The Gospel of Mark 3:22-30

 Brian Hirvela

2/10/24

“22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”23 And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?24 And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!27 But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.28 “Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter;29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Jesus and His disciples are in Capernaum which is a country town 107 miles from Jerusalem.  That would be roughly the distance between Chicago and Arthur, Illinois which sits east of Springfield. A 38-hour walk these scribes came from the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem to Capernaum bringing a greater authority than the priests and scribes in a country town. These scribes were elite scribes who practiced their trade alongside the priests in the Sanhedrin, Israel's ruling body of educated, academic, and political Priests, Scribes, and Elders.

 Because of the authority behind them, they could easily sway those in a country town to see their view and in an attempt to trip Jesus up by saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” Their accusation is not directed at Jesus personally but at the Spirit of God. Remember that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at His baptism by John the Baptist as His Father proclaimed for all to hear, that was there, “This is my Son in whom I am well pleased.” It is by the power of God that Jesus operates through the Spirit of God and He is the one being attacked.

The scribe's claim then is that Jesus is possessed by the Beelzebul. the name “has two parts: Baal, which was the name for the Canaanite fertility gods in the Old Testament; and Zebul, which means “exalted dwelling.” Putting the two parts together, they formed a name for Satan himself, the prince of demons.” (gotquestions.com) I mention this because the second meaning in the name “Exalted Dwelling” is a place, a home, that someone dwells in that is elevated, lofty, grand, influential, and powerful. Being a house, it will become evident in how Jesus responds to the claim.

Jesus calls the Scribes to Him and speaks in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!”

Ephesians 6:12 says, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” This means there is an organized network of human and demonic forces operating in a manner that is congruent and single-minded. They are not divided in their effort to put an end to God’s rule and authority forever consuming mankind. If you haven’t read “The Screwtape Letters.” By C.S. Lewis the story brings out a great example of this unity in their work.

So, if these forces work against each other, they will fall apart. Their house will fall and those within it will consume each other. Thus, the power to cast out demons cannot come from Satan for he would be against himself and would be done, finished. But what if there was another? Instead of two who are alike working against each other, what if there were two who were different, working against each other?

Jesus said, “But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house” And this is what Jesus is doing. By His own authority and the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus is binding the strong man, Beelzebul, and plundering his house. The exalted dwelling is being ransacked and plundered as Jesus frees people from the oppression of demonic possession. These demons no longer have a place to dwell and are bound by the power of God.

And still talking to them He chastises them, “Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” Thus be warned that if you believe that the Holy Spirit is the devil you will never have forgiveness and are destined for eternal punishment. But blasphemies of any kind against the Son of Man, Jesus, whatever are uttered shall be forgiven.

That’s the wondrous beauty of God’s grace and severity when it comes to sin. Jesus took all the blasphemies uttered against Him and placed them upon Himself. So, when He suffered on the cross God’s wrath, which we deserve, those blasphemies ended there and died with Him and were buried. That’s the grace Yahweh has given through His Son. But God has His limits, He will not tolerate those who accuse the Holy Spirit of being of the evil one, the Prince of the power of the air, Beelzebul, Satan and He will punish those who do without mercy. He warned the Scribes because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Do you consider yourself a good person? Understand this, Jesus came to save the lost, to save sinners. Sinners repress the truth and hide in their darkness because they love the darkness, but sinners who know God, are people who know in their hearts that they are vile, rebellious, haters of God who are lost and stand in condemnation and will be judged and sent to hell where they will burn for eternity in the lake of fire.

Death will soon take you and when you die you will face judgment for your sins. God is just and cannot by His nature abide by sin nor dismiss it. Every act of rebellion and transgression against God is wrapped up in sin, yet you have foolishly chosen to do it because you love your sin, rather than follow Christ and His righteousness that would truly enrich you.

But God so loved His creation, Mankind, that He sent His Son Christ Jesus who seeks you this day. He can forgive you of your sins and restore you whole again, for He has the authority and the power. You who are lost in the ideologies of this world, imprisoned by the doctrines of men, slaves to your sexual desires and perversions, and pursuits of the flesh and mind, who rebel at the created order of God and stand condemned to death and destruction and are destined for eternal punishment in the lake of fire.

Jesus brings life to all who repent and believe. Jesus the Messiah has risen from the dead, conquering it, and lives. He is in your midst with us, but you cannot see. You are blind and your heart is darkened thus we bring the light that we proclaim.

Jesus bore all our sins; He bore all the sins of all who believe in Him.  He suffered the totality of God’s Wrath upon Himself that every sinner willingly deserves so that those who believe in Jesus may have peace with God. Turn away from your unrighteous sinful ways which lead to death and turn toward and follow Jesus which leads to life.