The Parable of the Unclean Spirit

Lesson 15

Luke 11:14–26

Who Drives Out Demons?

During the days when Jesus was here on this earth He met many people who were demon possessed. It is rather strange that that phenomenon should occur just at that time. We do not often read of it in the Old Testament; in the days of the Apostles though there was still some of it, most of it seems to have departed. It appears as though the devil is seeking to imitate the incarnation! The Son of God comes in the flesh—the devil will too. This was a state of affairs for which there was no cure, and therefore every time our Lord cast out a demon, the observers were surprised.

In this chapter, there had been a discussion concerning the casting out of such spirits (v. 14 ff.). That Jesus had cured such a man was beyond question. The one who was dumb while demon-possessed, was now able to speak. At other times those who were demon-possessed were raving and dangerous and when the demon had been cast out such a person was rational and behaved normally. But, by what power does He cast out the unclean spirits? The religious leaders have come to the conclusion that He is in league with the evil one and casts out spirits by the prince of demons. This, says Jesus, does not even make sense. It would mean that Satan was divided against himself (v. 17). It would mean that he was consciously seeking his own overthrow. Besides, by whom do the sons of these leaders cast out demons? This is a strange saying which suggests that there were also some among the leaders of the Jews who cast out demons. But, if this is so, by whom do they then cast them out? Also by the prince of demons? They would then accuse their own sons of being in league with the devil!

This argumentation on the part of these leaders makes no sense. It is also an accusation which is an unpardonable sin. They are ascribing the work of God to the devil! Christ warns them. This is blasphemy. He makes it clear to them that He casts out evil spirits by the “finger of God.” Let them realize that they are seeing an exhibition of the power of God! He is the strong Man who has come to rob the evil one of his possessions. They must realize that those who are not positively with the Christ are against Him. There is no middle road. Those who do not gather with Him , scatter! Christ is throwing down the gauntlet to these so-called religious leaders! Let them see clearly what is going on before their very eyes. They have not listened to His words; and they will also stare themselves blind at His deeds. The kingdom has come to them. It is before them. They who wanted to be as God, now, as a result of sin, do not recognize the works of God and will cry out: “Crucify Him,” in a little while.

It is against this background that Jesus utters this parable. The context must, therefore, be kept in mind very clearly. He is going to picture the state of affairs in religious Israel. He is going to take the illustration of what they have just seen Him do and show them how their interpretation of His works will lead them to ruin. It is a parable of deep consequence for the people of His day as well as for the church of all future ages. Let him that has ears, hear.

A Demon Driven Out

Jesus pictures a man who has been cured ofdemon possession. Having been cured, a decent life is again possible for this individual. It is a healing in which, no doubt, everyone who knew him rejoiced. He is now able to go about his labors and can again have the usual relations with others. Now our Lord speaks of the evil spirit which had gone out of this man. What is the history of this spirit? He can fmd no rest because he can only do his work in a human being. Those evil spirits which were at another time sent into a herd ofswine simply slay the animals into which they have entered. That was not the proper place for them. This spirit passes through dry places seeking that rest but doesn’t find it. It is a dry and thirsty land for him when he can no longer operate in a human being.

The spirit then decides to return into the man from whom he had been cast out. Not in all the teachings of Christ have we ever met up with this kind of situation. It should have been impossible for the evil spirit to return there from whence he had been cast out! Is this real healing if a spirit has been cast out and the danger persists that he might return? The man himself should have made it impossible. But, he didn’t.

When the evil spirit returns to the man out of whom he had been cast, be finds this former home swept and garnished. It has been all cleaned out and it has also been beautified. But, it is empty! That is the point of this whole parable! This man was now able to lead a decent life–and he did! There were no longer gross sins and evil deeds which had characterized his life while he was demon possessed, and his conduct is greatly improved. He is now a respected citizen of his community and can take his place with those who are well-thought of in his time. Neither is he aware of any danger. He has been healed and that period of life is now behind him. Forget it! He can now build a new life.

But, the evil spirit has decided to return! He can do this because despite the respectable and decent life which the man now lives, the house out of which the evil spirit had been cast is essentially EMPTY! He is rid of the demon, but has no Christ! He is neutral! His is a half-way conversion. He has experienced the mortification of the old man but not the quickening of the new man! He is, therefore, a prime candidate for the evil spirit’s return . It seemed as though everything which belonged to his former life had been cleaned up, but the most important thing bad not been taken care of.

