Floyd Rogers – Texas Gospel Volunteer, Christian writer
| Mathew 12:22-29 22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to Jesus, and He healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and could see. 23 And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.” 25 And knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan is casting out Satan, he has become divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if by Beelzebul I cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. 28 But if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or, how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. |
The 12th Chapter of Matthew begins with an account of Jesus healing the sick and the Pharisees trying to find some way to condemn him. Matthew also explains how Jesus fulfills prophecy through his actions. Verse 22 begins with the Pharisees trying once again to condemn Jesus. They accuse him of casting out demons through the power of Beelzebul. Let’s look at what this says about the Pharisees and how Jesus turns their trap around. Are the Pharisees much different than deceived religious leaders today?
The Pharisees actions are not that different from people today who are more interested in reaching the conclusion they want than they are of finding the truth. This could be a preacher clinging on to any biblical interpretation that “proves” his denomination right, or that “proves” others wrong. The This confirmation bias seems to be seen in the Pharisees response to Jesus’ miracles. They cannot ignore the miracles that have happened, so they reject anything that would lead someone to accept Jesus as Messiah and seek out some other explanation no matter how flimsy the evidence. In this case, they did so even though it means condemning him for doing things they and their own followers have claimed to have done.
Jesus said asked if casting out demons is proof of an act of Satan, then Satan’s kingdom would be divided and could not stand. But if he cast demons out by the Spirit of God, then his claim that the kingdom of God has come is true. He went on to ask if they thought demons could only be cast out through the power of Satan, then by whose power did their sons cast out demons. Jesus once again exposed their hypocrisy.
Are the Pharisees actions any different from some religious leaders today who interpret scripture to “prove” their traditions rather than judge their traditions by God’s word?
What are your thoughts?
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