The Unsteady Ground of Making Stuff Up
[22] And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” [23] And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? [24] 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 is coming to an end.
Mark 3:22–26 ESV Read More
As Jesus casts out demons, people are being healed of things that no one else could heal. This or that sickness might go away, but the super show of Jesus’ power is when it is obviously spiritual. Sometimes they come out with a shriek, sometimes they throw people on the ground, but either way it is quite a site for the region of Capernaum.
The scribes and the Pharisees prided themselves on knowing the scriptures to a T. They were the authority on how different laws would be interpreted and all things dealing with the spiritual world. They couldn’t figure this one out, though. Jesus wasn’t a rabbi or a prophet, in their eyes, but He could cast out demons. Since He had that kind of power, He must be using the power of the Devil to cast out these demons.
The phrase “a house divided cannot stand” has turned into such a watered down cliche for us at this point, it’s easy to overlook what Jesus is saying. It’s a logical appeal for them to see how stupid it would be for Satan to cast out demons. Elsewhere Jesus says “the Devil comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.” Nothing in the way of healing or deliverance comes from Satan and the scribes should know that.
Also, Jesus is hinting at what we’ll talk about tomorrow. It’s not division within the ranks that is going to bring down Satan. Satan is too powerful and cunning to collapse on himself from a rebellion within a rebellion. The demons that are being cast out of people are not coming willingly; they are being overpowered against their will. That is not the command of Satan.
The scribes and Pharisees just can’t understand what is going on right in front of them. Instead of being open to learn and believe and grow in their faith, they are really making up a new religion that fits within their unbelief. Instead of considering that this Jesus might actually be casting out demons, they have created a story that Satan is using a man to cast out demons. That doesn’t fit anywhere with the books of Moses or the prophets!
Let us not do these very same things. Just because our experience doesn’t fit somehow with the things we see in scripture doesn’t mean we can make up new stuff. Even if we know and understand the character of God and the ways of Jesus, we have more to learn. That doesn’t mean more things to make up about what Jesus would do, but to search the scriptures to get more insight into how Jesus does things.
When our daily experience (this man is no rabbi) takes authority over the scriptures (no sinner like Him could work these miracles) we will get confused (Satan is driving out demons!)
But when we submit to God and ask Him to teach us and lead us, we will grow in faith in the Lord Jesus and He will continue to teach us more things.
You can get the Daily Bible Readings to your inbox via email every day by subscribing here. Join the discussion online on Facebook or Twitter.