It’s one of Jesus’s lesser-known parables – a strange one, at that. It is found in Luke 11 and Matthew 12 – two different gospels written to two different audiences with two different messages. Yet both record this little story. Obviously, some truth lies within it.
The story is about an unclean spirit that had been cast out of a person. It went looking for a place to live but could find no place to rest. As a result, it returned to the house from which it had been cast out. The house is described as “empty, swept, and put in order,” Matthew 12:44; Luke 11:25. Finding the house empty, the spirit went out and found “seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first,” Matthew 12:45.
Let’s unpack this story and its message.
The house is a metaphor for a person. The casting out of the original unclean spirit reflects some kind of change in a person’s life. Some moral failing or evil had been overcome. The result is a life “empty, swept, and put in order.” The person had cleaned up his life – “swept” – conforming to some kind of moral or religious standard – “put in order.” In spite of the changes the individual had made in his life, the condition of his life is described as “empty.” Nothing filled the house. Something was missing.
Seeing the condition of the house – the person’s inner life – the unclean spirit enlisted seven other spirits, each “more evil than itself.” The lot of them took up residence in the person’s life. As a result, the person’s condition was worse than when just the original unclean spirit inhabited it.
How are we to understand this parable?
I believe the story reflects the danger inherent to religious life. It calls us beyond a focus on proper behavior so that we can recognize the condition of the interior realm – the realm of the heart.
A change of behavior is reflected in the casting out of the unclean spirit. As I said above, some moral failing or evil had been overcome. That initial change led to greater changes so that the house was eventually swept and put in order. The individual cleaned up his life, conforming to the expectations of some moral-religious-legal code. Certainly, all of us can identify with this process. Who has not tried to change their life by correcting some particular wrong behavior? Overcoming a destructive, immoral behavior or habit is an achievement to be celebrated. This focus on correcting wrong behavior – what is commonly called sin – is a central theme in religious life.
The story tells us that this change of behavior does not go far enough. Though swept and put in order, the house remained empty. The condition of the person’s interior life was not addressed. As a result, “seven other spirits more evil than” the original wrong behavior filled the interior life of the individual. The context gives us a clue for understanding the nature of these seven other spirits.
In Matthew 12, Jesus was being attacked by the Pharisees for healing on the sabbath, violating the scribal interpretation of the sabbath laws (Matthew 12:9-14). Their anger led them to plot to kill him (Matthew 12:14). Resenting his popularity with the crowds, they sought to discredit him by accusing him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons (Matthew 12:24).
The Pharisees were examples of a house swept clean and put in order. They patterned their lives after the scribal interpretations of the law. They focused upon right behavior. As a result, they ignored and/or were blind to the interior realm of the heart. Their focus on obeying the scribal interpretations of the sabbath laws led them to attack Jesus for healing on the sabbath. They lacked compassion for people who were hurting and in need. Their houses were swept and put in order, but they were empty.
The seven other, more evil spirits are a metaphor for attitudes that reside in the heart (as opposed to wrong behavior). Such attitudes include a critical, judgmental spirit as seen in the Pharisees’ criticalness of Jesus. The judgmental spirit arises out of an arrogant spirit that looks down on those whose behavior they condemn. A critical, judgmental spirit is hardhearted, devoid of compassion. It is a demanding, unforgiving, merciless spirit. Such attitudes are commonly found among those who, focusing only on right behavior, have cleaned up their act through self-effort and self-reliance. Too often they are the attitudes of religious people. They were the attitudes that filled the hearts of the Pharisees according to the gospels.
The focus on right behavior blinds a person to these internal realities. Lacking self-awareness, the person becomes self-deceived. S/he becomes spiritually blind. As long as a person deals with wrong behavior, s/he at least knows something is wrong that needs to be addressed. Having “cleaned up his act,” he is now completely unaware that anything is wrong. Unless there is an awareness of a need to change, the possibility of change is unlikely. No wonder Jesus said their last condition was worse than their first.
One of the dangers of religious life that focuses on right behavior and right belief is a house swept and put in order, but empty. It misses the essence of the spiritual life – the cleansing of heart and mind that produces a life filled with grace, sensitivity, understanding, compassion, forgiveness, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, humility, and glad welcome.
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