14 Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. 15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” 16 while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. 17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. 18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; 22 but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. 23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
24 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”
27 As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” 28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Jesus cast out a demon from a man who was mute and after the demon left, the man spoke. The response from the crowd was varied. Many marveled at the miracle but some accused Jesus of using the power of Satan to cast out demons. This accusation refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah and instead saw Him as a mere man who was in alliance with the enemy of God and man in order to do what He did. This was the worst kind of rejection, they saw Jesus as the complete opposite of who He was. Others continued to demand a sign from heaven to test Jesus before they would believe showing how hard their hearts were that they wouldn’t acknowledge the miracle they had just witnessed.
Jesus responded with a parable that revealed the absurdity of their accusation. Every kingdom that is divided against itself will fall. How can Satan’s kingdom stand if he is involved in casting out his own demons from the ones he wishes to oppress? Jesus then points out that the Jewish exorcists also cast out demons. If they considered that Jesus was using Satan to cast out demons, who were their exorcists using? Their own exorcists are proof against them. The logical conclusion is that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of God, and if that is the case, then that is sufficient proof that the kingdom of God had come. Jesus continued by likening Satan to a strong man who guards his house. That would be fine unless a stronger man comes, attacks him and overpowers him removing the armour in which he trusted. The implication is that Jesus is the stronger man who has defeated Satan and is able to divide the spoil in releasing those oppressed by demons, releasing us (who believe) from slavery to sin, and ultimately binding Satan once for all in the end times. We cannot sit on the fence, if we do not believe Jesus, we are against Him.
Jesus then used the cleansed man as a symbol for the need for belief. It is no good being cleansed of evil spirits if the emptiness is not replaced with something otherwise they will just return and the result will be worse than before. The healed man and all those who were listening needed to believe in Jesus as Messiah. The same principle is taught about our growth in spiritual maturity. It is no good removing sinful practices, we need to replace them with obedience (Paul talks about putting on the new self after putting off the old in Colossians 3:1-10).
A woman in the crowd expressed how wonderful it must have been to be Jesus’ mother but Jesus replied that true blessings don’t come through familial ties but through obedience to God’s word as we hear it.
How are you moving forward in your Christian walk? Does your life reflect the strength of Christ to overcome Satan? Are you putting to death the sinful practices in your life? And more importantly, are you replacing that with obedience to the word of God?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
The fall of Israel: 2 Kings 17