Luke 11:14-28 - Jesus: The Stronger Man

If you have your Bibles, you’ll want to turn to Luke 11:14–28. 

Before we read, let’s remind ourselves where we are in the story: Jesus and His disciples are on their way to Jerusalem. As they travel, Jesus is teaching, healing, and proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom, all the while resistance from religious leaders is increasing. He has just taught on prayer and revealed that God loves to give us His presence, the Spirit, if we ask.

Our passage today shows us two things: First, how Jesus’ proclamation of God’s kingdom, and the outworking of it, is leading to His rejection and, ultimately, His death in Jerusalem. Second, it reveals Jesus as the Stronger Man, who defeats Satan, frees captives, and brings us into a new way of life as citizens of His kingdom.

This passage is important because many people of Jesus’ time, and even ours today, want Jesus only for a little touchup and want His benefits, like physical prosperity, or freedom from judgment. But Jesus didn’t come just to give us a little nudge in the right direction, He came to live in us and change us radically. And if we reject this, our state will be worse than before.

As we look at this passage today, I want you to consider something. What if Jesus is not just the One who saves you, but the one who lives in you to completely transform you? What if He wants to empower you to stop reacting in anger, to overcome your habitual sins, and to live with joy as a true child of God?

This is what Jesus, the Stronger Man is inviting you and I into. Let’s listen to Him as He speaks to us from Luke 11:14-28.

Luke 11:14–28 ESV

Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. “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.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then 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.” As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

The man in verse 14 had a huge problem. He was inhabited by a demon whose power prevented him from speaking. He was a captive to Satan’s dominion. But he’s not the only captive in this story, or throughout history.

By nature, we are all captives to Satan’s kingdom

We are all blinded to Christ and vulnerable to deeper destruction without Him. You see, in verse 14, even though Jesus performs an incredible miracle, casting out a demon which enabled the mute man to speak…restoring the image of God in him, those in verses 15-16 and 28 respond in three ways: rejection, unbelief, and spiritual misdirection.

First, the response of rejection of Jesus in verse 15 shows they are captivies in Satan’s kingdom. These accusers, likely religious leaders, call good evil and evil good, slandering Jesus by claiming that he is casting out demons by the power of Satan himself rather than by the Holy Spirit, the finger of God.

But Jesus, unlike their own exorcists who relied on rituals and incantations, drives out demons by His word alone. Even Pharaoh’s magicians in Exodus recognized the true power of God when they said, “This is the finger of God.” But these men, gripped by twisted logic, refuse to see it, showing how deeply Satan grips them. Their hearts are bent toward the kingdom of self, where they reign, and God must serve their desires. This is the idolatry of power. And so, they reject Jesus’ kingdom, not because of lack of evidence, but because they do not want to listen to or obey Him.

Second, the response of unbelief in verse 16 shows others who are captives in Satan’s kingdom. They are blind to Christ’s existing revelation and power. Though Jesus had just cast out a demon, they demand a sign from heaven, testing Him rather than trusting Him. They sit in judgment over God, insisting He meet their terms before they will believe. But as Jesus teaches elsewhere, even a resurrection would not be enough to convince hearts hardened in unbelief (Luke 16:31). Their demand reveals a deeper idolatry, not a longing for righteousness, but for worldly affirmation and satisfaction. They seek the kingdom of this world rather than the kingdom of God.

Third, the response of spiritual misdirection in verse 27 shows another way some people can be captives to Satan. A woman from the crowd cries out in praise, blessing Jesus’ mother, which was a cultural way of honoring Jesus Himself. Yet Jesus redirects her enthusiasm, teaching that true blessedness does not lie in outward association or admiration, but in hearing and keeping God's Word. This is a gentle yet crucial correction. Many today similarly admire Jesu, perhaps even praise Him, while remaining spiritually distant. They live in surface-level religiosity without surrender. But Jesus calls for more than admiration; He calls for allegiance.

Each of these responses, rejecting Jesus’ kingship for power, demanding signs to stay in control, and praising Him without true allegiance, are forms of autonomy. Each one reinforces Satan’s lie: we can be gods, deciding for ourselves what is good and evil, doing what we want. And anyone living in these is in bondage to Satan’s kingdom. And the sobering reality is that no one trapped in this kingdom of darkness can free themselves.

Only the Stronger Man can rescue us

Only one stronger than Satan can break his grip and set captives free from this kingdom of darkness.

