How can Satan cast out Satan?

. . . and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.

Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons." So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.

"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."

Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You." But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?" And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."

- Mark 3:19-35

In yesterday's reading, Mark's Gospel told us about the great multitudes that now follow Jesus. They come from all over Israel. When He spoke by the sea, there was such a crowd that He had His disciples keep a boat stationed nearby, in case the crowd would crush Him. Many would seek to touch Him as He healed. The demons cried out, "You are the Son of God." But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. Then He went up to the mountain and called those to Him that He wanted. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons.

. . . and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house. By including this verse, which appears on its own, we understand more fully the troubles that are now coming to Jesus. Life is not a simple case of the Good receiving what we might facilely consider a "perfect life," but rather comes with the troubles that plague our world. Jesus is the light shining in the darkness, that the darkness does not comprehend. He is here for us to make a choice. Even one of the Twelve will betray Him. In the world of the spiritual, the demons, we are told, know who He is, but He commands them to be quiet.

Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind." In addition to the conflict He is already experiencing with the leadership, His own people are now concerned about Him. These are His own relatives, who do not understand Him or His mission. Their explanation is that He is beside Himself, "out of His mind." In John's Gospel, His brethren taunt Him.

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons." Here comes the next accusation, while the multitudes chase after Him for healing and the casting out of demons. The scribes accuse Him not only of being possessed but also of working through demonic power to achieve the things He does, to cast out the demons from others.

So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house." Here Jesus gives a clear explanation of His work, and of the Kingdom coming into this world. It works on many levels to explain to us, via parable, who He truly is. Jesus' power would not be effective unless it were from a house that is, ultimately, absolutely united. It reminds us of His pronouncement about faith, that it is the rock upon which His Church will be built, against which the gates of Hades cannot prevail. It is Jesus who binds the "strong man" of this world, the ruler of demons, because He has come to claim the world for Himself, to establish His Kingdom here in place of the "strong man." Let us consider how this Kingdom becomes established in the world, and what is the work of God. My study bible has a note: "Jesus clearly is plundering the strong man, the devil, whose goods were the people he oppressed. Jesus' work brings total triumph. Not one demon is able to resist Him."

"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit." The work of the Holy Spirit in the world is not something new, especially to the scribes who are experts in Scripture. To attribute the work of the Spirit to demonic activity is blasphemy. Let us consider in our own lives what we might encounter as the work of the Spirit, of grace. We, too, may encounter opposition to and even accusation about its effects in our lives. The work of the Kingdom will shake up our world, and intervene to "bind the strong man" with truth. Can we accept it?

Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You." But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?" And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother." Here is an even stronger element of the declaration of the presence of the Kingdom. A few verses earlier, Jesus' own people, His relatives, are said to believe that He is out of His mind. But here, Jesus takes this a step further. He isn't rejecting His family, but rather declaring a powerful kinship that runs even through the lines of family, and that is the powerful binding relationship of faith. Unified, bound together by God through faith in this circle around Him, His mother and brothers and sisters are those who do the will of God.

There is an ancient quotation, widely attributed throughout the centuries to various authors, and sometimes used by theologians, but perhaps earliest found in the writings of a philosopher, Empedocles: "God is a circle whose center is everywhere, and whose circumference is nowhere. ” If we hear Jesus correctly, we might say that the center of this "circle" is within us, in the binding faith that makes us related in Jesus' pronouncement of relationship, of that which may run more deeply within us than worldly family, in the heart of each person. A helpful note in my study bible on another passage teaches us about the heart as Jesus will use it: "The heart in Scripture refers the center of consciousness, the seat of the intellect and the will, the source from which the whole of spiritual life proceeds. When grace permeates the heart, it masters the body and guides all actions and thoughts. When malice and evil capture the heart, a person becomes full of darkness and spiritual confusion." Let us consider Jesus' speaking of the binding of the strong man, the coming of His Kingdom, and what makes for the depth of this relationship to Him. Who are His mother and sisters and brothers? How do we achieve this rock of faith in a relationship that binds so deeply? Let us look to the heart, the place where the Kingdom may be established. Mark's Gospel illustrates for us the conflicts we may encounter in this work of faith, as we see Jesus' struggles in the establishment of this Kingdom. Are we ready to be His family in this struggle with Him? Can we be a part of the circle around Him? Let us remember, in whatever obstacles or betrayals we encounter, who is the stronger man to help us to do so.