LUKE 6:17-19; 11:14-23

A HOUSE DIVIDED CANNOT STAND BIBLE STUDY

The fame of Jesus was spreading widely throughout the land. As Jesus was traveling, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us. And when He went into a house, the blind men came to Him: and Jesus said to them, Do you believe that I’m able to do this? They said to Him, Yes, Lord. Then He touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it done to you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus immediately told them, See that no man know it. But, when they left, they spread the news in all that country. As Jesus left, they brought to Him a dumb man possessed with a devil. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spoke: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, We’ve never seen anything like this in Israel.

Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they were weak, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. So He said to His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray to the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.

There was a man who was possessed by the devil who was brought to Jesus. The man was also blind and couldn't speak either, so Jesus cast out the devil and healed the man so that he could see and speak. It amazed people and they commented, Isn't this the son of David? (They meant a son of the bloodline of Kind David.) Again, they couldn't believe that a local boy could do these things. The crowds gathered together again and Jesus healed many. He and the disciples hadn't eaten because there were so many who wanted to be healed and virtue left Jesus because everyone wanted to touch Him to be made well. The disciples heard that He was not Himself because of the strength that had left Him and they came to hold Him up because He lost balance. But when the scribes that came down from Jerusalem saw, they said, He has beelzebub, and by the prince of the demons He casts out devils.

What is this, beelzebub? Beelzebub is a fallen angel ranking next to satan. He doesn't even deserve his name to be written with a capital letter at the beginning, and you may have noticed that we don't think satan deserves as much recognition either, but for grammar's sake, when it's at the beginning of a sentence, we'll capitalize it. ;)

Now, you know when you're really tired and you haven't eaten, how you can appear not to have your wits about you? Your speech may not be as crisp as when you're feeling rested and your eyes may be dim. Your head may nod and your reflexes may be slower than normal. And perhaps you've seen in movies how when a devil is cast out of someone, the exorcist is truly worn out with fatigue from the loss of virtue. Well, just imagine, Jesus had been healing many people, casting out many devils, and couldn't even so much as eat bread because of the multitudes of people. You'd think that walking a straight line after such a day wouldn't be expected of Him, but the scribes were accusing Him of casting out devils in the name of the devil instead of in the name of God because of His weariness. That's quite an insult.

A HOUSE DIVIDED CANNOT STAND BIBLE TRUTH WITH A HOUSE DIVIDED CANNOT STAND BIBLE WARNING ON A HOUSE DIVIDED CANNOT STAND BIBLE DANGERS

Jesus knew that the Pharisees and the scribes were thinking these things, and He called them over to Him and said, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. That means that when there is conflict among the people of a kingdom, that kingdom will end, and a family who is divided against itself (is in conflict with one another) will not survive.

Then Jesus said, And if satan fights satan, he is divided against himself. How then, can his kingdom last? And if I by beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. (If the scribes and Pharisees believe that the Son of God casts out devils in the name of satan, then the children {families} of the scribes and Pharisees must believe that satan has the power to cast out devils, so the devil will be their judge {their god}. The Pharisees and scribes did believe in God however, so if they believe that devils can be cast out in the name of satan, they are a house divided and will not survive.) But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God is come unto you. (Thy Kingdom come.)

No man can enter a strong man's house and steal from him unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he will rob his house. Whoever isn't with me is against me and whoever doesn't gather with me, scatters abroad.

PRODIGAL SON

Luke 15:11-35