Study Bible
Luke
Chapter 11

The Kingdom and Demons

Luke 11:14-26Luke: List of Major Bible Charts, Maps, & PicturesJesus' Journey to JerusalemIncreasing Conflict

Luke 11:14-26NIV11-EN

¹⁴Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. ¹⁵But some of them said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” ¹⁶Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. ¹⁷Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. ¹⁸If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. ²⁰But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. ²²But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder. ²³“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ²⁴“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ ²⁵When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. ²⁶Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

New International Version · Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Section · Luke 11:14–13:9

Increasing Conflict

Herein, we see a contrast between those that receive God's blessings and others that receive judgment.

Jesus demonstrated his authority and power over evil spiritual forces and brought relief to those suffering.

The Kingdom and Demons

This event is covered in detail in the Gospel of Matthew and Mark (below). See "Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: Can I Be Forgiven?" below.

Jesus cast out demons. The enemies of Jesus did not necessarily deny that he expelled demons. However they claimed that his power toast them out came from Beelzebub. Beelzebub was the name of a heathen god, that during the age of Christ, was used as a designation for Satan (2 Kings 1:2; Matt. 10:25).

In Luke 11:17-18 we observe that unity is strength and division is weakness. If Jesus had been in league with Satan but had simultaneously worked against Satan, he would have been weakening his own Kingdom. Stein says, "That Satan's kingdom would be divided against itself because Jesus, as a servant of the prince of demons, was undermining Satan's work by liberating the demon possessed makes no sense. It is illogical." The followers of those who accused Jesus also cast out demons (Luke 11:19). If demons could only be cast out by the power of Satan, the followers of Jesus' accusers were guilty too. That the accusers did not condemn their own followers proved that their accusations were false.

Jesus' power was from God, as he is God. "The finger of God" (Luke 11:20) is the work of God himself (Exod. 8:19; 31:18; Deut. 9:10). Matthew 12:28 reads "the Spirit of God." Both phrases bring out the truth that Jesus did not drive out demons by Beelzebub. The power of God was at work in him. This points to the further truth that in the coming of Jesus, the Kingdom of God has come. The miracles he performed were evidence for those with eyes to see that God was at work. Jesus has been sent from God and that the destruction of Satan's authority as ruler of this world (cf. John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Eph. 2:2) means that God's Kingdom has now come (Luke 11:20).

In Luke 11:21-22 we see that Satan is like a strong man in complete control of his house (the people under his power). But Jesus is stronger (cf. Luke 3:16) than Satan and overthrows him. This is a vivid way of saying that the Kingdom of God is not simply a matter of helpful teaching; it involves the power to overcome Satan.

There can be no neutrality, and there is no middle course (Luke 11:23). The message of the Kingdom entails the possibility for the individual believer to overcome evil, and anyone who rejects this message implicitly accepts the ways of evil. Jesus made it clear that he was not referring to a moral reformation whereby a sinner puts away some evil thing but replaces it with nothing else (Luke 11:24).

The demon had left him and gone to arid places (demons were commonly thought to live in deserts). Dissatisfied, the demon returned to the place he had left, and since no one had taken his place, his reentry was easy. Note, the demon still referred to the place he had vacated as his own ("my" house). The man had cleaned up his life but had done nothing more. His heart was empty and open to any evil influence. The result was that seven demons more wicked than the first took up residence there (Luke 11:25).

Stien sums up this section saying:

This text contains important Christological and eschatological principles. The first involves Jesus' greatness. He is the "more powerful one" of whom John the Baptist spoke (Luke 3:16), for he is stronger than Satan himself (Luke 11:22; cf. also Luke 4:1-13). He is truly the Lord, the One for whom Israel had waited and longed. The master of nature (Luke 8:22-25), disease, and death (Luke 8:40-56), he is also master of demons (Luke 8:26-39), even of the prince of demons. He is therefore truly able to do immeasurably more than all Theophilus and Luke's other readers could ask or imagine (Eph 3:20).
Through this account Theophilus had also been made aware that God's kingdom had already come and that the ruler of this age had been vanquished. Luke clearly teaches a truly realized eschatology in this passage. Although God's kingdom still has a future dimension that is to be prayed for (Luke 11:2), it is in part already realized. In this passage Satan's defeat is the aspect of the kingdom already realized. In other passages the fulfillment of the Scriptures or the coming of the Spirit may be emphasized. God's kingdom has come in all of these.

Luke 11:14

mute. Not the demon, but the man who affected by the demon.

Luke 11:15

Beelzebul. Ancient name for a pagan deity. The term is used in the Old Testament (2 Kgs. 1:2, 6) as well as in the secular literature. Eventually, the Jews used this name for one of the chief demons, or as here, Satan, the ruler of demons. driving out. Jesus' critics did not deny his power over demons. They spoke blasphemously about the source of his power.

Luke 11:16

Even miracles will not overcome hardness of an unbelieving heart (see 16:26-31; Exod. 8:9; Matt. 28:11-15).

Luke 11:17-18

knew. See note on 6:8. divided. Both countries (kingdom) and families (house) cannot survive internal fighting. Likewise, Satan would not work against his own purposes.

Luke 11:19

Jesus pointed out the inconsistency of his critics. sons. Hebrew expression for disciples or followers. The critics had followers who reportedly cast out demons as well. However, it is unlikely they could actually perform such miracles. judges. Because they condemned Jesus but not their own disciples, their disciples would be witnesses against their hypocrisy on the last day (12:10; Mark 3:28-30).

Luke 11:20

finger of God. The direct work of God himself. The same expression the Egyptian magicians used to describe the plagues God sent before the Exodus (Exod. 8:9). God is the source of Jesus' power and authority over demons. kingdom . . . has come. Jesus' ministry was a sign of the kingdom's presence (see notes on 4:43; 9:27).

Luke 11:21-22

strong man. A picture for Satan (v. 15). stronger man. A picture of Jesus. overcomes. As the Lord's Servant, Jesus entered into Satan's realm (John 12:31; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2) with a mission to save (Isa. 49:24-25). Jesus bound Satan and plunders (rescues) people for himself (Col. 1:13-14).

Luke 11:23

Those who labored for the same things as Jesus were his friends (see notes on 9:49-50). But those who taught the source of his power was Satan (v. 15) were against him.

Luke 11:24-26

It is possible to have temporary spiritual relief, but not experience final salvation. One must replace the sinful things taken away with the spiritual things of Christ (Col. 3:1-17).

Luke 11:24

unclean spirit. Not everyone Jesus healed or helped was saved. We see that most clearly in the story of Jesus healing ten lepers (17:11-19). Here Jesus warned that having a demon taken away isn't enough to be in the kingdom. waterless places. The wilderness, which is often a place for demonic activity (4:1-2; 8:29; Lev. 16:10).

Luke 11:25

swept out and put in order. One can try to reform himself all that he wants. But unless Christ is the one bringing about the transformation, there will be no lasting salvation for him (see John 3:3, 5-6, Gal. 5:22-23; Phil. 1:6).

Luke 11:26

final condition. The state of a person on the day of judgment (see 18:8; Rom. 2:5; 2 Pet. 3:7; 1 John 4:7).

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