Luke 11

Introduction

We’re flying through Luke’s gospel, taking a chapter at a time. And so, last week we were on chapter 10 which began with the Lord sending seventy-two others ahead of him. And then we had the parable of the Good Samaritan. And the chapter ended with the story of the Lord in the home of Mary and Martha. And I said that some people believe the Lord chose seventy-two because that number matches the number of nations in the ancient world as listed in Genesis 10. And so, sending seventy-two ahead of him foreshadows what would happen after his death and resurrection and ascension to heaven when he sent the apostles to make disciples of all nations. That is, they were to take the gospel to all nations. The book of Acts then records how they did that, going from Jerusalem and Judea to Samaria and then into the Roman Empire which stretched to the ends of the earth at that time.

Since they were to go to all the nations, then they needed to learn the lesson of the parable of the Good Samaritan, because the Lord commands us to love, not only people who are like us, but to love and serve anyone who needs our help. We are to be good neighbours to every one, no matter where they are from or what their background or what they believe. Just as God showed mercy to us in Christ Jesus, so we are to show mercy to others.

And that led on to the story of Mary and Martha. Martha thought she knew what the Lord required. She thought she knew what he needed. But what he wanted from her was for her to do as Mary had done and to sit at his feet and to listen to him and to learn from him. And we often think we know what the Lord requires from us. We think we know what his will is. But since we’re sinners, we’re often mistaken. And so, when the Lord comes to us in the preaching of his word, we need to sit quietly at his feet and learn from him.

That was last week. Today we come to chapter 11. What is chapter 11 about? It’s about two things which are related. It’s about prayer and opposition. Verses 1 to 13 are about prayer to God whereas verses 14 to the end are about opposition to God.

Take a look at how the chapter begins and ends. It begins with the disciples asking the Lord to teach them to pray. And their question is genuine. They’re being very humble and teachable. They realise he knows something which they need to know. And so, they want him to teach them. And they’re not too proud to ask for his help. And so, like Mary, they’re prepared to humble themselves before him and to sit at his feet and to learn from him.

But what do we have at the end of the passage? Take a look at verses 53 and 54. We have the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. They too are asking the Lord questions. In fact, Luke says they’re besieging him with questions. So, they’re asking him lots of questions. Not just one question, but another and another and another and another. But why are they asking him so many questions? It’s not to learn from him. They’re not like his disciples or like Mary. They are not humbling themselves before him. No, they’re asking him lots of questions because they’re trying to catch him out. They’re trying to get him to say something which they can use against him.

So, the chapter begins with a sincere question about prayer from humble disciples; and it ends with the Pharisees and teachers of the law trying to catch him out. And so, while it begins with prayer, it ends with opposition and conflict. And the two topics are related because the way to face opposition and conflict in the Christian life is by turning to God in prayer to seek his help. That’s how our Lord dealt with the opposition and conflict he faced. When he was on the earth, lots of people opposed him. The Pharisees. The teachers of the law. The Sadducees. The Romans. And there were lots of the people who didn’t believe in him. And behind them all, there was the devil. So, the Lord Jesus faced all kinds of opposition. And one of the ways he coped with it was by turning to his Heavenly Father in prayer to seek his help. And while there is so much good in the world, and while the Lord surrounds us with lots of people who do us good every day, nevertheless the world is very often a battlefield for believers, because the devil is doing everything he can to overthrow the kingdom of God in the world. But how can we stand up against him? How can we fight against his wicked influence in the world? After all, he’s too strong for us. He’s too powerful for us to overcome on our own. And so, the only way we can overcome him is through prayer, calling on God our Father to help us to overcome; and calling on God our Father to build his kingdom throughout the world. We are only ants. We are fleas. We have no power of our own. And the devil is able to crush us easily. And so, we should look to the Lord continually to seek his help and strength.

Verses 14 to 54

I’m going to take the chapter in reverse. So, I’m going to begin with the opposition and conflict and we’ll study what the Lord says about that first. And then I’ll finish with what he says about prayer. And so, please turn with me in your Bibles to verses 14 to 54.

And Luke tells us in verse 14 that the Lord was driving out a demon that was mute. We’ve seen before that he’s the Christ or God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King. And he’s been going from place to place to proclaim and to provide freedom for his people. He freed them from their misery in this world by healing the sick and by casting out demons. And he also freed them from their sins by pronouncing them forgiven. Ultimately, of course, he freed us by giving up his life on the cross to pay for all that we have done wrong and to make peace for us with God. And because we have peace with God, then we can look forward to everlasting peace and joy and life in the new heavens and earth. But before he gave up his life, he went from place to place to free his people from illness and from evil spirits and by pronouncing them forgiven. And on this occasion, he freed someone from this demon. And after he drove out the demon, the man who had been mute because of the demon began to speak. And everyone was amazed because of what the Lord did for the man.

