But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not subsist.
The Pharisees had just seen a man set free from a demon, and they called the power behind it the work of the prince of demons. Jesus answered their unspoken charge with a rule anyone could test: whatever is divided against itself falls apart.
The accusation was never brought to Him openly. Commentators note that His reply to an unspoken charge was itself a claim about who He is.
Of course Jesus knew their thoughts, though they had not dared to speak to Him in this way. But His answer to their thoughts should have convinced them that His knowledge is divine.
Earlier in the same chapter He knew because He heard the report. Here His knowing is of a different kind.
In Matthew 12:15, Jesus knew (that they were plotting to destroy Him) having heard it. And in Matthew 12:25 Jesus knew their thoughts — had the conscious knowledge of it.
The Lord does not appeal to Scripture here. He appeals to something every hearer already knew from ordinary life.
All experience in the world proves that division and faction in a community end in break-up. That unity is strength is a universal rule.
He states it at three scales — kingdom, city, house — so the argument cannot be dodged by saying the case is special.
Here the Lord pronounces the mind of God. Consciously knowing their thoughts He exposes their malicious absurdity. Whether for kingdom, city, or house, to divide against itself is ruin… No Jew doubted for a moment that Satan's kingdom would last until the Messiah came in power and glory to judge and destroy it. So their charge refutes itself as inconsistent and false.
Apply the rule to their charge and it collapses. If Satan were driving out Satan, he would be dismantling his own realm.
He who could attribute what cast out Satan to Satan himself was self-condemned. It would make Satan more foolish than the most foolish man. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand: that principle holds everywhere. Can it be thought that Satan deliberately destroys his own kingdom and himself? Is he really suicidal?
The argument carries a piece of teaching alongside it.
Satan casting out Satan would divide his dreadful domain, and that would mean complete ruin and overthrow. So it is unthinkable that the devil could supply the power to destroy the 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, and he rules it.
They were not confused; they were cornered. The way out cost them their ability to tell good from evil.
They could not deny the power that was so obvious. If they would not submit and own God in it, one terrible option was left: to blame this on Satan… But to say so would only confuse good with evil, and lose the power of discernment altogether.
Note who said it: men with a reputation for being orthodox and upright.
It was not unbelief only, but its darker form. That form appears when no one can dispute the kind power of God, and people credit it to the evil one as its source. This is the unavoidable end for people who have a religious reputation as orthodox and upright but no living faith.
He might have ignored it. That He did not is itself instructive about when a charge must be met.
There are times when one may leave objections unnoticed. We have an example of this in Mark 3:21, when the friends of the Lord said He was out of His mind. It seems He took no notice of that. But there are times when the enemy must be met head on, and his suggestions or accusations clearly refuted… Experience teaches how easily sound without substance leads a crowd away — that is, foolish statements that will not stand up to examination.
- Known. He replied to a charge they never voiced aloud — knowledge of the heart that belongs to God alone.
- Principle. Kingdom, city, house — division against itself is ruin at every scale.
- Absurd. Satan does not raid his own house; the accusation would make him more foolish than the most foolish man.
- Motive. They could not deny the power. Refusing to own God in it, they confused good with evil.
- Answer. He answered slanderers, because a crowd will follow any claim that sounds good but cannot bear examination.
And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom subsist?
The Pharisees could not deny that a demon had just been driven out. So they said the power came from Satan himself. The Lord answers the thought behind their words with a question they cannot escape: a kingdom at war with itself is already finished.
The charge was never made to His face. That He replied to it at all was itself evidence of who He was.
Of course Jesus knew their thoughts, though they had not dared to speak to Him in this way. But His answering their thoughts ought to have impressed them with the fact of His divine knowledge. He answers them that every kingdom or city or house divided against itself cannot continue. But Satan's kingdom had lasted for centuries and was still fighting. Satan did not win his gains by casting himself out. The very idea that he would do this was nonsense. Of course the Pharisees knew there was supernatural power in Christ's casting out of demons. Since they wanted to deny it was God's power, their only other option was this foolish dodge.
The principle holds at every scale — nation, town, family. The Pharisees themselves believed Satan's rule would last until the Messiah came to break it. So their own belief disproved their charge.
He knew their thoughts, and He exposes the malicious absurdity in them. For a kingdom, a city, or a house, to be divided against itself means ruin. So if Satan casts out Satan, as they said, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? But no Jew doubted for a moment that Satan's kingdom would last until the Messiah came in power and glory to judge and destroy it. So their claim refutes itself. It is inconsistent and false, and there is no way to defend it.
The Lord's words do more than win an argument. They tell us what kind of enemy stands behind the demons.
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.
If the accusation were true, the enemy would be working his own downfall. That makes him the biggest fool alive.
Man had already been tested by this power. Anyone who could credit the power that cast out Satan to Satan himself stood self-condemned. It would make Satan more foolish than the most foolish man, because it is a universal rule that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. Can anyone think that Satan sets out to destroy his own kingdom and himself? Is he really bent on his own ruin?
Their claim was not that one evil had simply replaced another. They admitted the man was free, and then called the power that freed him evil.
No — they admitted that Satan's power was broken and gone. Satan really had been cast out. So Satan had not done this. To say he had would be to confuse good with evil, and to lose the power to tell them apart at all.
Having shown the absurdity, the Lord gives the true explanation. Two powers are at work, and one of them is stronger.
The compassionate Saviour came down to reason with His evil critics. He asked them how Satan could cast out Satan... Here was the true position. Satan, the strong one, had long kept his captives in peace. Now a Stronger One had come, with power to overcome him and to divide the spoils... 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 may be set free from Satan's slavery at once by appealing to the Saviour's grace.
Israel itself had become Satan's territory, and the Lord had walked into it.
He had entered the territory of Satan's power — that is what Israel had become! — and He was plundering his goods, after first tying up the strong man. This was a time of direct conflict between Christ and Satan, and people had to take sides.
- Thought — The accusation was never spoken aloud. The Lord answered what was in their hearts, and that alone should have told them who He was.
- Kingdom — Every kingdom, city or house divided against itself collapses. If Satan drove out Satan, his rule would already be over.
- Absurdity — The charge makes the enemy more foolish than the most foolish man, out to destroy himself. It refutes itself.
- Discernment — They admitted Satan's power was broken, and still called the rescue satanic. That confuses good with evil and destroys the ability to tell them apart.
- Stronger — The real explanation is a Stronger One entering the strong man's house. He has since met the enemy in death and won. Anyone who appeals to His grace can go free.