Jesus Vs. Beelzebul: The Meaning of His Miracle for Cynics and Skeptics – Part 1 Luke 11:14-23

Intro:

I. The Miracle (14) The setting for this little confab that Jesus has regarding good, evil, and us arises from a miracle He performed as he journeyed from Capernaum toward Jerusalem. Let’s see it’s very brief description in Lk 11:14

LK 11:14 – Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled.

The miracle There was a demon possessed man who, as a result of the demon possession, was rendered unable to speak. The demon had a power over him such that his ability either physically or mentally to speak was blunted. For no apparent reason other than evil and hatred of God’s creation, this demon seized the man and rendered him speechless.

Luke does not spend much time at all describing the exorcism, he simply says “when the demon had gone out”. When know, however, from the ensuing narrative and reaction of the witnesses that it was Jesus who cast this demon out. When he had done so, the previously voiceless man spoke.

Unique among exorcisms In a general sense, this was not a unique occurrence. This is to say that exorcisms were performed by other people of that day as well. Most of those exorcisms were performed over long periods of time with the reading of very extensive and precise incantations that would sometimes work to cast out a demon, and as we will see in the next passage, often fail to keep the demon away for good. This is where Jesus’ exorcism prevailed far and away above all others. He simply issued a command to the demon and the demon obeyed. You see this through the Gospels where Jesus casts out demons. His authority is absolutely preeminent over the world of demons and darkness and when he speaks, they are unable to resist the power of his command. Thus we see the nonchalant manner in which Luke narrates the event, “…when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke”.

Trans: This display of unique authority was a miracle. It was performed publically before the eyes of a gathered crowd and they had responses to what they saw, and then assessments of what they saw. That is what we will look at now.

II. The Crowd Assesses the Miracle

a. Response: They all marveled (14) The first thing we see is the unanimous and shared response that was common to all who witnessed this miracle. V. 14 tells us what it was. LK 11:14 – Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled.

Marveled = Luke tells us that the people marveled. This is the Gk word thaumadzo and it means to be struck with admiration or astonishment. It means that the crowd was amazed and impressed by what they saw.

Astonishment does not always equal honor And we might assume that this amazement would lead to worship and honor and respect being given to Jesus. But amazement of this kind does not have to result in giving due respect to the one who has amazed. As we will see, though the response of the crowd was astonishment, the assessment of the crowd was not to honor Jesus for who He was, but to seek to explain away their astonishment in other ways.

We will look at their assessment presently, but this brings us to an important principle regarding Jesus. Jesus’ miracles were always performed to force people to see him for who he was. However, people can be entertained and amazed by Jesus, but not acknowledge him for who he really is – God and savior. We will learn more about this as we travel through the verse together. But for now, we simply acknowledge how often this can happen; that there are many who are impressed by Jesus and even respect him as a teacher and good man, but who do not let that respect mature into devotion to him and surrender to him as God and savior. The people in our passage here are no exception. They were amazed, but assessed the source of their amazement in two different ways. Let’s look at them now.

b. Assessment #1: The cynical accuse (15)

Lk 11:15 - But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,"

Cynics We see here in v.15 what is a cynical excuse. A cynic is someone who believes most if not all people are motivated by self-interest and do not represent themselves honestly. The cynic has an attitude that is habitually negative and scornful of others. He or she is a jaded person who doubts and disdains the integrity and motives of other people.

Accuse There were some very cynical people watching Jesus that day. They saw the amazing exorcism and they were astonished at it, but they assessed the meaning of the miracle through their cynical and doubtful and disparaging filter. This led to a various accusation. They said that Jesus was not casting out the demon on his own authority, nor on the authority of God, but by the power of Beelzebul. What did they mean by this accusation?

Beelzebul Lk 11:15 - But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,"

Who is Beelzebul? This is a play on the name of the false god mentioned in the Old Testament, Beelzebub. This came from the Canaanite god Baal or Baal-zebub (2Ki 1:2). Baal-zebub meant lord of the dwelling or lord of the court and referred to him having dominion over a particular location. Later, those who despised this false god would call him Beelzebul (not Beelzebub) as a play on words which meant, not lord of the court, but lord of the dung or lord of the flies! While there is some disagreement about exactly what Beelzebub meant, we know what the cynical people there meant by it.