But here comes the opposition. Some of them said that he drove out the demon by the power of Beelzebub, which is their name for the prince of demons or the devil. And there were others who wanted to test him. They wanted him to show them a sign from heaven to prove that he was from God and not from satan. Healing the sick and driving out demons was not enough. They wanted him to do something even more spectacular.

And the Lord — who knew their thoughts because the Holy Spirit was able to give him supernatural knowledge — responded first of all to those who said that he got his power from the devil. And he responded to them by stating an obvious principle that a kingdom divided against itself will fall. Any kingdom divided against itself will fall. When the members of the kingdom fight against one another, when there’s a civil war, it’s not good for the kingdom. And that’s as much true for satan’s kingdom as it is for any earthly kingdom. As he says in verse 18, if satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? If he, the Lord, is driving out satan’s demons by the power of satan, then satan’s kingdom is divided and it won’t last long. The Lord doesn’t want satan’s kingdom to last. But he’s simply pointing out that they are making no sense. Why would satan ruin his own kingdom? Why would he shoot himself in the foot like that? What you’re saying is nonsense.

And then in verse 19 he asks that if he is driving out demons by the power of satan, then by whom are their followers driving out demons? So, he’s not the only one who was able to drive out demons. But what’s the difference between what he’s doing and what the others are doing? Why accuse him of being from satan and not the others? So, they’re being inconsistent.

And then we come to verse 20 where he says to them that if he drives out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon them. The phrase ‘finger of God’ appears way back in the book of Exodus when God sent the plagues on the Egyptians. The Egyptian magicians were able to copy some of the plagues using their secret arts. But eventually they couldn’t do what God had done through Moses. And they said, ‘This is the finger of God’. They meant: This is by the power of God. And the Lord Jesus is saying to his opponents that if he is performing miracles by the finger or power of God, then that’s the sign for them that the kingdom of God has come. And the kingdom of God has come, because the Lord Jesus is God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King. God’s king has come to establish his kingdom on the earth and to set his people free from satan’s tyranny and to bring them into his own kingdom of grace. And the miracles which he performed by the power of God working through him make clear exactly who he is. So, instead of doubting him, and opposing him, they should believe in him.

The Lord goes on in verses 21 and 22 to compare the devil to a strong man. He’s the strong man who is guarding his house. But then someone even stronger comes along and overpowers the strong man and ransacks his home. And the Lord Jesus is the even stronger man. He’s stronger than satan. He’s mightier than the devil. And therefore he’s able to ransack satan by driving away these demons and by setting people free from satan’s tyranny.

And so, are you with the Lord or with the devil? Are you willing to side him satan, the strong man or with the Lord, the even stronger man? As the Lord says in verse 23, if you’re not with the Lord then you’re against the Lord. And they’re against the Lord because if they’re not on the Lord’s side, then they’re are on satan’s side. Instead of gathering with him, or instead of working with him, they’re working against him. So, everyone is on one side or the other: you’re either with the Lord or you’re with satan. There’s no neutral place to stand. There’s no third option. It’s one or the other. You’re either on the side of Christ or you’re on the side of satan. And who wants to be on the side of satan when the Lord Jesus is the even stronger man who is able to overpower satan and who will one day destroy satan?

And the point of verses 24 to 27 and the saying about the evil spirit who returns to the house he once left behind is that demons always make things worse. Demons always make things worse. The demon is restless until he finds a house in which to dwell. And when the Lord refers to a house, he means a person. The demon is restless until he finds a person in which to dwell. And when the demon enters the person, he ruins that person’s life. The demon creates disorder. As the Lord says, the final condition of that man, who is possessed by the demon, is worse than the condition he was in at first. The devil ruins people’s lives, whereas the Lord restores order. He brings peace.

And as the Lord said these things, a woman called out, ‘Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you!’ In other words: Your mother must be so proud to have given birth to you! Of course, the Lord Jesus only had one mother. And Mary was blessed to be the mother of the Saviour. However, she’s not the only one who can be blessed because of Christ, because blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it. Those who disobey God’s word will suffer his curse for their disobedience. But those who obey God’s word will receive his blessing. He will fill our lives with good things and not with evil. And so, we should obey him always.

