Mat 12:24 | KingComments | STEP | The man brought to the Lord is miserable. He is demon-possessed. This demon has him in his power to the extent that he sees nothing and cannot say anything. He does not know where he is and cannot call for help. Fortunately, the Lord is there with His mercy, and there are people who bring the man to Him. He answers their faith with healing. In this man we can see a picture of the situation in which Israel finds itself. As a whole, the nation is blind to the glory of Christ and does not come to Him to confess Him as their Messiah. The crowds are deeply impressed by this healing. They even express the suspicion that He may be the Son of David. They don’t go any further, their hearts haven’t truly been touched. When the Pharisees hear this statement, they want to prevent the crowds from even thinking in that direction. They want to nip this suspicion in the bud and accuse the Lord in the most blasphemous way possible. There is no coarser and more offensive accusation imaginable than to accuse Him of performing His miracles of grace in the power of the ruler of demons, that is satan himself. At the same time it makes clear the complete unwillingness of the Pharisees to see anything of God in Him. It is impossible to deny that God is at work in Christ among His people in goodness and grace. For them it is not a matter of error, but the denial of the undeniable. They resist against their better judgment. Knowingly and willingly they reject Him. The Lord has not responded to a similar, previous blasphemy ( ). Now he deals with it. With an example from daily life He appeals to the sober mind and thus proves the total absurdity of their statement. He shows with His argument that they have no understanding. Every right-minded person knows that it is impossible to maintain something that is internally divided, regardless of whether it is a kingdom or a house. Inner division means downfall and no success. The conclusion is clear. It is impossible for Him to drive out the demons through Beelzebul. He gives a second argument for their nonsensical claim. He states that argument as a question. Their sons are busy casting out demons. If they are consistent, they should say that their sons also do it through satan. Of course they will never want to say that. Well, says the Lord, then your sons will be your judges. The conduct of their sons will denounce their blasphemy, and will be a witness that they have blasphemed Him.

‏ Matthew 12:24

The Lord Jesus and Beelzebul

The man brought to the Lord is miserable. He is demon-possessed. This demon has him in his power to the extent that he sees nothing and cannot say anything. He does not know where he is and cannot call for help. Fortunately, the Lord is there with His mercy, and there are people who bring the man to Him. He answers their faith with healing. In this man we can see a picture of the situation in which Israel finds itself. As a whole, the nation is blind to the glory of Christ and does not come to Him to confess Him as their Messiah.

The crowds are deeply impressed by this healing. They even express the suspicion that He may be the Son of David. They don’t go any further, their hearts haven’t truly been touched. When the Pharisees hear this statement, they want to prevent the crowds from even thinking in that direction. They want to nip this suspicion in the bud and accuse the Lord in the most blasphemous way possible.

There is no coarser and more offensive accusation imaginable than to accuse Him of performing His miracles of grace in the power of the ruler of demons, that is satan himself. At the same time it makes clear the complete unwillingness of the Pharisees to see anything of God in Him. It is impossible to deny that God is at work in Christ among His people in goodness and grace. For them it is not a matter of error, but the denial of the undeniable. They resist against their better judgment. Knowingly and willingly they reject Him.

The Lord has not responded to a similar, previous blasphemy (Mt 9:34). Now he deals with it. With an example from daily life He appeals to the sober mind and thus proves the total absurdity of their statement. He shows with His argument that they have no understanding. Every right-minded person knows that it is impossible to maintain something that is internally divided, regardless of whether it is a kingdom or a house. Inner division means downfall and no success. The conclusion is clear. It is impossible for Him to drive out the demons through Beelzebul.

He gives a second argument for their nonsensical claim. He states that argument as a question. Their sons are busy casting out demons. If they are consistent, they should say that their sons also do it through satan. Of course they will never want to say that. Well, says the Lord, then your sons will be your judges. The conduct of their sons will denounce their blasphemy, and will be a witness that they have blasphemed Him.