Luke 11:14-26

1. The Beelzebul controversy 11:14-26 (cf. Matthew 12:22-37; Mark 3:19-30)

The placement of these events in Luke’s Gospel again raises the question of whether Luke recorded the same incident as Matthew and Mark or whether this was a similar but different one. I, along with many other students of the passages, believe it was probably a different occasion in view of the differences in the accounts.

The connecting idea with what precedes is the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). Luke had stressed the Spirit’s influence in Jesus’ life and ministry, but the religious leaders rejected that possibility concluding rather that Satan controlled Jesus.

"To understand the significance of Jesus’ miraculous work, especially his exorcisms, one must understand Luke 11:14-23." [Note: Bock, Luke, p. 317.]