Up until this point, the Lord has been responding to those who claimed he was driving out demons by the power of satan. From verse 29 he responds to those who were testing him by asking for a sign from heaven. And he says about them that they are a wicked generation. Why are they are wicked generation? Well, he goes on to compare them to the generation who lived in the days of Solomon. In those days, people like the Queen of Sheba travelled from afar to listen to Solomon. The people of that generation were prepared to travel for miles to hear Solomon. And yet, he, the Lord, is far, far greater than Solomon ever was. But instead of listening to him, they wanted him to give them a sign. Furthermore, the people of Nineveh listened to Jonah. And yet, he, the Lord, is far, far greater than Jonah ever was. But the people will not listen to him or believe his message. And so, the people of that generation are wicked compared to people in previous generations, because people in the past listened to Solomon and Jonah; whereas the people who saw the Lord Jesus were unwilling to listen to him. They wanted a sign from heaven to prove who he is. But no sign will be given them except the sign of Jonah.

What is the sign of Jonah? The obvious sign is the fact that, just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days, and then he re-appeared, so the Lord Jesus will be in the belly of the earth for three days; and then he will re-appear on the earth. That’s the obvious sign. However, it doesn’t quite fit the context here. And so, it’s more likely that the sign of Jonah is how Jonah preached a message of judgment. He preached: ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.’ And in that case, the Lord is saying that the only sign he will give to them is that he will do as Jonah did and will preach to them a message of judgment to come, because they did not believe in him.

No-one lights a lamp and hides it away. Instead he puts it on a stand so that those who come in may see the light that comes from the lamp. And the Lord Jesus is the lamp. For now, many do not see him. They do not believe in him. But the day is coming when the Lord will come and he will be seen by all. But those who heard of him and who did not believe in him will be condemned when he comes again.

And in the next verses — verses 34 to 36 — he says that our eye is like a lamp. And he refers to a good eye which lets in light; and to a bad eye which keeps the light out. And he means that some people let the good news of God’s kingdom into their lives, whereas other people do not let the good news of God’s kingdom into their lives. The one who lets the good news into their lives is full of light, whereas the one who does not let it into their lives is full of darkness. And the people of that generation who said that he is from satan and who asked for a sign from heaven are full of darkness. They’re full of darkness, because they have not believed the good news about God’s kingdom and about Christ the King who came to save us.

And this part of the chapter ends with the woes. A woe is not the same as a curse. To curse someone is to call down trouble on them. Woe, however, means ‘Alas’. Alas, because instead of believing in Christ, who came to free us from our sin and misery, you did not believe. And therefore you’re still in your sin and misery.

I won’t go through all of the woes, but notice in verse 39 that the Lord complained about the Pharisees because they clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and wickedness. He means they’re only concerned with outward conformity to God’s law. They’re concerned with keeping up the right appearance so that people will be impressed with them. They want people to praise them for their devotion to God’s law. However, if other people could see into their inner being, they’d see that their hearts are a house of horrors, full of greed and wickedness. So, people were impressed because they tithed what they grow in their garden. But what people don’t notice is that the Pharisees and teachers of the law were not concerned with justice. That is to say, they didn’t treat people in the right way; they were prepared to mistreat and abuse other people and to take advantage of them. So, they’re not loving their neighbour.

And then, they’ve forgotten the most important commandment, which is to love God. And that means that, when they kept the law, they were not doing it out of love for God, but because they loved themselves and they wanted people to honour them. They wanted people to praise them, instead of wanting people to praise God. In this way, they set themselves up in opposition to God. They didn’t love God the way that they should. And they didn’t believe in the Son of God the way that they should. They were opposed to God despite their outward conformity to God’s law.

We live in a world where people oppose God. They don’t love or honour him. And they oppose Jesus Christ. They don’t believe in him. And, of course, if they oppose God and Jesus Christ, then they’ll oppose us, his people. And behind all the opposition, there’s the devil who wants to overthrow God’s kingdom on the earth. So, how do we stand up to him and how do we stand firm in the faith? That’s where prayer comes in.

Verses 1 to 13

In verse 1 the disciples asked the Lord to teach them to pray. And so, he gave them a pattern for prayer to show them how to do it.

First of all, address your prayers to God the Father. Sometimes it’s not clear who people are praying to. Are they praying to the Father? Are they praying to Jesus? Are they praying to the Spirit? The Lord teaches us to address our prayers to God the Father. We pray to the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus. Imagine I’m standing at the gate of heaven and I knock on the door. ‘Who’s there?’ someone asks. ‘Colin Gamble’, I answer. Well, Colin Gamble is a sinner who has no right to come into the presence of a holy God. And so, I don’t come before God in heaven in my own name. But I can come in the name of the Lord Jesus. When I come in his name, the door is opened and I’m invited into God’s presence. And so, in prayer we address the Father and we come before him in the name of the Lord Jesus and relying on the Spirit for help.

