19:16. Additional note: Jesus tells us that "the word of God" is a necessary thing (Luke 10:42). That faith comes from hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17) and those who obey are blessed (Revelation 1:3) and are His brethren (Luke 8:21). Jesus taught that we "live" "by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4) and that it shall last forever (Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 24:35). We are saved "by the word of God' (1 Peter 1:23). "When the people were gathered thick." (11:29) - Means, there was a large crowd. "They seek a sign." (11:29) - "They seek a miracle (to prove that Jesus is the Messiah)." "Jonas." (11:29) - Also called Jonah. The son of Amittai (2 Kings 14:25), Jonas was an Old Testament prophet who lived seven hundred years before the birth of Christ. Fearing that the brutal Assyrians would kill him, Jonah refused God's assignment to go to Assyrian and preach. While fleeing from his task, Jonah was swallowed by a whale but "resurrected" in three days after he promised to go to Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, and preach. Miraculously, rather than kill Jonah, the Assyrians repented after hearing him (Jonah 3:3-5). Just as Jonah being "resurrected" from the whale after three days was a "sign" to the Ninevites, Jesus' resurrection is a "sign" for all mankind (Matthew 12:40). You can read more in the Old Testament book of Jonah. "For as Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites....." (11:30) - The Ninevites were the citizens of Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian Empire, one of the bloodiest and evil nations that ever existed (Jonah 1:2). Nineveh was located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River near the modern-day city of Mosul, Iraq. Nineveh was established by Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah and the first King of Babylon (Genesis 10:8-12). The city was surrounded by a forty-foot high wall, and it had the first known freshwater aqueduct system. Zephaniah 2:13-15, written around 625 BC, predicted the fall of Nineveh, and by 612 BC. the city was destroyed by Babylon. Nineveh's ruins were discovered in 1820 and included numerous palaces and a vast library which contained 22,000 inscribed clay tablets. "Son of man." (11:30) - "Jesus." "The Queen of the South." (11:31) - Also called the Queen of Sheba. Sheba was a Gentile from the Kingdom of the Sabeans, which is believed to have been in present-day Yemen. Sheba made a long, dangerous trip to Jerusalem to see the wisdom of the Hebrew King Solomon but discovered the glory of God instead (1 Kings 10:1-10; 2 Chronicles 9:1-12). If the Queen of Sheba and the Ninevites repented after hearing far less evidence than Jews should have done the same after hearing the Messiah Himself. "For they repented." (11:32) - The Ninevites repented after hearing Jonah's preaching Jonah 3:5). "When thine eye is Single." (11:34) - "When your eye is good." Jesus is reiterating this teaching from Matthew 6:22. |
