If you have a copy of the scriptures, if you
would open them to Matthew chapter 12. Matthew
chapter 12, and we'll be looking at verses 22
through 30 this morning. Before we begin, would
you bow with me in a word of prayer and ask God
to help us once more? Father, I'm thankful for
the ministry of music. Lord, I'm thankful for
the songs that we can sing that instructs us
in our faith. Lord, it's the song we just sang.
Lord, we cry out, how long, Lord? Lord, we long
for the kingdom to come in its fullness. We long
for our king to come. We long to forever be with
Christ, which is far better. So Lord God, with
the saints who at every age prayed, even so come
Lord Jesus. Father, I'm reminded this morning
as I stand here before your people that this
is a sacred task. I'm also reminded, Father,
that I will give an account before you for every
idle word that is spoken in the day of judgment.
Lord, I'm asking, please don't let these words
be idle. Lord, I know my words will profit nothing,
but your word, Lord God, allows us to grow in
our most holy faith. It allows us to be built
up in Christ. So, Father, would you help me to
preach the word and, Lord, to reveal the glory
and majesty and supremacy of your Son. May he
get the primacy, the preeminence. And, Lord God,
may we sink low this morning. Father, help us
to see Jesus, we pray. And it's in his name we
ask this. Amen. The text begins in verse 22.
Then one was brought to him, that is Jesus, who
is demon -possessed, blind and mute. And he healed
him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke
and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed,
and they said, Could this be the son of David?
Now when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This
fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub.
the ruler of the demons. But Jesus knew their
thoughts and said to them, Every kingdom divided
against itself is brought to desolation, and
every city or house divided against itself will
not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided
against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom
do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall
be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the
Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has
come upon you. For how can one enter a strong
man's house and plunder his goods unless he first
binds a strong man, and then he will plunder
his house? And then Jesus ends that. He said,
He who is not with me is against me, and he who
does not gather with me scatters abroad. Now
up to this point in Matthew's Gospel, there has
been a storm brewing. We've seen the clouds gathering,
it's been obvious. There will be an eventual
showdown between Jesus and the religious leaders.
That much is inevitable. There have been massive
crowds always following Jesus, and so far they're
uncommitted, yet they have remained curious.
They're curious about the Lord. But now we see
the religious leaders, and especially the Pharisees,
even more than the scribes. They have up to this
point been skeptical, but now they're hostile.
They're going to be hostile toward the Lord.
And today's text, really, we see the conflict
becomes unavoidable. There was a demon -possessed
man. The Bible says he's blind and mute. So this
poor man, he doesn't see. He can't speak. And
yet somehow he is brought to Jesus who miraculously
and instantaneously healed him. Imagine the man's
eyes. He's blind one moment. The next minute,
his eyes are opened, his tongue is loosed, and
the demon is gone. And it says the people were
amazed. They just witnessed such an incredible
event. And I was thinking about this, and I'm
not trying to be funny here at all. Imagine,
because in our culture, we know of Helen Keller.
Of course, she was blind, deaf, and mute. But
imagine if suddenly, one moment, she can hear,
she can see, she can speak. And we witnessed
that event. That's what they would have been
doing. So the crowd began to ask a really sensible
question. They said, could this be the son of
David? I mean, could this man right here, couldn't
he be our king? And on the other hand, you had
the Pharisees who also witnessed the same event.
They responded not with wonder, but with accusation.
They're saying, oh yeah, you saw a notable miracle,
but this man used demonic power to heal him.
So it was evident to all, including the Pharisees,
they could not deny a tremendous miracle had
taken place. But the issue no longer is about
the miracle, rather about the response to it.
There's now a new issue, and it centers around
a question of authority and kingdoms. And Jesus
looked at the Pharisees and he said, this miracle
that you've just witnessed, it proves the kingdom
of God has come and has broken into enemy territory.
In fact, in the scriptures, every time you see
Jesus casting out a demon, what was he doing?
He was binding the strong man and plundering
Satan's house one person at a time. Jesus was
reclaiming what rightfully belonged to God. Now,
the showdown that we see, it's not ultimately
between Jesus and the Pharisees. Rather, it's
between the Lord Jesus and the kingdom of Satan
himself. Now, I want to take a closer look at
this passage. But we have to understand the context.
