Kingdoms in Conflict (Lk. 11:14-26)
In the book of Revelation, the church in Sardis received a letter from the Lord telling them to be watchful and repent because He was coming as a thief in the night. That should’ve hit a nerve, since their city had been taken captive on two occasion for a failure to set a proper guard (Rev. 3:1-6).
The people of Sardis believed that since their city was built on the side on a cliff, no one could overtake them. Their first capture was led by Cyrus when the Sardians had no guard protecting the city. The second capture was led by Antiochus after the guard that was set fell asleep.
The story is told: He dropped his helmet down the side of the cliff were his post was and when he went to retrieve it he revealed a secret entrance into the city. What the guard didn’t know was that an enemy soldier hiding in the shadows saw how the guard went up and down through that secret passage and that is how they were able to get into the city and overtake it a second time.
Spiritual Warfare is a lot like that. Their is an enemy hiding in the darkness and he’s looking for access to your life. If you aren’t alert he’ll overtake you.
Spiritual warfare is not a topic reserved for the overly imaginative or the hyper‑religious. It is a reality that affects every human life, often long before we even recognize it.
Most of us, however, have been conditioned to think of spiritual warfare only in cinematic terms. Our cultural imagination has been shaped more by movies like Poltergeist, The Omen, or The Exorcism of Emily Rose than by Scripture itself. The story behind Emily Rose—the real-life case of Anneliese Michel—illustrates how tangled and tragic these situations can become. Anna suffered from seizures, hallucinations, and even reacting violently to religious symbols. Doctors prescribed medications, therapy, and treatments, yet her condition never improved. As a matter of fact, it appeared to worsen. Eventually, two Catholic priests performed sixty‑seven exorcisms over ten months, claiming that multiple demons contended for dominance within her. Despite their ongoing efforts, Anna died from malnutrition and dehydration, her story ending in heartbreak rather than healing.
Why begin here? Because spiritual warfare is not merely a theological abstraction. The Bible makes it pretty clear that there is a war going on in the spiritual realm. It is a lived reality—sometimes dramatic, often subtle, always consequential. And while Anna’s story is tragic, the account we turn to today reveals a confrontation with darkness that ends not in despair, but in hope. It reminds us that spiritual warfare is real, but so is the power of God to overcome it.
Accused & Tested (Lk. 11:14-16)
Luke 11:14–16
14 And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled. 15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” 16 Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.
In verse fourteen, there is mention of a multitude without a context for how they have arrived. But, if we look at Matthew’s Gospel we learn that this multitude forms after Jesus and His disciples are confronted by the Pharisees for
Matthew 12:2
2 ...doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”
The disciples had plucked heads of grain to eat as they traveled through the field. Also, Jesus healed a man in the synagogue on that same day. It’s possible that this man may have been planted there by the Pharisees to see if Jesus would break the Sabbath and heal him. Which He does. Obviously, this upset the religious leaders, so they hatched a plan to destroy Jesus.
In response, Jesus being aware of their plan, He heads for the exit and that’s when a multitude follows Him. After healing the sick in the crowd He tells them to keep quiet about this and He shares with them that this was a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (Mt. 12:16-21). This is how we arrive at Luke 11:14. From Matthew’s details we learn that the demon-possessed man is doubly afflicted. Luke only tells us that he had a mute demon. Matthew tells us that he had a demon that was mute and one that was blind. Now, isn’t that an interesting way to describe this man’s condition. The afflictions are not biological but spiritual. His vision and his speech are both under the direct influence of Satan. When Jesus casts out the demons, the multitude which had been following Him are utterly amazed and they began to question,
Matthew 12:23
23 “Could this be the Son of David?”
And this question is what leads to the exchange beginning in Luke 11:15ff. The Pharisees will not, for a second, entertain the notion that Jesus might be the promised Davidic Successor. So then, what possible explanation could there be for the man’s healing except that it was demonic? If it were not demonic then Jesus should prove it by performing another miracle, right? Certainly that would do the trick. If Jesus performed another miraculous healing, surely they would believe in Him.
Kingdom of Darkness (Lk. 11:17-19)
Ok, so let’s pick up at verse seventeen.
