Continuing a study of the passages from Luke’s Gospel which have been omitted from the three-year Lectionary for public worship, today’s post is part of my ongoing series Forbidden Bible Verses, also essential to understanding Scripture.
Today’s reading is from the English Standard Version with commentary by Matthew Henry and John MacArthur.
Return of an Unclean Spirit
24 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”
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Today’s reading relates to superficial morality, present in Jesus’s day and in ours.
Jesus’s words here are important for anyone who has ever been harmed by moralistic churches or families.
In last week’s post, some of the Judeans — influenced by the self-righteous Jewish hierarchy — accused our Lord of casting out demons in the name of Beelzebul, or Satan.
Matthew’s account, also in that post, carries Jesus’s warning about the divine condemnation of anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit.
What followed were Christ’s words about His true followers, those who display grace-filled fruits of faith (Matthew 12:33-37):
A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
These words went over the heads of the scribes and Pharisees confronting Him. Instead of examining their own thoughts and conduct, they turned to Jesus and asked Him for ‘a sign’. Jesus responded by calling them an ‘evil and adulterous generation’ (Matthew 12:39).
Following His rebuke, He then said (Matthew 12:43-45, emphases mine):
Return of an Unclean Spirit
43“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
When the early Church was being established, St Peter wrote similarly to his converts (2 Peter 2:20):
20For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
Now on to Luke’s verses. In verse 24, Jesus referred to the demons which had been temporarily exorcised by certain Jewish priests who performed this function in His era. He was also referring, John MacArthur says, to those who converted under John the Baptist and had fallen back into sin. That was not John the Baptist’s fault but the result of the convert placing more trust in morality than grace-filled faith. The result was a moralistic hypocrite, no different to the Jewish priests condemning Jesus.
Matthew Henry explains the phenomenon of false conversion:
(1.) The condition of a formal hypocrite, his bright side and his dark side. His heart still remains the devil’s house he calls it his own, and he retains his interest in it and yet, [1.] The unclean spirit is gone out. He was not driven out by the power of converting grace there was none of that violence which the kingdom of heaven suffers but he went out, withdrew for a time, so that the man seemed not to be under the power of Satan as formerly, nor so followed with his temptations. Satan is gone, or has turned himself into an angel of light. [2.] The house is swept from common pollutions, by a forced confession of sin, as Pharaoh’s–a feigned contrition for it, as Ahab’s,–and a partial reformation, as Herod’s. There are those that have escaped the pollutions of the world, and yet are still under the power of the god of this world, 2 Peter 2:20. The house is swept, but it is not washed and Christ hath said, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me the house must be washed, or it is none of his. Sweeping takes off only the loose dirt, while the sin that besets the sinner, the beloved sin, is untouched. It is swept from the filth that lies open to the eye of the world, but it is not searched and ransacked for secret filthiness, Matthew 23:25. It is swept, but the leprosy is in the wall, and will be till something more be done. [3.] The house is garnished with common gifts and graces. It is not furnished with any true grace, but garnished with the pictures of all graces. Simon Magus was garnished with faith, Balaam with good desires, Herod with a respect for John, the Pharisees with many external performances. It is garnished, but it is like a potsherd covered with silver dross, it is all paint and varnish, not real, not lasting. The house is garnished, but the property is not altered it was never surrendered to Christ, nor inhabited by the Spirit. Let us therefore take heed of resting in that which a man may have and yet come short.
This is what Jesus means by the expelled demons seeking refreshment and a new home (verse 24).
He went on to explain that the returning demon finds a clean, tidy soul trying to be morally correct (verse 25). Consequently, the demon invites more evil spirits there, worse than he (verse 26). This multiplication of evil spirits puts the inhabited soul in a worse state than before he temporarily repented.
Recall the well-known maxim, ‘Nature abhors a vacuum’. This is its spiritual equivalent.
John MacArthur explains what a clean but empty dwelling means:
That’s the problem. Cleaned up but empty. And if the living God is not present there, you have a disaster. Listen to 2 Peter 2:20, “If after people have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” people who get some idea about Christ, some idea about the gospel and they’re attracted to it and they want to clean their lives up so they escape certain defilements. “But if after that they are entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.” And Peter has to be echoing what Jesus said. If you just try to clean your life up, maybe even in the name of Jesus, but it’s empty in there, you’re going to go right back, get entangled again, be overcome and end up in a worse condition. And then Peter says this amazing statement. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them. He says they’re like dogs returning to their vomit and pigs returning to the mire.
