WHOM DO YOU SEE WHEN YOU LOOK AT JESUS?
SERIES: JESUS, SAVIOR OF THE LOST
By Ron Ritchie
On April 15 of this year the San Francisco Chronicle had a
banner headline in its "Nation" section that read, "Jewish
sect is expecting its Messiah by Sept. 9". According to some leaders
within the Hasidic sect, the "miraculous" Allied defeat of the
Iraqi army is more than just a military victory. It is the sure sign that
the long awaited Jewish Messiah will reveal himself before the Jewish New
Year, September 9, sending the Jewish people back to Jerusalem "on
clouds of glory." The article went on to say, "Although Christians
believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament,
Orthodox Jews are still waiting for the righteous king of Israel to reveal
himself." They also see September 9 as the first coming of the Messiah,
in which Jews will gather back in Israel, the temple will be rebuilt, and
he will inspire the nations of the world to make peace and to recognize
him and his teachings. It continues to be apparent that when the Jewish
people look at Jesus they reject Him as their Messiah and look for another.
Turn to Luke 11:14-36, where we will discover that the root of this rejection
goes back some 2000 years. For as the shadow of the cross fell more and
more over the life of Jesus, we find that the forces of evil expressed through
the religious community were closing in with a vengeance. We will find our
Lord depending on his loving heavenly Father for strength to cast out a
demon, wisdom to confront the Pharisees, grace to correct a confused woman,
and courage to challenge a wicked generation all because they had eyes but
could not see that Jesus was their long awaited Messiah, "the Christ
of God" (Luke 9:20.) As we study together the blindness of the people
who watched our Lord fulfill his ministry among them as the Savior of the
lost, we should be challenged in our own generation to ask ourselves the
question, Whom do you see when you look at Jesus?
I. Some See a Servant of Satan
Luke 11:14-26
And He was casting out a demon, and it was dumb; and it came
about that when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke; and the multitudes
marveled. But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebul,
the ruler of the demons." And others, to test Him, were demanding of
Him a sign from heaven. But He knew their thoughts, and said to them, "Any
kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against
itself falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his
kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I
by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Consequently
they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the finger of God,
then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed,
guards his own homestead, his possessions are undisturbed; but when someone
stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him
all his armor on which he had relied, and distributes his plunder. He who
is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.
When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places
seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, 'I will return to my house from
which I came.' And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then
it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they
go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than
the first."
The last time the Lord had healed a man who had been possessed by demon,
the demon had caused his victim to become blind and dumb (Matthew 12:22-32).
According to Dr. Luke, this man had only the problem of dumbness. (See Discovery
Paper 4144, When God speaks, are you willing to listen?, which deals with
the question, Are all dumb persons demon-possessed?) The crowd was very
much aware that this man was demon-possessed and that he had been dumb or
speechless ever since the demon had taken control of his life. This man
was a symbol of the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel. Now, the
nation of Israel had been established as a witness to the surrounding nations
that there was a loving heavenly Father who bestowed rich blessings on his
beloved children and was willing to bestow the gift of redemption on all
those who placed their faith in him as the one and only God. As a result,
all who had established a relationship with God the Father would find themselves
in continuous conversation with Him in prayer and in singing praise to Him
because of his faithful love and care for them as his children. God chose
them when they were nothing, and gave them life, a message, and the opportunity
to minister. But for the moment the nation was possessed by the demonic
spirit of dumbness and could not praise their Creator and loving Father.
The healing caused a strong reaction. When the Lord cast out the demon of
speechlessness and the man was set free to speak for the first time in years,
the crowd marveled at his power as they always did, but none believed in
Him as the Christ of God, the one who could set them free from the bondage
of Satan and spirit of dumbness. They were amazed, but there was never a
change in their hearts.
