45 Then it goes and takes with it 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. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
Have you ever noticed that when someone actively rejects Jesus that they often react very negatively? Their choices become increasingly rebellious and damaging. They might not be demon possessed, as in our text, but active rejection of Jesus has consequences. Once they have faced with the Truth their lives become a quest to prove that their rejection was the correct choice. They often become ardent opponents of the Gospel. They perfect their own arguments against the Truth. They seek any other explanation for reality other than that contained in the Truth. Our text today is talking about the generation that rejected Jesus. Having been cleansed by Jesus, they don’t fill the void with Truth. And when that void is discovered, the result is an infilling of even greater deception and wickedness. This is not only true of a demon possessed person. It is also true of any group of people. That is the application that Jesus makes to His own words in the last line of this verse. He says that you can’t have a void of control in your life. You can’t just reject and not accept something. Every rejection is by nature an acceptance. So if we reject Jesus, then we are accepting some substitute for the Truth. And any substitute truth brings with it other lies that are part of the package. When we reject the Truth we must by necessity live a life guarding against the Truth. We learn to negotiate life so as to avoid intersections where Truth is present. We avoid facts and data that don’t support our lie, and especially those that support the Truth. And since the Truth touches every area of life, we develop a maze that we can negotiate without exposing ourselves to the Truth. And we usually become active attackers of the Truth. So next time you run across someone who is very active against the Gospel, chances are they came face to face with the Truth and rejected it. That might be a good place to start the conversation.
The Arnold Journey 