Being the finger of God!

Reflecting on Luke 11:14-23

“If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Luke 11:20)

Jesus is releasing those who are caught in the grip of dark powers.
I cannot explain what ‘demons’ are, but I know what they do.
They are negative spirits, spirits that hinder and harm people.
This man was not just physically mute, there was a dark spirit at work.
Extreme abuse or trauma can make a victim mute, unable or unwilling to speak.
It can also drive a person crazy, or make them violent, or physically sick.
Today we might call it some form of mental illness.
It may just be physical, but often it is tied to something traumatic.

Jesus sees the victims of horrific abuse and brings them healing and hope.
How exactly He does this I cannot say, other than ‘the finger of God’.
This is an interesting phrase, going back to Moses and Pharoah.
Moses had sent the plague of gnats (flies), to free captive Israel.
The Pharoah’s magicians were mimicking Moses’s plagues… until then.

“But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. Since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere, the magicians said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God.’ But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said.” (Exodus 8:18–19)

They had to admit the powerlessness of their gods against the God of Moses.
In this contest, their gods could not compete with Moses’s God.
They were not working for the same God; they were working against each other.
This also ties in to the name Beel-Zebul (from Baal-Zebub, ‘lord of the flies’).
This was the god of Ekron (2 Kings 1:1-4), an enemy god against Israel.
The religious leaders accuse Jesus of working against God’s kingdom.

In response Jesus points to what He is doing: driving demons out.
The lord of the flies sends them out to oppress and harm.
But the kingdom of God is about driving out the flies, releasing the captives.
Jesus, like Moses, is setting the captives free.
He is working FOR God, not against God; for God’s people, not against them.

The kingdom of God is evident wherever the oppressed are set free.
Wherever evil is opposed, and the slaves of evil helped, healed and restored.
Evil is overcome by goodness, not by more evil (cruelty, abuse, hate, etc.).
Jesus does not use His power to hurt or hinder people, but to help them.
When we see Jesus-followers doing this, they are advancing the kingdom of God.
As Jesus followers, we are the hands (fingers) of God bringing hope and healing.

Not everyone who claims to work for God and Jesus really is.
Some might say “Lord, Lord”, but are not doing God’s will (Matthew 7:21-23).
Their works are not ending evil, but sending evil.
They are increasing the abuse and trauma, not releasing people from them.
They may claim to be sheep, but they are ferocious wolves (Matthew 7:15).
The way we recognize them is by their fruit (Matthew 7:16ff).
Are people helped, healed, restored and liberated by what they do?

Jesus came to announce and demonstrate God’s favour (grace).

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news o the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)

When we see these things happening, the kingdom of God is being seen.
This is the fruit of the Spirit, the evidence of God at work.
Christians who oppress, silence, imprison, condemn are following a different spirit.
Christians who support governments that do this are following a different spirit.
Like the Pharisees, and Pharoah, their hearts are hardened to God’s grace.
They do not want to see captives released; they want to keep power and control.
They may be saying ‘Lord, Lord’, but they’re supporting the lord of the flies.

I am encouraged and inspired when I see the finger of God helping the oppressed.
When I see servants of Jesus supporting His helping, healing ministry.
There are many charities (from charis, grace) at work, advancing the kingdom.
I want to join with Jesus in this grace/charity kingdom work.
And I am trusting that God and Jesus will set people free through this work.
Though the empires (and emporers) of evil continue to bind and blind and burden…
The kingdom of God and goodness is upon us.
Evil IS being overcome by goodness (Romans 12:21).
Love (grace, compassion, kindness, charity) IS triumphing over evil.
Servants of goodness and love will see the fruit of their labour.
Captives will be set free, and Pharoahs (and Pharisees) will be silenced.

I am the finger of God, if I am working with Jesus for this kingdom of love!

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, may God's kingdom come and God's will be done in and through me, so that those burdened and oppressed by evil will be helped, healed and set free. use my fingers, my hands, all of me, to bring God's kingdom to those around me.