We're in Matthew chapter 12. As I said, there
is an escalating, there's a rising tension between
Jesus and, in particular, the Pharisees. And
all began over Sabbath regulations when Jesus'
disciples picked some heads of grain and ate
it. But we also see that Jesus, in verse 8, he
said that he was the Lord of the Sabbath. And
then to prove that, in verses 9 through 13, he
heals a man with a withered hand. And that's
when this mounting tension reached kind of a
crisis point. Because in verse 14, we read this.
Then the Pharisees went out. They had just seen
Jesus do a notable miracle as well. They went
out and plotted against him how they might destroy
him. They wanted Jesus dead. And from that point
forward, there is now open public hostility between
the two. So now in our text this morning, verses
22 through 30, You see, there's tension once
again. Why? There's another man that Jesus healed,
which again provoked a response from the Pharisees.
Now this man was severely afflicted. Earlier
it was a man with a withered hand. One minute
his hand is maimed, the next minute completely
restored and whole. But this man was severely
afflicted. He's in terrible condition, just as
all captives of sin are. But he was possessed
by a demon. And this demon made it so that he
could also suffer physical maladies. This man,
we're told, he doesn't see. He cannot speak.
Because what we see is demon possession often,
not always, but often was associated with physical
affliction. It caused blindness or deafness or
muteness or lameness. When you see the demon
possessed in Scripture, though, I think we need
to look a little deeper. When you see a man who's
possessed by the demon, you see the goal of Satan's
kingdom, which is to steal, to kill, and to destroy.
There are various times we see many people in
the New Testament, especially in the Gospels,
who are demon -possessed. Sometimes they are
forced to act like wild animals. Other times,
they cut themselves and they inflicted self -harm.
Still others would walk around naked and live
in tombs. But there were others who had physical
afflictions as well. Some had seizure -like symptoms.
They would fall down and foam at the mouth. Others,
unable to walk. They would be bent over, couldn't
walk. And still others, they could not see, they
could not hear, they could not speak. Demon possession
was a horrible thing, but it was a visible witness,
a visible reminder of what life in the kingdom
of Satan is really like. If Satan gets to have
his way, it is a life of torture and fear, isolation,
suffering, darkness. Satan has always sought
from the very beginning to attack and destroy
God's creation, in particular his image bearers.
That is mankind. Satan loves to do that. This
is an aside. Let me just say this is not the
central point of the text. But I think this calls
me to think that what we see taking place in
our own culture I think is demonically inspired.
There's a movement you've probably heard about,
the furry movement. humans, adults, teenagers
alike, acting and wanting to be treated as if
they were animals. Now that's a sign of mental
illness. But I think at times, now listen, I'm
not saying all mental illness is, but I think
at times mental illness is also a sign of demonic
activity that lies behind mental illness. I think
we lose our Christian moorings, we see more and
more of this stuff. Even the gender confusion
and sexual fluidity that is rampant in our culture
is seeking to destroy that distinction between
male and female, between masculine and feminine.
That's a Satan. Wherever the gospel has taken
root in a society, humanity is elevated. God's
image wears their celebration. There's also a
moral sanity. But when a culture... loses its
Christian influence or its Christian distinctives,
you'll start to see it plunge headlong into darkness,
perversion, and confusion. People no longer able
to reason or think clearly. And friends, that's
where we are as a society today. When we don't
know what a man is or a woman is, that's a problem.
Now we go back to our text though. This poor
man, his life was one of misery and bondage.
Not just because he couldn't see and speak, but
because he was also tortured. There's a demon
living within him. But someone, on one day, brought
that man to Jesus. And Jesus completely healed
him. Instantaneously healed him. I mean, it's
amazing. The blind man's seeing and the mute
man is speaking. And it tells us, the text tells
us, there's this great crowd following Jesus.
They witness that miraculous event. And obviously,
when you see such a notable event taking place,
it's going to provoke reactions. It's going to
provoke many reactions. And Matthew tells us
that the crowds, the people, were amazed. It
means astonished. They're dumbfounded. I mean,
they're just stopped in their tracks. They can't
believe what they had just seen. I mean, it's
not every day that you witness a blind man and
a mute man being made whole. So what happens
in a big crowd? They begin to talk. And they're
talking amongst themselves. And they were wondering,
could this miracle mean that this man, Jesus,
I mean, is it possible that he's the son of David?
Of course, that's a title for the Messiah. Now
they weren't sure because Jesus did not come
as they had expected and he did not come as they
had been told the Messiah would come. You don't
see Jesus being aggressive. He's not military
-like. In fact, he's not uttered one word about
freeing Israel from under the occupation of Rome.
