Civil War
Luke 11
Jesus continues to preach and teach the people. Along the way, though, he does incredible miracles. One particular miracle stuck out to the religious folks. Jesus cast out a demon that was causing a man to be speechless. Jesus usually performed these miracles in small towns with a few hundred people in them, so a person who was unable to speak would have been known by just about everyone in the community. When the miracle happened this mute man started talking up a storm! The people knew right away this was an incredible thing, but the cynics...they didn't doubt the miracle; they doubted the power by which the miracle took place.
They immediately accused Jesus of using black magic. They thought the only way this powerful miracle could take place is if Jesus used demonic power to control the demons. But Jesus explains how ridiculous that would be. He says, "any country in civil war for very long is wasted." He compares demons controlling other demons to a nation divided that is destroying itself. He goes on to say that if you accuse him of black magic, then you would have to infer the same thing about any of the Jewish exorcists that cast out demons.
Jesus makes the final point that the world we live in is a world at war. There are two sides to this conflict - God's side and the enemies side. We have to pick one side or the other. He goes so far as to say, "if you're not helping, you're making things worse." So civil war is terrible; it destroys the land in which it is taking place, but a bigger war is taking place, one that encompasses the whole world, and only one side can win. Which side are you on?
Jesus continues to preach and teach the people. Along the way, though, he does incredible miracles. One particular miracle stuck out to the religious folks. Jesus cast out a demon that was causing a man to be speechless. Jesus usually performed these miracles in small towns with a few hundred people in them, so a person who was unable to speak would have been known by just about everyone in the community. When the miracle happened this mute man started talking up a storm! The people knew right away this was an incredible thing, but the cynics...they didn't doubt the miracle; they doubted the power by which the miracle took place.
They immediately accused Jesus of using black magic. They thought the only way this powerful miracle could take place is if Jesus used demonic power to control the demons. But Jesus explains how ridiculous that would be. He says, "any country in civil war for very long is wasted." He compares demons controlling other demons to a nation divided that is destroying itself. He goes on to say that if you accuse him of black magic, then you would have to infer the same thing about any of the Jewish exorcists that cast out demons.
Jesus makes the final point that the world we live in is a world at war. There are two sides to this conflict - God's side and the enemies side. We have to pick one side or the other. He goes so far as to say, "if you're not helping, you're making things worse." So civil war is terrible; it destroys the land in which it is taking place, but a bigger war is taking place, one that encompasses the whole world, and only one side can win. Which side are you on?