Bible Study for Today

How far would some go to explain away Jesus’ power?

Having just watched Jesus cast a demon out of a person, some people said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of demons” (Luke 11:15). Originally this referred to Baal-Zebul (“Baal, the prince”), chief god of the Philistine city of Ekron. The Israelites disdainfully referred to him as Baal-Zebub (“Lord of Flies”).

Jesus reminded them that “every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation” (v. 17). This may have been a subtle jab at the Jewish nation, a kingdom divided in the time of Jeroboam, and still marked by various kinds of bitter internal strife and factionalism, right up to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. He also questioned them: “By whom do your sons cast them out?” (v. 19). There were Jewish exorcists who claimed power to cast out demons (Acts 19:13–15). Jesus’ point was that if such exorcisms could be done via satanic power, the Pharisaical exorcists must be suspect, as well. And in fact, the evidence in Acts 19 suggests that the sons of Sceva were charlatans who employed fraud and trickery to fabricate phony exorcisms. “They will be your judges” (v. 19), i.e., witnesses against you. This seems to suggest that the fraudulent exorcisms (which had their approval) stood as a testimony against the Pharisees themselves, who disapproved of Christ’s genuine exorcisms.

“But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (v. 20). In Exodus 8:19, the phony magicians of Egypt were forced to confess that Moses’ miracles were genuine works of God, not mere trickery such as they had performed. Here Jesus made a similar comparison between His exorcisms and the work of the Jewish exorcists.

Reading for Today:

Joshua 13:1–14:15Psalm 44:20-26Proverbs 14:3Luke 11:1-28

Notes:

Joshua 13:22 Israel also killed...Balaam. This Israelite slaying of the infamous false prophet occurred at an unidentified point during the conquest (see Num. 31:16; Josh. 24:9, 10; 2 Pet. 2:15, 16; Jude 11; Rev. 2:14).

Psalm 44:22 Yet for Your sake.They had no specific answers—only this inescapable conclusion that, by God’s sovereign will, they were allowed to be destroyed by their enemies. See Paul’s quote of this verse in Romans 8:36 and its general principle in Matthew 5:10–12; 1 Peter 3:13–17; 4:12–16.

Luke 11:1 Lord, teach us to pray.Rabbis often composed prayers for their disciples to recite. Having seen Jesus pray many times, Jesus’ disciples knew of His love for prayer, and they knew prayer was not just the reciting of words.

Luke 11:28 More than that. This has the sense of, “Yes, but rather….” While not denying the blessedness of Mary, Christ did not countenance any tendency to elevate Mary as an object of veneration. Mary’s relationship to Him as His physical mother did not confer on her any greater honor than the blessedness of those who hear and obey the word of God.