Imagine you're on an incredible little league baseball team. You crush all your opponents in your region, dominate at state, win nationals, and breeze through the world championships. But what would happen if you played the High School World Champions? They’d sweep the floor with you. This is the kind of edge Satan has over us. We are the little league team, outmatched, outmuscled, in bondage to sin, blinded to Jesus.

Now, take it one step further. What if those high school champions faced the Boston Red Sox? No contest. This is the of victory Jesus has over Satan. Though Satan is strong, Jesus is the Stronger Man!

Before Jesus declares this of Himself in verses 21–22, He dismantles the twisted logic that He’s working for and empowered by Satan. Essentially, He says that if Satan were casting out demons and restoring God’s image in people, his kingdom would collapse from within. And according to the same logic, even their own people who cast out demons would be guilty.

Jesus goes on to explain that He casts out demons by “the finger of God”, the very power of God Himself, the Holy Spirit. He is the Messiah, bringing the kingdom of God, just as Isaiah foretold and Jesus declared in Luke 4.

And so, having refuted their slander, in verses 21-22, Jesus shows how He is the Stronger Man who can rescue us.

Picture with me a powerful army storming a fully armed citadel, overcoming it, and freeing the captives. That’s what Jesus is doing as He casts out this demon. He is plundering Satan’s house and setting the captives free.

But there’s more. In verse 23, Jesus warns that neutrality is not an option. If you’re not with Him, you’re against Him.

Then comes a chilling warning in verses 24-26: if a person is healed but not filled, if Satan is cast out but Jesus isn’t invited in, then Satan will return with even greater destruction. Superficial deliverance is deadly. Why? Among other things, it can cause deeper spiritual hardening, or it will lead to greater judgment.

Jesus is saying that we don’t just need external reform, we need the absolute defeat of our enemy and tge absolute liberation from his power that only Jesus can bring.

You see, if Jesus had come just to defeat Rome and bring earthly peace, without breaking Satan’s grip, some other nation, worse than Rome, would have risen. It is no different for us. What we need, what they needed, was not just a reformer or miracle-worker. We need…

Jesus conquers Satan for us

Jesus is the Stronger Man, who brings His kingdom through His victory on the cross.

In ourselves, we are like the defeated little league team, thinking we are world champions while holding an 0-for-1 record against Satan. We are captives in his kingdom, locked in the cell of sin, dishonor, and shame, without hope and without God in the world.

But Jesus demonstrates that He is God Himself. In verse 14, He casts out a demon that had made a man unable to speak, restoring his speech and with it, the image of God in him. This wasn’t just a display of compassion; it was a declaration of His kingdom dominion. Jesus wields the “finger of God,” (v. 20) showing that He alone can bring true freedom to those imprisoned under Satan’s power.

Yet this miracle was not a one-off. Jesus’ entire life was a display of divine strength. As a child, He lived in perfect obedience. At His baptism, He was declared the beloved Son who pleases and has pleased the Father. In the wilderness, He showed He was the Stronger Man, not merely by refusing to turn stones into bread, but by living on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. He didn’t just resist temptation, He revealed that He listens to God’s Word and perfectly keeps it.

In every exorcism, Jesus drove out demons and cast them into waterless places, places of desolation, symbolizing judgment and separation from God, where all go who refuse to submit and be filled by Him. But the climax of His strength came in what many see as weakness, in His atoning death on the cross.

It was on the cross that Jesus crushed the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15), by being crushed Himself. He was not only the Lamb of God, sacrificed for our sin; He was also the scapegoat, exiled outside the camp to Golgotha, the place of abandonment and God-forsakenness. Just as the scapegoat in Leviticus 16 was driven into the wilderness, bearing the sins of Israel, Jesus was cast into the forsaken place, bearing our sin and judgment. He entered the waterless wilderness of wrath, crying out, “I thirst,” and, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” so that we could cry, “Abba! Father!”

He was abandoned so we could be adopted. He was cast out so we could be brought in, to dwell in the courts of the Lord, to lie down beside still waters, to feast on the fruit of His grace, to drink from His rivers of delight. Through Him, we are not only filled, we become those through whom rivers of living water now flow.

And because He bore our sin and guilt and took our exile, He didn’t just defeat Satan and liberate us, He inaugurated the kingdom of God. This kingdom is one in which not only us, but other captives are freed, the mute speak, and children of God are reborn.

Jesus is truly the Blessed One, the living Word of God, who not only delivers God’s Word perfectly as God, but hears it and keeps it perfectly as man, the true and Second Adam (v. 28). And this perfect hearing and keeping He applies to us, counting His perfection as our, and heaping upon us the honor of being called children of God.