The prophet Isaiah described the spiritual leaders of his day as Israel's
watchmen, who were blind, who all lacked knowledge; they were all mute dogs,
they could not bark; they lay around and dreamed, they loved to sleep. (Isaiah
56:10.) Little did Isaiah realize that this spiritual tragedy would continue
even in the presence of their Messiah. For a group of the religious community
called the Pharisees and scribes, the separatists and legalists, had been
watching Jesus since the beginning of his ministry, and they were seeking
to find some cause to have him condemned to death. Up to this point they
were seeking to build a capital-offense case against him on the charges
of lawbreaking and blaspheming God. Now we are about to enter into our Lord's
second debate with the scribes and Pharisees (see Matthew 12:22; the first
debate was over the man made dumb and blind by a demon), and at this time
they will level their third charge of blaspheming against him (see Matthew
9:27-34; 12:24). But they needed to prove their case in court. So at this
time they cried out within hearing of the crowd, "He casts out demons
by Beelzebul [the lord of the flies or the dung heap], the ruler of the
demons."
Another group of people sought to test the Lord at this time, so they began
to demand a "sign from heaven." The Lord dealt with the Pharisees'
charge first, then he took on those who wanted a sign.
Knowing their thoughts, he challenged the Pharisees with four statements:
First, he reminded them of the principle that civil war destroys a kingdom
(11:17). Everyone knew the principle that any kingdom divided against itself
is laid to waste; and a house divided against itself falls. Jesus was saying,
"Now, some of you are calling me Satan and you are saying that as Satan
I am casting out my own demons. Let me ask you two questions: (1) If Satan
as well is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? Why would
Satan, the murderer, liar, deceiver, and god of this world spend any time
casting out his own demons? Wouldn't that action bring his own kingdom down
around his ears? (2) By whom do your sons cast them out?" There were
Jews in Israel who practiced exorcism of demons, and this ability was recognized
as a power given by God. If their exorcists operated by God's power, why
did they say that his power was of Satan? "Consequently they shall
be your judges."
Secondly, Jesus issued a spiritual challenge (11:20). "But if I cast
out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."
He was saying, "You have accused me of casting out demons by the power
of Satan, and I have said that if that were true my kingdom would not last
very long because everyone knows that 'any kingdom divided against itself
is laid waste.' Now, I want you to consider the other side of the coin,
the only other possibility. What if I have received my power by the "finger
of God?" (This phrase "the finger of God" was first mentioned
in Exodus 8:19 when the Pharaoh's magicians and all their secret arts could
not get rid of the plague of gnats, and so they went and told their ruler
that the invasion of gnats was caused by "the finger of God."
We are also told in Exodus 31:18: "And when He had finished speaking
with [Moses] upon Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tables of the testimony,
tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.") Then they would be
faced with the awesome reality that "the kingdom of God has come upon
you," because the demon was cast out of the formerly dumb man, and
one stronger than Satan stood before them.
The kingdom of God is not land or power over the nations at this time. Rather,
it is a spiritual relationship with the loving and merciful heavenly Father,
immediately possible when one places one's faith in Jesus as Messiah, Lord,
and Savior. For Jesus had said in John 3:3, "Truly, truly, I say to
you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Once
the King is invited to set up his throne in your heart, you have the privilege
to ask the King for all the power necessary to deal with all the realities
in the spiritual as well as the physical world. He is a loving, merciful
Messiah who wants to come and set up his throne in our hearts and reign
in our lives. Later some Pharisees would ask the Lord when he thought the
kingdom would come on earth, along with the Messiah Warrior and his army,
who would overthrow the Roman armies. Jesus replied, "The kingdom of
God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here
it is!' or 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."
(Luke 17:20-21.) He was saying, "So if I was able by the invisible
but powerful finger of God to cast out this demon, then I tell you that
the kingdom that you have been looking for since the days of Abraham and
David has come upon you, and in reality the door into that powerful but
invisible spiritual kingdom is right in front of you. The invitation to
be set free to speak to God again is offered to you. Walk through the door
by faith and enter into the kingdom of God. And your heart will be filled
with praise. All you'll want to do is speak it and sing it."
Third, Jesus used an illustration (11:21-23). "When a strong man [Satan],
fully armed, guards his own homestead [fallen humanity in any generation],
his possessions are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than he [Christ]
attacks him and overpowers him [through the Incarnation], he [Christ] takes
away from him all his armor on which he had relied, and distributes his
plunder." And as it says in Colossians 2:13-15, "And when you
were dead in your transgressions...He made you alive together with Him,
having forgiven us all our transgressions...having nailed it to the cross.
