43"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44Then he says, "I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation."
This makes very clear sense to me. I can easily see how this happens. A very common example that comes to my mind, is a struggle many of us have faced: overeating. We have found many diets that have helped us successfully lose weight but as soon as the weight is lost, unless we also replace our old eating habits, the weight comes right back, plus some more. The weight seems even harder to lose the next time.
What are your demons you face? Do you ever pray for God to remove those demons for you? He can remove any demons. But what do you replace that empty space with once the demons are removed?
In Matthew 12:28, Jesus said, "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you." The kingdom of God is present. Jesus is cleaning house, binding Satan and casting out demons by the Spirit of God. Jesus is indiscriminately casting out demons for everyone, as it said in Matthew 12:15, "And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all." He healed them all, including the Pharisees who were also in the multitude, who were asking many questions, trying to produce accusations against Him.
Jesus knows the hearts of these Pharisees as His own accusations against them get stronger and stronger. In Matthew 12:7, He accuses them of not understanding the scripture they read when He says "But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless." In Matthew 12:34, He calls them a bunch of poisonous snakes and accuses them of being evil when He says "Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things?" In Matthew 12:39, he calls them an evil and adulterous generation when He answered them saying "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign". And now He calls them a wicked generation as He said in Matthew 12:45, "So shall it also be with this wicked generation." Still, He indiscriminately healed them all, casting out demons wherever He found them.
Where did this leave these Pharisees? I think Jesus cast demons from their presence too. Jesus cleansed their hearts too, put their hearts in order, but their hearts remained empty. In Matthew 12:31 Jesus said "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men." These Pharisees blasphemed the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would not be able to take residence in their hearts. This emptiness left their hearts open for the demons to return even stronger than before. So it shall be with this wicked generation.
Why did Jesus help these Pharisees? Why did He cast demons from their presence too? He knew that if they didn't repent their demons would get worse, and we know they didn't repent. Was He being vengeful and wanting their demons to get worse? But these Pharisees could have repented and accepted the Holy Spirit at any time. In Matthew 12:12, Jesus said "Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." It is lawful to do good on any day. It is always lawful to do good: at any time, for anybody. Jesus did good for them too, as they are men of more value than sheep, with the hopes that they would repent and open their hearts to the Holy Spirit too. He did not do it so their demons would get worse, but to give them a chance. He helped all regardless of the likelihood of their repentance.
Jesus gives us all a chance. He will clean out our hearts for us, and put everything in order. But we must allow the Holy Spirit in to fill that space or our demons will only get worse. Don't only pray for your demons to be taken away, but to also bring your heart to repentance, so the space can be taken up by the Holy Spirit.