So they're a little bit confused. In fact, as
we looked last week, it says Jesus came meek
and gentle. Verse 19. He will not quarrel or
cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the
streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and
a smoking flax he will not quench. Jesus didn't
fit the bill. He didn't fit the bill of what
they thought the Messiah would be. But, on the
other hand, they can't deny that this miracle,
this incredible, powerful miracle had truly taken
place. They also knew something. They knew that
when the Messiah came, they knew this much. His
arrival would also be marked by miracles. Because
that's what they had been taught. Isaiah 35 is
an example of that. Verse 4. Say to those who
are fearful hearted, be strong. Do not fear.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With
the recompense of God. He will come and save
you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened.
And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. And
the lame shall leap like a deer. and the tongue
of the dumb, that is the mute, will sing. Ah,
the light is beginning to dawn. It's beginning
to shine for some in that crowd. Jesus is healing
the lame, causing the blind to see, the deaf
to hear, the mute to speak. Yes, this man may
be the Messiah. So the crowds remained curious.
The religious leaders were blasphemous. They're
strident in their unbelief. Now they begin to
realize we're losing our grip. We're losing our
hold on the people because Pharisees were men
of great influence and power. So they say they
knew. They're losing their hold on them. So they
begin to publicly denounce Jesus. Verse 24. When
they heard it, they heard about the miracle,
they said, no, no, no, hey crowd, you're wrong.
This fellow, this one. He does not cast out demons
by the power of God, but by Beelzebub, the prince
of the demons. So when the Pharisees knew about
this miracle, the people were wondering, is Jesus
the Messiah? They weighed in on the matter. They're
the experts, right, in the law. They flat out
denied that Jesus could possibly be the Messiah,
and instead they said his power came from Beelzebub.
Now you might be wondering, well, who is Beelzebub?
It's a good question. You first read about him
in the Old Testament in 2 Kings 1. And he was
a Philistine god and at that time he was called
Beelzebub. Beel was the god they always fell
into idolatry with. Beelzebub. The name means
lord of the flies. It can also mean lord of the
dung. It's the lord of filth. So Beelzebub in
history was a contemptible deity. Filthy, disgusting
idol. And because he is so detestable, when you
come to the New Testament, that name Beelzebub
began to be used as a synonym for Satan. So that's
what they're saying. Hey, listen, you want to
know how he's doing this? It's the power of darkness.
It's Satan's power. Now this is not the first
time the Pharisees had actually accused Jesus
of using satanic activity to perform His miracles.
You saw the same thing happen back in chapter
9, which we were in a few months ago. In chapter
9, it says, As they went out, behold, they brought
to Him, that is Jesus, a man, mute this time,
and demon -possessed. And when the demon was
cast out, the mute spoke, and the multitudes,
once again, they're marveling, saying, I mean,
we've never seen anything like this in Israel.
I mean, this is incredible. But the Pharisees
said, he cast out demons by the ruler of the
demons. Now on that occasion, chapter 9, the
Lord said nothing. He let them go. Now they repeat
the same thing in chapter 12, and this time the
Lord confronts them in their blasphemy. Verse
25. Jesus knew their thoughts. Of course he did.
You're not hiding anything from him. And they
said to him, he said to them, every kingdom that
is divided against itself, is brought to desolation,
and every city or house divided against itself
will not stand. So they're attributing this miracle
to the power of Satan, and the Lord is showing
them the absurdity of their accusation. Every
kingdom, every city, every house that is divided
will ultimately fall. It cannot stand. Now that's
true in all spheres of life. It's true in the
political public sphere. It's true in the domestic
sphere in your home. It's also true in the ecclesial
or the church sphere as well. When a country
goes to war with itself, it's going to be destroyed.
I mean, we can see this in our own nation's history
with the Civil War, and you see the devastation
that that caused, and we're still feeling some
of the effects even to this day. But what about
in the home? When a husband and wife stay divided,
their marriage will not survive. their marriage
will fail if they stay divided. Same thing in
the church. Sometimes you see a church and it
almost implodes from within. A church that remains
divided will come to ruin. The old adage is true.
United we stand, divided we fall. So Jesus then,
he's showing the Pharisees how illogical their
accusation was. The man who had been demon -possessed
already belonged to the kingdom of Satan. Satan
had that man in his grip. So if Jesus were working
for Satan, as they said, what advantage would
it be? It would be the height of absurdity for
Jesus to release that man from his bondage and
set him free. That would have meant that Jesus
was undermining Satan, whom they claimed to be
his boss. Think of it this way. Let's say you
are working for the mob. You have a rival gang
member in your custody. And you decide, I'm going
to free that man and let him go. Well, you're
no longer working for the mob. You're working
against the mob. I mean, the accusation is ridiculous.
