Jesus performed many miracles and wonders during his earthly ministry. Among them, he turned water into wine (one of my favorites), walked on water, calmed a storm, fed thousands of people with the equivalent of a happy meal, healed the sick, and raised people from the dead. He also cast out many demons.
An obvious reason for performing many of these (what’s the difference between miracles and wonders anyway?) is that he has great compassion for people. I’m sure it had the added benefit of grabbing people’s attention and drawing more people to him to hear his message. That sounds like a benefit I’ll bet many church leaders would love. Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “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? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.“o have. I know I would.
So, why did Jesus cast out demons? To me, this one stands out from the other miracles in a special way. Although all of the miracles that Jesus performed could not have been done without supernatural power, the ability to cast out demons proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that his power was not from Satan but was from God. How do we know this?
In Luke 11:14-20 we read:
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “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? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.“
Beelzubul, also spelled Beelzubub in some translations is another name for Satan.
I just love the way that Jesus silences his critics, don’t you? The kingdom of God has surely come upon us.
Comments
Post a Comment