43-45.

When an evil spirit. This is a parable, and its meaning is based on the last sentence: "This is the way it will happen to the evil people of this day." This is the climax of the passage which goes back to Matthew 12:22. Many (but not all) of the Jews rejected Christ and said evil things about him. It was this group who crucified Jesus. It was this group who began persecuting the church of Christ. And it was this group who ravaged and destroyed themselves in the destruction of Jerusalem (70 A.D.) when 1,1000,000 of them died. John the Baptist called them to repent (the evil spirit going out); but when they were pure (empty, clean, and all fixed up) they did not fill themselves with Christ. Therefore, when the evil spirit (sin) returned, he brought seven others worse than himself which implies they became seven times as evil as they had been! (See Matthew 23:29-36.) To us TODAY: if we do not fill our purified lives with good, we lay ourselves open to the powers of the Devil. (See Hebrews 6:4-6).

Continues after advertising
Continues after advertising

Old Testament