The “neutrality” which this man exhibited is an impossible way of life; it is condemned by the word of God. Jesus had referred to it in the immediate context of this parable. “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth” (v. 23). Neutrality, or the attempt at neutrality, had been one of the greatest sins of Israel and is one of the greatest sins of people of our time. Take no stand: no demon–no Christ. Stay in the middle zone. If no stand is taken, they believe, they will be friends of all men, not realizing that no one has any respect for such people. The words of Jesus have a real “bite” when he speaks so to the people of His day. Those who took the stand which He here describes were indeed “broadminded.” They did not wish to fall into the errors which had characterized their own fathers. But, what is worse, the idolatry at the time of Ahab or their own “dead orthodoxy?”

A Worse Condition

Not only is the position taken by the religious leaders of Jesus’ day an untenable one, it is also one which stands condemned because it lulls the people to sleep and does not warn them against approaching evil. When the evil spirit decides to return to the house from whence he had been driven, he does not go alone. He takes with him seven other spirits who are even more evil than he himself and they now enter this man together. In their numbers is safety. They will now seek to make it impossible to be driven out again. This man does not experience a return of all the ills which possessed him formerly; his condition has now become much worse! The last state of that man, says Jesus, becomes worse than the first! If there had been reason for pity in his former possessed state, that pity must now be at least eight times as great. He is now completely possessed. Here is now a man in whom there is virtually nothing left of humanity. It has almost become the devil incarnate. The last state is indeed much worse. Ahab had led Israel astray, but these scribes and Pharisees had not only led the people astray; they made it almost impossible for anyone to enter the kingdom. Besides, they would even destroy the One who came to save.

Israel had had many prophets and preachers between the times of Ahab and Jesus. These had called them to repent. However, the history of Israel is filled with the idea on the part of the people that all is well. No repentance seems necessary. These are the ones who become the prime candidates for a complete demon possession so that the devil has taken over completely. When the demon had originally been cast out, this individual, knowing the awful reality of the demon’s power and desires, should have made it impossible for this demon to return. He, however, really invited the demon to return into this unoccupied bouse. If he doesn’t fill it, the devil will! Demon possession is real!

A Warning Against “Neutrality”

In this parable our Lord has warned very strongly against the spirit of neutrality which is so common in the world in every age. How could He make a more dramatic appeal than He does in this parable? Christ has stated time and again that He demands the whole-hearted commitment of those who pay Him lip service. He is not satisfied with a part, He wants ·everything! He wants this so that the house is not left empty but is fully occupied. He wants sole possession. This is also the highest good for His people. Their only comfort is that with body and soul, for time and eternity, they belong to Him. If Christ does not have possession, the evil one will take it. One cannot be neutral.

In this brief parable our Lord has given us an unforgettable teaching. It is also a teaching which everyone must heed. Our age is no better than those which have gone before. Where is that spirit of a Daniel which dares to stand alone? Where is the spirit of the Reformers? Neutrality is in the air and it is slaying its ten thousands. Let men listen to the words spoken by our God and see the deeds which He has performed. Let them give Him their hearts lest greater evils come than those of the past. So only can they receive His blessing.

Questions for discussion:

1. Was demon possession the same illness as insanity? What, if any , are the differences? 2. Is the modern emphasis on “demons” biblical, or is it a reaction to the view held for many years that demons belonged to mythology? 3. Is the state of a person worse if more than one demon inhabits him? How can it be worse than being demon possessed, regardless of number? 4. Is a spirit of neutrality still a problem? Can we be neutral regarding such things as Christian schools? 5. Why is it more difficult to deal with a spirit of neutrality than with direct opposition? Or isn’t it?    

The Parable of the Prodigal Son

Lesson 16

Luke 15:11–32

I suppose that no series of lessons on the parables would be complete without the treatment of the parable of the prodigal son. It is a familiar story but also a story which has profound meaning for every age until our Lord returns.

