Mark 3:24-26 - King James Version (KJV)

²⁴And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

²⁵And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

²⁶And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

REFLECTION

In this very climactic encounter with the Pharisees over Jesus’ reshaped definition of the kingdom of God, He show the absurdity of the charge of casting out demons by Satan’s power. On the contrary, the exorcisms demonstrate the penetration of Satan’s kingdom by the kingdom of God in Jesus. Jesus’ binding and plundering of the strong man was further inaugurated by His crucifixion and resurrection, is propagated by the church, and will be consummated through the events of the Age to Come.

The term divided further reveals the irrationality of the charge. Jesus does not say that the break-up of Satan’s kingdom will occur by internal dissension (“divided”), but rather by the external aggression of the Stronger One over the strong one(Is.49:24-26;53:12).

The miracle was performed by the Spirit of God as an indication of the presence of the kingdom of God. The scribes slandered the Holy Spirit by knowledgeably attributing His work to the Devil, thus committing the “unpardonable sin.” Their sin was not an act of impulse or ignorance, but the result of a continued and willful rejection of the truth concerning Jesus. It was a sin against spiritual knowledge, for they had ample evidence of the truth from the words and deeds of Jesus. In deliberately choosing to insult the Spirit, they forfeited His ministry in their lives and shall not be forgiven. This analogy demonstrates that the blasphemy was not merely an utterance of the lips, but an expression of character.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The Holy Spirit at Work. Think back to earlier passage of Mark; wherein we learn of the baptism of Christ Jesus. He insisted John baptize Him, not for repentance, but because He knew the Holy Spirit would come upon Him at that time. At once The Holy Spirit made him go into the wilderness. Mark graphically states that “the spirit driveth him into the wilderness” (1:12) to be tempted, suggesting the urgency of meeting and defeating Satan’s attempts to defile Him before He embarked on a mission of breaking the enemy’s power in others. Hallelujah!