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

 

 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, neither in this age or in the age to come." 

- Matthew 12:22-32 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus knew that the Pharisees began to plot how they could 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."  My study Bible explains that Beelzebub, which was another name for a form of Baal, was the prince of "the dung heap" or lord of "the flies."  This was a god worshiped by the Philistines (2 Kings 1:2-16).  Here, he is called the ruler of the demons.  The impossibility of demons fighting against themselves, my study Bible says, illustrates the irrational pride and envy of the Pharisees in their opposition to Jesus.  

"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, neither in this age or in the age to come."   To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit means blasphemy against the divine activity of the Spirit.  That is, blasphemy against pure goodness.  A sin against the Son of Man is more easily forgiven, my study Bible says, because the Jews did not know much about Christ.  But blasphemy against the Spirit, whose divine activity these men know from the Old Testament, will not be forgiven, as it comes from a willful hardness of heart and a refusal to accept God's mercy.  My study Bible says that the Church Fathers are clear that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not an "unforgivable sin"; nor does Jesus ever call it "unforgivable."  St. John Chrysostom teaches that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it.  My study Bible claims that Jesus makes this declaration knowing that those who blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure, divine good "evil," and are beyond repentance by their own choice. 

We see the Pharisees use a rather typical reaction to someone they feel is a threat to their power and authority.  They accuse Jesus of "playing for the other team," so to speak.  They cannot accept that He acts by the "hand" or "finger of God (the Spirit of God, as it says in the text), so they must accuse Him of working with demons.  In particular they name "Beelzebub," another name for a localized god Baal of the Old Testament.  Baal was an extremely commonly worshiped god in ancient times, and had names that varied throughout the Near and Middle East.  Here, as my study Bible says, he is seen as a demon, even the ruler of the demons (the name Baal means "lord").  But Jesus counteracts with a quite simple -- and important -- argument of His own.  How can He be working with demons by throwing out demons (exorcising them)?  Why would the demons act against their own?  As Jesus puts it, "If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?"  Jesus frames exorcism as part of a spiritual warfare, framing it as one kingdom fighting against another.  "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 goes on to make it very clear that, in fact, He is the "stronger man" who works with the Spirit of God.  Moreover, it is His power that is truly authoritative.  So much so, that He will displace all others:  "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."  This notion of kingdom-against-kingdom is important, for in some sense this is how we understand the action of the Kingdom of God, that it is meant to displace the one called "the prince" (Ephesians 2:2) or "god" (2 Corinthians 4:4) or "ruler of this world" (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11).  So it would seem that what is important is that we understand Christ's kingdom to be under a different ruler, with different aims, goals, and identity of those who would be its citizens.  In that framework, what we are to understand is that citizenship in Christ's kingdom involves a participation in His work, His "code," so to speak, His goals, and approved actions.  What that means is that when we participate in doing good, on Christ's terms, then we participate in His kingdom. When we pray, when we do charitable deeds, or fast in His name, we are acting in faith in Christ.  When we pray an hours service in our home, attend a liturgy, participate in the sacraments of the Church, we do much more than we're aware of in this "kingdom" battle, for the Spirit of God and God's own angels also facilitate what humans participate in.  We should remember that this is also called an "unseen warfare."  We do not need to conquer all the evil we see in a physical sense to be doing our part.  As St. Paul says, we each have our own role to play in the Body of Christ.  That sense of acting "in His name" is the same sense in which kingdoms, powers, countries act in the "name" of their own allegiance to a government or a ruler, as the case may be.  Doing evil things, on the other hand, means participating in this other "kingdom" that does not act for the good of human beings, and is against the God of love (1 John 4:8).  At this time, these are the things we really must consider.  Whose kingdom do we wish to support in this world?  In whose rule and judgment do we wish to participate?  How can we ourselves be part of the kingdom of God, and by this participation, strengthen it in the world?  As we look around ourselves and our world, let us simply think how important this choice, this participation in the work of the Holy Spirit is at this time.  For we are given these teaching by Christ for a reason, and maybe for just such a time.  Let us also remember what it is to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, against pure goodness, and what it is on the contrary, to see to live and participate in God's mercy and goodness in this world, even if we also see what is evil.