And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebub, and, By the prince of the demons he casts out demons.
Teachers of the law came down from Jerusalem with their verdict on Jesus. They could not deny the power at work in Him, so they traced it to hell.
Mark is careful to say where these men came from. Their standing was the point of the attack.
If the enemy could not stop the Lord through His friends, he would do his utmost to have Him condemned in the eyes of the people. For this purpose he chose his tools from the teaching class — the scribes, and scribes from Jerusalem. We all know the effect that the judgment of men with a reputation has on ignorant people. It carries weight. The people were now pointed to such a class, and they gave their verdict: the work was Satanic.
"Beelzebub" was not a casual insult. It is a title, and the scribes explain their own meaning in the second half of the sentence.
The meaning of this word is much disputed. Some link 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, who blasphemously charged the Lord with casting out demons by Beelzebul (as it should be spelled), call him "the prince of the demons." That shows plainly what they meant: the head of those demons was enabling the Lord to cast them out. The Lord shows the folly of thinking that the same evil one who was building up a kingdom would at the same time be the means of pulling it down.
They had to place the power somewhere, and self-interest closed one of the options.
The enemy filled and guided them. They knew well that this was no case of a madman, but a real power that cast out demons. Out of malice they put it down to Satan, in their effort to explain, weaken, and defame what they could not deny. They admitted the energy that dealt with Satan, in mercy to man. But if they admitted it was from God, their religious importance, their occupation, their income, was gone.
This was not only slander. Under the law it was a charge with a fixed sentence.
The scribes from Jerusalem could not accuse Jesus of failing the tests God laid down long ago for anyone claiming to be a prophet. So they charge Him with working together with evil spirits. Such a charge, if established, would have made the Lord liable to the death sentence of the law. For the LORD had commanded through Moses, "A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones" (Lev. 20:27).
Their charge did more than insult a man. It touched the Spirit who worked through Him.
This terrible charge seals their doom. And yet with what perfect calm and grace the Lord meets this wickedness... The Lord shows that their charge was not only ignorant folly but deliberate blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Here was One stronger than the strong man, taking his goods from him, showing that He had bound the strong man. The Lord Jesus exercised all this power in the power of the Holy Spirit. So to credit His power to the devil was to call the Holy Spirit a demon. This was a sin that could not be pardoned. It was the end of all hope for Israel, as far as their own responsibility went.
The men who made this charge were the trained interpreters of Scripture. Either reading of their motive condemns them.
Which should we condemn more: their spiritual incompetence or their desperate wickedness? If they really could not tell the hand of God from the hand of Satan, they were utterly unfit to teach God's people. Or perhaps they saw God's power and deliberately assigned it to hell, just because it did not work through official channels. If so, the wickedness of it is almost too awful to think about. No evil is worse than religious evil.
- Power admitted. No one disputed that demons were leaving; the fight was never over the facts but over the source of the power.
- Power renamed. The scribes gave the power another name — Beelzebub, prince of the demons. To own it as God's would have cost them their position and income.
- Power slandered. Calling the work Satanic turned mercy into a capital crime. The law sentenced a medium to death by stoning.
- Power was the Spirit's. Jesus cast out demons by the Holy Spirit. To call that power the devil's was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit — a sin that could not be pardoned.
- Power refused. The charge sealed the doom of the men who made it and ended Israel's hope. Religious position is no protection against mistaking God's hand for Satan's.
And having called them to [him], he said to them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
The scribes had just explained away the Lord's power over demons. They said He used the power of the prince of the demons. He does not ignore the slander, and He does not strike back. He calls His accusers over and asks them one question that ruins their case.
Two verdicts land on Jesus at once. His own family says He is out of His mind. The leaders say He works with Satan. Both verdicts show what man makes of God's goodness.
Man can see nothing in the activity of divine goodness but madness and the work of the devil. But surely Satan does not cast out Satan: it is this that is real folly.
The same voice that had just called the twelve disciples on the mountain now calls His enemies.
In the mountain the Lord had just called to Himself the Twelve, to associate them with Himself in blessing. Now He calls His enemies to Him to pronounce their doom. Solemn thought! The One who calls in grace, will call in judgment.
How He answers matters too. He does not trade blows with them.
The Servant of the Lord did not argue with men who attacked Him so dishonestly. He taught them gently, meekly, patiently. He called them to Him and showed them two things. First, their charge was absurd, and He used plain, forceful word-pictures to show it. Second, their charge was deeply wicked and dangerous to themselves.
