and if also Satan is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom subsist? because ye say that I cast out demons by Beelzebub.
The crowd muttered that Jesus drove out demons by the ruler of the demons, but no one said it to His face. His reply is simple: a kingdom at war with itself falls, so Satan driving out Satan would be destroying himself.
He did not let the charge pass. Some objections can be ignored; this one could not.
He openly refuted their suggestion, which it seems they had not the courage to make in front of Him... There are occasions when one may leave objections unnoticed... But there are times when one must boldly meet the enemy and plainly refute his suggestions or accusations. So the Lord now showed the folly of these people. There is no folly people will not stoop to in opposing the work of God!... For experience teaches how easily a crowd follows words that sound impressive but say nothing, that is to say, foolish statements which do not stand up to examination.
"Beelzebub" was their title for the head of the demons, and its origins are debated.
The meaning of this word is much disputed. Some connect it with BAAL-ZEBUB, "lord of the fly," in the Old Testament. Others believe it is a term of contempt, meaning "lord of dung." The Jews, who blasphemously charged the Lord with casting out demons by Beelzebul (the correct spelling), call him "the prince of the demons." They meant that the head of those demons gave the Lord the power to cast them out. The Lord shows the folly of supposing that the same evil one who was seeking to build up a kingdom should at the same time be the means of pulling it down. He also denounces the dreadful blasphemy of saying that the work done by the Holy Spirit was done by the influence of Satan. This blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was the sin that should never be forgiven.
The Lord's question exposes what the accusation would require of Satan.
The Lord discerned the working of their minds and showed them their inconsistency. Satan claimed that the Lord is using his own (Satan's) power to cast out demons, but if this were the case Satan's kingdom would be divided against itself. It could not possibly stand: it would ruin itself immediately. Satan is certainly not going to use his power deliberately against himself.
Notice what the words take for granted. To speak of a kingdom is to speak of a ruler and of subjects under him.
The passage is full of meaning apart from the argument it contains. He who knows all things in perfect knowledge tells us that Satan is a person and a king, for he has a kingdom over which he rules. The demons are in his kingdom, one with the head in thought and purpose. (The translation "devils" is not correct. There is one devil, but the fallen angels are demons.) How little we know of his awful power, of his kingdom and the agencies at his command to destroy body and soul! We need not know it all. It is enough to know that he is a defeated enemy. The victor has plundered his kingdom. He has annulled the one who had the power of death, that is, the Devil.
He quotes their own sentence back to them, and it collapses under its own weight.
Man is put to the proof here again. He had already been tested by power. The man who could credit Satan with the very thing that cast out Satan condemned himself. It would make Satan more foolish than the most foolish man. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand — that rule holds everywhere. Can it be thought that Satan deliberately destroys his own kingdom and himself? Is he really suicidal?
The argument does not stop here. Someone stronger than the strong man must have entered his house.
The very style in which He conducts the argument has a beauty and an order. He begins with the gentler argument and then goes on to the stronger... Then He gives the parable of the strong man to show that it was by the finger of God He cast them out. The strong man only gets his house robbed by someone stronger than himself. God alone is stronger than Satan... Satan is not afraid of us, but he has more than his match in the Son of God. He is bold as a lion when he comes to you and me, but he trembles in the presence of Christ.
- Accusation — They muttered the charge behind His back. He answered it openly, because some attacks on God's work cannot be left alone.
- Absurdity — Their theory asks us to believe that Satan demolishes his own kingdom. No ruler works for his own ruin, so the explanation destroys itself before it can destroy Christ.
- Kingdom — Satan is a real person and a real king. The demons are one with him in purpose: one devil, many demons.
- Verdict — Their own words judge them. To credit Satan with the power that broke Satan is to condemn yourself, and to call the Spirit's work Satan's work is the sin that is never forgiven.
- Stronger — Only someone stronger can plunder the strong man's house. Satan is a beaten enemy: bold with us, but trembling before Christ.
But if *I* by Beelzebub cast out demons, your sons -- by whom do they cast [them] out? For this reason *they* shall be your judges.
Jesus has just freed a man who could not speak. Instead of joy, His critics say the power came from the prince of demons. His answer points to their own people, who claimed to do the very same thing.
The name in the charge was an insult, and its meaning is disputed:
The meaning of this word is much disputed. Some connect it with Baal-zebub, "lord of the fly," in the Old Testament, but others believe it to be a term of contempt meaning "lord of dung." The Jews blasphemously charged the Lord with casting out demons by Beelzebul (that is how it should be spelled). They call him "the prince of the demons." So they meant that the head of those demons enabled the Lord to cast them out. The Lord shows the folly of this idea. Why would the same evil one who was building up a kingdom also be the means of pulling it down?
The question is about consistency. Their own people cast out demons too:
Then again, what a question to put to them: "And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out?" It would be strange indeed to say that one case came from the devil and another case came from something else! What the Lord did was by the Spirit of God.
Another writer turns it into a simple demand: name the test you used.
Besides, their sons claimed to cast out demons — and they admitted it themselves. Was it an opposite power that worked in the same way? Or how did they distinguish? These, then, would be their judges.
Commentators differ on who these sons were. Some say God had at times given Jews real power to cast out demons:
God had before this occasionally given power to Jews to cast out demons. Faith is always honoured by God. Even on the darkest day the Lord kept the holy fire burning, so that His light should not go out completely from the earth… No unbelief on their part ever irritated the Lord. Far from it — He could calmly acknowledge what had been of God among them, though this in no way stopped them from denying God Himself present among men.
Others take them to be exorcists among the Pharisees:
Among the Jews there were, and still are, men who profess to be exorcists, claiming power to cast out demons… The Lord certainly did not mean His own disciples. He had given them the power to cast out demons in His name. He meant the school of Pharisees, who practised, or claimed to practise, exorcism. The question He put to them demanded an answer they did not care to give, for it would have been their own condemnation.
The verdict comes from inside their own camp:
In His reply, Jesus first showed that their accusation made no sense at all. It meant the absurdity of Satan acting against himself. Then He showed that, if their accusation were true, it would fall back on the heads of their sons, if not on their own.
The leaders who made this charge were either blind or malicious. Both options condemn them:
If they were really quite unable to distinguish between the hand of God and the hand of Satan, they were utterly unfit to be teachers of God's people. Or else they saw God's power and deliberately called it the work of hell, just because it did not come through official channels. The wickedness of that is almost too awful to think about. No evil is worse than religious evil.
- Charge. They traced His power to "the prince of the demons." But why would Satan tear down the kingdom he was building?
- Absurdity. One deed cannot have two verdicts — the devil's work in Jesus, but something else in their own sons.
- Witness. God had honoured faith among them before. The Lord calmly grants it, even while they were denying Him to His face.
- Verdict. The judgment comes from inside their own camp. Their charge falls back on their sons, and so on themselves.
- Warning. They rejected the power because it did not come through approved channels. Calling God's work satanic is the worst evil of all.