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Exposing Error

Luke 11:17-20
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. (NIVUK)

Jesus had just cast out a demon who had made a man unable to speak (Luke 11:14).  The religious leaders could not deny that the miracle had occurred and that the mute man was now able to speak, so they accused Jesus of performing exorcisms by the power of Satan.  It was the religious establishment's way of discrediting the Son of God, and retaining their own power-base.  

However, they also showed the hollowness of their wisdom, spiritual credibility and common sense. Although we cannot arrive at God's truth simply by logic based on our previous experience (we need Him to reveal what is outside of our knowledge and experience), we can use logic to expose error, as God did with Job (Job 38:2-3) and Jesus did here.  Without even hearing their conversation, Jesus knew their thoughts and tested them through logical questions.

The key to His argument was that Satan is determined to win his wicked war against God.  There is no reason why the devil should join forces with Jesus to demolish his own evil principality.  It made no logical sense.  On the other hand, if there was any truth in the accusation, the Jewish exorcists would have to answer the same question: were they empowered by demons too?  The other logical possibility was that Jesus was driving out evil spirits by God's authority.  In that case, the religious leaders ought to take notice of Him and follow Him, because Jesus was establishing His kingdom.  Of course, none of those possibilities was palatable to His hearers who wanted to appear powerfully wise at the same time as destroying Jesus' reputation.

Good questions and logical arguments are a necessary part of education, business and any strategic planning environment.  They enable ideas to be thought through and decisions to be made (Proverbs 18:17).  But the closer we get to questioning God, the more we realise that we are under His spotlight.  That is why Jesus often answered a question designed to trap Him (Luke 20:2), with another question designed to reveal the heart of His interrogator (Mark 11:27-33).  Of course, however much we try to answer those who want to derail our faith, we can never force others to believe; but by asking logical questions, we can encourage our friends and colleagues to think about the inconsistencies in their thinking and beliefs.   As in a court of law, logical questions will expose lies.  Gospel proclamation involves explaining the truth and exposing the lies.  May the Lord make you able to explain the truth plainly about Jesus and, by questioning, expose the lies that people believe, as we share His revealed gospel.

 

Prayer 
Ever-wise God. Thank You for the example of Jesus in using questions to expose the error of His accusers. Help me to be bold to challenge the false assumptions of others, knowing that the truth will always stand in its own integrity while falsehood cannot have internal consistency. Forgive me Lord when I may have simply voiced my own views without finding a way to help my friends and colleagues to start to think about the credibility of what they think. Please keep me humble too, ready for You to question me and to accept Your revelation of truth in the Bible, without which I can have no secure framework for my own thinking. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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© Dr Paul Adams