Accusation The text tell us doesn’t it? Lk 11:15 - But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,"

They were accusing Jesus of casting out demons by the power of the prince of demons, which is, without a doubt, a reference to Satan. These people were attributing the work of God to the power of Satan. They are saying that Jesus is not divine, He is Satanic!

This was not the first time this accusation would be hurled at Jesus. We see it some five times in the Gospels. Jn 7:20 - The crowd answered, "You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?" Jn 8:48-49 - The Jews answered him, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?" 49 Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Jn 10:20 - Many of them said, "He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?"

The danger of a cynical response to Jesus We see then, the danger of cynicism. Jesus had already spoken to the correct assessment to be made regarding miracles like this: Luke 4:18-19 - "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Jesus had said that his healings and his casting out of demons would be a demonstration that he had been sent by God and was indeed the anointed Messiah and savior. The right response is given, but not necessarily adhered to But just because the right response was given ahead of time, doesn’t mean people will use it. A right response is given and demanded, but it doesn’t guarantee people will accept it. I had a college professor who would basically tell us during lectures what would be on the upcoming exams. He would say something like, “you might want to remember this!” or “It would be a good idea to mark this in your notes” or “Hey, this is going to be on the test”, and then he would literally give the answer to us that he would later ask of us on the exam. It was easy to get a good grade in that class if you simply took the notes he told you to take, remembered the answers and gave them back to him. This really is what Jesus is doing. Before the ministry even started, he basically told the people that when they saw him doing miraculous things it was because he was the savior and messiah and that people should then accept and believe him. But in many cases, and especially this one, they did not. Not enough to be impressed Why not? Cynicism! Cynicism regarding Jesus is a foolish and dangerous thing. I understand cynicism related to certain things or people, I don’t recommend it, but I understand it. But we must be very cautious of assuming the worst about Jesus and scorning his integrity and assuming that his miracles are not significant enough to merit our acceptance and belief in him. It is not enough to be astonished and amused and impressed by Jesus.

c. Assessment #2: The skeptical remained noncommittal (16) Let’s take a look at the second assessment that the crowd made. All were astonished, some were cynical, and some were skeptical. And the skeptical remained noncommittal.

Lk 11:16 - while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.

Skeptics Skeptics do not have as negative an attitude as do cynics. A skeptic is a person inclined to question or doubt all accepted opinions. Skeptics are people who have a proclivity for disbelief and they look at things with suspicion. They question the validity or truth claims and of the character of others. They are not like the skeptic who is previously convinced that the person is evil and selfish, but they still have some doubts about what they are saying and doing.

And there were some skeptical people who witnessed Jesus’ miracle that day. Why do I say this, because given what they saw, and given what Jesus had already accomplished by way of miraculous signs, they had sufficient information with which to make the proper assessment regarding Jesus. But instead, their skepticism ruled and Luke tells us they

Lk 11:16 - while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.

The skeptics wanted two things: Test & a sign Firstly, they were seeking to test him. This word test means to examine or to try for proof. This is to say that they remained unconvinced and wanted to examine him further. They did not believe or would not believe upon the evidence that Jesus chose to bring forward, but instead they sought to basically put Jesus on an informal trial until they felt he had proven himself to them. Secondly, the text tells us that they kept asking him for a sign. The word asking is in the imperfect tense which signifies repetition and continuity of something that was happening in the past. The translation reads that they kept asking him for a sign. What we should understand is that they were basically pestering him for some other and more “grandiose” miracle. They were bothering him for a sign from heaven.

They missed the meaning too and demanded more Their skepticism or maybe even their desire to simply be astounded, did not let them get to the meaning of the miracle. They wanted to see fire in the skies, or something really big and fantastic. They could not see that what Jesus had just done was perhaps a greater and more important miracle than some spectacle in the heavens. Jesus had just demonstrated absolute authority over evil and demons and darkness, and the skeptics basically saying, that’s cool, now show us something else awesome and convince us that you are from God.