And what are we to pray for? We’re to pray for God’s name to be hallowed or honoured. The world is full of people like the Pharisees and teachers of the law who oppose God. They want people to praise them and not God. How can they be changed? How can they become people who love God and who want other people to love and praise God too? We’re not able to do it. We can’t change anyone. We don’t have the power to change anyone’s heart. We don’t have the ability to rescue anyone from satan’s tyranny. So, how can they be changed? Only God can change them. Only God can give them a good eye so that the good news of God’s kingdom gets into their lives. Only God can change them. And when we pray for God’s name to be hallowed or honoured, we’re asking God to change them so that they will love God and want to honour him.

And we’re to pray for his kingdom to come. We want people to be set free from satan’s tyranny. We want satan’s kingdom to be destroyed. We want God’s kingdom to grow throughout the world and we want more and more people added to it. And we want Christ the King to come again with glory and power to destroy satan forever and to bring us into the new heavens and earth where we will reign with Christ forever. But we’re not able to do any of that. We have no power. We have no strength. Only God can destroy satan’s kingdom and only God can extend his kingdom throughout the world. And when we pray for his kingdom to come we’re asking God to do what only he can do.

The Lord Jesus also taught us to pray to God our Father for our daily bread. In other words, we’re to ask God the Father to give us what we need each day. And not only do we need daily food, but we also need daily forgiveness. Since we’re hungry every day, we need food every day. Since we sin every day, then we need to confess our sins every day and to ask for God’s forgiveness every day. And just as God is willing to forgive us, so we must be willing to forgive those who offend us.

And the Lord also taught us to ask God our Father to lead us not into temptation. In other words, we’re asking for his protection. We’re asking God the Father to protect us from the devil’s wicked schemes and from being tempted to sin. We’re not strong enough to stand up to him on our own. But God our Father is able to strengthen us.

The Lord then told the parable of the reluctant neighbour. And so, he tells a story of a man who went to his neighbour at night to ask for some bread. He needs the bread, because someone has come to stay at his house. Now, none of us would dream of bothering a neighbour like this. But it was different in Bible times. In Bible times it was your duty to provide a meal for a guest. And your neighbour would understand the importance of providing a meal for a guest. And that means that everyone in those days could count on their neighbour to get up and give them the help they needed. As one of the commentators says, it’s like us waking a neighbour in the night to say that your pregnant wife has just gone into labour and you need a ride to the hospital. We’d expect our neighbour to help in that situation.

However, in the Lord’s parable, the neighbour doesn’t want to get up in the night. He starts to make excuses. It’s clear he doesn’t want to help. However, even though he doesn’t want to get up, he will get up. And the reason the Lord tells this story is because he wants us to know that if even a lazy neighbour is prepared to help us, how much more likely is God to help us? He’s far more likely to help us, because he’s our loving heavenly Father, and not a lazy neighbour. He’s our loving heavenly Father, who loved us so much that he sent his Son to save us. There’s nothing he won’t do for us. And if that’s the case, who wouldn’t we pray to him? Why wouldn’t we seek his help? And why don’t we pray more than we do?

The Lord Jesus tells us that when you ask God for help, God will answer you. When you seek what you need from him, you will find it, because he’ll give it to you. When you knock at his door, the door will be opened, because God will hear you and he will respond. And if that’s the case, why wouldn’t we pray to God? Why wouldn’t we seek his help? And why don’t we pray more than we do?

And finally, we know how to give good gifts to our children. If our child asked for a fish, we wouldn’t give him a snake instead. If our child asked for an egg, we wouldn’t give her a scorpion. Even though we’re sinners, we don’t give our children what is bad for them or dangerous. Instead we give our children good gifts. And how much more likely is God our Father to give good gifts to his children? He’s far more likely to do than us, because he’s perfect and he loves us with a perfect love.

And since he loves his children with a perfect love, then he’s willing to give us the best gift, the most perfect gift. He’s willing to give us his Spirit. And we need his Spirit, don’t we? We need God’s Spirit to help us to stand firm against satan’s wicked schemes. And when other people oppose us because of what we believe, then we need the help of the Holy Spirit to stand up to them and to stand firm in the faith. Since we live in a world where God and his people are opposed by many, then we need the help of the Holy Spirit to remain faithful. And thanks be to God our Father who gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.

And, of course, we need the Holy Spirit to renew us in God’s image and to make us more and more willing and able to do God’s will here on earth. Are we too satisfied with ourselves at times? Do we need a kind of holy discontentment with ourselves? Yes, we’ve come so far already. We’ve made some progress in obedience. But we’re still so far away from perfection. Like mountaineers, we’ve climbed so far, but the summit is still far away. How will we reach it? How will we improve? How can we be renewed more and more? By going to God in prayer every day to ask him for more of his Spirit and to be filled with more and more love and joy and peace; and patience and kindness and goodness; and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. Will you do that? Will you ask God the Father every day to fill you with more of his Spirit? And with his Spirit inside you, you’ll be able to stand firm against all the opposition of the devil and an unbelieving world.