Matthew 12:22-32 If Satan Casts Out Satan

 ²²Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute; and he cured him, so that the one who had been mute could speak and see. ²³All the crowds were amazed and said, "Can this be the Son of David?" ²⁴But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this fellow casts out the demons." ²⁵He knew what they were thinking and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. ²⁹Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his property, without first tying up the strong man? Then indeed the house can be plundered. ³⁰Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ³¹Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Observation: Jesus' words here have always been a little confusing to me. Essentially, he is trying to argue that he is not casting out demons by a demonic power, but in the name of God, as a sign of God's Reign being near. For this reason, it is one of the worst sins a person can commit, to see God's work and attribute it to demonic forces.

But the tricky thing is Jesus' argument (famously quoted VERY out of context by Abe Lincoln) is, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Jesus' point is that if he is casting out one demon in the name of another demon, then the realm of demons is divided against itself, and should be falling. But since the realm of demons is clearly very much alive and well, therefore it must still be unified. Therefore, Jesus must be on God's side.

Application: Evil is very much alive in our world today. I don't think there's any denying that. If Jesus' words hold true, that "a house divided against itself cannot stand," then it makes sense to see the evil in the world as very much united...maybe more united than Jesus' disciples. But it's easy to unite around a goal of dividing and destroying. It's much harder to unite around a goal of surrendering ourselves to the will of a loving God. What I take from this passage is less about fighting evil around me than fighting evil within me. Maybe I need to spend less time worrying about how well the spiritual house I built for myself is standing, and just let it fall, and let God rebuild what needs to be there.

Prayer: God, your will be done, not mine. Strengthen that in me which belongs to you. By your Spirit's power, help me build that up in others, too, rather than trying to knock it down out of envy. And anything in me that doesn't belong to you, Lord, let it fall.