The word here does not mean a long story. It covers a shorter, sharper kind of speech, aimed at men whose word carried weight with the crowd.
The Lord showed that these learned scribes lacked even ordinary wisdom. Their high standing made their opinions weigh heavily with the people. He set this out in "parables," that is, in short, pointed word-pictures put in the form of questions.
The charge collapses on the character of the one it names. Beelzebub is a name for the prince of the demons. Rescuing people is not the work of a destroyer.
The prince of the demons is a liar and a murderer (John 8:44), and his purpose is to rob and kill and destroy. So how could Beelzebub be behind the merciful, kind rescues from demon power they had just watched? The prince of darkness could not be the agent of such works of light.
The Lord then points to something everyone already knows. Kingdoms and homes fall apart when they turn on themselves.
Such a policy would mean Satan destroying himself. All worldly experience proves that division and infighting in a community lead to break-up. Everyone knows that unity is strength. A kingdom or a household divided against itself cannot survive. And if Satan had risen up against himself, as the words of the scribes implied, he could not continue. He must destroy himself.
Their problem was not lack of evidence. It was the price of admitting what they saw.
The enemy filled and guided them. They knew well that this was no case of a madman, but of a real power that cast out demons. Their malice put this down to Satan. They wanted to explain away, weaken and blacken what they could not deny. They admitted the power that dealt with Satan in mercy to man. But to admit it came from God would cost them their religious importance, their work and their income.
The Lord does not stop at showing the charge is absurd. He gives the real explanation, in a picture of a house being robbed.
Every person held by a demon showed the power Satan had over people. Every such miracle of Jesus showed that His power was greater than the Evil One's. As the Lord said, no one can enter a strong man's house and take his goods unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder the house. This the Lord had already done. He had resisted the temptations of the strong and crafty one in the wilderness. He had also set free a great many people held by demons.
- Charge — the scribes could not deny the power, so they renamed it. Owning it as God's work would have cost them their position, their work and their income.
- Call — He called His accusers to Him, just as He had called the twelve. The One who calls in grace also calls in judgment.
- Question — "parables" here means short, pointed word-pictures put as questions. He met slander with meekness, not argument.
- Division — a kingdom or home at war with itself cannot stand. A Satan who cast out Satan would be destroying himself.
- Conqueror — only one explanation is left. Someone stronger has already tied up the strong man, and every rescue proves it.
And if a kingdom has become divided against itself, that kingdom cannot subsist.
Religious teachers from Jerusalem had just claimed that Jesus drove out demons by the ruler of the demons. Instead of ignoring the charge, He called His accusers over and gave a picture anyone could test: a kingdom split in two falls.
The Lord did not shout His critics down. He took their claim seriously enough to expose it. His answer came in short word-pictures shaped as questions.
These learned scribes had standing, so their opinions carried weight with the people. The Lord showed that they lacked even ordinary wisdom. He set this out in "parables," or pointed comparisons put in the form of questions. "How," He said, "can Satan cast out Satan?" The prince of the demons is a liar and a murderer (John 8:44), and his purpose is to rob and kill and destroy. They had watched merciful rescues from the power of demons. So how could Beelzebub be behind them? The prince of darkness could not be the agent of such works of light.
The principle covers a city and a household too. It also cuts against the scribes on their own beliefs. They expected Satan's realm to last until Messiah came to end it.
Whether for kingdom, city, or house, to be divided against itself is ruin. So if Satan casts out Satan, as they said, he is divided against himself: how then shall his kingdom stand? But no Jew doubted for a moment that it would continue until Messiah came in power and glory to judge and destroy it. So their argument refutes itself as inconsistent and false.
The accusation was not honest confusion. The scribes could see real power at work. Admitting where it came from would have cost them everything.
The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub, and by the prince of the demons He casts out demons." The enemy filled and guided them. They knew well that this was no madman, but a real power casting out demons. Their malice credited this to Satan, in an effort to explain away, weaken and blacken what they could not deny. They admitted the power that dealt with Satan, in mercy to man. But if they admitted it came from God, their religious importance, their occupation and their income were gone.
Evil does quarrel with itself. But nothing of that kind had happened here.