In a shame-filled world, Satan’s lies convince us we are unworthy, unclean, and rejected. But Jesus, the Stronger Man, doesn’t just cleanse our sin, He lifts our heads, welcomes us to His table, and restores our dignity as sons and daughters.

Jesus, the Stronger Man, was bound to the cross so that we could be loosed from the chains of sin, guilt, dishonor, and shame. And more than that, He has not left us empty, He has given us His Spirit so that…

By the Spirit we can hear and obey joyfully

Because Jesus gave us His Spirit, we are no longer captives, but live as loyal and Spirit-filled citizens of His kingdom, honoring God with lives of joyful listening and obedience

We respond not as people who simply admire Jesus, but as those who are filled with Him, led by His Spirit, and transformed into obedient citizens of His kingdom.

If Jesus has cast out our demons, real or symbolic, freeing us from sin through His cross and regenerating us by the Spirit, and has now sent His Spirit to dwell within us, then we will not settle for mere deliverance. We will not live as if we’re still in charge. Instead, by the Spirit, we will be filled with Christ and live as His renewed disciples, hearing God’s Word (v. 28), keeping it, and walking in joyful obedience as citizens of His kingdom.

The grace of the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit enable us not only to see Jesus as the Stronger Man, but to experience His rescue firsthand. We’re no longer under Satan’s grip. We belong to Christ, who now lives in us and gives us both the desire to listen and the strength to obey.

Because Christ lives in us by His Spirit, our obedience flows from grace, not guilt. His presence empowers both our will and our walk. So when Jesus tells us to abide in Him, He’s not just giving a command, He’s describing how the Christian life actually works. We’re not just emptied of evil (declared not guilty); we are filled with Jesus, full of His Spirit, not just once, but daily.

As we abide in Him, the Spirit reminds us how deeply we need Jesus, every day, to strengthen us, conform us to His image, and move us not only to listen but to act. We live with head, heart, and hands surrendered.

But when we drift from this, the Spirit lovingly convicts us. We repent of believing Jesus can’t free us from certain sins. We repent of settling for a cleaned-up life without communion. We repent of building our own little kingdoms. We repent of fearing that His commands will rob us of joy.

By the Spirit, we believe Jesus is the Strongest Man, our liberator, redeemer, and king, who has conquered not just Satan and sin, but our hearts. He fills us with joy-filled obedience as His beloved children.

In other words, we are freed to live new lives by the Spirit, lives marked by joyful obedience.

So instead of shaping our morality by culture, movies, or music, we press into God’s Word, personally or with our family, seeking to know Him and obey Him. This doesn’t earn favor. It’s not performance. It’s communion with our Father, talking and listening, drawing close because we delight in Him.

And we don’t do it in our own strength. We begin with prayer:

“Father, forgive me. I’ve been living in my own kingdom. Pardon me through Christ. Fill me with Your Spirit. Give me the desire and wisdom to lead myself and my family into Your presence. Conform me to the image of Your Son. Amen.”

And in response, maybe after dinner one evening, you open your Bible together. Each person reads a few verses. You talk about what you see about God, what He says about us, and how He’s calling you to obey. Then you pray. Not long. Not complex. Just real.

Because by the Spirit, we’re no longer prisoners. Jesus, the Stronger Man, has broken our chains and taken up residence in us, to honor God with lives of joyful listening and obedience.

If you find yourself thinking that Jesus’ call to listen and obey feels like too much…if you feel stuck, needing more proof or more strength before you can really follow Him…if you admire Jesus but don’t see how you can actually live in obedience to Him…then hear this: you need the Strongest Man to conquer your heart and make His home in you.

Jesus doesn’t just free you. He fills you. When you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead, God comes to dwell in you by His Spirit. And when He lives in you, He empowers you to listen and to follow, not out of fear, but out of love.

If you are already in Christ, already freed by the Strongest Man, then open your heart afresh to Him. Let Him take full residence, not just once but daily. Seek Him in His Word and prayer. Ask Him to pour out His Spirit again and again. Ask Him to help you hear and keep His Word.

As we saw in last week’s sermon, God delights to answer this prayer. He gives the Spirit freely to those who ask. And when you walk in this kind of Spirit-filled obedience, you’ll find joy. Not the fleeting joy of sin, but the deep, steady joy of the Lord Jesus.

This is the life you were made for, living in the Spirit, listening to God, obeying Him in love, and living as His restored image-bearer in the kingdom of the Stronger Man, all to the glory of the Father.