MacArthur cautions us against adopting an extreme morality not in keeping with the New Covenant, i.e. ‘If you don’t do this [e.g. refrain from alcohol and eating pork], you’ll rot in hell’. Or pointing a finger at others, telling them decisively that we’re saved and they’re not. He warns:
There really is no more serious danger than the danger of morality. It’s like the leper with no sense of pain. Such a person destroys himself without knowing it. Leprosy is a nerve disease that obliterates feeling. And lepers rub off their fingers and rub off their feet and rub off their faces because they can’t feel anything. This is the deadly danger of morality.
He adds:
So to attempt to clean your life up without Christ coming to dwell there is to be exposed to an even greater danger. That statement, “The last state of that man becomes worse than the first,” is very definitive. In the end, being moral is more dangerous than being immoral. There is no benefit in reformation without regeneration. And this is exactly what the Jews did, exactly what they did. And that’s why in verse 29, the next verse, He began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation.” Well they wouldn’t see it that way at all. They thought they were a righteous generation and that’s why they hated Jesus. They were moral but filthy. They were void of the purifying presence of God. They were damned by morality, damned by religion, damned by reformation.
Some of my readers might find MacArthur’s introduction to his sermon surprising, given that he is a conservative Protestant himself. Yet, he prefaced his exposition of Luke’s verses by saying to his congregation:
We have all in our lifetime and certainly in recent years been exposed to a current trend in evangelicalism in America that we could call a trend toward morality. It is not exclusive to evangelicals. The Roman Catholic Church has always upheld morality. The Mormons have upheld morality. There are many other religious groups, cults, that make an issue out of morality. Many years ago there was a moral movement in America known as Moral Rearmament. And then more recent years there was the Moral Majority and now that Moral Majority is sort of been redefined as The Religious Right. And we’ve always heard a lot about the importance of Judeo Christian values and how critical it is to teach morality to our children and to call America back to moral living and moral conduct. There are many evangelical churches that have made a major emphasis on this issue of morality, many evangelicals, as you well know, have become involved in politicking at all levels in order to effect moral change in America through lobbying, through use of money to buy influence here and there, by pressure, politics, by protests and etc., etc.
There is a grave concern about the immorality of our world and about the immorality of our nation. And certainly I agree that morality is better than immorality, that morality has inherent in it a certain sort of human goodness. And obviously I am supportive of what is the divine standard, the moral code that God has revealed on the pages of Scripture in His very clear commandments.
Having said that, however, I want to say something that may surprise you. Morality is more dangerous than immorality. Morality is more dangerous than immorality.
Now that may shock you, it may surprise you. But it shouldn’t … There is a very serious danger in moral reformation without regeneration. There’s a very serious danger in endeavoring to live your life according to Jude[o-]Christian values without salvation. Reformation without transformation puts a person in a very, very dangerous position.
I suppose the greatest illustration that we know anything about in human history is the Pharisees. They were classic moralists down to the minutia. The Apostle Paul being one of them could even say that a…measuring his life against the Law he was blameless. They lived by a complex ethical code. They demanded that life be controlled by moral standards. They demanded this ethical moral behavior be based upon the laws of their own tradition and the hottest hell awaited them. Morality gained them nothing and it cost them everything. It was morality that caused them to reject the Messiah. That’s why Jesus said to them, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” It is the righteous, it is the moral, it is the religious, it is the self-satisfied, self-congratulating, moral people, the people who uphold the traditional values who are resistant to the true diagnosis of their spiritual condition.
So, if you’ve been hurt by church, especially via your families, that damage had nothing to do with Christ or His teachings. You were living and worshipping with modern-day Pharisees.
This is why it is important to follow a moderate course, the way Christ taught. Focus on Him, God’s grace and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Pray for the Trinity’s help and read the New Testament as often as you can. Pray for wisdom and understanding, not morality or compulsory good works. True fruits of faith are sure to follow.
Next time: Luke 11:27-28
Churchmouse Campanologist 
10 comments
March 16, 2014 at 8:36 am
john in cheshire
CM, thanks for yet another interesting and informative article. I’m certainly learning a lot from them. Once again I have a few questions that you might have some thoughts about :
1. Why do we always refer to ‘Judeo-Christian’ values, teachings etc. From what I have read what we have in our Christian western lands is a civilisation built on Christian values. It was developed under Roman rule and so perhaps would be more accurately referred to as Christian-Roman?