There might well be division and discord in many ways. In fact evil is always discordant like this, since truth and goodness are the only perfect unity. But with these men, freed from demons, no one even hinted that one form of evil had fought another. No one suggested that one evil had given way to another. No — they admitted that Satan's power was broken and gone. Satan really was cast out. So Satan had not done this. To say he had would be to confuse good with evil, and lose the power of discernment altogether.
The Lord then gave the true account of what was happening. It is good news for anyone still held.
The compassionate Saviour stooped to reason with His evil critics… The true position was this. Satan, the strong one, had long kept his captives in peace. Now a Stronger had come, with power to overcome him and divide the spoils… He has met the enemy in his last stronghold — death — and has conquered him, putting away sin as He did so. Every child of Adam may be set free from Satan's slavery at once by appealing to the Saviour's grace.
Just before this He had called twelve men to Himself to share His work. Now He calls His enemies to Himself as well.
This terrible charge seals their doom. And yet with what perfect calm and grace the Lord meets this wickedness. On the mountain the Lord had just called the Twelve to Himself, to join them with Himself in blessing. Now He calls His enemies to Him to pronounce their doom. Solemn thought! The One who calls in grace will call in judgment… "Man can see nothing in the activity of divine goodness but madness and the work of the devil." (J.N.D.)
- Charge. The scribes could not deny the power. So they blamed the prince of the demons — malice dressed as explanation, guarding their standing and their income.
- Collapse. Kingdom, city or house — anything divided against itself falls. A Satan attacking Satan would be ending his own realm, the very realm his accusers expected to last.
- Confusion. The men were truly freed, not handed from one evil to another. Calling that work satanic confuses good with evil and destroys discernment.
- Conqueror. The truth is the opposite. A Stronger has bound the strong man. He met the enemy in death and now sets the captives free.
- Consequence. The One who called twelve to Himself in blessing calls His accusers to Himself too. The same voice that calls in grace will one day call in judgment.
And if a house has become divided against itself, that house cannot subsist.
The scribes could not deny that demons left people at Jesus' word. So they said His power came from Satan. Jesus answers with a truth everyone already knew: a household at war with itself falls apart. That simple fact left them with no reply.
The scribes were not confused. They knew real power when they saw it. Admitting where it came from would have cost them too much.
The enemy filled and guided them. They knew well that this was no case of a madman, but of a real power which cast out demons. Out of malice they blamed it on Satan, trying to explain away, weaken, and smear what they could not deny. They admitted that this power dealt with Satan, in mercy to man. But if they admitted it came from God, their religious importance, their job, and their income were gone.
The Lord answers with a rule no one argues with. Division kills a group from the inside, whatever its size.
Besides, as the Lord went on to point out, such a policy would mean self-destruction for Satan. All worldly experience proves that division and rival factions break a community apart. Everyone agrees that union is strength. A kingdom divided against itself cannot survive, and neither can a household. The words of the scribes implied that Satan had risen up against himself. If so, he could not continue. He would have to destroy himself.
Their own beliefs about Satan's kingdom made the charge collapse.
Whether for kingdom, city, or house, to divide against itself is ruin. If Satan therefore casts out Satan, as they said, he is divided against himself: how then can his kingdom stand? But no Jew doubted for a moment that his kingdom would last until Messiah came in power and glory to judge and destroy it. So such a plea refutes itself as inconsistent and false.
If the enemy is not tearing down his own house, then someone stronger has entered it.
The compassionate Saviour stooped to reason with His evil critics… Here was the true position. Satan, the strong one, had long kept his captives in peace. Now a Stronger had come, with power to overcome him and divide the spoils. For this let us praise our God. This One stronger than Satan is the victorious Son of God. He has met the enemy in his last stronghold — death — and has defeated him, putting away sin at the same time. Every child of Adam can be set free from slavery to Satan at once by appealing to the Saviour's grace.
The Lord does not stop at logic. He now names their charge for what it is.
This terrible charge seals their doom. And yet with what perfect calm and grace the Lord meets this wickedness. On the mountain the Lord had just called the twelve disciples to Himself, to share with Him in blessing. Now He calls His enemies to Him to pronounce their doom. Solemn thought! The One who calls in grace will call in judgment. The Lord shows that their charge was not only ignorant folly, but deliberate blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Jesus cast out demons in the power of the Holy Spirit. So to credit His power to the devil was to call the Holy Spirit a demon.
Jesus aimed the saying at Satan's kingdom. But the rule is general. Writers apply it to groups of believers too.
