Luke 11:16-17 "Others, to test him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven."

"Others, to test him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven. But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, 'Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house" (Luke 11:16-17).

Question:

I couldn't ever understand this scripture, maybe because I'm really poor in faith.

Comment:

First of all, being confused about a passage from scripture isn't a sign of being “poor in faith.” If you were truly poor in faith, you wouldn't be seeking to understand in the first place. Faith is not about having all the answers; it's about being willing to ask the questions.   At this point in his ministry, Jesus is attracting great attention through his healings, and those seeking to discredit him are trying to find some way to dismiss this obvious power. They insisted that the power he was demonstrating must come from Satan. Jesus responds by reaffirming one of his key teachings: duality won't work. In Matthew he says that a house divided against itself will not stand. Here he uses the image of a kingdom to make the same point: a kingdom, or house, or person that is conflicted—that believes one thing and acts according to a different belief—must inevitably fall. The illnesses he is healing come from Satan—that is, they are a product of negative beliefs and spiritual ignorance. The same force that is causing the illness cannot be the force that is healing it. That kind of dualistic behavior would soon collapse in on itself. So the healing must have a different source. Challenges caused by ignorance are healed by faith—by knowing the Truth of God, and the Truth of our own oneness with that infinite Power.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed