Word@Work Luke183 - Luke 11:17-20
Published: Fri, 09/03/10
Word@Work from BeaconLight
EXPOSING ERROR
Luke 11:17-20 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you." (NIV)
Accusing Jesus of performing exorcisms by the power of Satan was the religious establishment's way of discrediting the Son of God, and retaining their own power-base. However it also showed the hollowness of their wisdom, spiritual credibility and common sense. Although we cannot arrive at God's truth simply by logic (we need Him to reveal what is outside of our knowledge and experience), we can use logic to expose error, as Jesus did here. Without needing to hear their conversation, Jesus knew their thoughts and tested them through logical questions.
The key to His argument was that Satan is determined to win his wicked war against God. There is no reason why the devil should join forces with Jesus in order to demolish his own evil principality. It has no logical sense. On the other hand, if there was any truth in the accusation, the Jewish exorcists would have to answer the same question: were they empowered by demons too? The other logical possibility was that Jesus was driving out evil spirits by God's authority: in that case, the religious leaders ought to take notice of Him and follow Him, because Jesus was establishing His kingdom. Of course, none of those possibilities was palatable to His hearers who wanted to appear powerfully wise at the same time as destroying Jesus' reputation.
Good questions and logical arguments are a necessary part of education, business and any strategic planning environment. They enable ideas to be thought through and decisions to be made. But the closer we get to questioning God, the more we realise that we are under His spotlight. That is why Jesus often answered a question designed to trap Him, with another question designed to reveal the heart of His interrogator. Of course, however much we try to answer those who want to derail our faith, we can never force others to believe; but by asking logical questions, we can encourage our friends and colleagues to think about their own logical inconsistency. As in a court of law, what is not true will be exposed by logical questions: we then pray that God will make the truth plain as we and others share His revealed gospel.
Prayer: Ever-wise God. Thank You for the example of Jesus in using questions to expose the error of His accusers. Help us to be bold to challenge the false assumptions of others, knowing that the truth will always stand in its own integrity while falsehood cannot have internal consistency. Forgive me Lord when I may have simply voiced my own views without finding a way to help my friends and colleagues to start to think about the credibility of what they think. Please keep me humble too, ready for You to question me and to accept Your revelation of truth in the Bible, without which I can have no secure framework for my own thinking. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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Accusing Jesus of performing exorcisms by the power of Satan was the religious establishment's way of discrediting the Son of God, and retaining their own power-base. However it also showed the hollowness of their wisdom, spiritual credibility and common sense. Although we cannot arrive at God's truth simply by logic (we need Him to reveal what is outside of our knowledge and experience), we can use logic to expose error, as Jesus did here. Without needing to hear their conversation, Jesus knew their thoughts and tested them through logical questions.
The key to His argument was that Satan is determined to win his wicked war against God. There is no reason why the devil should join forces with Jesus in order to demolish his own evil principality. It has no logical sense. On the other hand, if there was any truth in the accusation, the Jewish exorcists would have to answer the same question: were they empowered by demons too? The other logical possibility was that Jesus was driving out evil spirits by God's authority: in that case, the religious leaders ought to take notice of Him and follow Him, because Jesus was establishing His kingdom. Of course, none of those possibilities was palatable to His hearers who wanted to appear powerfully wise at the same time as destroying Jesus' reputation.
Good questions and logical arguments are a necessary part of education, business and any strategic planning environment. They enable ideas to be thought through and decisions to be made. But the closer we get to questioning God, the more we realise that we are under His spotlight. That is why Jesus often answered a question designed to trap Him, with another question designed to reveal the heart of His interrogator. Of course, however much we try to answer those who want to derail our faith, we can never force others to believe; but by asking logical questions, we can encourage our friends and colleagues to think about their own logical inconsistency. As in a court of law, what is not true will be exposed by logical questions: we then pray that God will make the truth plain as we and others share His revealed gospel.
Prayer: Ever-wise God. Thank You for the example of Jesus in using questions to expose the error of His accusers. Help us to be bold to challenge the false assumptions of others, knowing that the truth will always stand in its own integrity while falsehood cannot have internal consistency. Forgive me Lord when I may have simply voiced my own views without finding a way to help my friends and colleagues to start to think about the credibility of what they think. Please keep me humble too, ready for You to question me and to accept Your revelation of truth in the Bible, without which I can have no secure framework for my own thinking. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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