Let us turn to the Gospel of
Matthew chapter 12. The Gospel of Matthew chapter
12. And I said this morning that I wanted to speak on the subject,
the parable of the unclean spirit. And we have our text in Matthew
12. We begin at verse 41, reading down through verse 45 for our
text of the evening. Again, that's Matthew chapter
12, beginning at verse 41 through verse 45. Matthew 12, 41. Now, this is
not a separate text. It has to do and is connected
to the overall context, and we'll try to make that distinction
as we go along. But here's our verses for today.
Verse 41, The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this
generation, and shall condemn it, because they repented at
the preaching of Jonas, and behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The Queen of the South shall
rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn
it, for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the
wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. When the unclean spirit is gone
out of a man, he walks through dry places seeking rest and finding
none. Then he says, I will return unto
my house from whence I came out. When he has come, he findeth
it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and takes with
himself seven other spirits, more wicked than himself, and
they enter in and dwell there, and the last of that man is worse
than the first, and perhaps here the most important words in our
text, even so shall it also be with this wicked generation. Now you can see the picture very
vividly and clear. The unclean spirit goes out,
he abides a while, he comes back, the house is empty, he enters
in, and the last of the man is worse than the first, and that
has something to do with that generation to whom our Lord appeared. Now, the Lord often spoke using
parables in His public teaching and public discourses among the
people. Now, the word parable is from
a word that has an affix unto it, and sort of means beside,
or in the vicinity, or near, or nearby. It kind of means to
throw down along beside of something, or to liken one thing unto another. Thus, a parable in the scriptural
sense of the word is a placing one thing beside another for
the sake of comparison. Most every parable which our
Lord spoke made use of some natural thing in nature or agriculture
or something along that line that was capable of setting forth
at the same time a spiritual truth. Now it also seems very
clear that the Lord spoke some of his parable with the intention
of depicting the state and the case of the Jew and particularly
the generation to which our Lord appeared. Such a parable is that
of the vineyard and it also had a prophetic element in it as
well. And in Matthew 21 and verse 45,
when some of the chief priests and some of the Pharisees heard
some of our Lord's parables, it says this, they perceived
that He spoke of them. It was as if they could see themselves
in a mirror that our Lord was holding up before them in the
giving forth of the parable, that they could see their own
reflection and image in that mirror. Now it's true that the
Lord does not announce here in the passage that we have read
that he is about to declare a parable unto them. Often it is the writer
or the speaker that does that, the same as Nathan's parable
unto David in 2 Samuel chapter 12, but both of them, that to
Samuel, and this from our Lord in this place, have the nature
of a parable. In that, here, there is a truth
that is illustrated by something that is capable of a spiritual
application and our Lord is making it. Now, for some reason, the
commentators do not have much to say about this passage that
we have read today. And most also do generally acknowledge
that it is a place difficult to understand, to rightly divide,
and to interpret. So, let's raise some questions
relative to the text that we are interested in this evening. Number one, what is its relationship
to the overall or the larger context in this chapter of God's
Word? What is the connection? Secondly, will the unclean spirit
ever leave out of a man on his own accord without being cast
out? Will an unclean spirit ever go
out of his own accord? Will he willingly, voluntarily
take his leave of a man and go out? And thirdly, Can an unclean
spirit return again after being out for a time or a period? And not only return, but also
bring a number of others with him, and more wicked than himself. Who is more evil, we would ask,
than the arch-evil spirit himself? even the wicked one. Now concerning
this particular parable, and by the way, it's also recorded
in a shorter form in Luke's Gospel in chapter 11 and verse 24 through
verse 26. Now the two accounts are similar. In fact, they are almost word
for word with this exception. And that is the words in the
end of verse 45 in Matthew chapter 12. Luke does not say this but
Matthew does. Even so shall it be also unto
this wicked generation. Now about the only other difference
is that Matthew describes the house as Empty, E-M-P-T-Y, Luke
does not use that word in his gospel account of this incident. Now as to the question, what
is the relation of these few verses to the overall or the
larger context? Now, me thinks, in reading Spurgeon's
commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, that Spurgeon may be right, that
it has to do with what was said and what occurred back in Matthew
chapter 12 and verse 22 through verse 30. When some of the Jews
came and accused the Lord of casting out demons by the power
of Beelzebub. The Pharisees did not and could
not deny what the Lord had done to a demon-possessed man, that
He had changed him thoroughly and entirely. So, not being able
to deny it, they therefore accuse him of being in league with the
prince of devils, even Beelzebub himself. In fact, in Luke's gospel,
when Luke gives it, he joins the passage about the unclean
spirit going out with their accusation of him casting out demons by
the power of Beelzebub. You can see that in Luke chapter
11 and 14 through verse 26. That is significant, I think,
that Luke joins the two incidents together. In Matthew 12 and verse
25, that every kingdom, every city, or every house divided
against itself cannot stand. It is sure to fail, sooner or
later it will fall." By the way, I'll just throw this in. That's
worrisome about our country because we are so divided at this time. But then look at verse 26, how
preposterous, how absurd, unreasonable, how contrary to nature that Satan
cast out Satan. The Lord said, how absurd is
this? Does Satan cast out Satan? Is Satan divided against himself? Is he at war with his own self? Is there civil war in the evil
kingdom of the wicked one? How then shall his kingdom stand? If there is a division, if he
is at war, if he casts out himself, how will it stand or endure? Now can any imagine, can any
imagine that one devil would cast out another devil? And that's
how our Lord overthrows their argument. But then in verse 27
of chapter 12, the Lord asks them, if I, as you say, cast
out devils by the prince of devils, or if I, as you say, cast out
devils by Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast them out?"
