A Blessed Man

Luke 11:14-36

Key Verse 11:28 

He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."

Today we would like to think about Jesus’ teaching on how each of us can live as a truly blessed man. 

First, the kingdom of God has come to you...

In order to live as a truly blessed man the first thing each of us must do is to accept the truth that Jesus came to save men from the kingdom of evil to the Kingdom of God that men would be thoroughly blessed by God inside out. This may sound too good to be true. But it is true. So we must believe it. 

Today’s passage begins with a miracle. And this miracle powerfully testifies to the truth. As we see in verse 14 Jesus healed a man who had a speech problem. Let us put ourselves in the shoes of the man. What must his life before receiving Jesus’ healing have looked like? Well, he must have felt miserable. He wanted to talk, but he could not talk. So he must have felt frustrated. 

Why did he become like this? It has been said that man’s illnesses are genetic, dietary, or spiritual. Obviously this man became like this because of the demon disrupting his ability to talk. In other words, his problem was not physical, but spiritual. A demon that was mute took over him. But when the demon was gone the man could speak again. 

How did Jesus heal the man? The expression “the finger of God” answers the question. God is different from man. So God does not have body parts such as fingers, arms, or feet. But Jesus uses the word “finger” as a figure of speech. It is symbolic of the greatness of God’s power which is the power of His Spirit. Heavy weight boxing champions such as Mike Tyson use their whole bodies particularly their iron fists to knock down their opponents. But God does not have to exert himself as boxers do. Boxers sweat profusely to win boxing matches. But, God does not have to exert himself this way. All God needs to do is to “will” – the will to defeat the enemies.

Some of the people who saw Jesus driving out the demon mischaracterized what Jesus did. But Jesus did not get mad at them. Rather Jesus kindly explained them that it was through the power of God that Jesus drove out the demon. Jesus also explained that he is stronger than the strongest enemy of God, Satan. Then Jesus declared that he came to grant God’s kingdom to each person. He came to set man free not just from a couple of demons or many demons or all demons, but to save man completely out of the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God. And Jesus is going to do this not because of our own merits but because of his power. “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.”  

“The kingdom of God has come to you!” This is Jesus’ proclamation which Jesus declared in their hearing in a present perfect tense. We do not know exactly how people who heard Jesus’ proclamation had been doing. Like all of us they must have had all kinds of problems such as job problems, relationship problems, physical health problems, or mental disorders such as addictions (to alcohol, drugs, gambling, shopping, food, internet, sex, smoking), anorexia, anxiety, bipolar disorder, bulimia, depression, OCD (oppressive compulsive disorder), Schizophrenia, or stress, and the list goes on and on. But categorically their problem is one and one only: they do not have God’s kingdom in them. But Jesus says, “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.”  

Here, what is truly amazing is the kind of audience to whom Jesus made the declaration. Who were “you” in the expression “the kingdom of God has come to you”? They were a bunch of unbelievers! They were enemies of God! Yet, Jesus says to them, “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you!” Here the message Jesus wanted to deliver to them is very clear: Jesus wants them to repent, have faith in Jesus, and receive the gift Jesus came to offer: the kingdom of God! The message Jesus wanted to convey to them is no different than the message Jesus had already proclaimed at the outset of his ministry: "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" Mark 1:15 

The message Jesus has for all of us here remains “exactly” the same. Repent and believe the good news! As Jesus says, if one repents of his unbelief, and believes in Him, what Paul says will come true to his life: “The old has gone, the new has come!” 

Second, he who is not with me is against me…

Here is the second point for all of us to bear in mind, that is, in order to continue to live as a truly blessed man, one must continue to be with Jesus and gather with him. Otherwise, it is possible that the final condition of his life can go a lot worse than the condition in which he first was. 

Immediately after the declaration, “the kingdom of God has come to you”, Jesus says, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.” Then Jesus says something spooky. Let us read verses 24-26. As spooky as this passage may seem, the point of the message Jesus tries to convey to all is clear: without Jesus Christ ruling in each person’s heart as the Lord and Savior, no one will be able to live as a blessed man; rather every one will end up falling victim to the arch enemy of God, Satan. And the end result of their life “without” Jesus Christ will be an absolute nightmare. 

But when you look around at yourself or others, how often do people (yourself included) fantasize that without being with Jesus and gathering with Jesus Christ and following him, they still can pull themselves alright and even improve their life here on earth and in the days to come? 

In the day of Jesus, the religious leaders such as the Pharisees made the same error: they tried to keep the moral ethical and spiritual conditions of their life clean but without repenting and believing in Jesus Christ. But still they failed. As they tried to improve themselves without Jesus, they ended up becoming powerful instruments of the devil. The Sadducees, the so-called intellectuals of Jesus’ day, made the same error as well: they thought that using their will power, mental power, or creative intellect, they could enhance themselves, and be upward mobile all the time. But they ended up experiencing the devil’s kingdom growing powerfully inside of them. 