And it was for Jesus as well. It's baseless.
And it falls by lack of merit. But it's important
to point out something. Jesus does agree with
the Pharisees on one thing. Satan has a kingdom.
Look at verse 26. If Satan casts out Satan, he's
divided against himself. How then will his kingdom
stand? Satan has a kingdom. It's organized. There
are various rulers. There are powers structured
within it. Now here's the problem. Our modern
culture, anytime you start to mention Satan,
they're like, ooh, the boogeyman. Our modern
culture is too sophisticated, supposedly, and
too educated to believe in Satan or to believe
in demonic powers. Now they'll believe in UFOs.
They'll believe that man's a woman and woman's
a man. But they will not believe in demons or
in Satan or in demonic power. But the word of
God, clearly affirms both. So must we. I'll give
you one verse. It's in Ephesians 6, verse 12.
You and I, we don't wrestle against flesh and
blood. Listen, friends, your political opponent,
the one who wears the opposite badge, they're
not your enemy. But against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness
in the heavenly places. That's where the fight
is ultimately taking place. So if we take Jesus
and his words at face value, that means there
are only two kingdoms in this world. There's
the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.
The kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness.
And there's a real battle, a real war, intense,
that's taking place between these rival kingdoms.
But the good news is the battle is not between
equal powers. God has no opposite. This is not
Star Wars theology. We don't have yin and yang
or light and darkness. That's not how it is.
God has no opposite. Satan is not God's opposite.
In Psalm 103, verse 19, it says, The Lord, that
is Yahweh, Yahweh has established his throne
in heaven and his kingdom rules over all. God,
the triune God, is almighty creator. And all
others are creatures who have been created by
him, including Satan. Satan's not the opposite.
But he does have a kingdom. But it's an illegitimate
kingdom. It's fraudulent. It's counterfeit. And
what it's doing, it's seeking to usurp God's
authority through the power of deception. That's
his power. So the battle, really, it's about
rebellion. First, beginning in heaven with Satan's
rebellion, and then on earth with mankind's rebellion.
So this battle is really about a rebellion against
God's rightful rule and God's work to reclaim
what belongs to him. But all people live in one
of two kingdoms. If you are not in the kingdom
of God, then by default, you're in the kingdom
of Satan. You say, no, I'm kind of neutral. There
is no neutral third kingdom in which you can
live. It doesn't exist. When you were born, As
a child of Adam, you were born into Satan's kingdom.
And you must be born again into God's. In Adam,
we are all born guilty and separated from God.
Which is why we need a second Adam. And that
is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus defeated the
kingdom of Satan at the cross. Colossians chapter
2, it says Christ, quote, disarmed. Principalities
and powers. He made a public spectacle. He made
a fool of them publicly. I love that. He trounced
them, if you will. Hebrews 2 .14. It says, even
as the children have partaken of flesh and blood,
that's us, that's humanity, so he himself, that
is Christ, likewise shared in the same, flesh
and blood, that through death he might destroy
him who had the power of death, that is the devil.
So you find again this battle. That's a battle
between the two kingdoms. It is real. It is intense.
But the end is never in doubt. The end is not
in question because Satan was decisively defeated
through the death, burial, and resurrection of
God's Son. So God's kingdom has already prevailed.
It will ultimately triumph in the end. Now look
at the text, verse 27. Christ says, but if I
cast out demons, if that's what you're saying
by Beelzebub, But well then tell me, and you
answer my question, by whom do your sons cast
them out? They're going to judge you. See, Jesus
is not the only ones who's casting out demons
in that day. There were some disciples of the
Pharisees who also performed some exorcisms.
But the Pharisees recognized those as being legitimate.
And so Jesus poses a question. Well tell me,
if I'm performing exorcisms by the power of Satan,
what authority are your own disciples performing
them? He's showing them their hypocrisy and their
bias. He says, they will be your judges. Because
the Pharisees believed that their own disciples
could literally, legitimately cast out demons
by God's power. But Jesus, who did the same thing,
they said was illegitimate and satanic. And he
said, they'll be your judge. There was no reason
for the rejection of Jesus' miracles other than
jealousy. That's what's fueling all this. The
Pharisees are jealous of Jesus and his authority.
