The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 324

b1Ul mnde the poor po~Bcssc,l one duml,, hRd ohcycd CbriRt'e commnnd an,l left his ,,ieLirn. Dut so far from tbiB demonstrating Christ's goodneBS to their suspicious soul~, :t only demonstrated his league witb the chief of the devils. It is truly wonderful hn1v unl,oly hea.ts can twist the clearest demonstrations into the foulest suspicions nnd i11sinuations. The question of infernal inspirations is thus raised, as a set-off and con- trast t-0 the Divine inspirations which Jesus showed his disciples were possible for them, and which he illustrated in perfection himself. Let us see how our Lord meets t<,e in~inuation of his enemieR. 1. Ghrist shows that in expelling the dumb devil he had been "° far breaking up &tan's kingdom. Although, therefore, it must be acknowledge,! that Satan and his emissA.ries do often take suicidal courses, and by fancied wisdom really undermine their kingdom, yet it could not be supposed that the chief of the derils would deliberately restore a man to sanity anJ the power of speech. This would be too insane a course for the arch-fiend to take. When S-Ouls are rendered sane and social, we may conclude at once that it is not Satan's work. Hence in the fact that the kingdom of Satan was being broken up by the philanthropic policy of Jesus, there was proof positive that their theory was false. 2. Christ reminds them of Jewish eir;orcism, and asks if they have oonsidered the suspicwn their theory casts on their own eir;orcist,. By certain incantations and tedious processes the Jews h11.d been accustomed to expel the demons and cure the demented ones. The difference between the Jewish exorcisms and this one of Jesus was that his was simpler and speedier. Hence if it was Beelzebub that enabled him to exorcise the demon, it must be some other form of diabolic Inspiration which enabled their own exorcists to succeed. Our Lord thus used a crushing argumentum ad hominem, which they could not resist. 3. Jesus insists on the vietorwu., character of the spiritual inspiration of which he was at once an Embodiment and the S()tl,1'ce. It was by" the finger of God" he expelled the demons, and in his Person the triumphant kingdom of God had come nigh to them. For, as he here shows, there is a contention between two opposing parties for the pa.lace of the human heart. The devil may for a time usurp possession. 'l'here is peace throughout the pnlace; there may even be silence, as in the present case, when the devil had made the possessed one dumb. But the Stronger One comes, the Spirit of Christ enters, overcomes the devil, robs him of his armour in which he trusted, and divides the spoil. Thus graphically does our Lord represent the conquest of the soul and the glorious result of the victory. It is the Mightiest overcoming the strong, and claiming his rights in the palace of the soul. Thus does God's kingdom come within us I 4. Jesus shows the danger, of tJ 11acant soul. Referring possibly to the Jewish exorcisms, wherein the demons were expelled, but no stronger occupant introduced to the palace of the soul, our Lord shows how the vacant soul becomes a prey to demons once more. And the result of reoccupation is generally worse than the first occupancy. How often is it seen that superficial reform is followed by a backsliding worse than any previous sin I 'l'he last state of the man is worse than the first. It is essential, therefore, that when a soul is freed from one spirit, it should be tenanted by another and a better. Only the radical change which the indwelling of the Divine Spirit secures can make the soul safe amid the temptations of Sa.tan and his hosts. IL THE INTERLUDE UPON THE BLESSEDNESS OP OBEDIENCE. (Vers. 27, 28.) As Jesus spake these wise words about inspiration, a woman in the crowd, touched by their beauty and faithfulness, exclaimed," Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked!" Her idea was that it must have seen a great privilege 10 be related to such a Person, especially to have been his mother. And the blooJ- rela.tionship, of oourse, could have no wide ra.dfos; only a select few could stand around Jiim in acLue.l relationship. But Jesus interposes at once to show that there is a blessedness which all may realize, a blessedness which his mother or brethren could not monopolize, and this is the ble~sedn'3ss of obedience to God's Word. Motherhood involved many trials in the Cll.'!e of Mary, as well as many privileges ; but obedience is an open door into wbich all may enter. In the keeping of God's commandments there is a great reward. Thus he forbade all discontent aod all envy, and put the woman and the audience generally upon the true track in which to realize blessedness. Rooeiving Gud's Word in humble faith, trying to keep it in dependence upon God's grace,-this io the secret of true Llessedn~ss. Sul'h sriiritual relationship is I.Jetter than Lluod-rela.tioni;hip. At it a.11 of Wl i;hould aiw. OB. :u 1-54.) TIIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE.