Obeying the One Who Can

Luke 11:14-28 - Riley Boggs

In middle school I made a lot of dumb decisions and I’m going to start this morning my telling you all a story of one of those dumb decisions. Kids, this is a “don’t be like me” moment. During my middle school years my mom would drop my sister and I off at North Jackson Elementary because she went there. From there, I would get on a bus that took all the older siblings to the middle school or high school. Well one morning during one of those infamous bus rides I did something really dumb. I would say that I had a dumb idea, but truthfully I don’t think it ever even thought about what I was going to do before I did it, I just did.

What I did was take a sharpie out of my backpack and write “Wade was here” on the back of the bus seat in front of me. Wade was my friend sitting next to me, and no it’s not the same Wade who just led our singing. No this Wade was a limit pusher. I wrote that, tapped him on the shoulder, pointed at it, and we both started laughing. Then, he asked for the sharpie and proceeded to write in large letters, across the entire back of the seat, “Riley”. Again, we both died laughing thinking this was really funny for some reason that only middle school boys would get I guess.

Anyway, we get off the bus at the middle school and continue on our day like nothing happened. And the day went on as normal until about 30 minutes before school was supposed to be dismissed. I’m sitting there doing whatever it is I’m doing, and I hear over the speaker in the room, “Mrs. So-and-so, can you send Riley Boggs to the office?” Immediately my stomach sank. I started racking my brain trying to think about what it is I would be getting called to the office for. I genuinely could not think of anything. So I anxiously walked to the office and as I got near it, I could see Wade standing on the other side of the glass door in the office. Still, I didn’t know what was going on.

I walk in there and one of the principals says, “Come with me” and begins to walk out the front of school. We walk outside, turn the corner, and it all made sense. Before me was the bus I had rode that morning and the bus driver standing beside it with her arms crossed. We walked to the bus and proceeded to follow the driver into the bus, right to the seat where we had sat that morning. She pointed at the seat and began to tell us all the stuff I had neglected to think about that morning. She told us that it likely wouldn’t come off and that if she wanted to, she would make us pay for a new seat. She was honestly far more merciful than Wade and I deserved for it. It was wrong and careless.

But, there is one thing that she said that really stood out to me. She said it to us, and she told it to my mom when she called her. She said, “You would think that you both would be smart enough to not write your own names when you’re vandalizing a bus seat.” In other words, what you did is not Now I’d like to stand here and tell you that was the last time I did dumb things. I wish I could say that I think through everything I do very carefully, and dumb things are a thing of the past. But you all know this just as well, those things will never be behind us. Thoughtless comments and actions are part of being sinful humans. We say and do things we would never do had we just stopped and consider it.

And as much as it is happening in my middle school years and right here in 2026, so it also was happening during Jesus’ earthly ministry. Specifically in our first story we see a group of people try to trap Jesus and accuse Him of things. And in response Jesus says, in summary, “If you would think just for a moment about what you are saying about, you would see how little sense it actually makes.” Then, we get 2 other stories where the same thing can be applied to us. At first reading the truths being taught seem so absolutely obvious and unforgettable, and yet more times than not we act without considering the truths at all.

So, what we are going to do is look at each of these 3 things, section by section, and hopefully leave here today being not only reminded, but driven by these wonderful truths that our Lord has placed before us. The first one is this…

1.) Jesus is stronger and wiser than the enemy

Luke starts off by telling us that Jesus was casting out a demon that was mute from a man who was himself mute because of this demon. And as He casted the demon out, the mute man spoke, and all the people marveled at what happened. But, as is growing increasingly more common as we work our work through this Gospel, there are some who use this good event as an opportunity to accuse Jesus. You can see in verse 15 that some of them were saying, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons.” And others were trying to test Jesus, trying to get Him to show them some sort of sign from heaven.

Jesus knows what they are doing. Luke says that He knows their thoughts. So He responds and says, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Jesus is asking the same question that I was asked that fateful middle school afternoon. Did you even think before you did that, or in this case asked that? What Jesus is showing them that it would make no sense for prince of demons to use Jesus to cast out demons. It makes no sense for Jesus to go out and heal people from their possessions by the power of the very one who possessed them.

Jesus compares this to a kingdom divided against itself. If you have a kingdom who, instead of unifying against an enemy, turns on one another within their own kingdom, what will happen? Well that kingdom will fall. Jesus is telling them that in the same way we they can be sure of the fact that Jesus is not casting out demons by the power of the prince of demons. Not only that, but if they are going to accuse Jesus of this, then they must also accuse others of the same thing when they cast out demons. But of course, they don’t. Jesus has pinned them here and making them see that their claim is wrong altogether.

In fact, He goes even further to say that since this isn’t the case, then there is only one option left. What does He say? Verse 20, “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” If it by the power of God that Jesus is doing this, that is by His divine nature, then the kingdom of God is there. And since they can now rule out the other option, they are forced to acknowledge the fact that the Kingdom is indeed here. It is here not in the triumphant political king of the Jews, but it is still here. It is the spiritual kingdom, taking background from the enemy, by casting out demons from people like this mute man. It is before their eyes, and Jesus is proving this to them.

Can I just remind you, from verse 23, that there is no neutral standing when it comes to Jesus and the Enemy? Right after telling of His power over the Enemy, which we will look at in a minute, Jesus says, “23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Sometimes I think we forget this truth, or at least try to ignore it. It is easy to see the very wicked people are those who are of the Enemy. Sometimes when people do very wicked things we even say, “I don’t understand how someone could do such a thing. They must be possessed or something. That is so evil.” And yes, that’s right. People who commit heinous acts are of the Enemy and they are doing his work.

But can I tell you something else? The sweet old lady who wouldn’t hurt a fly but rejects Jesus is in the same boat. Whether or not her life has been filled with horrible acts or not, she is either with Jesus or she is against Him with the Enemy. And I know that’s hard to hear because we all know people like this. We don’t like to imagine sweet old ladies as doing the work of the enemy. We look at them and think, “But man they love their grandchildren so much, it sure doesn’t seem like they are with the Devil.” And we need to be careful when we do this because what will happen is that we will be tempted to overlook people like this as a people who are lost and need a Savior. We will see them and their lives and think, “Well, everything seems good.” Meanwhile, their heart is so far from the Lord, and they are as dead in their trespasses and sins as anyone ever has been. They need a Savior just as much as the violent criminal. There is no neutrality when it comes to Jesus. You are either with Him, or you are against Him.

The good news is that Jesus is far stronger and wiser than the enemy. And no matter how entangled the enemy has someone, the Lord can redeem them. We see that in verses 21-22. Jesus says, “21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; 22 but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.” Think about this with me. Who is the first strong man mentioned here, who guards his own palace, and has his goods all safe? It’s the Enemy. Jesus is acknowledging that the enemy has power over those not in Christ and that he has a kind of dominion over them. But then, who comes along? Well one who is stronger. And what does He do? He attacks him and overcomes him. He strips him of his armor, which he really thought would work, and takes what he thought was his. Who is this? It’s Jesus Christ.

In this passage Jesus has shown to be far stronger and wiser than the enemy in every way. He casts out demons and delivers people from bondage. He refutes the enemies accusations perfectly, turning their own plans against themselves. At every turn and in every way, Jesus is triumphant. And now, in this example, Jesus declares it to be the case entirely. Though the enemy think he has won, he hasn’t. Though he is strong, there is one stronger. Though he feels protected, his armor is no match to the sword of the King. Jesus is stronger and wiser than the enemy.

As I was thinking about this truth and how to apply it, this came to mind. There are several people here who might not consider the things they are facing attacks from the enemy. I mean it’s easy to rationalize things and just chalk it up to yourself and the world you’re in. And in some cases, you might be right. But don’t lose sight of the fact that there is an enemy who wants you to hate God and stop trusting him. And since he cannot forcefully do so because of the Spirit within you, he will feed you lies and try to convince you that a truth like this one just isn’t true. He will make you think your depression, anxiety, shame, insecurity, sin, or whatever else, is just who you are. He will try to convince you that there is no redemption, that Jesus can’t really deliver you from it. You’re just stuck. There is no hope, there is no joy, there is only dragging yourself to the finish line hoping you still trust Jesus in the end.

If that’s you, hear me say this on the authority of God’s Word. Jesus is stronger and wiser than the enemy. Call out to Him. Look to His Word and trust His ways. He can deliver you from what you never thought you could be delivered from. He is the stronger one. And while He may not deliver you from every pain that you face, but He can surely give you the peace that surpasses all understanding. He can grant you joy. He can bind up your wounds and care for you in ways you never thought possible. Don’t listen to the enemy. Don’t fall for his tricks. Trust and believe in Jesus, the One who the enemy himself will bow down to at the end of all days.

The second point I want you to see is in verses 24-26. Jesus continuing in this vein of thought says, “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

I think that the point that Jesus is trying to make here is this…

2.) Our lives must be transformed, not just cleaned up

A few years ago I was in the market for a used truck, specifically 4 door Tacoma. Shelby and I drove several different places and looked at them, and all of them within our price range were just so beat up. And not only that, but lots of them had extensive frame rust, which was very common on these trucks because of how the frame was designed. There was one time specifically we drove all the way Louisville to look at a truck I had found on Facebook marketplace. I knew that I didn’t want to drive there just to look at another terrible truck, so I had them send me pictures of everything, including the frame, and everything looked good. On the way there I was telling Shelby, “I think this is the one, I think we finally did it.”

Eventually we got to the Walmart parking lot we were meeting at, and I saw it sitting there, and from a distance it looked just like the pictures. We drove up, I got out and shook their hands, and before looking at anything else I crawled under the truck. And immediately I let out a sigh and knew I wasn’t buying the truck, the frame was almost rusted entirely through. But, you couldn’t tell that from the outside of the frame, from where they picture. That’s because what they had done is sprayed some sort of rubber adhesive along the outside of the frame all the way around and the painted it black, so that it looked like a strong piece of metal. However, as soon as you looked at the backside of it or touched it, you could tell it was incredibly brittle and honestly very unsafe to drive.

