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THE PARABLE OF THE DIVIDED KINGDOM
( Matthew 12:22-29 ; Mark 3:22-27; Luke11:14-23)22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute1, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebub2, the prince of demons that this fellow drives out demons.” 25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. 30 He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” A FALSE ACCUSATION Mark says that the religious leaders in Jerusalem sent a deputation of “the teachers of the law” to investigate Jesus. When the crowd saw Jesus heal a demon-possessed man, who was both deaf and blind, they were so impressed they considered that Jesus could be the promised Messiah, the “Son of David”. However, the Pharisees, who were the religious establishment of Israel, were annoyed at this suggestion and perversely credited the unmistakable healing power of Jesus not to God, but to Satan! While they acknowledged his supernatural power, they suggested that Jesus was possessed by no ordinary demon but by the ruler of the demons. The bitter accusation of the Pharisees was the opposite of the truth. Their self-interest, hatred and envy of Jesus blinded them to the work of God. What they said of Jesus was true of them rather than true of Jesus. Their spiritual blindness was characterized by stubborn unbelief and prejudice so that they could not correctly evaluate the evidence of healing. It is surprising and intriguing that the bitterest opposition to Jesus came from the religious leaders whose authority he challenged. The sin of the Pharisees was pride. They were proud of their righteousness, their social position in Israel, and their theological understanding. To be merely religious is to have a false spirituality. THREE UNANSWERABLE ARGUMENTS Jesus confronted the malicious slander of the Pharisees with three unanswerable arguments. First, he showed the absurdity of their argument. Division leads to destruction. If Satan gave Jesus power to cast out demons then Satan was destroying his own kingdom. It would be like a city fighting against another city until the entire nation was in anarchy. Note the gradation of “kingdom, city and household”. The smaller the society, the more damaging is the division. It was nonsense to suggest that Satan was “divided against himself” in a civil war and was destroying himself. Jesus’ works clearly opposed Satan’s works. Christ’s healing work could not be achieved by working with the evil that caused the sickness. That would be a contradiction. Secondly, Jesus pointed out their double standard. He was not the only person who cast out demons. If power over demons came from Satan then the Pharisees’ followers (“your people”) were also demonic: “They will be your judges.” If their works were valid, then those of Jesus’ were! Their own followers would judge them to be inconsistent. Thirdly, Jesus compared Satan to an armed man defending a house. “A strong man fully armed” (Luke 11:21) can protect his home and property only until a stronger man overwhelms him. Jesus explained that “the kingdom of God has come” since he, the “someone stronger”, (Luke 11:22) had bound Satan, “the strong man”, and he was able to enter his “house”, or the world of sin, sickness, death, and demons, and release his “possessions”, or those people held captive by Satan. As the Spirit-filled Messiah predicted by Isaiah (11:2; 42:1; 61:1), his supernatural power over demons came from the Holy Spirit (verse 28). Jesus embodied the kingdom of God and his miracles were a sign of its presence. He came to conquer Satan not to co-operate with him. JESUS CAME TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF SATAN The works of Jesus were the works of God: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s works” (1 John 3:8). Christ is stronger than all evil and will defeat it. He brings “freedom for the prisoners” (Luke 4:18). Each occasion when Jesus performed a miracle of healing or deliverance from demons, one of Satan’s evil works was undone. Jesus defeated Satan in the desert of temptation (Matthew 4:11) and his conflict with Satan came to a climax at the cross. By his death, his resurrection and ascension to heaven, Jesus conquered and “disarmed the powers and authorities” of Satan, “triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:15; cf. Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus said Satan was “driven out” (John 12:31) and “now stands condemned” (John 16:11). Satan’s “house” may now be entered and his “possessions”, or captives, set free as they believe in Jesus the redeemer. Satan’s final defeat lies in the future (Revelation 20:2, 10). SATAN AND THE BELIEVER Satan is a Hebrew word that means “adversary”. Devil is a Greek word that means “slanderer”. The teaching and actions of Jesus accepted the conflict between God and Satan and his evil (Greek “unclean”) spirits on numerous occasions (e.g. Mark 1:23-27, 32-34, 39; 3:10-12, 14-15; 5:1-20; 6:7, 13; 7:24-30; 9:14-29; 16:17). Evil is not just impersonal, it is led by a being Satan or the devil. Jesus spoke of the devil several times (e.g. Luke 4:1-13; 10:18; 13:16; 22:31-32; John 8:44). For people who accept Western secular values such a world view seems to be unscientific and primitive. Any modern explanation for demon-possession would include non-supernatural psychological and physical causes. While social, political and economic reforms contribute to a better world, the Bible recognizes that mankind faces a basic spiritual problem of evil embodied in a supernatural person who controls