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Scripture Reading: Luke 11:1-54
Luke 11:1-54 covers four matters: the Man-Savior’s teaching about prayer (Luke 11:1-13), His being rejected by the evil generation (Luke 11:14-32), His warning not to be in darkness (Luke 11:33-36), and His rebuking the Pharisees and lawyers (Luke 11:37-54). We considered the first section in the foregoing message. In this message we shall cover the other three sections in this chapter.
In Luke 11:14-32 we see that the Man-Savior was rejected by the evil generation. This section begins with the account of the casting out of a demon: “And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; and it occurred that when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds marveled.” Dumbness by demon possession signifies the inability to speak for God (Isa. 56:10) and praise God (Isa. 35:6) due to the worship of dumb idols (1 Cor. 12:2). The speaking of the mute man here signifies the recovery of the speaking and praising ability by being filled with the Lord in the spirit (Eph. 5:18-19).
According to Luke 11:15, some said, “He casts out the demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” The name “Beelzebub” means the lord of the flies, the name of the god of the Ekronites (2 Kings 1:2). It was changed in contempt by the Jews to Baalzebel, which means lord of the dunghill, and used for the ruler of the demons (Matt. 12:24, 27; Mark 3:22). Those in Luke 11:15 reviled the Man-Savior by saying that He cast out demons by the ruler of the demons. This most blasphemous name expressed their strongest objection and rejection.
In verses 17 and 18 the Lord went on to say to those who accused Him of casting out demons by Beelzebub, “Every kingdom divided against itself is made desolate, and a house divided against a house falls. And if also Satan is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? Because you say that I cast out the demons by Beelzebub.” The Lord’s word indicates that Satan has a kingdom. Satan is the ruler of this world (John 12:31) and the ruler of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2). He has his authority (Acts 26:18) and his angels (Matt. 25:41), who are his subordinates as principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world (Eph. 6:12). Hence, he has his kingdom, the authority of darkness (Col. 1:13).
Luke 11:19 and 20 say, “But if I by Beelzebub cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I by the finger of God cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” The “finger of God” is a Hebraistic expression. The finger (v. 46) is smaller than the hand and the arm. To cast out the demons does not need the hand of God (John 10:28, 29) nor the arm of God (Isa. 53:1); just the finger of God is powerful enough to do this. Yet it is still done by the Spirit of God (Matt. 12:28).
In verses 21 and 22 the Lord continues, “When the strong man fully armed guards his own house, his possessions are in peace; but when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes away his whole armor on which he had relied, and distributes his spoil.” The strong man here is Satan, the evil one, and the house signifies the kingdom of Satan. But Christ, the Son of God, is much stronger than Satan, the strong man.
The first section of Luke 11, verses 1 through 13, is wonderful. Here we see the matter of praying ourselves into God and remaining in Him to receive the life supply, the riches of the Holy Spirit. Now in the second section we have demons, the ruler of the demons, and the strong man. This indicates that as we are in God receiving His riches, we need to remember that demons are around us wherever we may be, and there are evil spirits in the air. Hence, a war is raging all the time. Therefore, the Man-Savior teaches us not only to pray ourselves into God and remain in Him to receive His Spirit as the riches of the life supply, but He also reveals that He is working to cast out demons.
If we get into the depths of Luke 11, we shall see that when we enjoy the riches of God by remaining in Him, we shall realize that we are in a situation that is full of demons. Therefore, we should never expect that today there can be heaven on earth. No, there are many demons, many obstacles and hindrances to the New Testament jubilee. In the jubilee people are set free from the possession and oppression of the demons. Nevertheless, the demons are still present, and many people cooperate with them. Those who cooperate with the demons are used by Satan to damage the New Testament jubilee. But the Man-Savior is here to cast out the demons.
We have seen that the Devil is likened to a strong man. But the Man-Savior is stronger than this strong man. The Lord is so strong that in order to cast out demons it is not necessary for Him to use His arm or even His hand. It is sufficient for Him to use only His finger. Simply by using His finger, the Man-Savior is able to cast out demons.