Our Lord is fixing to overthrow their argument even further. Evidently, there were some Jews
among them that claimed the power and the ability of exorcism. See such verses as Mark 9, verse
38. Remember that account in Acts
19? I think it is verse 13 and 14
when the man said, in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches,
I command thee to come out. So they believed in evil spirit. Some of them believed the ability
to expel them, but surely they did not pretend to do so by Beelzebub. If any cast out devil, surely
it must be by the same power. If they cast out devils, the
Lord cast out devils, then it must be by the same power. And this, again, would be a witness
against them in their claim. And then Matthew 12 and verse
28, On the other hand, since Jesus cast out evil spirits by
the Spirit of God, then He said, The kingdom of God has come unto
you. the kingdom of God has appeared."
Then we look at verse 29, and also we see, otherwise, how can
one spoil or plunder the house of the strong man and take away
his goods except he first enter in, and bind the strong man."
Mark 3 and 27 has it this way. No man can enter into a strong
man's house and spoil, that is, take away or plunder his good,
except he first bind the strong man, then he will spoil his house. and take his good. Spurgeon noted
there is no getting the strong man's goods without binding first
the strong man. He must be subdued, he must be
overcome, and he will not stand idly by while one plunders away
all of his good. But listen to how Luke 11 verse
21 and 22 describes this, quote, When a strong man armed keeps
his palace, that is, guards it, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he shall
come upon him, he takes away from him all of his armor wherein
he trusted and divides his spoil." Now it is not accomplished through
friendly negotiation or gentle persuasion. J.C. Ryle, another old writer, said
that the word man is not in the Greek, in the text that we are
looking at, and is in some versions italicized to indicate that. So it is a or the strong. When the strong or a strong one. And notice, he has his house
fortified. It is not sitting unguarded. It is fortified. It is supplied
with weapons, being well armed. The house is bolted and is secured. His possessions are constantly
watched and constantly guarded. Here he keeps his prisoner, here
he keeps his goods. that the first cannot escape
and the second cannot be plundered or taken away. How then can his
prisoners and his spoil be liberated and his armor and possession
taken away so that he is defenseless and powerless against the strong
men that come up? Well, the answer is a stronger
one than he comes and overpowers him, one mightier than the strong,
one keeping his house and keeping his good, must charge the citadel
well fortified, must break the bars, slay the guards that meet
him around about the house, snatch or drag the door off of its hinges
that hold it, lay hold on the strong one, and bind him so that
he loses strength and power. Then and only then will the strong
one's many weapons be confiscated from him. His captives be set
free, His goods spoiled, because you know as the saying goes,
to the victor belong the spoiled. Isaiah spoke using much the same
imagery. You'll find it in Isaiah chapter
49 and verse 24 and 25 if you look or take down notes. Quote,
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty? are the lawful captive
delivered? But thus says the Lord, even
the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of
the terrible shall be delivered, for I will contend with him that
contends with you, and will save thy children." Isaiah uses much
the same terminology. Now, the Lord is mightier than
the strong one. Whatever his power, that of the
Lord is greater. It is demonstrated, or it was
demonstrated, every time the Lord expelled one of the strong
one's minions out of a poor and oppressed soul. Never did the
Lord try and fail to cast out a demon or an unclean spirit. Spurgeon said, Our Lord, when
He began His work, bound Satan as the presence of God in human
flesh, was a restraint upon man's foe, having bound the enemy,
he now takes out of his house those spoils which otherwise
had been in his possession forever." In Luke 13 and 16, he freed a
woman whom Satan had bound lo these 18 years. Remember that
poor little woman that came to our Lord seeking His help and
His mercy. And our Lord called her or referred
to her as having been bound by Satan for 18 long years. Then on the cross, by His death,
our Lord destroyed the works of Satan, taking from him the
power of death. And all along, all along has
been spoiling his house, taking one after another in efficacious
grace. Now before we move back to the
original text, let's confess something. That is that the New
Testament teaches the reality of unclean spirit. Sometimes
they are called devil and we also read that they cause great
affliction in people. Physical infirmity, immoral behavior,
mental derangement, seizures of the flesh and of the body. When cast out of legion, you
remember legion, He was in his right mind and was a follower
of the Lord. He that once dwelt in the cemetery
and wore no clothes and snatched and tore and cut himself returned
to his sanity by a mighty work of the Lord who expelled out
of him the unclean spirit. And then perhaps the question
would appear in the mind of some, is there demon possession today? Is there such a thing today?
