Divided Kingdom
Matt 12:24-30
But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons." And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”
Mark 3:22-27
The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons." And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished! But no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.”
Luke 11:14-23
And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons." Others, to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. But He knew their thoughts and said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed. But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.”
The Pharisees, faced with the undeniable facts of the miracles performed by Jesus, must come up with some way to explain the power of Jesus. Unable to accept the fact that He is God, they must turn to the position that Jesus is “possessed by Beelzebul”, that is, Satan. They then devised a plan to denounce Jesus in front of the people. It had to be in front of the people as the people were beginning to come more and more to the realization that Jesus just might, in fact, be the Messiah spoken of in the Old Testament.
Jesus, however, “knew their thoughts” and took them to task. Jesus then asks them how can Satan cast out Satan? If Satan is casting out the very demons that he is the ruler over, how long will his kingdom last? Jesus also asks the Pharisees, as recorded in both in Matthew and Luke, how their own disciples can manage to cast out demons? Is their power also given by Satan?
Jesus then makes the “dividing line” statement: “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” What He is saying here is that if His power is derived from God, then He is, in fact, the Messiah prophesied of in the Old Testament. Either a person believes that, and stands at the right hand of Jesus, or a person does not believe it, and stands at the left hand of Jesus. There is no in-between. You cannot straddle the line. You cannot say there is a “gray area”. Since His miracles are not in dispute, you must either believe that Jesus is of Satan or Jesus is of God.
Jesus further explains that no one can plunder a strong mans house unless that man in bound beforehand. Satan is that “strong man”, and his house is earth. Jesus has come to earth, He has bound Satan, and He is now plundering Satan’s valuables (ie: casting demons out of people).
Jesus then further defines the “dividing line” by saying “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.” If you are not with Jesus, you are against Him. If you are not helping Him gather together souls, then you are scattering souls away. There is no neutral ground in this spiritual battle.
If you are not a believer in Jesus, and active in His service, then you are against Him.
When we stand before Christ, He will ask us if we were a faithful servant or a rebel. There is no other choice.
But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons." And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”
Mark 3:22-27
The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons." And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished! But no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.”
Luke 11:14-23
And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons." Others, to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. But He knew their thoughts and said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed. But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.”
The Pharisees, faced with the undeniable facts of the miracles performed by Jesus, must come up with some way to explain the power of Jesus. Unable to accept the fact that He is God, they must turn to the position that Jesus is “possessed by Beelzebul”, that is, Satan. They then devised a plan to denounce Jesus in front of the people. It had to be in front of the people as the people were beginning to come more and more to the realization that Jesus just might, in fact, be the Messiah spoken of in the Old Testament.
Jesus, however, “knew their thoughts” and took them to task. Jesus then asks them how can Satan cast out Satan? If Satan is casting out the very demons that he is the ruler over, how long will his kingdom last? Jesus also asks the Pharisees, as recorded in both in Matthew and Luke, how their own disciples can manage to cast out demons? Is their power also given by Satan?
Jesus then makes the “dividing line” statement: “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” What He is saying here is that if His power is derived from God, then He is, in fact, the Messiah prophesied of in the Old Testament. Either a person believes that, and stands at the right hand of Jesus, or a person does not believe it, and stands at the left hand of Jesus. There is no in-between. You cannot straddle the line. You cannot say there is a “gray area”. Since His miracles are not in dispute, you must either believe that Jesus is of Satan or Jesus is of God.
Jesus further explains that no one can plunder a strong mans house unless that man in bound beforehand. Satan is that “strong man”, and his house is earth. Jesus has come to earth, He has bound Satan, and He is now plundering Satan’s valuables (ie: casting demons out of people).
Jesus then further defines the “dividing line” by saying “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.” If you are not with Jesus, you are against Him. If you are not helping Him gather together souls, then you are scattering souls away. There is no neutral ground in this spiritual battle.
If you are not a believer in Jesus, and active in His service, then you are against Him.
When we stand before Christ, He will ask us if we were a faithful servant or a rebel. There is no other choice.
posted by MarkD at 12:19 PM
1 Comments:
Mark. I think that you might find my site (jofj.org) interesting. I tell the story of the Journey of Jesus from a chronological and geographical perspective. DAB
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