LESSON: 1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-5

“Therefore, they [your sons] shall be your judges. But, if it is by the finger of God I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Luke 11:19,20

When Jesus tells the Jews, who question His authority to cast out demons and ascribe it to the devil, that their sons will be their judges, He means to say that He is appealing to these sons. These sons will be forced to pronounce the judgement that they are slandering Him unjustly and condemning themselves in doing so.

If one devil does not drive out another devil, there must be another power operative here which is neither devilish nor human, namely, divine power. Jesus continues, “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” This “finger of God” Matthew clearly designates as “the Spirit of God,” for in describing this same event he reports Jesus as saying, “If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons [...]” (Matthew 12:28).

In short, Christ here wants to say, “If the kingdom of God is to come to you, the devil must be driven out, for his kingdom is opposed to God’s kingdom, as you yourselves must confess. But the devil is not driven out by a devil, much less by men or through the power of men. He is driven out only through the Spirit and the power of God.”

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AE 76,394

PRAYER: According to your Word and promises, O Lord, let your kingdom of grace come to us and be established in our midst, through the active working of your Holy Spirit in the means of grace, for the Savior’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: TITUS 3:8-11

Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. Mark 1:25,26

No one should imagine that the evil spirits at times present an appearance of disunity and that one yields to the other to deceive men. For it is quite evident that they offer resistance, demur, cry out and storm, tear and rage when they sense that an earnest effort is being made to drive them out. They are opposed to Christ and at variance with Him, yielding to Him under compulsion and unwillingly. Nothing is left here but the patent and blasphemous lie in which they are held fast and disgraced, so they seize upon God’s work out of poisonous hatred and jealousy in the interests of the devil.

From this we should learn not to be unduly surprised if our doctrine and conduct is blasphemed, and if hardened hearts are never satisfied and converted, even though they have been overcome by palpable truth and their mouths have been stopped.

It is enough that their hardened folly has been disclosed by our answer before the godly, recognized for what it is, and brought to naught so that the godly may not be misled by any mere appearance of good. Thereafter, let them go their own way. Such people are perverted and sinful and even “Self-condemned,” as Paul reminds Titus (3:11).

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PRAYER: In your mercy and grace, O Lord, direct and govern all our efforts as your disciples, that the best interests of your kingdom are always served and our neighbor’s welfare is promoted, in the name of Jesus our Savior. Amen.

LENT - WEEK 3 - MONDAY

LESSON: COLOSSIANS 4:2-6

But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Be-elzebul, the prince of demons” [...] But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and house falls upon house. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Be-elzebul.” Luke 11:15,17,18

What did these slanderers reply to this clear logic of Jesus? Their mouth was stopped, and their heart was hardened so that they put forward no more questions. For a hardened heart is no longer open to instruction, no matter how brightly and clearly the truth is set forth. But the faith of the godly is strengthened hereby when they see that the ground for their faith is true and good.

For the sake of the godly, answers must at times be given to those who are hardened, and their mouths stopped. Even though they are not converted or silenced, it serves a good purpose to have their stubborn folly revealed, showing that the longer they speak the more their folly increases.

From this it also can be deduced that their cause does not even have the appearance of being good and true, as Solomon also says, “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes” (Proverbs 26:5). His meaning is to shame, for the sake of others, so that they do not follow him and are not deceived by him, as though he were in the right.

Otherwise, where there is no such special reason, it is better to be silent, as Solomon says in the same context, “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself” (Proverbs 26:4).

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PRAYER: O Lord, give us at all times the courage to speak out boldly for the sake of others and wisdom to be silent lest we increase the folly of others by our speaking. Amen.