III. The Church gets some Takeaways Next week we will finish the passage and hear how Jesus responds to both the cynics and the skeptics. But as we consider what we have heard already, I think it is important for us to have some takeaways from the what the passage has taught us so far.

#1 – It is good to question Jesus and Christianity, but it must be done with a genuine desire to know the truth. This passage, and the warnings I have given regarding cynics and skeptics, are by no means an injunction against sound judgment and finding Christianity a reasonable faith. In fact, the Jewish people had been commanded by God to be discerning as to what sort of religious and philosophical teaching they should accept - namely, this command in Deut 13

Deut 13:1-5 - "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, 'Let us go after other gods,' which you have not known, 'and let us serve them,' 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Similarly, the New Testament has the same guidance for us: 1 John 4:1-3 - Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

Thus, when one considers the whole biblical message, it is clear that God is not asking for unreasonable or blind faith. He is asking us to search for the truth and when that truth is presented, we are to respond to it as the authority.

Conzelmann – from Stark p.54 For example there was a German Scholar named Hans Conzelmann who wrote about the theology of Luke from the standpoint of redaction criticism. He claimed that from beginning to end, Acts is fiction. He said Paul’s missionary voyages never happened and that Paul’s shipwreck is pure fantasy. Conzelmann “proved” the story must be a fantasy by demonstrating that it has the boat travelling “implausible” routes across the sea. He said it went against common sense that the route given in Acts was a correct route since it did not have them, travelling directly to their destination and therefore must have been made up. Later, it was subsequently shown that because of wind and currents and in full accord with meteorological and nautical principles of the day that Paul’s route was correct! However, Conzelmann continued to deny the accuracy of the account by saying that since it is nautically correct, it could not have happened to Paul since Paul was not a sailor.

Time and time again cynical scholarly attacks against the historical reliability of the Bible are proven wrong by archeology and further unbiased quests for truth.

It is good to have a reason for our faith. It is good to study and seek answers. But when our skepticism and cynicism becomes our filter and ultimate authority, we will find ourselves in opposition to God and outside the blessing of the knowledge and acceptance of his truth.

#2 – We must understand the philosophical, emotional, and rational biases we bring to our quest for truth. Related to the previous takeaway, our search for truth must recognize that all of us are biased in one way or another. We must understand these biases! Paul spoke to this in Corinth when he said: 1 Cor 1:22-25 - For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 He was saying that Jews and Greeks came to their quest for truth with different biases and both of them had their eyes blinded to some degree by those predispositions.

We need to be careful that we do not have personal biases that will stand in the way of our full acceptance of the full counsel of God. For example: • someone may have a psychological bias against violence and blood. To them, the thought of Jesus tortured and crucified is so appalling that they simply cannot accept his claims to be savior. So instead of investigating why the cross was necessary, they reject Christ based upon a predisposition. They are like a person in the crowd who demand yet another sign from Jesus because they do not like the previous ones. • Or maybe someone is convinced that the only real way to prove anything is via the scientific method. They would say that thy only was to test the validity of anything is through physical testing and experimentation. While such a stance seems perfectly rational, it shows an epistemological bias against anything spiritual. To say that the only real things are physical things is a denial of a whole world of reality simply because it is invisible and will shut one out of the truth that God is trying to bring to them. They become cynical of anyone who believes in anything beyond the physical and scientific world and mistrust them out of hat.

What biases might you have? The truth is that we all have biases and preunderstandings that we bring to our relationship with Christ. The real question is when your bias and prejudice meets up with truth, who ahs the authority?

#3 – Christ disarms demons, not just exorcises them, and this should be powerfully convincing and personally meaningful to us Our last takeaway goes right back to the miracle. We need to know that Jesus not only cast out the demon, but he had total victory of evil and darkness in that man’s life.

Jesus describes it later in the passage as meaningful for us all. Luke 11:20 - But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Later the cross will further establish his total power and authority over evil Col 2:15 - He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Conc: There is a battle raging of Good against Evil. Evil just won’t admit it has already lost. The only thing that still hangs in the balance of this battle is you and I and our friends. The battle rages for the souls of mean and women.

Jesus has convincingly triumphed over the forces of evil. And for this we both praise him for our rescue and join him in his desire to reach more.