If we are those who pray ourselves into God and remain in Him to receive the life supply, we shall be one with the Man-Savior. Since He is stronger than the strong man and since we are one with Him, we also shall be stronger than the strong man and able to deal with the unclean spirits and cast them out.
In 11:24 to 26 the Lord says, “When the unclean spirit goes out from the man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest; and not finding any, he says, I will return to my house, from which I came out; and when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes along other spirits more evil than himself, seven of them, and he enters and makes his home there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.” We need to understand the spiritual significance of this word. The significance here is that after we have been cleansed from the possession of the demons, we may still be empty, not filled with the life supply of the Spirit. In other words, inwardly we are not occupied by God and with God.
If we consider these verses in the context of the entire chapter, we shall see that we need to be those who are always praying to be brought into God and who then remain in Him to receive the riches of the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with these riches, there will be no room in us for anything else to come in. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, who brings us the riches of the Triune God, there will be no space in us for anything else to enter in and occupy us.
Furthermore, if we pray ourselves into God and remain in Him to be filled with the riches of the Holy Spirit, we shall be those who are altogether in the light (11:33-36). We shall be persons full of light. We shall have light within us and around us.
This is the understanding of these verses that is according to our spiritual experience. Apart from this understanding, we shall not know why the various sections in chapter eleven are put together. From our experience we know that when we remain in God to receive the riches of the Spirit’s supply, we leave no room in us for demons or for darkness. We are fully in the light. Therefore, we are filled with the riches of the Spirit and with light.
Luke 11:33 says, “No one having lit a lamp puts it in a secret place, nor under the bushel, but on the lampstand, in order that those who are entering in may see the light.” In His ministry the Man-Savior brings light to us. Hence, such a ministry issues in the believers as luminaries (Phil. 2:15) and the churches as lampstands (Rev. 1:20), shining in this dark age as His testimony, and consummating in the New Jerusalem with the outstanding characteristics of life and light (Rev. 22:1-2; 21:11, 23, 24).
A “bushel” is a grain measure. A lighted lamp placed under the bushel cannot shine out its light. The believers as a lighted lamp should not be covered by the bushel, an item pertaining to eating, which causes anxiety (Matt. 6:25).
In 11:34-36 the Lord continues, “The lamp of the body is your eye. When your eye is single, your whole body is illuminated; but when it is evil, your body also is dark. Watch out therefore, that the light which is in you be not darkness. If therefore your whole body is illuminated, not having any part dark, the whole shall be illuminated as when the lamp with its bright shining illuminates you.” The Greek rendered “illuminated” in verse 34 may also be translated “full of light” or “bright.” Here the Lord is saying that when our eye is single, our whole body will be full of light.
Our eyes can focus on only one thing at a time. If we try to see two things at once, our sight will be blurred. If we focus our eyes on one thing, our sight will be single, and our whole body will be illuminated.
In verse 35 the Lord speaks about “the light which is in you.” The light in us, which the eye illuminates (v. 34), is the light in our heart, which should be kept pure for God (Matt. 5:8).
In 11:37-54 we have a record of the Man-Savior rebuking the Pharisees and the lawyers. Verse 37 says, “Now as He spoke, a Pharisee asked Him if He would have a meal with him; and He went in and reclined at the table.” The word for “meal” here is primarily the first meal, taken early in the morning. Verse 38 says, “But the Pharisee marveled, observing that He had not first washed before the meal.” Literally, the Greek word for “washed” means “baptized,” a ceremonial washing. The Pharisee’s reaction gave the Lord an opportunity to unveil something to the hypocritical Pharisees and lawyers.
In verse 39 the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the platter, but your inside is full of robbery and wickedness. Senseless ones! Did not He who made the outside also make the inside?” Here the Lord seems to be saying, “You wash your hands, but what about your hearts? Your hands may be clean, but your hearts are not clean. Your hearts are filled with robbery and covetousness. You need to cleanse the inside as well as the outside.”
