Thursday, October 4, 2012

Not by Beelzebub (Matthew 12:22-37; Mark 3:20-30)


Jesus is in a house and a large crowd surrounds them.  The crowd brings to Jesus a man who is demon-possessed, blind, and mute.  Jesus heals him.  

The Pharisees accuse Jesus of having the authority of the devil and hence can command he devil's minions to leave people.  This is interesting because it shows that they do not discount the miracles that Jesus is performing.  They believe that Jesus is performing miracles.  Here though, they accuse Jesus of siding with the wrong team.  

This accusation might be in alignment with their accusations that it was wrong to heal on the Sabbath.  The logic being that since God rested on the Sabbath, any miraculous healing could not have come from God.

Jesus turns it around and explains that the devil's army cannot fight each other, otherwise it would not be a standing kingdom.  In other words, if the devil's minions fought each other, it would not be nearly as strong as it is.

Further, Jesus uses a parable about strongmen guarding a home.  The strongman must first be bound before the house can be robbed.  Given the context, it is clear that Jesus is referring to spiritual demonic influence, but the analogy of robbing a home might seem a little backwards.  For after all, isn't it the devil that comes to steal?  Ordinarily, yes, but I think in this context, I think the "home" being "robbed" means areas of people's life that are not entirely willing to give to God.  In fact, they have invited the devil to guard that area of life.  In that context, the proper authority is reversed.

Back to the story, Jesus' human family hears he is being swarmed by a crowd and casting out demons.  They come to collect him and it seems that they might think that Jesus is actually demon-possessed as they state that "he is out of his mind".  

Jesus is notified that his family has arrived, but then turns it around.  He says that anyone doing the work of God is his brother, sister, or mother.

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