this present age and a world in rebellion against God (2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 John 5:19). The NT teaches that evil is a “kingdom” with coherence and organization under the control of the Evil One (Matthew 6:13) who exercises his power within the limits set by God (Job 1:12; 1 Corinthians 10:13). Demons are evil spiritual beings with personality and intelligence, under Satan’s authority. Originally they were angels who rebelled against God (Revelation 12:7-9). They often live in the bodies of unbelievers and enslave them in evil (Matthew 12:22; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 4:35; Acts 16:16). However, not all sickness and disease is the result of evil spirits (Matthew 4:24; Luke 5:12-13). Conversion to Christ may require the casting out of demons from a person who is in the process of conversion to salvation. Demons have limited power and are under God’s control. Christ has absolute power over demons. He shared with his disciples his victory over evil powers: “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name” (Luke 10:17 cf. 9:1). Today believers exercise Christ’s power over evil spirits as his representatives and fight a continual war against these spiritual beings: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12-13). There can be varying degrees of demonic attack or influence on people, including Christians (Ephesians 4:26-27; 2 Corinthians 12:7; James 4:8; 1 Peter 5:8). Demons may influence the emotions and minds of Christians who fail to live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25; Matthew 16:23; 2 Corinthians 11:3, 14-15). In all cases the remedy is the same: rebuke the demon in the name of Jesus and command it to leave. NEUTRALITY IS IMPOSSIBLE Verse 30, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters” is a principle based on a metaphor for harvesting or herding flocks. This saying, like Mark 9:40, “For whoever is not against us [Jesus and his disciples] is for us”, means “A person is either on one side or the other.” There is no middle ground in the conflict between good and evil, light and darkness, God and Satan. Either the “prince of this world” (John 14:30) who is also called the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4) is in charge, or he is excluded by the King who is stronger (Revelation 11:15). Those who are not for Christ are against him. If people do not follow Christ, then whatever they may think themselves, they are in effect on the enemy’s side. “Gathering” is the work of God, while “scattering” is the work of Satan. We either gather people for Christ or we scatter people from him. The conflict with Satan requires wholehearted dedication to the cause of Christ. The repeated words “with me” speak of loyalty to Christ. We are invited to make a clear decision. To remain undecided about Jesus Christ is to make a bad decision. If we are on the side of the devil, we may expect to go to hell; if we are on the side of Christ, we may expect to go to heaven. There is no fence to sit on. THE UNFORGIVABLE SIN (verses31-32) It is disturbing to find the Saviour of mankind speaking of a sin without forgiveness. This saying wrongly understood has caused much suffering to vulnerable people. The word “blaspheme” does not mean bad language but a defiant opposition to the work of God. It should be seen in the context of Christ’s healing power where, by identifying the Holy Spirit’s power as demonic, the Pharisees deliberately labelled good as evil. Jesus sternly condemned and solemnly warned them about the consequences of their false accusation. He said their sin of attributing the work of the Holy Spirit (in Luke “the finger of God”) to Satan was a blasphemy of the worst kind and unforgivable. It was a deliberate blindness and misrepresentation by Israel’s religious leaders. Since the Holy Spirit reveals the Son as Saviour and Lord, those who persistently resist the Spirit close themselves from any understanding of truth and put themselves beyond forgiveness. This is not an isolated act but a habitual attitude and a gradual decline into sin. It is a rejection of known truth. It is a deliberate preference for darkness to light where repentance, and therefore forgiveness, is impossible. It is the “sin that leads to [eternal] death” (1 John 5:16). It is a deliberate rejection of Christ and the salvation he offers. The means of communication by which forgiveness is received is cut off. It would be like a person cutting off his phone line and complaining that he gets no phone calls. Therefore a fear of committing the unforgivable sin shows a heart free from it. FOR REFLECTION
PRAYER Lord, help us to discern between good and evil. Help us to deliver those who are held prisoner by Satan’s power so that they may receive forgiveness and wholeness through faith in Christ. Amen. Jim Peacock MA (Hons), Diploma of Education. 1 Greek “To be possessed, afflicted, vexed, by a demon or evil spirit” (Green). Cf. “A man who was blind and could not talk because he had a demon” (TEV); or “A demon-oppressed man” (ESV). 2 This name has an uncertain meaning and spelling. The Phoenician god Baal was worshiped at Ekron in OT times (2 Kings 1:2-16) under “ Beelzebub” which means “lord of the flies”. This god was thought of as a protector from troublesome flies. In Jesus’ day this god was scornfully called Beel-zebul “lord of dung” or “of filth”, i.e. of idolatry, and identified by the Pharisees with Satan, the ruler of the demons. The Greek “Beel [=Baal] zebul” possibly means “lord of the dwelling” or “lord of the high place”. |