When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display
of them, having triumphed over them through Him." Jesus was saying,
"Therefore, since I have attacked Satan's kingdom and defeated him,
now I am free to set his captives free. He who is not with me is against
me; and he who does not gather with me scatters." Leon Morris in his
book Luke, writes: "There can be no neutrality about this. When a man
sees what the kingdom means he must be either for it or against it. Anyone
who does not side with Christ in the battle against evil is against him.
If anyone does not gather with Christ he scatters [the imagery is from gathering
a flock together]."
Finally, Jesus issued a warning (11:24-26). At this moment our Lord pulled
back the curtain of time and allowed us to look into eternity so that we
could see the final act of a play called The Life and Times of a Local Demon.
"When the unclean spirit goes out of a man [who is without Christ as
King], it passes through waterless places [the lifeless deserts of the world]
seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, 'I will return to my house from
which I came [the healed man].' And when it comes, it finds it swept and
put in order. [The soul of the man is cleaned up from the destruction of
the demon, and no one else is in there.] Then it goes and takes seven other
spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last
state of that man becomes worse than the first." In this story our
Lord was using the former demoniac as an illustration of the nation of Israel.
For John the Baptist had come and called the nation to repentance, and many
of the Jews repented and were living their new life in the power of the
Holy Spirit. But many did not. They got an emotional high being with John
the Baptist, but after they heard the truth and said they had prepared their
hearts, they went home and on their own tried to keep the law, to live a
righteous life. They tried to get better and improve themselves, only to
find out that the power of the flesh quickly faded and left them worse off
than before they repented. Their souls were clean but empty of a real belief
in the Son of God and thus open to a greater invasion of demons. Reformation
without regeneration and the power and presence of the Holy Spirit leaves
a man clean but empty of power to resist the next invasion of demons. (In
observing this story we can also learn some characteristics of the activity
of demons on a personal level: (1) Morally unclean spirits can possess unbelievers.
(2) They can cause dumbness and blindness as well as many other problems.
(3) They can be cast out of a believer who uses the power of Christ. (4)
They wander looking for a place of rest among the souls of men. (5) They
can find rest only by being invited into the souls of unbelievers. (6) There
are different levels of evil among demons. (7) The less evil demon can recruit
the more evil demons to return to the reformed soul. (8) They can make a
former victim's life seven times as miserable.)
Picking up the spiritual principle, reform without regeneration and the
presence and power of the indwelling Holy Spirit leaves a man or woman emotionally
and spiritually inadequate to understand and deal with life, whether there
are demons involved or not. A recent case in point is the life of Werner
Erhard as reported by Elizabeth Fernandez in the San Francisco Examiner
on April 21, 1991. "He was once a used-car salesman who parlayed
a keen sense of human nature into a hip and prosperous New Age enterprise,
who shrewdly turned the middle class onto pop psychology. Over the years
an estimated 750,000 people... participated in the self-improvement philosophy
marketed by Werner Erhard... a program called est. Erhard established
himself as the king of communications and relationships, the man who helped
the world become the best it could be. Now the guru has vanished from the
public eye. Today he is venerated like a demigod, derided as a con man and
defended as a misunderstood prophet and idolized as much as he is despised."
She went on in a lengthy article to say that the IRS wants him for tax evasion
and that he is being sued by his former employees as well as former students.
Most tragically, one of his daughters is accusing him of molesting her and
raping another daughter, which is yet to be proven in court. At this point
you can hear the words of our Lord Jesus: "...and the last state of
that man becomes worse than the first."
Whom do you see when you look at Jesus? Some see a servant of Satan, and...
II. Some See a Beautiful Son
Luke 11:27-28
And it came about while He said these things, one of the women
in the crowd raised her voice, and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb
that bore You, and the breasts at which You nursed." But He said, "On
the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and observe it."
As this woman stood in the crowd and watched our Lord first cast out the
dumb spirit and then face the accusing Pharisees who had called him a blasphemer
in the presence of the former demoniac, her heart must have been filled
with confusion and joy. In spite of her mixed emotions this woman and possible
mother cried out, not knowing she was fulfilling the words spoken by a woman
named Mary, heavy with child while visiting her cousin Elizabeth: "My
soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He
has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; for behold, from this
time on all generations will count me blessed." (Luke 1:46-48.) The
woman in the crowd in essence said, "You have brought great honor and
blessing to your mother, for if she could see you at this moment she would
be so proud!" Jesus responded with a gentle rebuke: "On the contrary,
blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it. And my mother
is blessed, but it is because she is willing to follow God and obey Him.
