A merciful and miraculous act by Jesus causes the Jewish religious leaders to show the worst side of their unbelief.  What should be a cause for celebration instead triggers blasphemy and arrogant demands.  How Jesus answers these sinful reactions teaches us much about the evil of the human heart, the dangers of self-righteousness, the choice Jesus forces on all who hear Him, and the importance of walking in the light.

14-16
Jesus delivers a man from a demon that caused the man to be mute.  When the demon is cast out, the man speaks, and the crowds around Jesus marvel at the man’s miraculous deliverance.

Some who witness the miracle, however (and based on accounts in other gospels we can assume these are Jewish religious leaders), are skeptical and mutter among themselves, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of demons.” Others of them question Jesus directly and use the occasion to demand that He provide a sign from heaven (the implication being that what He just did with the demon-possessed man doesn’t count as it presumably didn’t come from heaven) to prove His credibility.

Before examining Jesus’ response, it’s worth stopping and considering these leaders.  They witness what to just about anyone else would be a wonderful act of mercy in a man’s life and an incredible display of divine power.  The man regains his ability to speak and now lives freely without Satanic control.  It’s a reason to rejoice with him and praise God.  To these men, however, it’s simply another reason to doubt Jesus and label Him a heretic.  What’s happened to the man is meaningless.  And notice, they don’t at all question the legitimacy of the miracle.  They openly acknowledge what happened.  They just don’t care because their only focus is on the threat Jesus poses to their status and the need to discredit Him.  Their blindness serves as a warning of what sin and selfishness can do to a soul.

17-26
Jesus first responds to the claim that He casts out demons by the power of Satan.  He knows His accusers’ thoughts (they apparently didn’t make the accusation publicly, just among themselves) and answers them (Jesus does this on several occasions and it has to scare the daylights out of His opponents as well as really irritate them – it must be frustrating to criticize someone behind their back only to find they effectively don’t HAVE a back).  He uses logic against them.  Why would Satan empower Jesus to cast out the servants of Satan?  If Satan works against Satan, doesn’t that defeat the purposes of Satan?  Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste and a house divided against itself falls (a line later quoted by Abraham Lincoln).  The accusation thus makes no sense.  Why would Satan work against his goal of ruling the world?

Note that Jesus leaves no doubt that Satan and his kingdom and power are REAL.  Evil comes from many places in this world, but we should never forget that there is a real enemy working against us who has real power to confront, confuse, deceive, worry, and tempt.

In verse 19 Jesus refers to other Jewish exorcists (Acts 19:13, Mk 9:38) and forces the Jews to reconcile their accusations against Him with the actions of their “approved” exorcists (your sons).  If Jesus casts out demons by the power of Satan, then does that mean the same is true of the other exorcists?  If, on the other hand, the Jewish exorcists cast out demons by the power of God, then doesn’t it make sense that He does too?  Those exorcists will someday judge the religious leaders for their outrageous claims (it’s notable that Jesus regularly warns the religious leaders who judge Him throughout His ministry and they just as regularly ignore the warnings).

Verse 20 completes the logical argument.  If Jesus doesn’t cast out demons by the power of Satan, then He must cast them out by the power of God (the finger of God – Ex 8:19, 31:18).  That means that He IS the Messiah (the kingdom of God has come upon you) and unbelief has ramifications. 

In verses 21-23 He uses an illustration to show what’s happening right in front of them.  The strong man who guards his homestead is Satan.  The stronger man who attacks him and overpowers him is Jesus.  The possessions guarded by the strong man and that are plundered by the stronger man are likely people under Satan’s control.  The message of the parable is that the kingdom of God in the form of Jesus overcomes the power of Satan and frees those enslaved by his evil (what Jesus just did with the demon-possessed man).

If Jesus frees believers from the power of evil, then it’s not possible to stand against Him AND claim to stand against evil.  He forces a choice.  Either you’re for Him and against evil or you’re against Him and for evil.  You cannot righteously oppose Him.  If you’re against Jesus, you’re bound by evil.  There are only two camps, with no gray area for the undecided.

Jesus makes an inverse statement in Mark 9:40 – “For he who is not against us is for us.”  This could almost argue for neutrality; as long as I do not actively oppose the message of Jesus then I can be on the right side.  However, the context of the statement must be noted.  Jesus refers in this statement to a man exorcising demons in His name (an activity where if the man were not operating in the power of the Spirit, the consequences would be disastrous).  The man is NOT indifferent; he’s actively involved in ministry.  Thus Jesus can say that his activity – since it is not opposed to Jesus’ message – must be in support of it.  Since the man obviously does not remain neutral, the statement does not contrast with the message of 11:23.  [Interesting that the disciples’ questioning of the man’s motives and power in the Mark passage is similar to the Jews’ accusations of Jesus in 11:15]

To illustrate the two camps truth, Jesus tells another parable.  He equates Israel to a man who has had a demon cast out of him.  Just like the man, the Jews have experienced Jesus’ power and seen His mastery over Satan.  By rejecting Him, however, they open themselves up to even worse evil and more judgment than what they would’ve faced before He came to them.  They are like the man who after the demon is removed does not fill his heart with anything else (his heart is swept and put in order, but empty).  By not filling his heart with something good, the man leaves himself vulnerable to the old evil coming back even stronger (note that the demon refers to the man as my house – he has complete dominion over the man and assumes he can come back whenever he wants).  The Jews are similarly now in worse condition than if they had not experienced Jesus’ ministry at all.  The evil they now engage in carries with it a much harsher judgment (that there are seven other demons in the parable seems to imply the last state of the man is permanent – seven is the number of completion).  Their second state is worse than their first (in Matthew’s retelling of this parable – Matt 12:43-45 – Jesus makes its application clearer by saying, “That is the way it will also be with this evil generation”).

[Some things to note about the demon illustration: waterless places refers to a belief that demons are prevalent in the desert (it’s why some doubted John the Baptist).  The demon not being able to find rest implies that demons are not content unless possessing a human host.]

There is a secondary lesson in this parable.  Nature and souls abhor a vacuum.  It’s not enough to treat the symptoms of our besetting sins.  We can’t just eliminate bad behaviors.  We have to replace them with a love of what’s godly.  Vacuums are filled and the second state can be worse than the first if we don’t fill our souls with what’s good.  It’s not enough to hate wickedness; we have to love righteousness.  It’s not enough to swear off serving Satan; we must wholly serve God.

27-28
This is somewhat of an interruption to the overall story, but it further illustrates the point Jesus wants to make.  A woman in the crowd who presumably witnessed the miracle cries out that His mother is blessed for having given birth to Him and nursing Him.  Jesus doesn’t argue but says the ones who are TRULY blessed are those who – unlike His accusers – hear the word of God and observe it.  Blessed are those who accept Jesus; blessed are those who are with Him and not against Him.

29-32
Jesus now answers those who asked for a sign after Jesus cast out the demon.  He calls them wicked and says that no sign will be forthcoming.  Jesus isn’t a magician who needs to prove Himself.  The only sign they’ll receive is the sign of Jonah.  Just as Jonah spent three days and nights in the fish and lived to tell about it in Nineveh (which implies that the Ninevites knew about his experience), so this generation will see Jesus spend three days and nights in the tomb and then rise again. 

The Ninevites will stand in judgment and condemn this generation because they repented when they saw the sign of Jonah and heard Jonah’s message.  Likewise, the Queen of the South who came to Solomon and believed will stand at judgment and condemn the Jews.  In both cases, they – who were Gentiles (this fact has to rile the Jews listening to Jesus) – believed someone not as great as the One who has come to the Jews.  Jesus will actually die and rise again, unlike Jonah who only typified death and resurrection.  And Jesus brings the actual gospel as opposed to what Jonah preached.  Even so, the Jews do not believe.  Ultimately their condemnation will be greater because of who it is they reject. [This is similar to what Jesus said about Chorazin, Capernaum, and Bethsaida in 10:13-15.]

33-36
This metaphor at first seems random and out of context, but it’s part of Jesus’ continuing response to those who demand a sign.  What He seems to say is that He brings light and the response to that light shows who is in the kingdom. 

This is a different illustration than 8:16 or what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:14-16).  He does not mean that believers need to shine in the darkness (as He says in those passages).  This refers to the kingdom of God and how people respond to it.

The lamp is likely the kingdom.  It’s the message Jesus brings.  Some respond well to the light – they have healthy eyes that allow the light to shine in them.  And some don’t respond – they have bad eyes that don’t allow the light to illumine them.  When the light comes in, it lights up the WHOLE body.  It affects all of life.  There’s no such thing as partially lit.  This goes along with what Jesus said in vs 23 – you’re either in or out.  There’s no part-way with belief.

The implication is that those who demand a sign live in darkness.  Note, however, that there’s an admonition to believe (vs 35).  This isn’t a state that can’t be changed.  Everyone confronted with the light has a choice of how to respond to it.

Summary
The unbelieving, skeptical Jews in this story illustrate Paul’s words to the Corinthians – …the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (II Cor 4:4).  They look directly at a wonderful act of kindness and mercy and call it evil.  They look at the Son of God and call Him a servant of Satan.  They show clearly the danger of rejecting truth, and then losing the ability to recognize it. 

They are deceived because they think by rejecting Jesus they are on the side of righteousness.  The truth is that Jesus frees his followers from evil; thus those who accept Him reject evil.  Ultimately, there are only two choices, two camps.  We are with Jesus or against Him.  We are in the light or in the darkness.  We believe and serve the One who overcomes evil, or we complacently serve the one whose evil overcomes us. 

For those who serve Jesus, we have confidence that no power is greater than His.  Satan is strong but the Son is stronger.  …because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (I Jn 4:4).

Blessed is the one who hears the word of God and observes it.  Blessed are those whose eyes are clear and whose whole bodies are full of light.