Three Stories of Lost Things

This chapter contains three parables with certain similarities but also differences. These three parables were spoken against the Pharisees when they accused Him of eating with the publicans and sinners. In the first of these three parables someone who had a hundred sheep lost one. In the second, a woman who had ten coins lost one. In this parable, a father who has two sons lost one. There is an ascending order in these parables. To lose one of a hundred or lose one of two makes a great difference. Sheep or coins also do not compare with sons!

This parable has often been called the pearl of all the parables. It is also the longest parable our Lord gave us. The former two in this chapter are introduced in question form, this one is not. This parable too is taken out of the common life of that time and it is also taken right out of the heart of man. The parable sings of the wonderful love of this father. The lost son may return to his home and family as though nothing has happened. The question may be raised: which one of the two sons was really lost? There are almost two parables given us in this one-the first concerning the prodigal and the second about the elder brother!

A Restless, Wayward Son

The picture which our Lord draws for us in this parable is very common. A man had two sons. Nothing is said about the station in life of this father and we certainly do not get the impression that we are here dealing with a king, as in some of the other parables. It is a common household. One ofthe sons, and it happens to be the younger, is not satisfied with his life in the home of his father. Here everything is too tame and too monotonous. He desires the excitement which the big world outside of the parental home has to offer . In order that he may avail himself of all that the world has to offer, he asks for his share of the inheritance which he would receive later. He can’t wait till the proper time comes. He wants it now! He is not entitled to half of the inheritance because he is the younger son—he is only entitled to half of what his older brother will eventually get. The father does not object but gives him his share. Soon he leaves home to put his new-found wealth to use.

A “Liberated” Life

He does not stay in the vicinity of the ancestral home, but goes even outside of the country to a “far country.” The kind of a life which he has in mind should not be lived in the vicinity of his father’s house and, perhaps. not even in the same country . He wishes· to go where no rumor of his mode of life will come to the ears of his father. But, the farther he goes away from home, the farther will be the road back! When he has arrived in this “far country” all the reminders and restraints of home are gone. Here he is free! Here he can do as he pleases without running the risk of being censured for what he is doing. It is the common picture of the person who is in the first stages of going astray!

While he is in this “far country” he wastes his goods with riotous living! The Lord does not describe the nature of this riotous living. The older brother later characterizes it as “devoured thy living with harlots.” This may well be true, but Jesus leaves it in general terms. This riotous living is precisely the kind of life which he sought. Herein does he think he will find the enjoyment which he missed while he was in his father’s house. The temptations of this world are strong and he falls into them easily. He seeks them! He has not learned to pray: “lead us not into temptation.” He believes that giving in to temptation will unlock for him the pleasures which this world has to offer.

Hard Times

However, riotous living is expensive. One does not engage in this kind of life very long before a fortune will be consumed. Now it becomes disaster upon disaster. When he has wasted all his goods there comes a famine in that land! He has nothing left and everything now becomes very expensive. The plenty which he had enjoyed ever since he left home now makes way for want. In desperation he now hires himself out to a citizen of that land. He has to go to work! But, he is in a “far country” where there is no respect for the attitudes and customs which were part of his life since the earliest days. This citizen sends him into the field to “feed swine”! What can be more loathesome to a Jew than this? Perhaps every shred of religion is gone, but the attitudes and customs of former years will certainly speak to him even now. But, real want does strange things. He would like to have taken of this pig feed to allay his own hunger, and he might not touch it. This feed was expensive in famine times. In times of famine these hogs were very valuable and in a country where religion is dead they may well be considered as of more value than the individual who tends them! There are plenty like him!

Decision to Return

Finally, says Jesus, he came to himself! It is about time! He may not have liked all the rules and regulations which obtained in the house of his father, but there even the lowliest of the hired hands have enough to eat while he, who is the son, is now perishing of hunger . Hunger will blind him to various other things! He decides to go home! He cannot continue here! If his father will only have him! He will most certainly have to assume a posture of penitence. He will have to humble himself. What can he say to his father? He rehearses the speech he will make. He will say that he has sinned against God and his father. He isn’t worthy to be called the son of his father, but would be like a hired servant! This humility may furnish him with food-with the necessities of life.

The sad result of the dissatisfaction with the mode of life in the father’s house is pictured graphically by our Lord. There this son never suffered the pangs he has suffered in this “far country.” Neither has he ever had such a feeling of penitence as now comes over him when he contemplates a return to his father!