And all who hear the word of God and observe it will be equally blessed."
This was also true in the case of Mary the sister of Martha, who not only
sat at the feet of Jesus but then obeyed the word of God, and in the case
of Jesus himself, who not only sat at the feet of his Father but also walked
in obedience all the way to the cross of Calvary.
Whom do you see when you look at Jesus? Some see a servant of Satan, some
see a beautiful son, and...
III. Some See a Miracle Worker
Luke 11:29-32
And as the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This
generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign
shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign
to the Ninevites, so shall the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen
of the South shall rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment
and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the
wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. The
men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn
it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something
greater than Jonah is here."
Now the Lord addressed the sign seekers. Back in 11:16 we found some folks
in the crowd who had watched the captive demoniac set free, and they sought
to test him, "demanding of Him a sign from heaven." The meaning
of "sign" was that some of the Jews wanted another miracle from
heaven, not realizing that Jesus was the sign from heaven and they couldn't
read it. So the Lord issued one statement and two warnings.
"This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet
no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became
a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the Son of Man be to this generation."
The Lord had evaluated the wicked city of Nineveh (in what is now Iraq)
and declared that if they did not repent in 40 days the city and all its
people would be destroyed by his mighty hand. Jonah (800 BC) was a sign
or miracle to these people because of his experience of spending three days
and nights in the belly of a sea monster. It gave authority to his message
of mercy and judgment, with the result that in 40 days the king and his
people were convicted by the word of the prophet and realized without benefit
of the Law of Moses that they deserved the judgment of a righteous God,
and repented of their sins. Thus the Lord in his mercy spared them.
Jesus' sign or miracle to the Jews, with all the Law of Moses as well as
the witnesses to all his miracles, would be only as he stated in Matthew:
"For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of
the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights
in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:40.) The risen Lord and Messiah
Jesus Christ would be the last sign to Israel, and if that sign of mercy
was rejected, then would come the final judgment. He was telling them, "You
are rejecting me on this side of the cross, but if you reject me after the
resurrection then you will experience God's final judgment."
Jesus pointed to two witnesses against this generation. First, the Queen
of Sheba (Saudi Arabia): "The Queen of the South shall rise up with
the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she
came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold,
something greater than Solomon is here." She hungered for wisdom, and
when she was told that a Jewish king named Solomon might have a clue, she
traveled a long distance to find out anything she could from him. And after
listening to him, she concluded, "Blessed be the LORD your God who
delighted in you, setting you on His throne as king for the LORD your God;
because your God loved Israel establishing them forever, therefore He made
you king over them, to do justice and righteousness." (2 Chronicles
9:8.) And yet here a thousand years later, standing before this crowd was
"...Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge" (Colossians 2:2-3.) Paul would later encourage the Corinthians
believers that he preached "...to those who are the called, both Jews
and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." (1 Corinthians
1:24.) On Judgment Day the Queen of Sheba will be brought into the hall
of justice as a witness against this present wicked generation who had rejected
the "Wisdom of God." Then she will say to them, "I traveled
thousands of miles to find wisdom, and he was right in front of you! Were
you so blind, so deaf to miss him? And here you are, with God's wisdom living
among you, and now it is right in front of you."
The second witness was the Men of Nineveh. The Lord drew the minds of the
crowd back to Nineveh, since he had already mentioned Jonah, and warned
this present wicked generation that "the men of Nineveh shall stand
up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented
at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here."
When Jonah spoke to the wicked people of Nineveh who did not know their
right hand from their left hand, they recognized the authentic voice of
God and repented. And if this generation would not repent of their rejection
of Jesus as their Messiah after the resurrection, God would bring the men
of Nineveh who had accepted the message of God through Jonah as witnesses
against this wicked generation. For these people had not only seen the person
and power of Jesus and heard his preaching, but then having witnessed all
that evidence they still rejected him as their Lord.
Whom do you see when you look at Jesus? Some see a servant of Satan, some
see a beautiful son, some see a miracle worker, and...
