Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Luke 11:19

"And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges." — Luke 11:19 (ASV)

Jesus “knew their thoughts” (cf. 5:22; 7:39–47) and responded. The head of any army would hardly work with the enemy against his own troops. Moreover, if demons are exorcised by the power of their own leader, how do the Jews explain the power their own exorcists (cf. Acts 19:13–14) are supposed to have? Jesus’ illustration shows the drastic antithesis between the powers of evil, darkness, and Satan on the one hand and the power of God, the Holy Spirit, and the kingdom of light (cf. Colossians 1:12–13) on the other hand. When the magicians in Egypt were unable to duplicate all the miracles Moses did before the Exodus, they said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19). So here Jesus is affirming that the source of his power is “the finger of God” (v.20), i.e., God himself. If this is true, then Jesus’ driving out demons is a messianic sign and the kingdom of God has arrived.