A Festive Welcome

He carries out what he had intended to do and actually returns to his father. His father sees him coming. This does not mean that he has been looking down the road every day while he was gone to see if he would return. But, he sees him come and goes out to meet him . He left with the inheritance which would later have fallen to him and he returns looking like a beggar. The speech he had rehearsed so well in the other country doesn’t flow so smoothly now. He does admit that he has sinned against God and against his father. He also insists that he is no longer worthy to be called this father’s son, but he does not ask that he be made as one of the servants. Of course not. That would have been an insult to the father . He is still his son whether he is worthy of it or not! The father does not hold him at arm’s length as David did to Absalom. No, he welcomes him heartily. He commands that the rags be taken away and decent clothing be given him. Even put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. Then kill the fatted calf because we are going to feast. The fatted calf could not have been saved for a better occasion than this one. This boy was dead and is alive again. The father received him as though he had been resurrected fro m the dead! He was lost and has been found! There is reason to rejoice. The father’s prayers have been answered. Forgiveness is richly given. The love of this father for an unworthy son cannot be quenched. He does not ask for restitution. He accepts him as he is. Christ would later give His life to redeem such a one as this. “God so loved the world . . . .”

The Older Brother

If the parable would end here we would say th.at it was a beautiful story which surely reveals the wages of sin and the free gift of God. But, the purpose of this parable was to answer the criticism of the Pharisees concerning Jesus’ eating with publicans and sinners. The youngest son clearly is a picture of the publican. This one didn’t want to be a child of God and became a slave of sin. But, he was restored to favor. He was penitent. David not only sins grievously but also writes Psalms 32, 51 and 130! This father had “two” sons. Only the one had been lost. The other was obedient and faithful!

In the parable Jesus also tells of this elder brother. He comes in from the field at the close of the day where he has faithfully done the work which had been assigned him by his father. As he now approaches the house, he hears something out of the ordinary. He hears feasting. People are having “a good time” at the house and he doesn’t know what the occasion is . Being told that it is because his brother has returned, he becomes angry and will not join in the festivities. In his estimation this goes beyond all limits. He is not happy that his brother has returned. He was perfectly satisfied with the life as it was lived in the father’s house in the absence of his brother. He had not missed him. Besides, he was ashamed ofhim. He not only brought dishonor on the name of his father, but also on the name of the other members of the family.

His father goes out to ask him to enter ,the house to join in the festivities. He refuses. He defends himself to his father and criticizes his father at the same time. He says that he has not been as this younger brother. He has served his father faithfully all these years. He has not transgressed any of his commandments. He has been a model son! He is in complete agreement with the words which the Apostle Paul would write some years later: “If any other man thinketh to have· confidence in the flesh, I yet more: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee . . . as touching the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless” Phil. 3:4–6.

Despite this blameless life, the father had never so much as given him a kid so that he could have a party with his friends! But, when this worthless son has returned after he has squandered all his goods, the fatted calf is slain. How unfair! He criticizes his father and refuses to acknowledge his brother!

Critics Corrected: Celebrating God’s Grace

The sadness of the father can be felt in the words he addresses to his eldest son. I always have you. You have not been lost. Everything that I have is yours. Take a kid and make merry! Take a fatted calf! It is all yours. But, it was proper that we have a feast when your lost brother was found. You don’t have feasts when only the ordinary things take place. But, this is something special! It is time to feast. How can you be so hard-hearted?

So Jesus replied to the Pharisees when they accused Him of eating with publicans and sinners. It was time to feast. It was proper. They should do likewise!

Questions for Discussion

1. Nothing is said in this parable about the sacrifice of Christ as the ground for forgiveness. Why not? Would that fit in this parable?

2. Why does the life of the world have such an appeal for the children of God? Is the believer’s manner of life too rigid? Can we chase our children away? 3. How great is the love of God? Can this be brought into words? Why not? 4. What do you think is the meaning of the statement when he came to himself’? Did his life in a “far country” bring him any enjoyment? 5. Why does the elder brother assume the attitude he did? Is Christ too harsh in His condemnation of the Pharisees? What does the father mean when he says: “all that is mine is thine”? Does this mean that the Pharisee will still inherit all things, or is it only said to fill out the parable?