2. If my readings of parts of the Talmud and Koran are representative of how the followers of those religions view us (Gentiles, Kafirs) then no civilisation as we know it would ever have been developed if we had been subjected to the exhortations of their religious books. Interestingly, both the Talmud and the Koran describe those who are not of the religion in much the same manner and are allowed to mistreat the unbelievers virtually as the believers choose. There is no morality, compassion, or forgiveness in their religious teachings. It is only with the coming of Jesus, and the development of Christianity that all mankind are shown the way to eternal salvation. There is no other religion on earth that shows everyone, equally, that pathway. Therefore, is it not inaccurate to always equate Christianity with Judaism?
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March 16, 2014 at 9:12 pm
churchmouse
Thanks very much, John. I am glad you find these posts useful.
A few thoughts, briefly for now: 1) The Talmud is not the Torah but has interpreted it through the ages; 2) Jews and Christians share common biblical ancestors and their divine experiences (rewards and punishments); 3) the Old Testament recounts God’s preparation of His Chosen for His Son, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; 4) there is no resemblance between the Torah and the Koran.
Re the last point, the Talmud and the Hadiths (Islamic interpretation) might be a better comparison between Judaism and Islam, but only insofar as these are interpretive texts, not the original books.
It seems that our legal system borrowed much from the Old Testament in that it is based on the Ten Commandments. The New Testament does not go into the detail that the Old Testament does where business dealings and fair treatment are concerned. Some things, e.g. stoning and an eye for an eye, might be similar in Judaism and Islam, but those have not been practiced in Judaism possibly since the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. Sorry, I’m not a student of Judaism (outside of Kosher law) nor am I too into Jewish-oriented conspiracy theory. If you look at the characters involved historically, they are Jews, Christians, Muslims and atheists or agnostics. Freemasonry often, though not exclusively, provided a nexus for these groups.
There are some Christians who place too much emphasis on the OT. Conversely, there are others who place too little on it. Our Christmas and Easter stories are the fulfilment of OT prophecy, with Christ at the centre. Therefore, to discard the OT — or the Jews as our spiritual forebears — is a bit puzzling.
It’s a difficult subject, especially from a New Testament perspective. However, in terms of spiritual history, there is more uniting Jews and Christians than Muslims and these two groups. If you disagree, feel free to reply.
However, I agree with you that Jesus Christ is our only Redeemer, Mediator and Advocate. In order to be saved for eternity, one must believe in Him.
Please feel free to come back with more questions.
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March 16, 2014 at 9:16 pm
churchmouse
An afterthought to everyone: we should be careful what we ‘learn’ from ‘factual’ left-wing texts from the 19th and 20th centuries.
A more important one is that the whole of the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, for Christians to discount the Old Testament would be making a serious religious error. As for the Koran?
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March 16, 2014 at 9:57 pm
john in cheshire
CM, thank you for taking the time to give me a reply. I suppose I’m currently reading things on the internet, in an attempt to understand my religion, Christianity; and specifically Roman Catholicism. I regard myself as a Roman Catholic in that I have been Baptised and Confirmed into that religion and don’t see a need to change, though I am not a regular attendee of church services. I am however concerned that all of the Christian religions, including Roman Catholic, have been infiltrated by socialists and others. Jesus calls the then Hebrew religious leaders as members of the Synagogue of Satan. He obviously saw them as having left the path that God had commanded. It is in this time that the Talmud, a verbal record (and only some time afterwards was it written down) was being followed by the Jews. My understanding is that today, most Jews adhere to the Talmud, not the Torah. Insofar as the muslims are concerned, I agree that the koran is not the only book they follow; they also have the hadiths and the surahs, if I’m correct. But these are integral to the religion. I don’t see any similarity with Christianity; we don’t have men telling us what Jesus meant and then enforcing their interpretations with menace. I believe that Christianity is the only religion (in fact it is the only true religion, but I’d say that wouldn’t I?) that makes its case for all to understand and leaves it to the individual to accept or not. But of course, once you’ve been told, when Judgement day comes, you can’t say you didn’t know. For me that’s one of the reasons for missionary activities. Tell people but then leave them to accept or not. However, the Jews and the muslims both condemn us the unbelievers, or unclean or whatever we are called, are never going to be regarded as equal to them. Whereas Jesus told us all that before God, we are all equal. But to have salvation, it only comes through Jesus. Now, on that basis, there is no other person who can be followed other than Jesus. So, there is a falsehood being perpetrated in combining Christianity with Judaism. We are not the same and never will be. As for muslims, they are even more separated from God than are the Jews, for they in my opinion are following a false prophet and hence a false god. I’m tempted to move onto the rapprochement by the Christian church and other religions but I think I’ll stop here.
