The stronger man is Lord over the House (Luke 11:14-28)

On Wednesday I got to speak at an aged care home. This was part of my modified lent series in the lead-up to Easter. There were lots of lines from others (which I have tried to cite all below), which probably means I should have smoothed it out a little more with my own voice in parts. Below is pretty much what I said:

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Locks on doors are useful things, they help keep people we don't want out. However, I have been told that locks only keep honest people out. One time when I was in a share house in Wanniassa it was next to a public footpath. One day, coming home from work, I found the door to the kitchen kicked in. If you are strong enough, it really doesn't take much to get into a house.

Because of sin, we don’t trust the man on the street - we lock our cars and doors to keep the bad people out. But there is also another type of evil in this world that we need protection from. We are in a battle and it matters who lives in the domain of your life. This can be scary unless you know someone who is more powerful than this evil. And today Jesus says He is that stronger guy. He is on our side. If we don’t have Him, we will be worse off than before.

Who rules the house?

Our story starts off with Jesus healing a man with a demon who has bound him to be mute. This healing causes people to wonder who is Jesus? Everyone there can’t deny that this miracle had happened, they can all see that this guy can now speak and is in his right mind, but it causes some people to suggest that Jesus’ power comes from Satan. That is, by the power of Beelzebul that Jesus can do this exorcism.

Now, Beelzebub was considered to the be devil, or the prince of demons. That name can mean “Lord of the Fly's”, or maybe even “lord of the dwelling” (The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Ten: Learning Life’s Lessons (Luke 11)) or “lord of the house.” (The Gospel according to Luke A Strong Man and a Stronger Man (11:14–28))

Jesus hears their accusation and then goes on to point out that if this is what they really think, that he is in league with the Devil, then it is illogical. That they would have to"shelve their religious sensibilities and common sense" (Luke, Vol. 1—That You May Know the Truth Eternal Danger) if they think Jesus was working for the Devil.

Jesus says:

“Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? (Luke 11:17–18 NIV)

It is a terrible strategy for the Devil to operate by empowering Jesus to drive out his own power. Jesus points out that "no movement can survive an internal war" (Luke, Vol. 1—That You May Know the Truth A Kingdom Divided)

Jesus goes on to push this logic back onto his accusers.

In Jesus’ day Jewish contemporaries did perform exorcisms (cf. Acts 19:13, 14; cf. Josephus, Antiquities 8.2, 5), and most people believed they did it by the power of God. (Luke, Vol. 1—That You May Know the Truth A Kingdom Divided)

So Jesus asks are they too also working for Satan? Does everyone who drives out demons work for the prince of demons? This doesn’t make any sense.

And again Jesus then pushes on the flow of logic. If He isn’t working for the devil, if He is driving out demons by the finger of God, then that must mean, that the kingdom of God has come.

"Either he works by satanic power or through divine connections. There is no third option, no neutral ground." (Luke Original Meaning)

Jesus wants people to see who He is. This miracle shows that He is actually lord over the kingdom, over the dwelling, over the house, over the person. He is the one who can overthrow the dark lord and bring people into His kingdom of light. Jesus is able to make people oppressed and mute to be free and to speak again.

Jesus then tells two parables about a strong man with a house and another about an empty unguarded house that gets occupied by uninvited guests.

A stronger man’s house

The first parable goes: There once was a house owned by a strong man who was armed and stood guard to keep safe his possession. But he is attacked and overpowered by a stronger man who takes the house and steals his plunder. 

What are we to make of this story? Well, in this story the devil’s "possessions are people such as the poor mute man. The stronger man who attacks is Jesus." (Luke, Vol. 1—That You May Know the Truth The Strong Man Bound)

"Jesus is claiming that he is the one who has the power (see 3:16) to walk into the devil’s house and take his stuff." (Luke 1–12 for You A Kingdom Divided)

His miracles show that "He has superior strength over Satan. That also implies that Jesus does not work with Satan, but against him" (Luke Original Meaning)

And we can take comfort from this, knowing that Jesus is stronger than the devil. All in Him are safe.