“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.” In the book entitled “the Intellectuals”, Paul Johnson depicted the life-styles of the so-called “intellectuals of the intellectuals”. Included on the list was a Jewish man named Karl Marx (1818-1883), the communist theologian. Interestingly being born a Jew he had good spiritual heritage from both sides of his parents. His father was a lawyer and the son of a rabbi and Talmudic scholar. His mother was also a daughter of a rabbi descended from famous scholars and sages. When Karl Marx was six year old, his father being a Protestant, had him baptized. At fifteen Marx was confirmed as a Christian. He attended a former Jesuit high school. This record indicates that he could have grown as a great man of God like John Calvin or Martin Luther. But instead he ended up becoming a powerful instrument of the devil. Using his scholarly mindedness, he formulated the communist theory and with it, called gigantic curses upon a multitude of people. Why did this happen to him? What Jesus says in verse 23 answers the question: “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” Karl Marx’s biography suggests that during the latter part of his young adulthood, he became secularized and increasingly so by going through the schooling at Bonn University and then Berlin University. During his college days and thereafter he was hanging out with a bunch of carnally minded people. Instead of turning to Christ, he turned himself over to the ways of the world. Then, what was the result? Mark’s final condition became worse than the first. 

Third, blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it! 

Practically, then, in order for one to live in Jesus as a truly blessed man, so that his final condition would be absolutely glorious, what must each of us do? In view of the following Bible passages, we can say that we must do three things daily:

(1) Hear the word and obey it.  

Look at verses 27-28. “As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you." He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."” This woman focused on the “physical” aspect of Jesus’ relationship with his mother Mary. Most likely this woman must have gone through the joys and pains involved in child-bearing. So she knew what it is for a woman to give birth to a son. Then as she saw Jesus performing a miracle and teaching great things of God, immediately she was reminded of Jesus’ mother. Without herself knowing, she exclaimed, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” 

What was Jesus’ reply? Well, Jesus could have said, “Thank you”. But Jesus was not interested in man’s praise. In reply Jesus said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it." 

Jesus’ reply gives us practical wisdom to live as a blessed man. Living within a “church” organization or institution, it is so easy for us to lose our attention to the superficial aspects of our life (such as a title like a pastor, a missionary, a shepherd, or simply a “leader”, or even the distinction between a senior or a junior) as Christians, and fail to direct our attention to the hearing of the word of God and obeying it. The point here is not to lose the point, and the point is to hear the word of God and obey it. All the rest like organizational buildups, physical buildings, or other types of forms are merely a “façade”, and are not essential. And no blessing comes from them. True blessing comes from hearing the word of God and obeying it. 

(2) The example of the Ninevites and the example of the Queen of the South. 

What then is it to hear the word of God and actually obey it? How can we hear the word and actually obey it? Well it is not as simple or as easy as it might seem. But in verses 29-32 Jesus gives us a clear idea of what it is to hear the word and obey it. He teaches us with what attitude we should practically hear the word and obey it. Let us read this Bible passage altogether. “As the crowds increased, Jesus said, "This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.” 

Here Jesus says that Jesus is greater than Jonah. The Ninevites repented of their violent, wild ways of life at the preaching of Jonah saying, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” 

Jesus is also greater than Solomon. The Queen of the South “listened to” Solomon and admired his wisdom. [By the way the Queen of the South is not a football team, but the Queen of Sheba as mentioned in 1 Kings 10.] Most likely this woman was black (perhaps from Ethiopia) like Condoleeza Rice. In order to have a Bible study with King Solomon, she made a long journey. She prepared a long list of study questions in advance. After studying the Bible with Solomon, she wrote a deep Bible testimony, and shared it in public, praising God. She then paid a high tuition fee. With great joy, she went back home. 

The example of the Ninevites and the example of the Queen of the South teach us that we must hear Jesus’ word with reverent fear. We must hear God’s word with an attitude which is more reverent than that of the Queen of the South. Most importantly we must deeply repent of our wicked ways of life. We must repent of miracle-seeking faith. We must ask God for help, that as we turn to God through Jesus the Christ, God will transform us to be his blessed children. 

(3)  See to it that the light within you is not darkness.  

Hearing God’s word and obeying it may sound overwhelming. But verses 33-36 indicate that when we believe in Jesus, God blesses our faith by granting within us His light so that no darkness would remain within us. With this in mind, let us read verses 33-36 responsively. “33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you." 

It has been said that God revealed himself in two revelations: general revelation and special revelation. The world of God’s creation represents the general revelation. The Bible represents God’s special revelation. But Jesus Christ is the special revelation made tangible for all who believe in Him. Because Jesus’ light is truly great, all other lights such as philosophies or good morals or ethics taught by secular religions are as bad as darkness. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.” As we have Jesus, the light of the world, then we can fully overcome the darkness of the world, the darkness inside and darkness outside. We then can live in this dark generation as children of light. Then we are truly blessed. 

In conclusion, we learned that a blessed man is the one who repents and believes in Jesus, continues to hear the word of God, struggles to obey it all by faith in Him. 

One word: a blessed man