Make the House Clean
“When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.” Luke 11:24-26
Much of what Jesus says in his final trek from northern Palestine to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-19:41) relates particularly to the nation of Israel. We tend not to recognise this because as Westerners, we naturally think individually and not in terms of community or nation.
Many passages from this long section are open to both an individual and a national interpretation. The above passage is almost always interpreted individually, but let’s think about it nationally for a moment.
This is part of Jesus’ final trek down to Jerusalem where He will be ultimately rejected and put to death by His own people. He has sought to exorcise the nation but Israel only wants a small part of what He offers. It wants healings but not repentance. It is more caught up in being free from Rome than being under its true God. The demon leaves but because the nation won’t change its ways, it returns with seven more. The final state is far worse than how it was at the beginning.
Can this be applied to the church? All too often we see or hear of failures amongst high profile Christians. Failures amongst not-so-high profile Christians must outnumber the first enormously.
The house might have been swept clean but if not filled by Jesus, the end state is moral disaster.
Do churches press home the need to diligently read and apply the Scripture, to be in accountable relationships and to be prayerful? Is the necessity of repentance explained? These are healthy disciplines that fill the house.
Getting rid of the demons is only half the job; filling the house so they don’t come back is the other half.
What are we doing to make the house clean?
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