(Today has a confusing collection o’ verses… they took a little extra study/explanation to wrap my mind around…)
One question Jesus received throughout His ministry was related to His authority: in a day when authority was given and passed down from generation to generation, from teachers to students, from governments to appointed persons, and even from older, wiser rabbis to younger, newer ones (rabbis would form “schools of thought” and after a time of training, newer rabbis would teach “on the authority of Rabbi So-and-So”), the basis of Jesus’ authority was quite the conundrum for those who opposed Him.
In today’s opening scene, some of the same people who marvel at Jesus’ power land on the theory that His authority lies with Beelzabub (Satan). And at the same time, they were demanding a sign, essentially asking Him to prove that He was indeed Messiah. So Jesus answers them: “Would a king ever fight against His troops? If I cast out demons by Satan’s power, then so also do your Jewish exorcists? Or rather, would Satan’s opposition (namely, the God of the universe!) be the only source of power over the spiritual world and evil? Indeed, if Satan is strong, than I am stronger, because I am working on the very power and authority of God!” All logical arguments, as if Jesus is saying, “c’mon; use your heads!”
Then Jesus adds a sobering warning: “if you’re not on My side, you’re on the side of My enemy,” then encouraging them to see exorcisms as a “first step,” with the follow-up being to replace the demon-possession with a belief in the One who is stronger than the Prince of Demons – “once the demon is gone, purify and cleanse yourself, that should the demon return, it find a passion only for God.” After hearing Jesus’ words, He blessed those who would understand and believe.” Jesus, acting on the authority of God, encourages His listeners to do the same.
I read these verses with a half-smile: here’s a crowd of people who are desperately seeking a Messiah; who are at least intrigued with Jesus enough to wonder if He’s the One. And they’re asking Him for a sign. Then, when He casts out demons – and goes on to explain the actions of demons! – they claim that He must be from Satan! You gotta shake your head a bit and feel sorry for these folks, and you gotta even feel a little bad for Jesus – how frustrating would their ignorance be?! And there’s still the demand for a sign, which Jesus addresses next.
Jonah, also acting on the authority of God, was sent to proclaim God’s judgment to the Ninevites, and to call them to repentance. He spent three days in the darkness of a fish’ belly before being spat out to fulfill his mission. The Ninevites believed and responded. Jesus’ listeners have not yet. Rather than giving His listeners a visible sign, He instead told them He was the sign – but a far greater sign than Jonah was! His call, like Jonah’s, was to proclaim God’s plan and call His people to repentance.
But, after understanding all these teachings on Jesus’ own authority, He concludes with a further call, which extends to our lives as well: after understanding Jesus’ authority, fully founded in the LORD God, and after believing and following Him, and after realizing Jesus as the very sign from God proving Jesus’ messiahship, Jesus’ final words provide our challenge today: if we understand this; once our eyes (“lamps”) are illuminated to the truth of God (“light”), and once we’re blessed for understanding (like the woman in v.28), we must not keep it hidden, but must instead proclaim it – as Tom Constable writes, to “bear witness publicly [to] dispel darkness.”
We, the hands and feet of Christ in the world today, need not formal training, nor an area of expertise, nor any human authority to carry out the work of God! The key to this entire reading is the final verse of yesterday’s reading: Luke 11:13 specifically references the work of the Holy Spirit of God working in God’s people! Jesus acted on the authority of God, and now we, His people who have received the same Spirit, do the same. Jesus’ authority was one that his confused opposition would never figure out: He acted, spoke, and healed on the very authority of God – and now, He calls us, believers throughout history, to act, speak, and witness on the very same authority!
Father, thank You for opening my eyes to the truth of this collection of scenes. I give You thanks and praise for Your all-surpassing authority, on which Jesus carried out Your will in the world. I pray that You lead me to fully understand and realize that power and authority, and to embrace and act in the same authority every day, as I seek to impact the world for You. In Jesus’ name… Amen.
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