JESUS’ HARD SAYINGS – FINGER OF GOD

Please read Luke 11:14-20 

What comes to your mind when you hear the words finger(s) and the Bible? Most might remember the handwriting on the wall in Daniel 5:5. In that verse - only the word finger(s) is used - but in other places in the Bible, the word finger is used in the phrase “finger of God”. In Exodus 8:16-19, the Pharaoh’s magicians cannot replicate the plague of gnats and they say, “This is the finger of God.” In both Exodus 31:18 and Deuteronomy 9:10, we learn that the Ten Commandments are written with “the finger of God.” In the scripture for today (Luke 11:20), Jesus says “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”  So what/who is this ‘ finger of God’?

In Acts 20:27, speaking to the elders from Ephesus, Paul stresses the importance of declaring the “whole counsel of God”. What Paul means is that he himself taught all of God’s revelation in the scriptures, leaving nothing out.   It is only by the reading and studying the entire Word of God that we receive His whole counsel. Also, God’s word itself makes clear many of the difficult words, phrases, or verses of the Bible.

So does the “whole counsel of God” teach us about the finger of God? It does - when we read Matthew 12:22-28 and compare it to the Luke text. We see that both texts show Jesus healing a demon-oppressed mute man. After hearing of the healing, the Pharisees accuse Jesus of working with Beelzebul, the prince of demons, to heal the man. In the Luke text, Jesus then says that he casts out demons by “the finger of God” (Luke 11:20).  When we come to the Matthew text, Jesus says, “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matthew 12:28). Jesus in these two texts is telling us that he is doing His work through God the Holy Spirit and not by satanic powers.  And of course, we learn that God the Holy Spirit is the finger of God.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus is pointing to God the Holy Spirit as he does his work. So let us follow God the Holy Spirit who teaches, prompts and guides us in our walk of faith. Also, let us earnestly seek the whole counsel of God to abide in Him.

Heavenly Father, help me to understand your word and your will through your Holy Spirit. Amen.