Luke 11:17–19
17 But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. 18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub. 19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
To begin, I think it is worth noting that this passage, particularly Jesus’ own Words, highlights the reality of demons and, what seems to have been a familiar practice of exorcism.
Jesus knew what those men were thinking, so He responded by turning their accusation back on to them. “And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.” (Lk. 11:19). Notice that they don’t answer the question, probably because they would either condemn themselves or confirm Jesus as David’s Son. They are trapped by their own words.
This passage reveals that exorcisms, or what was believed to be exorcisms, were taking place outside of Jesus’ immediate circle, performed by people who may not have been His followers. Luke records more evidence of this in the Book of Acts.
Acts 19:13
13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”
This form of exorcism, invoking the names of other highly esteemed and divine persons, seems to have been a common practice. Jewish historian, Josephus wrote of a man in his day, Eleazar, who invoked the name of Solomon in order to perform exorcisms.
God also enabled [Solomon] to learn that skill which expels demons, 4 which is a science useful and sanative to men. He composed such incantations also by which distempers are alleviated. And he left behind him the manner of using exorcisms, by which they drive away demons, so that they never return...for I have seen a certain man of my own country, whose name was Eleazar, releasing people that were demoniacal in the presence of Vespasian, and his sons, and his captains, and the whole multitude of his soldiers. The manner of the cure was this: He put a ring that had a [r]oot of one of those sorts mentioned by Solomon to the nostrils of the demoniac, after which he drew out the demon through his nostrils; and when the man fell down immediately, he abjured him to return into him no more, making still mention of Solomon, and reciting the incantations which he composed.[1]
There’s a little cafe in the Paseo that has books on Solomon’s incantations.
Jesus’ question to the scribes and Pharisees, implies that while the disciples of other Jewish teachers were also expelling demons (or so it seemed), no one ever accused them of operating under demonic influence so why would they accuse Him of using such a power.
With the use of logic, Jesus points out the absurdity of their accusation.
Luke 11:17–18
17 But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. 18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.
If you read the Bible honestly I’m convinced that you will come to the place where you are confronted by the very real and present spiritual battle taking place among us.
Ephesians 6:12
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
What Paul describes here Jesus refers to, in Luke’s Gospel, as a kingdom. Two kingdoms are at work among us, the kingdom of darkness where Satan, Beelzebul rules, and the kingdom of Light where the Triune God rules.
John 1:5, NIV
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
And the Bible tells us, that Jesus has come for the express purpose of conquering that dark and demonic kingdom.
1 John 3:8
8 For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
By accomplishing this, the Bible informs us that everyone who, by faith, has placed their hope in Jesus
Colossians 1:13, NIV
13 he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
Do not be fooled. Satan, the devil, is as real as God is real—but, he is a crook.
John 10:10
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the conversation of spiritual warfare and the reality of the demonic, we don’t often take it seriously. In many cases, our natural intelligence has outpaced our spiritual intelligence. With the advancement of science and technology, what used to have a spiritual diagnosis, now has a medical and psychological diagnosis. We congratulate ourselves for being more highly evolved, yet we’ve lost sight of the unseen realities the Bible warns us about.
Chuck Swindoll argues that,
“because of our twenty-first century dedication to science and technology [we have] dismissed these invisible creatures as figments of fantasy, mirages of myth.”[2]
Physical blindness, the inability to speak, the inability to hear, fits of rage, the myriad of psychological diagnoses today, I could go on, once upon a time was seen as a spiritual affliction and not just a biological or chemical abnormality. The Bible is filled with examples of this.
Now, that is not to say that every one of these diagnoses are demonically influenced, but in some cases they might be and we need to consider that when combating these issues. Before we move on, I want to caution us not to be quick in diagnosing people as demon possessed. There is a great and often irreparable danger present in getting this wrong. Just think back to the exorcism of Emily Rose. However, I also think there is a great danger in being wrong or foolish about the power and work of our enemy, the devil.
God’s Word presents him as a charlatan. A con-man who masquerades as an angel of light infiltrating the community of Christ with deceptive and false ministers of righteousness (2 Cor. 11:12-15).
1 Peter 5:8
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
And when discovered, he seizes upon the weaknesses of our flesh and our faith in order to draw us away from Christ by suggesting some alternative truth and means of navigating life.
Kingdom of Light (Lk. 11:20-23)
Thankfully, the Word of God has a lot to say about how we can be on the winning side in this spiritual war. First and foremost, you have to be covered in the blood of Jesus. Our entire spiritual life hinges upon this reality. The choice to surrender to Jesus or reject Him determines whether we survive the battle or not. This doesn’t just apply to those who are not Christians, but to us who are sons and daughters of God as well. If we try to battle our spiritual enemy in our own power we will fail miserably. However, if we will seek refuge in Jesus then we will find protection against Satan.
The Bible teaches that,
Proverbs 18:10
10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.
And this protective Name is none other than Jesus Christ. He fulfilled the righteousness required by the law, living a holy life without sin. He defeated death through the resurrection of His own body, by His own power. The veil of Satan that keeps unbelievers in the dark is removed through faith in Jesus.
There is salvation in no other Name than in the Name of Jesus (Acts 4:12).
Philippians 2:10–11
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The seventy disciples learned that while they were out ministering and preparing the way for the Messiah. They said,
Luke 10:17
17 “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
So it all starts and ends with Jesus.
But the Bible also reveals that there are additional tactics of engagement. We are told to be strong in the Lord’s mighty power. We are told to clothe ourselves in the full armor of God; to put on truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer, in order to stand against wicked schemes of Satan (Eph. 6:10-18).
We are told to put on Christ and make no provision for the flesh (Rom. 13:14).
We are to walk in the Spirit in order to ward off the temptations of the flesh (Gal. 5:16-26)
We are to fast and pray and watch (Mark 9:29).
We are to submit to God in all things and the Enemy will flee (James 4:7).
But Jesus also draws our attention to another determining factor of winning in this battle.
Luke 11:20–23
20 But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. 22 But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. 23 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
You cannot be neutral in this war against darkness.
The finger of God drives out demons and ushers in the kingdom of God. This piques my interest because, in response to a request to teach His disciples how to pray, Jesus taught them to say this,
Luke 11:2
2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
The Bible has a lot to say about God’s kingdom. His reign. We are told in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians that the kingdom of God
1 Corinthians 4:20
20 ... is not in word but in power.
It’s not just something we talk about, but it’s actually something we can experience. And this powerful kingdom, we learn from Jesus Himself, is not something far off in the distance beyond our reach, but rather
Luke 17:21
21 the kingdom of God is within you.”
If you are a Christian, God’s kingdom is in you and it is revealed in
Romans 14:17
17 righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Finger of God
Ok. Now this brings us to the phrase, “finger of God.”
What does Jesus mean by this? Well, the first time that we come across this phrase is in the book of Exodus when lice had covered the entire Egyptian land. The magicians of Pharaoh tired to perform the same miracle Aaron had performed, but they couldn’t.
Exodus 8:19
19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.
The next time that we read this phrase is in Ex. 31:18 when Moses received the two tablets on the mountain. This is repeated later in Deuteronomy 9:10.
Exodus 31:18
18 And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
The final time that we read this exact phrase is in Lk. 11:20 which Matthew chose not to use even though he is reporting on the same event. Instead of “finger of God” Matthew opts for the phrase Spirit of God.
Matthew 12:28
28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
This is exactly why, both Matthew and Mark connect the accusation against Jesus’ power with blaspheming the Holy Spirit ( Mt. 12:31-32; Mark 3:28-30). The finger of God is the Spirit of God.
So, it was the Spirit of God who plagued the Egyptians with lice. It was the Spirit of God who wrote the commandments on the tablets and it was by the power of the Holy Spirit of God that demons were cast out by Jesus. And this same Spirit and Power is available to us today by faith in Jesus Christ.
Here then, is another reason why Jesus instructed His disciples to ask, seek, and knock for the Holy Spirit.
Do you want power over the demonic influences of Satan in your life? Ask the Lord for the Spirit’s power.
You can’t have victory over the Enemy through willpower and grit. You can’t master the evils of your life by trying harder or by ignoring the spiritual battle. Winning the fight against Satan doesn’t work like that. This is why some people, not all, but some people find themselves back in the struggle against sin after they have been released from its clutches.