An empty house is at risk

The second parable is about how when an evil spirit leaves someone, they roam around, but if they can’t find a place to rest they will go back to the original person. That person is described as a clean and empty house. So the evil spirit will return home and will also bring their mates. If their spiritual place is left empty and unguarded, they will be worse off than when they started.

Spirits may come back to a clean empty house. To protect this space, they need a strong man to stop them.

"When anyone gets rid of an evil spirit but puts nothing in its place, he is in grave moral danger. No-one can live for long in a moral vacuum." (Luke: An Introduction and Commentary 2. The Return of the Evil Spirit (11:24–26))

Sometimes claiming to be neutral or open minded and doing nothing is the worst thing to do. The devil loves a vacuum, and sometimes he just wants you to do nothing.

In Finland, an unbeliever died and left his farm willed to the devil. The courts, after deliberating on such a ridiculous set of circumstances, decided the best way to carry out the wishes of the infidel was to permit the farmland to grow up in weeds and briars, to allow the house and barn to remain unpainted and to rot down, and to permit the soil to erode and wash away. The court said, “The best way to let Satan have it is to do nothing. —The Bible Friend (Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 3982 Willed to the Devil)

Those ensnared by the devil, or those who consider themselves open minded about Jesus are in need of the stronger man to protect them. G. K. Chesterton said, “I am incurably convinced that the object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid” (Autobiography, Chapter 10).

"A vacuum has to be filled with something. And if it is not the Spirit of God, there is no telling what it will be." (Luke, Vol. 1—That You May Know the Truth In Harm’s Way)

There is no neutral ground with Jesus. We are to shut our lives on something solid. Jesus shows that He is the stronger man, who will release captives and rescues them for Himself.

Belonging to Jesus’ House

While Jesus was saying all of this, someone said to be in Jesus’ household, to be Jesus’ mother who gave birth to this stronger man is to be blessed. But Jesus says

“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:28 NIV)

True blessedness depends not on the circumstance of blood relationship with himself, but on an elective response to “hear the word of God and obey it.” (The Gospel according to Luke A Strong Man and a Stronger Man (11:14–28))

One preacher said:

"This puts the highest blessing of God within reach of us all. There are only two steps to blessedness: to hear the Word of God and to obey it. We need to listen to the Word with reverence. We must hear it with understanding and know what it means. Then we must do what it says." (Luke, Vol. 1—That You May Know the Truth The Possibility of Mercy (vv. 27, 28))

I have never been to Jerusalem and seen all the ancient sites. Some people I know have been and said it was amazing. Well there was

A husband and wife were discussing the possibility of taking a trip to the Holy Land: The husband said “Wouldn’t it be fantastic to go to the Holy Land and stand and shout the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai?” To which the wife replied “It would be better if we stayed home and kept them.” (1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Obedience)

Jesus says we are to hear and obey. It is no use just hearing if we don’t put it into practice.

A missionary translator was endeavouring to find a word for “obedience” in the native language. This was a virtue seldom practiced among the people into whose language he wanted to translate the New Testament. As he returned home from the village one day, he whistled for his dog and it came running at full speed. An old native, seeing this, said admiringly in the native tongue. “Your dog is all ear.” Immediately the missionary knew he had his word for obedience. —Ministers’ Research Service (Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 3927 “All Ear”)

To obey means to listen. We need to be all ears when it comes to what Jesus has said.

The main point of this passage is to go after the stronger man who is more powerful than Satan. We are to fill our minds, our own little dwellings with His words. Locks are useless against the Devil, but Jesus is stronger than him. Trust Jesus. Listen to His words and obey them and you will be blessed. Unless the Lord builds the house, then the builder's labour in vain.

"To decide that Jesus has been sent from God is to decide that “in him is life.” If his coming means the finger of God has come ... then our call is to follow where he points." (Luke Contemporary Significance)