25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.” (Matthew 12:25–27 (ESV)
Demon possession was common in Jesus’ day (Matt. 4:24). Today’s text continues the third recorded incident in Matthew’s Gospel of Jesus healing a demon possessed individual (12:22-24; See Matt. 8:28-34; 9:32-34). However, the Pharisees responded by saying, ““It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons that this man casts out demons.” This was their typical response to Jesus’ miracles (Matt. 9:34).
What was Jesus’ response to the Pharisees? The text infers that Jesus may not have actually heard the Pharisees’ comment. However, He knew what they were thinking. This was an occurrence of Jesus displaying His deity by His omniscience (Matt. 9:1-4; John 2:24-25).
Jesus responded with three cause and effect statements to these religious leaders. Each statement builds upon the previous one. Jesus clearly displayed biblical understanding and logic of the truth.
First, Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.” It was absurd for the Pharisees to accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the Devil since it is irrational for Satan to cast out his own minions and tear down his own kingdom. Such was the blind hatred the religious leaders had toward the Lord.
Building upon His previous statement, Jesus continued by saying, “And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? The obvious answer is that Satan’s kingdom cannot stand if he is attacking it.
Finally, Jesus said, “And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ”If Jesus casts out demons by the Devil’s power, then the followers of the Pharisees who did the same must also be acting under the Devil’s influence. This deduction the Pharisees could not support (v. 27).
“These teachers inconsistently accuse Jesus of being in Satan’s thrall while seeing God at work among their own students. Stubbornly and persistently, the Pharisees are attributing the work of the Holy Spirit in Christ’s ministry to the Devil,” concludes Dr. R. C. Sproul.
“A soul under Satan’s power, and led captive by him, is blind in the things of God, and dumb at the throne of grace; sees nothing, and says nothing to the purpose. Satan blinds the eyes by unbelief, and seals up the lips from prayer. The more people magnified Christ, the more desirous the Pharisees were to vilify him. It was evident that if Satan aided Jesus in casting out devils, the kingdom of hell was divided against itself; how then could it stand! And if they said that Jesus cast out devils by the prince of the devils, they could not prove that their children cast them out by any other power. There are two great interests in the world; and when unclean spirits are cast out by the Holy Spirit, in the conversion of sinners to a life of faith and obedience, the kingdom of God is come unto us. All who do not aid or rejoice in such a change are against Christ,” explains Puritan commentator Matthew Henry.
Are you a converted sinner by grace alone, through faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone (Eph. 2:1-10)? What spiritual fruit gives testimony that you are a member of God’s kingdom (Gal. 5:16-23; James 2:14-26; 2 Peter 1:3-11)?
Soli deo Gloria!
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