Synoptic Gospels 2: Servant of the Lord (6)
Pray Psalm 72.8-11.
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him,
And His enemies will lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles
Will bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba
Will offer gifts.
Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him;
All nations shall serve Him.
Sing 72.8-11.
(Martyrdom: Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed)
And let the Righteous rule the earth, and let His foes bow low;
let nations praise His matchless worth, and all His bidding do.
Read Matthew 12.22-30; Mark 3.22-27; Luke 11.14-23; meditate on Matthew 12.22-30.
Preparation
1. How did Jesus refute the charge that He was working for Beelzebub (the devil)?
2. What were the implications of what Jesus was doing?
Meditation
The Servant of the Lord continues liberating the captives: tossing out demons, healing those who are burdened with the effects of sin, and amazing the multitudes (vv. 22, 23). Imagine how that must have irked Satan. Here he enlisted the Pharisees against Jesus, by suggesting a scurrilous but stupid rumor: The only reason Jesus can cast out demons is because He is the devil himself—or at least, in his employ (v. 24).
Jesus showed the utter stupidity of that explanation for His power in two ways (vv. 25-27). First, He demonstrated the folly of thinking that Beelzebub would attack his own house. Who does that? Next, He pointed to the Jewish exorcists, and asked whether they, too, might be in Satan’s employ? Were the Pharisees willing to label their own colleagues with that taint? And if not, then why did they do so to Jesus?
If I’m a Pharisee at this point, I’m slinking back and laying low. And getting angrier all the time.
Now Jesus gives the real explanation of His spiritual power (vv. 28-30): He has bound the strong man—Satan (Matt. 4.1-11)—and He is about the business of plundering his house. Satan’s “house” and “goods” had been enjoying a several thousand year run by the time Jesus came around. Now He was taking it all back—liberating people, cultures, societies, and the very creation itself. Jesus’ ability to cast out demons signaled that the Kingdom of God had come in the power of the Spirit, just as it has come to each of us.
And those who are “with” Jesus, Who is God with us, are joining the plunder as well (v. 30). We do not fear being plundered by the strong man, who wants to take away our freedom, joy, peace, and power to love. Rather, in the Name and power of Jesus, the Servant Who liberates, we are taking captive everything in our lives—from the depths of our souls to the full extent of our Personal Mission Fields—and making it all obey Jesus (2 Cor. 10.3-5).
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162.“Now He is taking it all back”!
All the mess the devil has made of the world—sadly, with the agreement of the folks—Jesus was, and is, now in the process of taking it all back. All of everything—even unto the souls of all humanity—any who are willing and repentant.
But we have been duly warned by Jesus:
“If I cast out demons with the finger of God,
surely the kingdom of God has come upon you…
He who is not with Me is against Me, and
he who does not gather with Me
scatters” (Lk. 11.20, 23).
Would we ever want to be on the devil’s side?
On the side of those whose thinking borders on incredible?
On the side of those who thought it was a genius idea to say that Jesus was not in the tomb because while the soldiers were all sound asleep, the disciples came and stole His body away (Matt. 28.13)? What part of that ridiculous idea did they not take note of? Sound asleep; yet we saw everything that happened. Right. And that lame thinking is still being embraced today.
Also, the whole ridiculous notion that a leader rules, maintains, and flourishes his franchise by decimating his ranks is a tad far-fetched. However, they thought it made perfect sense and doubled-down on its probability. Would we ever want to participate in that kind of thinking?
This kind of vapid verbiage is rampant today.
All the enemy’s thought processes are nonsensical—convoluted.
And yet, those we love, many in our Personal Mission Field, are trapped victims of similar wrong thinking and beliefs.
Our privilege is to live differently—to live the truth—before them.
“I AM the way, the truth, and the life. (Jn. 14.6).
The path to the truth is found in God’s Word:
“…be wise; guide your heart in the way” (Prov. 23.19).
“Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Ps. 119.11).
“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119.105).
The Servant Who Liberates said that His healings were done by the “finger of God”; and by this same Hand also, was written the Law: “He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God” (Ex. 31.18). Laws that make perfect sense; to guide us righteously; and lead us wisely.
We want to be with Jesus.
We want to gather with Him in His Kingdom work.
We want to spread the Good News that it is altogether possible to be liberated from sin.
We want to follow Him, follow His Law, and in so doing, not scatter the lost.
“Joining Jesus in the plunder—with Him—Who is God with us.”
Reflection
1. What evidence do you see that Jesus is “plundering” the devil’s holdings?
2. How has He plundered the works of the devil in your own life?
3. How do you try to help those in your Personal Mission Field who are “trapped victims” of “wrong thinking and beliefs”?
Every benefit which the bodies of men received from Christ was intended to have a reference to their souls. Thus, in rescuing the bodily senses of men from the tyranny of the devil, he proclaimed that the Father had sent him as a Deliverer, to destroy his spiritual tyranny over their souls. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Matthew 12.22-29
Pray Psalm 72.15-19.
Give praise to Jesus, Who liberates not only our souls from the tyranny of sin, but our cultures and societies as well. Call on Him to give you liberating power today, that you may bring the freedom of the Kingdom of God to bear in every situation.
Sing 72.15-19.
(Martyrdom: Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed)
Let Christ be praised and all the gold of Sheba be His right;
let blessings to His Name be told, and prayers made both day and night.
And let the earth abound with grain, let fields His fame proclaim;
and may our King forever reign and nations bless His great Name.
Now bless the God of Israel Who wondrous works performs.
And bless His Name, His glory tell both now and forevermore!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: Our Read Moore podcast is concentrating on praying the psalms to seek revival—why we should and what we might expect. Do you ever wonder about what God’s will for you is? Patrick—echoing Paul—makes it clear, as you can see in last week’s Crosfigell. Our current ReVision series, “Pray for Your Church”, teaches us how to pray for the ministries of our church, beginning with worship. And new in our bookstore, our book, The Ongoing Work of Christ shows us how the book of Acts provides a template and footprint for all who take up the work of building Jesus’ Church.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
