Daily Bible Reading 6th September 2026 // Luke 11:14-26
14 Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marvelled. 15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons”, 16 while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. 17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “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. 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 armour in which he trusted and divides his spoil. 23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
24 “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.”
It is instructive, in looking at this passage, to compare it with the parallel one in Matthew 12:22-30, for we thus see that the phrase in 14, 'the people wondered' indicates something more than mere astonishment. Their reaction of amazement represents, almost, a hope and a dawning of faith and a realisation that Jesus must be the promised Messiah: 'Is not this the son of David?' (Matthew 12:23). This is significant: for it is precisely this reaction that the miracles were meant to evoke and produce. It is against a background, therefore, of faith struggling to form in these hearts that we need to view the Pharisees' reaction and see the seriousness of it. For they took immediate steps to negate and crush any possible dawning of faith in the people by suggesting that the power by which Jesus was performing His miracles was from Satan, not from God. We see, then, how dastardly and abominable it is to try to undermine and undo the work of the Spirit in men's hearts (cf Matthew 18:6 ), terrible words indeed, and they are no exaggeration, see what Matthew and Mark follow them with - the warning about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The sin of undermining the work of the Spirit is not unpardonable sin, but it may be associated with it, and lead to it; and it is a measure of its seriousness that it is associated with it in Matthew's and Mark's accounts. Let us recognize that the preaching of the good news of the kingdom is ever attended by reaction and opposition, sometimes of a very devilish nature; and it sometimes extends to a determined and malevolent attempt to prevent the work of the gospel spreading in the hearts of others. And Jesus says: 'Offences must come: but woe unto him through whom they come (Luke 17:1)'.