Luke 11:24–26
24 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. 26 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”
This scripture points to the fact that the holes in our spiritual lives will eventually be filled in by something and if we do not fill in those gaps with the things of God, then we leave ourselves open to more spiritual attacks and influences. It’s good that you don’t use drugs anymore. What have you put in place of that? It’s good that you have kicked pornography to the curb. What are you doing instead of that?
Let me clear something up before we go any further. Passages like this should never be interpreted as suggesting that Christians can be possessed by demons. You will never find support for that in the Scriptures. The reason why this is an impossibility is because, righteousness has nothing to do with lawlessness. Light and darkness cannot co-exist. Christ and Satan are incompatible. The temple of God, which you are if you belong to Jesus, and the temple of idols, which you are if you do not belong to Jesus, have nothing in common with each other (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1).
1 John 4:4
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
You get victory through Jesus Christ and Jesus promises power in the Spirit. This is why God’s word encourages us,
Ephesians 5:18
18...but be filled with the Spirit,
The way this is actually worded grammatically in the Greek is to say, “be being filled with the Spirit.” Keep on being filled. It is an ongoing and continuous experience. The Power is there, you just have to plug in, and you do that through a daily surrender; through faithful and immediate obedience.
Pastor Jim Cymbala once said,
If we don’t have access to spiritual power, how can we accomplish what needs to be done? Power to overcome sin. Power to overcome spiritual enemies that attack us. Power to endure hardship and affliction. Power to witness, Power to speak. Power to pray.[3]
The battle of the spirit requires access to Spiritual power which is why Paul says,
2 Corinthians 10:4–5
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
Jennifer’s Story
Jennifer Nizza was 12yo when she was first introduced to the psychic world. At the age of 13yo she was fully committed. For years after she engaged in reading tarot cards, even encountering a dead person in her dream. In her testimony she described seeing shadowy figures in the form of humans and animals. She claims to have been touched by these demons even thrown from a chair.
One day, with no explanation or intention at all, she yelled out the Name of Jesus. She immediately felt a peace and says this is when her journey to becoming a fully committed follower of Christ began. A friend, who had also been part of Jennifer’s divination group, now a redeemed child of the Most High, invited Jennifer to church. Four weeks later Jennifer walked into her first church service and while singing the words Jesus saved me, she was overcome with emotion and a confidence of God’s redeeming love for her. Once she got home, the Holy Spirit immediately led her to the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God as she fought back the darkness with the power that only the Spirit can provide.
Jennifer now uses the Light she has to push back the darkness that enslaves other people trapped in the world of divination.[4]
Respond
Let me say this as we end our time together.
The Bible makes it abundantly clear, we are being attacked spiritually. Every one of us who are aligned with Jesus through faith has opposed Satan’s reign and he has waged an all-out assault against you. Let me say this as well, those of you who are not Christian, you are no threat to the devil. Your rejection of Jesus has entered you into an unholy alliance with Satan and you need to understand that he is working against you.
But there’s hope for you today.
The Bible also makes clear, that no weapon of the enemy shall prosper against the people of God. We have not been abandoned in this war. We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One, and our testimony of Him is a weapon that destroys Satan’s wicked schemes.
Revelation 12:11
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
Victory begins with surrender. Your testimony begins by yielding to the One Who has loved you with an everlasting love. The One Who laid down His own life for you to have life.
The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus comes to give life abundantly.
Your access to the Spirit’s power begins by trusting the Father’s Promise.
So here’s what I want you to do.
If you are not a Christian, you’ve never asked Jesus to save you, then I want you to step out of this alliance you’ve made with the enemy by stepping into the aisle and under the covering of Christ.
I’ll meet you at the front.
For those of you who are sons and daughters of God but you have been fighting this spiritual battle in your own strength, I want you to step out as well. Step out of self-reliance. Step out of warring with weak weapons and come under the protection of Christ again where the Spirit gives power.
Lift your heart. Open your hands. And with faith, say:
Come, Holy Spirit.
Come and fill me.
Come and fight for me.
Come and make me new.
Flavius Josephus; The Antiquities of the Jews; Bk8.Ch2.Ln5, p198)
Charles Swindoll, Living Insights: Luke, p322)
Jim Cymbala, Spirit Rising, p105).
I Cried Out to the Name Demons Fear Most; https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/04/jennifer-nizza-testimony-new-age-psychic-medium-demons/