And then the second part of the question, can a Christian actually
have demons in them? I've heard some preachers teach
that. I ask that question because there
are those preachers today who make a living and who base their
entire ministry, it seems, on demonology. We hear them declare
that so-and-so has a demon of greed, other one has a demon
of lust, another has a demon of anger, another of gluttony,
another of jealousy, another of hate, another of covetousness,
and so on they go. I have even heard them say that
so-and-so had a religious demon. Then we say, now wait just a
minute here with all of this. These are but common manifestations
of human depravity which would be present and continue even
if the devil had a heart attack and died today. These are manifestations
of depravity, and some are assigning them as a demon-possessed person. Finally, coming back to our original
text, in verse 43 through verse 45, which is an unusual text. Some call it a parable, some
call it a simile, others that it is just an illustration. But most agree that the purpose,
the leading purpose of this illustration is the Lord speaking, describing
the condition of quote, This generation, unquote, meaning
the Jews then living among whom our Lord appeared and for the
most part exercised his ministry. Now the image itself is very
clear, while the understanding may be something else. But the
image is clear. An unclean spirit had been in
a man, how long we don't know, then he goes out, he leaves out
on his own, not to enter into another man or another person,
but to go out and walk in dry places. finding no rest or satisfaction,
and finally he says to himself, look, I will go again into my
house from whence I have come out. And when he gets there,
he does not find a tenant in the house. It is standing empty
as he peers in the window or the door. It is furnished, however,
but it has no tenant. So the unclean spirit goes, he
finds seven more spirits unclean, more unclean, more wicked than
himself, and they all, eight come, and then they enter in
and they dwell there. With this particular result,
the last end of that man is worse than the first. As for the context
in which this appears, some commentators say that this relates to the
previous encounter about the casting out of devils and the
blasphemy of some Jews in claiming that our Lord cast out devils
by the prince of devils or Beelzebub. And he here, as one famous commentator
put it, to put to death any notion that he cast out devils in league
with Beelzebub, and that even if the unclean spirit go out,
and even if he do so on his own accord, it would not mean that
the man is done with the devil. Now, can I say that again? Even
if an unclean spirit go out, He does not ensure that the man
is done with the devil, for he might return with a fury and
gain new possession. For the house is empty, inviting
him to come in and take up His abode. And as one said it, humorously
or not, I don't know, the devil has kept the key. He did not
turn in the key. But let's give some attention
to the phrase, this generation in our text. Verse 45b, even
so shall it be with this wicked generation. Now this is an interesting
word study. Generation, that's a word we
ought to get right in the scripture. One meaning of the word is from
Genesis, origin or nativity, as when we read of the generation
of so and so in the Old Testament. Their lineage, their ancestors,
their familial descendants and such like. Now another meaning
is genena, and age a generation. Those living as contemporaries
at one and the same time. Those who are living as contemporaries
in a period of time. Now it is clear that the Lord
often used this word in the second sense. And even here in Matthew
chapter 12, we meet the word with this meaning, those living
as contemporary. Matthew 12 and verse 39, for
example, He called them an evil and adulterous generation, those
contemporaries living. Verse 41, He refers to this generation. Verse 42, this generation, as
in Matthew 11 and verse 16, unto what shall I liken this generation? And the Apostle Peter on Pentecost
In Acts chapter 2 and verse 40, warns those who fell under conviction
when they heard him preach that the Lord was alive and made Lord
and Christ at the right hand of God. What shall we do? His
answer, save yourself. from this untoward generation. That is, this crooked and this
perverse and corrupt generation. By the way, Moses called his
generation the very same thing in Deuteronomy 32 and verse 5. What we have to do is consider
how the actions here of the unclean spirit was typical, illustrative,
and representative of that generation of Jew. How is it that this generation
is like unto this? Now to refresh our mind, The
unclean spirit first dwelt in a man. And in the text, man and
house are used interchangeably. It says in verse 44, my house. Then the unclean spirit goes
out of his house or out of the man, but he finds no satisfaction
in being so. Wherefore, he, like the prodigal,
says, I will return from whence I came." And so he does. But
if I may hold up the image, it peeks in the door or peeks in
