Luke 11:14-32

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Israel’s Rejection of the Messiah

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. Israel rejected Christ by attributing His miracles to the power of Satan.

  2. Israel rejected Christ by demanding heavenly signs as proof of His claims.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Beware of reformation without conversion.

QUESTIONS

  1. What principles about demons can we learn from this case of the demon-possessed man?

  2. What does “Beelzebub” mean?

  3. What did the Lord mean when He said, “the kingdom of God has come upon you” (verse 20)?

  4. How did Jesus respond when a woman in the crowd called out for a blessing on His mother?

  5. What is ironic about the people’s request for a heavenly sign?

ANSWERS

  1. Demons are real and they can cause physical problems. Of course, this does not mean that all speech problems are caused by demons.

  2. The name literally means, “Lord of Flies.” It was one of the names the Jews used for Satan, the ruler of the demons.

  3. These miracles testified to the fact that the king had arrived. Would Israel receive the king and the kingdom He offered?

  4. The Lord did not denounce Mary in any way, but He showed clearly that being in His spiritual family was far more important than physical family relationships.

  5. They had witnessed Jesus performing signs and miracle for years, including just casting out a demon from a mute man!

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Review and discuss the two logical arguments the Lord used to refute the lie that He used satanic power to cast out demons.

  2. Miraculous signs will never convince the close-minded unbeliever. In fact, unbelievers will deny clear evidence about Scripture if their hearts are not opened to the truth of God. That it why it is critical for our witness to unbelievers to be surrounded by prayer for the Holy Spirit to open their spiritual eyes.

CHALLENGE

  1. Many people have sought to reform and “straighten up their lives” by their own power. But if it is not a true conversion, which replaces the old ways of life with feeding on the Word of God, meeting with believers for fellowship, and serving the Lord, that person can quickly fall back into their old way of life and worse. Beware of reformation without conversion.

KEY VERSES

  • “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.” Luke 11:17

  • “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.” Luke 11:29



Luke, Talks, New TestamentDeb HarmsLuke 11:14-32