Luke 11:13-18
Luke 11:13 (KJB)
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much
more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
When Jesus tells these people that they are evil, He is not making a railing
accusation against them but is making a comparison between the sinful state of
fallen man and the pure holiness of God. Even those who are sinful parents have
a desire to give good things to their children and to take care of them. If
earthly parents, who have many foibles, are willing to do good for their
children, then how much more does the Heavenly Father want to do good for His
children. He is perfect and knows exactly what our needs are and therefore does
everything perfectly and for our good, even though sometimes we may not
understand His ways. Nevertheless, when we come to God and seek Him, He does not
turn away or seek to do us harm as the Lord Jesus Christ just pointed out.
Luke 11:14 (KJB)
And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the
devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.
At another time Jesus was casting out a devil which made the person dumb, that
is, he was unable to speak. Once Jesus commanded that devil to leave that
person, he was then able to speak properly again. The people who were in
attendance had seen the miracle and had wondered at what just happened. The
wondering was that the people marvelled at the power that Jesus had over that
devil to command it to leave and it did.
Luke 11:15 (KJB)
But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the
devils.
Once again the Scribes heard it and their jealousy was aroused and now they
accused Jesus of casting out the devil, not by the power of God, but by
Beelzebub, which is another name for Satan. The name Beelzebub means “lord or
master of the flies” and is attributed to the chief deity of Ekron. (2 Ki
1:2 KJV) And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was
in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go,
inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.
These Scribes were in essence saying that Jesus was in league with the devil to
deceive the people and gain a following. They believed Jesus was under the
authority of Satan.
Luke 11:16 (KJB)
And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.
Right on the heels of a miraculous deliverance from a devil, right away the
detractors of Jesus had claimed He was in league with the devil and as such
these people wanted to make sure he was not, so they asked Him to show them some
kind of a sign from Heaven that He was not with the devil. These people were
probably trying to get Jesus to say something or do something which was contrary
to the law and the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees. Some believed that He
was a false teacher who went against the law.
Luke 11:17 (KJB)
But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against
itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.
Jesus knew what lies the Pharisees were telling about Him, so He gives them a
lesson in maintaining the power of a kingdom. If a kingdom was all in agreement
and the people were obedient and served the goals and aims of the kingdom, then
it would become much stronger. History has proven that empires have crumbled not
because of being attacked from the outside but from the inside. Whenever there
is dissension and it turns into factions and those factions turn into street
actions, it will cause trouble for the government, then that will weaken the
nation and eventually it becomes so weak that it will be unable to defend itself
and then it would be ripe for takeover. We see this happening in so many
countries in the world today, including the United States. Jesus then brought it
down from a kingdom and applied the principle to a family in a house. If there
is continuous fighting in a family and then factions form, eventually that home
will be destroyed. This is something that we see everyday in our society.
Divorce would be a good example. Disagreements start out small but if they are
allowed to smolder, then they will only get bigger to the point of everyone
taking sides and eventually the family will split and that house will fall.
Luke 11:18 (KJB)
If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because
ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.
Then Jesus applies that principle to the kingdom of Satan. If Satan divides
himself, then how could he have one unified kingdom? It would weaken and implode
and thus destroy itself. Therefore, if Satan is to have a strong united front,
then all the devils in his kingdom must be united in both cause and desire to
overthrow the Kingdom of God.