If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you

Holy Spirit "as a dove" resting upon Christ, mosaic, Baptistery of Neon, 5th cent., Ravenna, Italy

 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

Yesterday we read that when Jesus knew that the Pharisees were plotting to destroy Him, He withdrew from there.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen, My beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!  I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles.  He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust."

  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."   Beelzebub was a name given by the Jews for the god Baal.  It is a sarcastic twist of the term used by the Philistines to honor the god they worshiped (2 Kings 1:2-16).  It means prince of "the dung heap" or lord of "the flies."  Here, the Pharisees call this god the ruler of the demons.  My study bible says that the impossibility of demons fighting against themselves illustrates the irrational pride and envy of the Pharisees in their opposition to Jesus.   In yesterday's reading, above, Matthew gives us an understanding of Jesus as the Servant of Isaiah's prophecy, the one who "will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets," neither a "bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench."   But we should not confuse this humble Servant with one who is powerless, for His mission is justice, and His end is victory.  But that justice and victory belongs to the power that is at work:  they are God's justice and victory, not worldly visions of what these things mean.  In today's reading, Jesus points to the power that is at work in Him, and the consequences for those who oppose that power.

"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 is a key regarding the language of judgement and justice in the New Testament.  My study bible says that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is blasphemy against the divine activity of the Spirit, blasphemy against pure goodness.  It explains that a sin against the Son of Man is more easily forgiven because the Jews did not know much about Christ.  But blasphemy against the Spirit is another matter.  The divine activity of the Spirit was already known from the Old Testament, and a challenge that claims the Spirit's work to be evil is a different kind of deception, which comes from a willful hardness of heart, as well as a refusal to accept the mercy of God.  My study bible also says that the Church Fathers are very clear that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is neither an "unforgivable sin" nor does Christ call the sin "unforgivable."  St. John Chrysostom writes that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it.  Christ makes this declaration with the understanding that those who blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness "evil," and that they are beyond repentance by their own choice.

By juxtaposing yesterday's text, in which Jesus is declared to be the fulfillment of Isaiah's suffering Servant, with today's, we are given an image of holy power in contrast with worldly power.  Christ is taking us to a place where we are meant to understand that there is indeed a power at work in His ministry, but it is not a worldly power.  It is not the might of empire nor material manipulation.  It is the power of holiness, the power of the Holy Spirit by which the signs of His ministry manifest.  We should not mistake His "gentleness" for weakness, nor His humility for powerlessness.  And this is, indeed, where He asks us to go in our lives.  Our trust in Him is meant to help us to grow within the faith of Father, Son, and Spirit, and to rely on the power of holiness in our own lives.  He does not chase dreams of a powerful kingdom to rule.  Instead, He is following the will of the Father for His own ministry and His own work in the world, and so we are to do the same.  This does not mean that we reject out of hand any "worldly" position, although for many across the centuries it has meant just that.  The monks who later went out into the desert rejected all personal material goods, and devoted themselves to God in this way, having John the Baptist as an image of a holy human being.  And yet, even among the desert monks, there remained stories about those more holy than any of them, such as a man who daily worked in his profession in the midst of the city, a cobbler who prayed all day while he worked repairing shoes.  What we are to understand is not so much a contradiction or contrast between God's power and worldly things, as we are to understand that we place all things first in the hands of God, as we rest ourselves in the hands of God.  Whatever we have, and whatever we are, we place it within the context of our faith to guide us both into knowing who we are, and into knowing how we are to live in this world and to be stewards of all that comes to us -- the good and the bad.  Because Christ Himself is Son and therefore divine, it does not mean that He escapes the challenges of the religious establishment.  It does not mean He escapes from the violence and the evil of the world.  He is neither exempt nor far away from the machinations of the powerful.  He goes to the people, His ministry reaches everywhere, and He comes into direct conflict with those who, knowing better, call His ministry and His works by the power of the Spirit, evil.  If He is not exempt from such conflict, then how are we going to be exempt from such challenges in our own lives?  We must consider where He asks us to go.  As He trusts in the Father for His mission and His life, so should we follow by having the courage to take rest in our faith as well.  Jesus has the courage to speak the wisdom and truth of the words He is given to reply to such challenges.  What it seems to me that He is indicating above all else in today's reading is the power of words.   Because our words can reflect the truth of faith, our words have power.  And because our words may also flippantly deny the power of the holy, so such language should give us pause to consider what we might easily deny or all-too-easily cast aside.  Jesus speaks of judgment not necessarily as final destination, but as warning.  Are we willing to go forward in our faith?  Will we be stuck in the place where we refuse God?  We seem always to be in this place of acceptance or rejection:  either truth in the love of God, or denial that such love for us exists.  Which true for you?  Which will it be?  How will we follow where He leads us?  Sometimes the power of the world may overwhelm us and lead us away from the place in the heart we truly need, and it is so easy to forget to whom we really belong.  In whom do you place your trust?  Who will you follow?