They're jealous of his growing popularity among
the people. And basically, he's posing a threat
to their system. They stood to lose their standing
in the community, and they could not tolerate
that because their idol was they loved the esteem
of the people. But all that was being transferred
to Jesus, and they're not going to take that.
So these hypocrites, the Pharisees, the religious
leaders, the teachers of the law, were willfully,
volitionally, Blind to the truth. What truth
is that? That the kingdom of God had come in
Christ. Look at verse 28. That if I cast out
demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom
of God has come upon you. So he's confronting
the Pharisees with this conclusion that they
refuse to even consider. That instead of being
a pawn of Satan, Jesus had brought... the kingdom
of God to them because he was the king whom God
sent. Now what should have been obvious to all
was that Jesus was indeed performing great miracles,
but he was doing so by the power of God's spirit.
And if they were being done by the power of God's
spirit, that meant the kingdom of God is here
with us. Notice the text. I want you to notice
this phrase. The kingdom of God has come upon
you. It's so important that we get this. Notice
what Jesus said. He did not say the kingdom of
God will come. Not future. He said it had come.
It's already there. The kingdom of God had come
because the king from God had come. Jesus was
very clearly claiming to be the king, the Messiah
of Israel. His miracles, which were done by the
power of God, were proof. Clear proof that the
long -awaited age of the kingdom, the thing they'd
always prayed for, had dawned upon them. The
kingdom of God had arrived and it was overpowering
the kingdom of Satan. Look at verse 29. Jesus,
how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder
his goods unless he first binds that strong man
and then plunders his house? So he's using the
illustration. He's picturing Satan as a strong
man. who had a house, and there were treasures
in that house. Satan's house was his domain,
his rule. We could even say his kingdom. But
what was the treasure, the goods that were in
his house? People, souls of men, living in bondage
to him. Christ came to plunder his goods, meaning
Christ came to rescue and deliver people, in
particular his people, out from under the kingdom
of Satan. But before Christ could plunder the
house, he says he had to bind that strong man.
He had to bind Satan. Where does that binding
take place? Decisively at the cross of Calvary.
And he's saying if you want proof, the healing
of this blind, mute, demon -possessed man showed
that Christ was the stronger one who was able
to bind Satan. Satan's help was before Christ.
He has never been a match for the Lord Jesus,
and he's still helpless before him today. God's
growing his kingdom, folks. The gospel right
now is being preached throughout the world, all
the nations. Disciples are being made from all
the nations, like Matthew 28 tells us to. How?
By being taught the gospel and being baptized,
having the name of the blessed triune God placed
upon them in holy baptism. And this kingdom,
It's advancing right now throughout the world,
and Satan is powerless to do anything about it,
much less stop it. He can't do it. But I want
you to notice something. The Lord Jesus didn't
just preach the kingdom of God, although he did
that. He demonstrated it. What's he been doing?
Healing sick people, casting out demons, setting
captives free, and even forgiving sin. His miracles,
all these miracles that we're seeing, they're
signs. Don't lose sight of that. They're not
to simply wow the crowds. They're signs pointing
to the fact that God's reign, God's kingdom had
broken into this present world. The darkness
is being pushed back. Now there are many today,
friends of mine, some, who preach that the kingdom
of God has not yet come, that it is only future.
They believe, and this is what they believe,
that Christ offered the kingdom to Israel. Israel
rejected it. So this kingdom then is placed on
pause until the time when Jesus comes again.
But that's not the way the Bible presents the
kingdom of God. It shows it's present even now.
The kingdom, the kingdom of God was inaugurated
at Christ's first advent, particularly through
his death, burial, and resurrection. By his death
and resurrection, sin and death were conquered,
but a new creation began at that moment. Before
then, there were primarily Jews and Gentiles,
but now in Christ, that distinction is taken
away, and there is a new creation, a new humanity
in Christ. That's what Ephesians is all about,
folks, that all those distinctives that formerly
kept them apart are gone away in Jesus. Ephesians
2, 14 and 15. For he himself, that is Jesus,
is our peace. Who has made both Jew and Gentile
one. And he's broken down the middle wall of
separation and no longer dividing them. Have
abolished in his flesh the enmity. That is the
law of commandments contained in ordinances.
All the ceremonial laws are done away with. So
as to create in himself one new man from the
two. Thus making peace. But it didn't stop there.
