Lent Day 19: The Pharisees

Pause

Take some time to focus on God today. Praise Him for who He is, thank Him for specific ways He is at work in your life, and confess any sin that would keep you from fully connecting with Him.

Read & Journal

Read Luke 11:14-23 in your Bible. Consider these questions:

• What does Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees in this passage teach you about His character? About His mission or purpose?

• What do you learn about the Pharisees’ character or purposes in these verses? Explain.

• How do you see Jesus entering into brokenness in this passage?

• The Pharisees responded to Jesus in two ways in this passage: accusations and demands. Has there been a time in your life when you responded to Jesus with either (or both)? What did He teach you during/through that experience?

Ponder

In today’s passage, we examine the Pharisees’ response to another of Jesus’ miracles. When He healed a man possessed by demons, the religious leaders responded in two ways: accusing Jesus of a partnership with Satan and demanding more miraculous signs.

Jesus responded to each challenge in turn. First, He pointed out the flaws of the argument. If Jesus came from Satan, liberating people from demon possession made no sense—it was like a civil war or family members in conflict with each other. Second, some of the Pharisees’ own followers were exorcists. Did they attribute their work to Satan, too?

Finally, Jesus struck at the deeper problem: when presented with the evidence that Jesus was the Son of God, the Pharisees once again willfully chose not to believe. The kingdom of God was at hand, and they turned away with doubts and demands. Reread verse 23: “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.”

The point is clear. There is no neutral ground. “The presence of the kingdom of God overthrowing the power of Satan does not call for an impartial audience enjoying the battle,”1 writes Trent C. Butler in the Holman New Testament Commentary volume for Luke. “Are you with Me?” Jesus seems to be asking the Pharisees. “Are you dedicated to God’s kingdom or Satan’s?”

It’s a question we also face. Today, are you focused on building God’s kingdom in your home, your neighborhood, your workplace or city or is your focus elsewhere? We must choose if we will live in the kingdom of God with Jesus or as a servant to the evil one. What will you choose today?

1Holman New Testament, Luke. Editor Max Anders, Author Trent C. Butler. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman & Holman, 2000).