This is the same idea that Jesus is trying to convey here in verses 24-26. Jesus says that just because an unclean spirit is cast from a person doesn’t mean that they are on safe grounds. They aren’t on safe grounds because unless they fill the void left by the evil spirit with Christ Himself, then they have left a place for the unclean spirit to return. You can see this in that Jesus says that the unclean spirit will continue to call that person their home, no matter how clean they have made it. And then, when it returns, it will bring even more unclean spirits with it, making the second state worse than the first.

In other words, what Jesus is saying here is that our lives do not need to just be clean and organized, they need to be transformed. We can’t treat our lives like the people treated that rusty truck frame. It didn’t matter what they did to it cosmetically, the issue remained. What the truck needed, in order to make it safe, was for it to be entirely done over. It needed transformation.

The same is true for people. We do not preach a Gospel that says, “Clean up your life and all will be well.” We preach a Gospel that says, “You need your heart to be transformed.” The first is more concerned about behavior change and outward appearance. The second is more concerned about the heart and knows that obedience will eventually be seen in their actions.

It seems like more often lately I have seen these videos about guys who have “transformed” their life. They used to be incredibly overweight and lonely and poor and all this stuff, but then one day they decided to change all that and now they are fit and have a girlfriend and are rich and are telling you about it. On one had you want to say, hey that’s not a bad thing altogether. But on other hand you want to say, man, they are in such a dangerous spot. Yes, their laziness and self-loathing has left, but in return has come a mountain of pride and greed and self-righteousness. All of which are lethal and make it incredibly hard them to see their need for anything, let alone a Savior.

The point is this. Our lives must be transformed, not just cleaned up. It is good for you to “get things in order”, whatever that means. But just because you have things all worked out does not mean you are in a good spot. If you are in Christ, you know this to be the case. Our lives are still messy. We sin and fall short all the time. And at the same time, we have a Lord who changed us and is day-by-day continuing to change us. And if you don’t know Christ, that is what you need, a change. You don’t need better habits and a worked-out life. You need to be transformed. And that can only happen if you turn from your sin and trust in Christ for salvation. If that’s you, I would encourage you to do so this very morning.

For our final point this morning we are going to be looking at verses 27-28. Luke writes, “27 As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” 28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

The point I want us to see is this…

3.) Proximity to the Word does not replace hearing and obeying the Word

The woman in the crowd who says this to Jesus isn’t altogether wrong. Mary, the one who birthed and nurtured Jesus is blessed. In Luke 1 Elizabeth says to Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” It’s not that Jesus is saying that this isn’t true. Rather, what He is saying is that there is a further blessedness than even this, and it is found by hearing and obeying the Word.

Now I’m sort of playing off of this idea we see in John 1:1 where we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word here, who was there in the beginning, and is God, is Christ Himself. Jesus Christ is “The Word” incarnate. And when we take that and allow it to help us understand these final 2 verses of our passage, then I think we begin to see the point that is being made here. That is, our proximity to the Word cannot, or does not, replace hearing and obeying the Word. Though Mary was blessed by giving birth to and caring for Jesus, the one who hears Jesus and listens to Him is even more blessed.

I think this is a really important thing for us to hear, specifically in our context. Because our faith often doesn’t come with consequences, we can be guilty of sort of putting on cruise control when it comes to our spiritual life. And we think that if we just show up to church and sit under preaching all will be well. If we spend time with other Christians and listen to K-Love, everything will be alright. All of those things are good things, and you should do them, and they will have a positive effect on your spiritual life. But the thing is, no matter how close you are in proximity to the Word, if you are not really hearing it and really obeying it, you are missing it. As much of a blessing all of this is, it is nowhere near the blessing found in the Word of the living God, when listened to and kept. That is where true blessing is found.

I remember when I was little my mom telling me about a little radiation detector that she had to work. Because she does X-Ray’s and MRI’s they would have her wear this thing that detected how much radiation she was being exposed to so that if became too much she could stop working or something like that. I only remember this story because I remember her saying that her thing often detected too much radiation, but that she wasn’t allowed to stop working, she would just have to ignore it and continue on. As a little kid, and as an adult now, I don’t like that one bit.

But anyway, I think sometimes we think the Word will find its way into us like radiation. If we are just near it, it’ll make its way into our hearts and minds. The problem is that the Word doesn’t work like that. The Word has to be actively listened to and actively obeyed. It’s not passive. I’m not saying that it isn’t good to surround yourself on every side with things that are saturated in the Word, you should. That will be great for you. But again, none of that can ever replace your intentional and active time of allowing the Word of God to shape who you are. By listening to it, carefully, with purpose in mind. And from there, putting words to actions.

I think our text can serve as a great example of this. From the Word this morning we have seen that Jesus is stronger and wiser than the enemy. What are you going to do with this truth? Are you going to let it just be what you are near this morning? Or are you going to take this truth, consider it, ponder it, and then look for ways for your life to reflect it? Are you going to write it down on a piece of paper and forget it about after lunch? Or are you going to let it be written on your heart and lived out in your daily walk with Christ?

This is how the Word is meant to be treated. It’s meant to be heard and obeyed. And in that there is true and real blessedness. Let us be a people who hear the word of God and keep it, for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen