– PARABLES OF JESUS –
The Parable of the Divided Kingdom
The crowd buzzed, “Could this be the Son of David?” The Lord had just healed a demon-possessed man brought to him. Hear this, the Pharisees quickly accused,
This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of demons. (Matthew 12:24)
The Pharisees intended to turn the people away from thinking Jesus could be the promised Messiah. In the process, they also took delight in insulting Him. The people of Ekron worshiped a god known as Baalzebub (2 Kings 1:2), the god of flies. The Jews renamed this false god, the dung god. This shows the utter contempt the Pharisees had for the Lord.
Most people, slanderously attacked in a public setting, would lash out at the perpetrators. Jesus didn’t speak out against the Pharisees, but used this as an occasion to teach. Since they could not deny the miracle, the Jewish leaders ascribed its origin to an evil source. Jesus took their accusation to its logical end, and thus demonstrated their error:
Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will hid kingdom stand? (Matthew 12:25-26)
The devil, not God, had sent the demon that plagued the man brought to Jesus. How foolish then to charge that the devil had given the power to heal the man. The devil is not in the business of defeating himself.
Their claim was contrary to logic. Also, if the claim were true, it would incriminate others who were casting out demons. Jesus asked,
...if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? (Matthew 12:27)
Some of the Jews claimed to exorcise demons (Acts 19:13-14) and from the Lord’s words here, some of the Pharisees claimed this for themselves. If Jesus used power from Satan to do such works, on what basis coudl they claim to use a different power? In trying to condemn Jesus before the people, they of necessity also condemned some of their own.
The fact is, the demons were not cast out by Satan’s power, but because the kingdom of God or the reign of God (YLT) had come near them. Finally, notice Jesus’ parable in the text:
...how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. (Matthew 12:29)
The “strong man” is Satan. The demon-possessed man represents his goods. The devil had long strutted on the earth as though it was his and he was in charge of its inhabitants. Recall the turmoil he brought Job? The gospels speak of countless people afflicted by demons. He is the “accuser” of God’s people (Revelation 12:10) and the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30). Though described in this way, the Lord tells us that Satan, “the ruler of this world is judged” (John 16:11). Jesus casting out the demon was evidence that He had power to defeat the devil, not power from the devil.
We are not mere observers of the battle between the Lord and Satan. We are either with the Lord or we are against Him (Matthew 12:30). If we are not with Jesus, we are with Satan. By their accusation, the Pharisees had shown themselves as allies of the devil. In fact, they had so committed themselves to the cause of the enemy that they committed the unforgivable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Not only did they speak against Jesus in attributing His word to the devil, but spoke against the Spirit, damning their souls in the process.
Friend, Jesus has defeated the enemy (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Let us partake in the victory—turn from the temptations of the devil and live for the Lord Jesus.
Links: YouVersion | GROW magazine
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