If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

- Matthew 12:22-32

In yesterday's reading, the Gospel of Matthew led us beyond open confrontation with the Pharisees, and their decision to plot against and destroy Jesus. At this point in His ministry, Jesus continues to keep His messianic identity secret, and He withdraws from further confrontation with the Pharisees after His open challenge to them in the synagogue (see Wednesday's reading). Yesterday, we read of Jesus' continuing ministry of healing, and His guarding of the messianic secret. The Evangelist gave us the words of Isaiah the prophet, describing the Suffering Servant, and His nature that is gentle and lowly of heart, and who will be the light to the nations, even to the Gentiles. Isaiah's words here begin, "Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!"

Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" Jesus has been telling people not to make Him known, as His messianic identity remains a secret -- it is not time for that confrontation with the religious authorities. But Here His messianic signs continue; and so, "all the multitudes" begin to wonder if this is "the Son of David." The "secret" is too big to contain, His "signs" express who He is.

Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." This isn't the first time in Matthew's gospel that we've heard these allegations. Jesus has already warned His apostles about the accusations He faces, and that they will in turn face. My study bible notes, "Beelzebub/Baal was the prince perhaps of 'the dung heap' or 'the flies' -- a god worshiped by the Philistines (2 Kin. 1:2-16); here he is called ruler of the demons."

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges." Once more, Jesus enters into confrontation with the Pharisees. He takes on "their thoughts" which He knows. He refutes their accusations. How can Satan cast out Satan, and thereby destroy His own kingdom? This is not the way power works to hold together a kingdom, a city, or a great house. Furthermore, exorcism is already performed in Jewish religious tradition -- so then by whose authority do "their sons" cast demons out? Therefore, Jesus says, their sons shall be their judges.

"But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house." Jesus then introduces to them a question, something designed to get them to think. What if He is casting out demons by the Spirit of God -- the Holy Spirit? Then they must think about what they are saying, what kinds of accusations they are throwing out. It means the kingdom of God has come upon them. (We recall that Jesus taught His apostles to preach, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand.") How can someone enter the great house of a "strong man" and plunder what he has, unless he has the greater power to bind the strong man first? My study bible says, "Demons do not fight against themselves, but are cast out by God's power through the Holy Spirit, whose action signals the present reality of the Kingdom."

"He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad." This is a declaration of His power, and the power of the Spirit and the kingdom by which He works. It is a declaration of His authority.

"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." Here we have an even stronger statement, and it is in the defense of the actions of the Spirit -- the work of the Spirit in the world. It is a great warning to the Pharisees. If they can't understand the Son of Man, that is one thing, but what of the Spirit at work in the things He does? My study bible points out that they don't know much about Him, Jesus -- but the Spirit is already known to them through the Scriptures. It says, "Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is blasphemy against the divine activity of the Spirit -- the accusation that Jesus healed the demoniac by demonic power rather than by the power of the Holy Spirit." To blaspheme against the action of the Spirit, it notes, "is willful hardness of heart. It attributes the saving action of the Spirit to Satan and refuses to accept God's forgiveness and mercy." And, we note, this isn't just a warning for the Pharisees, it is a warning for all of us: "either in this age or in the age to come."

If we focus on the words of my study bible in its note, we come to a focus that puts to us more clearly the consistency of Jesus' message in our past few readings -- and the roots of the conflict with the Pharisees over rigid legalism and Jesus' healing activity. It characterized the deliberate hardness of heart on the part of the Pharisees as a refusal to accept God's forgiveness and mercy. This sense of God's forgiveness and mercy is inseparable from the work of the Spirit, and from Jesus' ministry. This is how hard-heartedness, an inability to perceive Spirit at work, lacking in spiritual eyes and ears, becomes a refusal of the forgiveness and mercy of God's love. God's work is inseparable from these qualities. The healing in the synagogue, in which Jesus forced a confrontation, the Pharisees' condemnation of a blameless violation of the Sabbath rest (which made in order to sustain and heal), is a hard-heartedness that refuses the entrance of mercy and forgiveness. So let us consider what this means for us. God's love is inseparable from God and the grace of God in our world. Therefore it is up to us to see at the root of this ministry a consistent call to make room for love and mercy. A failure to do this is an action consistent with hard-heartedness. We really have to see the overarching theme of Jesus' ministry of one that calls us to understand love, and especially to be capable of receiving God's forgiveness and mercy. Let us think, then, about what that means for each one of us individually. How may we refuse to receive this forgiveness and mercy? Do we know it for ourselves in our own lives? In what ways are we rigid -- either with ourselves or with others? We often hear, as in today's reading, about the refusal to acknowledge this at work. But what about when we spurn it for ourselves? This is also a refusal of God's forgiveness and mercy, and leads in turn to a lack of true understanding of the spiritual things Christ teaches us. How is that love at work in you and in your heart? Can you let go of any rigidity that seeks to stand against it?