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March 16, 2014 at 10:00 pm
churchmouse
As a Roman Catholic, John, surely you have heard many an OT verse read at Mass (e.g. Wisdom, Sirach)? Why do you think that is?
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March 16, 2014 at 10:33 pm
john in cheshire
Sorry, now you are asking me things I can’t answer; in relation to Sirach, do you mean Deuteronomy, because the word is new to me? I’m not asserting anything, I’m relating what I’ve been reading and my understanding of it, and of course it’s raising questions that I’ve never considered before. Any Christian reference to the OT is, as far as I can understand it, a reference to Judaism when they Jews were following God’s commandments and hence are relevant to what Jesus was preaching. But somewhere down the line that changed. Jesus came to reclaim the Jews to God, in the first instance (I’m now saying what I’ve taken from your articles, so I hope I’m correct in my understanding) to bring the Jews back to God. But when he saw that they weren’t interested, he redirected his efforts onto us Gentiles, where he was well received. So, my initial question still remains, why do we combine our achievements with Judaism? Either it is Christian-Roman or, in recognition of what you are asking me, Christian-Hebrew-Roman. But it doesn’t seem to be accurate to credit it to Judeo_Christian; the Jews hated Christ and they hate Christians. The Hebrews were God’s chosen people; probably always will be; but through Jesus we can all find eternal salvation. The Jews and the muslims will never acknowledge that state of grace.
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March 16, 2014 at 10:52 pm
churchmouse
Wow, now I’m wondering when you last attended Mass. There is no need to answer but almost every Mass includes a reading from the OT, whether the first or second reading (prior to the Gospel) or the Psalm read in a somewhat broken up way.
Sirach is the Catholic equivalent of Ecclesiastes. Selected verses from the Book of Wisdom are read regularly. Both have been a part of Sunday (or Saturday vigil) Mass since the 1970s. Here is a basic description about the three Catholic readings at Saturday/Sunday Masses:
http://www.reference.com/motif/society/catholic-mass-sunday-readings
If you notice, the Douay-Rheims (Catholic) version of the Bible includes both Old and New Testaments.
As I have said several times in my previous posts, understanding the NT unlocks the OT for the Christian. Recall the O Antiphons before Christmas. The NT has little meaning if it does not refer to the OT, which describes the time when God was preparing the Jews for Christ. The fact that they mostly rejected Him does not render the significance of the OT invalid, although Jesus fulfilled the 613 Mosaic Laws, leaving us the Ten Commandments to fulfil in loving God and our neighbour.
If you need more info on OT readings at Catholic Mass, then, a Jesuit explains it here:
http://catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/Statistics.htm
Generally, it is the Orthodox who reject the parts of Holy Scripture in which they do not believe — principally the OT.
Sorry to wonder, but haven’t you tried searching for this information yourself?
That said, I have appreciated our exchanges and have profited from them. My apologies for the multiple edits.
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March 16, 2014 at 11:13 pm
john in cheshire
CM, thanks, as usual you are giving me something to think about. And yes, it’s been decades since I regularly attended mass. I suppose, recently I’m thinking more about my religion than I have for more than a while and I’m trying to understand it more than I have done before. I know something profound is wrong in the world and I’m trying to understand what and why. And who. I’ll probably keep coming back here with more questions.
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March 16, 2014 at 11:21 pm
churchmouse
Please do, John — anytime.
In the meantime, please check out Catholic resources and avoid relying on aberrant resources, which some do (e.g. Herbert Armstrong, Protestant cults, conspiracy theories, the Protocols).
Instead, via prayer, find God’s grace, comfort from our Lord Jesus Christ and wisdom from the Holy Spirit.
In closing, re the OT, my grandparents and parents had a much better grounding in it than I had, even though my Catholic RE covered that part of the canon fully. The nuns in the early 20th century explained the OT much better than mine several decades later.
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March 16, 2014 at 11:36 pm
churchmouse
To cite concrete examples from my CATHOLIC ancestry, they would be as follows:
1) Paternal grandmother: Ishmael, Hagar and Abraham’s son, the person from whom Islam descended.
2) My mother: the characteristics of Shem, Ham and Japeth.
3) My aunt (father’s sister): Noah’s Ark, in which God saw fit to save his animal — as well as human — kingdom.
Everyone mentioned Sodom and Gomorrah but with discretion. Bottom line: obey God, above all things.
All of those stories are in Genesis.
Personally, I would add (from the same book):
1) Jacob I loved, Esau I hated (for having given up his birthright).
2) Lot’s daughters who were anxious to get him drunk and sleep with him so that they might bear his offspring after his wife turned into a pillar of salt (a warning against incest).
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