A home divided against itself cannot stand. In the same way, a company of believers divided in loyalties and activities cannot make progress. The truth about the body of Christ teaches that all believers need each other. Where that truth guides believers, there will be growth.
- Charge — The scribes admitted the power but blamed it on Satan. Owning it as God's work would have cost them their standing and their income.
- Absurdity — Division ruins any kingdom or household. A Satan fighting Satan would only be destroying himself.
- Self-refuting — They believed Satan's rule lasts until Messiah ends it. Their own explanation denied what they taught.
- Stronger — One stronger than the strong man had entered his house. Every captive can still appeal to Him for freedom.
- Solemn — What starts as folly ends as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The One who calls people in grace will also call them in judgment.
And if Satan rise up against himself, and is divided, he cannot subsist, but has an end.
Jesus was driving demons out of people, and His critics could not deny it. So they said He did it by the power of Satan. Here the Lord answers with an argument anyone can follow: if Satan were turning on Satan, his kingdom would already be collapsing.
Follow the accusation to where it leads. It ends in Satan destroying himself.
Besides, as the Lord went on to point out, such a policy meant self-destruction on Satan's part. All worldly experience proves that division and infighting in a group end in break-up. Everyone knows that union is strength. Whether it is a kingdom or a household that is divided against itself, it will not be able to survive. The words of the scribes implied that Satan had risen up against himself. If that were so, he could not continue, but must destroy himself.
The verb matters. Older English versions read "if Satan rise up," which can sound like a story about the past, and one writer objected that this misses what the Lord is arguing about.
In Mark 3:26, "Rose up" will not do, then; it is a past and finished thing, too much of a historical past... "If Satan rose up …" (Mark 3:26) is pretty nearly nonsense. It mixes up historical fact with present moral meaning. It should be "has risen," or "be risen," because the Lord is dealing with a present fact, and He is discussing its moral meaning.
The argument only works because the enemy is not a vague force. He rules, and those under him act with him — which is why the accusation is unthinkable.
Satan casting out Satan would mean a division in his terrible domain. That would mean its complete ruin and overthrow. So it is unthinkable that the devil could supply the power to destroy the very kingdom he controls. 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. He has a kingdom over which he rules. The demons are in his kingdom, one with their head in thought and purpose. (The translation "devils" is not correct. There is one devil, but the fallen angels are demons.)
Mark alone records the closing phrase. It reads as a threat to the accusers' logic — but it also points forward, since the day is fixed when this kingdom really will stop.
No Jew doubted for a moment that Satan's kingdom would last until Messiah came in power and glory to judge and destroy it. So that charge refutes itself as inconsistent and false. The Lord did not bring forward that glorious day. But by this sample of the powers of the age to come He was bearing witness that He is the destined conqueror of Satan. When that day comes, Satan will be cast into the abyss, as he will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone when it ends.
The chapter shows two verdicts on Jesus: His relatives thought He had lost His mind, and the teachers said He worked by the devil. The Lord turns the charge of foolishness back on those who made it.
His own friends think He is mad, and the leaders of the people credit His wonderful works to the power of Satan. What a world we live in! Man can see nothing in the activity of divine goodness but madness and the work of the devil. But surely Satan does not cast out Satan: this is what is really foolish. If a strong man's goods are taken from him, it is clear that a stronger has come and has bound him.
Satan is too shrewd to split his own house. Those who bear Christ's name have not always been that careful.
We must admit, sadly, that we Christians have not been so shrewd as to avoid acting that way. Christendom is full of division of that suicidal kind, and it is Satan himself who, beyond doubt, sets it going. But the power of the Lord Jesus on high has remained unchanged, and the Holy Spirit still abides, living in the true church of God. Without that, the public confession of Christianity would have perished long ago. That the faith has not perished from the earth is a tribute not to the wisdom of men but to the power of God.
- Divided. Follow the charge to its end and Satan is attacking Satan. A kingdom at war with itself cannot last.
- Present. The Lord speaks of a present matter, not a past event; "has risen up" fits what He is discussing better than "rose up."
- Organised. The argument assumes a real ruler with a real realm: Satan is a person and a king, and the demons are one with him in purpose.
- Ended. His kingdom stands until Messiah comes to destroy it. Driving out demons was a sample of that coming power. The abyss is his appointed destination.
- Applied. Christians have divided their own house, which Satan is too shrewd to do. Only God's power has kept the faith from perishing.