In verse 41 the Lord goes on to say, “But give the things which are within as alms, and behold, all things are clean to you.” The word “within” here refers to the contents of the cup and the platter (v. 39), signifying what is in the hearts of the Pharisees. They have covetousness within their hearts; hence, their inside is full of robbery and wickedness. Therefore, the Lord commands them to give as alms what they are coveting in their hearts so that all things may be clean to them.
In verse 42 the Lord continues, “But woe to you, Pharisees! Because you tithe the mint and the rue and every herb, and pass by the judgment and the love of God. But these things you ought to do, and not leave those undone.” Judgment refers to justice, and the love of God refers to man’s love toward God.
In the following verses the Lord continues rebuking the Pharisees and also includes the lawyers in His rebuke. He tells the Pharisees that they are like unseen tombs, and He rebukes the lawyers for burdening men with burdens hard to bear and not touching these burdens with one of their fingers.
If we put together the four sections of Luke 11, we see a portrait of the Man-Savior with the highest standard of morality. We see a Person who prays Himself into God and remains in God to receive the Holy Spirit as His life supply. Because He is full of the Triune God, there is no room in Him for anything of the enemy. Moreover, He is filled with light, and He is genuine and clean both inwardly and outwardly. Eventually, this One is today’s Jonah, the One who passed through death and entered into resurrection, and today’s Solomon, the One who speaks the wisdom of God. This wisdom includes the mysteries of the hidden things of God.
In 11:29-32 the Lord refers to Himself as the One who is greater than Solomon and Jonah: “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks for a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. The queen of the south shall be raised in the judgment with the men of this generation and shall condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, more than Solomon is here. Men, Ninevites, shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, more than Jonah is here.” Christ as the prophet sent by God to His people (Deut. 18:5, 18) is greater than Jonah the prophet. Jonah was the prophet who turned from Israel to the Gentiles and was put into the belly of the great fish. Remaining there for three days, he came out of it to become a sign to that generation for repentance (Jonah 1:2, 17; 3:2-10). This was a type of Christ, who would be buried in the heart of the earth for three days and then be resurrected, becoming a sign to this generation for salvation.
Christ, as the Son of David to be the King, is also greater than Solomon the king. Solomon, to whom the Gentile queen came (1 Kings 6:2; 10:1-8), built the temple of God and spoke the word of wisdom. This also is a type of Christ, who is building the church to be the temple of God and is speaking the word of wisdom.
We may say that the “wisdom of Solomon” in Luke 11:31 indicates the mysteries revealed in the fourteen Epistles of Paul. As the One greater than Jonah, the Lord passed through death and entered into resurrection. As the One greater than Solomon, He speaks the wisdom of God. Today the resurrected Christ through the Spirit speaks the wisdom of God. As we have pointed out, this wisdom is revealed in the Epistles of Paul. The contents of God’s wisdom are the hidden things of God, the mysteries hidden in God and revealed to us through Paul. In particular, this is the wisdom concerning God’s New Testament economy, the wisdom concerning Christ with the church.
Chapter eleven of the Gospel of Luke includes a number of matters related to the Man-Savior’s highest standard of morality. From this chapter we need to realize that Christ, through death and in resurrection, is now carrying out God’s New Testament economy, which is the real jubilee.
In this message and in the foregoing message, I have given you some hints concerning the proper understanding of this chapter. Here we see the Savior’s divine essence mingled with His human essence and His divine nature with His divine attributes mingled with His human nature with His human virtues to produce the highest standard of morality. This is for us to enter into Him, the resurrected One, and to listen to His wisdom so that we may participate in God’s New Testament economy, which is the real jubilee. In order to understand Luke 11 we need the proper understanding of the intrinsic elements of the Gospel of Luke. These elements include the mingling of the divine attributes with the human virtues in the Man-Savior, the highest standard of morality, and the proclamation of the New Testament jubilee.