Jesus is raised from the dead. But the glorious
Lord Jesus, he ascended into heaven, and there
he was coronated. He was crowned King of Kings
and Lord of Lords. And then he entered into his
session. He took his seat at the Father's glorious
right hand. And from there, right now, he is
ruling from heaven until his enemies be made
his footstool, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians
15. Now, if you're wondering, well, the kingdom's
not here in its fullness. That's right. It's
not yet fully consummated. That is future. And
that will take place when he returns again. But
there can be no doubt that right now the kingdom
of God is already present. Let me show you two
verses. Colossians 1. He has delivered us from
the power of darkness and conveyed. Has delivered
and conveyed. That's past perfect. Or present
perfect, excuse me. He's already done this into
the kingdom. You've been conveyed. You've been
transferred into the kingdom of the son of his
love. Now notice, in whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. Your
sins have already been forgiven. You have already
been transferred into the kingdom because it's
present now. Notice Paul says already you're
in the kingdom of his son. 1 Thessalonians 2
.12 That you would walk worthy of God who calls
you present. He is calling you into his own kingdom.
It's the church. It's ministered by word and
sacrament on this earth into his own kingdom.
So we find a truth here. The kingdom is already
present, not yet fully consummated. It's here
in seed form. Now you're saying, well, how do
you know the kingdom's not yet fully consummated?
It's what we were singing in that last song.
Because right now we still see sickness. We still
see death. We still see injustice in this world.
None of that will be in the consummated kingdom.
but it is here in seed form. The work of redemption,
it's complete. At Pentecost, the Spirit of God
came in His fullness. He is now indwelling believers.
The light is shining. Darkness is being pushed
back. The kingdom will come in its glorious fullness
when Christ returns and He restores all things.
He's made all things new, which is why we're
still praying. It's good to pray this. I hope
that you pray this often. We still pray as did
all the saints in all the ages who also prayed
that glorious prayer thy kingdom come. Even so
come Lord Jesus. Usually at the end of every
Lord's Day worship at the very end after we take
communion I end communion with those words even
so come Lord Jesus. That's our hope. That's the
blessed hope. He's coming. The kingdom's here.
We're living in it. We're being mediated by his
word. He's ruling over his church through word,
through sacrament. We're here. We're in the kingdom.
And yet we're longing for the kingdom when it
comes in its fullness and there is no death and
there is no sorrow and there are no more tears
and there is no more pain and there are no more
tearful goodbyes. Oh, Lord, make that come. But
right now we wait. So you're saying, well, now
what? What's our marching orders as we close?
Friends, understand the kingdom is not coming
someday. It has come. But true safety, if you're
here today, I want you to understand something.
True safety is found in the kingdom of God because
those who enter it live under the protection
of a king stronger than any force of evil. The
Lord Jesus, he has already invaded the strong
man's house and bound him. Now, Satan is still
operational in the work. Don't read too much
into the words there. But since the kingdom has
come and Jesus is king, there's one thing you
can't do. You can't remain neutral concerning
him. You're not given that option. You're saying,
well, I haven't made up my mind. No, God did.
Verse 30. Jesus said, he who is not with me is
against me. There's no net neutrality here, right?
He who does not gather with me scatters abroad.
There's no choice here. See, the demands that
Christ, our king, places on those who would enter
his kingdom is that you repent of your sins and
you confess and call upon him as Lord and Savior.
That's the demands of his kingdom. He's king.
He sets the terms of entrance. You repent of
your sins. You confess him as Lord and call upon
him as Savior. Jesus demands a decision. He's
calling for a response even today. So the question
that I think that all of us have to answer is,
and this is true for each of us here, will you
submit to this king, God's king who has come,
or will you resist him, reject him, excuse him
away, as did the Pharisees? May God open your
eyes to the truth of his glorious son. Let's
pray. Lord, we are so very thankful. God, for
your word, I'm thankful for King Jesus, Lord,
that we have a hero who has triumphed, a forerunner,
a trailblazer who has gone before us and who
has done all the work, Lord. We ride in the kingdom
on his coattails. Lord, there's nothing we could
bring. We can't offer you, Lord, our flimsy rags
of what is a pseudo -righteousness, Lord. They
would be rejected, and rightfully so. Lord, we
come by the way of Christ, by the way of the
blood, by the way of the cross. Thank you for
the Lord Jesus, Lord. Our hero, our captain,
our savior, our lord, our king. Lord, it is with
the greatest joy that we as Christians confess
Christ as Lord. Your son, Jesus of Nazareth,
is Lord of all. God, thank you for that. May
we live under his kingdom in a way that brings
glory and honor to you. We pray this in Christ's
name. Amen.