the window to find that the house is clean and swept and has no
occupant. And he brings those others, as
we read, and they dwell. They're worse than him, so the
latter end of the man is worse than the first. So what is it
that we have here in this place. Now let us remember, we should
not try to formulate some doctrine. We should not try to translate
into some doctrine every single part of any parable. Because you see, every parable
has one central thought or point that the speaker is making. The point here in this is to
depict for them the awful spiritual and moral state of that generation
of Jews and particularly the scribes and the Pharisee, the
chief priests and the rulers over the people. It is as if
the Lord shall say, where unto shall I liken this generation,
as he did in Matthew 11 and verse 16 and Luke 7, 31. Then they
are as a man having an unclean spirit who goes out, etc. We
know that. So let us say, this is not a
proof text to support the idea that a person may be rid of the
devil, become a Christian for a while, and then fall out of
grace and back under the dominion of the devil. This is not a text
to say that one who is a Christian may not be a Christian later. Neither is it a text to prove
that a Christian may experience demon possession. It clearly
pertains to that generation of Jew. Such shall be the case with
this generation. Still the question is, how does
it apply to the Jews in general and to that generation in particular,
especially? When did they ever resemble a
cleaned house? When did they ever resemble a
house in good order? They were always a sinful, a
rebellious people and generation. As a whole, they were a gainsaying
and disobedient generation and people, so says Paul in Romans
10 and verse 21. Though God always kept up a remnant
among them. No matter how wicked they became,
how idolatrous, God kept up a remnant among them, Romans 11 and verse
5. Matthew Henry noted that the
body of that nation of Jews is represented here in these words,
and that after their return, from the Babylonian captivity,
they indeed put away their idols and they appeared more inclined
to religion than before. Then the Lord appeared among
them, freeing many of them from the unclean spirits that had
possessed them and overcoming the power of the devil wherever
he met it and came against it. But even after a measure of repentance,
following the Babylonian captivity and a ray of hope for the coming
Messiah, and even when He first appeared among them. Then, as
Matthew Henry again wrote, they again fell into all manner of
hypocrisy and impiety. of every kind, and their evil
finally reached its height, reached its apex, when they determined
to crucify the Son of God, the Prince of Life. They were delusionally,
and to their detriment, self-righteous people, wrapping themselves in
a legal righteousness as they pretended. The Lord in fact likened
them to graves on one occasion. On another occasion he likened
them to dishes. The graves were garnished outwardly,
but within was corruption. The dishes were clean on the
outside, but inside was all manner of extortion and excess. all was filthy within. Now, we might ask ourselves the
question as we think about closing today, which is the worst generation
of people that have ever inhabited or populated the world? You had
to say and had to think about that. Which would you count the
worst generation of people ever living in the world? Would it
be that generation in the flood? Would it be that generation in
Sodom and Gomorrah? Would it be that generation such
as those that lived in Nineveh? Or the one to whom our Lord Jesus
appeared? Or must we judge their wickedness
by the extent of their sin? according to their sin. Now,
the generation in our text crucified the Son of God. They killed the
Prince of Life. They put Him to an open shame. And in this culminating act,
their last or their latter part, their latter state was worse
than their first or any previous state. By their idolatry they
were carried away into Babylon, but were again delivered, put
in their land again. But their crucifying of the Holy
One of God, their nation, their city, Their temple, their priest
were destroyed utterly. Their holy city ravaged. Thousands upon thousands murdered. Their genealogies destroyed so
that they could have no access unto them. And they were given
a blow from which they have yet to recover by the hand of our
God. Their latter end is worse than
anything that had previously come upon them. Their latter
end was, there shall not be stone left not turned, not thrown down. And their priests died, and blood
ran in the streets, and what an awful judgment of God it was
that came upon them. Their latter end worse than their
first I don't intend to use it, I don't have the time, but Peter
gives us an instance of one delivered by the knowledge of the gospel
and then returning again like the sow to its vomit, no, the
sow to its wallow and the dog to its vomit, the latter end
of them being worse than the first. How awful would that be,
their latter end worse with them than the first.