IV. Some See the Light of the World
Luke 11:33-36
"No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar,
nor under a peck-measure, but on the lampstand, in order that those who
enter may see the light. The lamp of your body is your eye; when your eye
is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your
body also is full of darkness. Then watch out that the light in you may
not be darkness. If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no
dark part in it, it shall be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines
you with its rays."
Jesus was standing before a nation that not only had been possessed by a
demon of dumbness, but many were also losing their eyesight. For he had
said earlier, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me shall
not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12.)
But now some heard him say, "No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it...under
a peck-measure..." For the Lord God had given the Jewish people directly
by the hand of Moses the law or truth of God's character and moral standards
to live a life that would please him and bring joy to their lives. But they
were to put that light "...on the lampstand, in order that those who
enter may see the light [the truth of God].. For he had also called his
people to become the light of salvation to the surrounding nations. So they
had been called to be "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14.)
Light defines the reality of God's character and the reality of our character.
Then the Lord again issued a call to repentance. "When your eye is
clear, your whole body also is full of light [truth and reality]; but when
it is bad, your whole body also is full of darkness." In essence this
nation's lamp had gone out, and their hearts were filled with darkness caused
by evil desires, pride and prejudice. Jesus' warning was, "You have
a choice; watch out that the light in you may not be darkness." The
apostle Paul would write to the Corinthians some 20 years later and speak
of his Jewish brothers' blindness whenever they read the Law: "And
even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in
whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving,
that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:3-4.) Then Jesus contrasted
the eyesight of those who were blinded by unbelief and that of those who
could see that Jesus was the image of God. "If therefore your whole
body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it shall be wholly illumined,
as when the lamp illumines you with its rays." Some saw him as the
Light of the world. Some saw him as darkness. He was saying, "It's
your choice."
The Christians at Stanford arranged a sunrise service at Frost Amphitheater
this last Easter. After some wonderful music and the testimonies of two
adults who had given their lives to the Jesus as Lord and Savior, I was
privileged to speak a few words from the word of God. I saw several folks
that I knew who were not Christians sitting on the lawn listening to the
word of God. Up to that point they had rejected the light. Yet there they
were-it was curious. Then as I invited the audience to invite the risen
Jesus Christ into their hearts by confessing their need of him as their
Lord and Savior, I was really thinking about these particular people. But
at this invitation they remained unmoved by the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
I left with a sense of disappointment, grieving that once again they had
rejected God's gracious invitation to salvation. Later I went to our Easter
service at Shoreline and was sitting, rather drained, in the top row with
my wife, when a friend walked up and introduced me to a young woman of about
20. He told me she wanted to share something with me. When I asked her what
she wanted to share, she could not speak, but giant tears spilled down her
cheeks. I then asked her if she had invited Jesus into her heart at the
Stanford service, and she nodded her head and finally said, "Yes."
My heart was overwhelmed with the joy of that moment. The light of the life
of Jesus Christ had invaded her heart, and now her whole body is filled
with light!
When those with bad eyes look at Jesus, they see a servant of Satan, a beautiful
son or a miracle worker. But those with the clear eyes of faith are able
to see Jesus as the Light of the world. My challenge to you this morning
is, Whom do you see when you look at Jesus? Your answer is the difference
between life and death, heaven and hell, even now. I would challenge you
to ask God to give you eyes to see that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior
of the world, the Messiah of Jews and Gentiles alike, who is not coming
on September 9, 1991, but has already come. He was rejected by his people,
placed on a cross for our sins, and buried; and God then raised him from
the dead and declares him Lord of lords and King of kings. And there is
no other.
I invite you to accept him as your Lord and Savior. Your eyes will be opened,
and the dumbness will leave you and you'll end up praising God the rest
of your life and on into eternity! But if you reject him as your Lord and
Savior, you'll be left in your dumbness and your blindness forever. Don't
do it! Don't spend another day looking for Messiah to come when he's here
as the risen Lord and Savior. If you reject the appeal to invite him into
your heart as your Lord, Savior, and Messiah, then comes the judgment. Now
we hear the voice of mercy; one day it will be the voice of judgment.
Catalog No. 4150
Luke 11:14-36
35th Message
Ron Ritchie
April 28, 1991
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