LENT – WEEK 3 – WEDNESDAY

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.”

SL.XI.554,7
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.