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25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad." ~ Matthew 12:25-30
Today, we return to our study of Matthew 12 where the Lord Jesus has just delivered a man from demon possession. Whereas in Matthew 1-10 the Lord Jesus is presented as the King, in Matthew 11-12 He is presented as the rejected King. The people's rejection of the Lord Jesus began with their doubt that He was the Messiah. Those doubts led to criticism which led to their indifference and then rejection. The religious leaders of Israel revealed their rejection of Him when they accused Him of working under the influence of Satan. Even for the most ardent skeptic, this seems like harsh criticism to level against a man who has been raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, and delivering the demon-possessed. But when the heart is hardened against God, there is no limit to the sort of criticism one will spew out.
In v.25 of today's passage we read, "But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: 'Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.'"
The Lord Jesus knew the thoughts of the religious leaders of Israel. We shouldn't be surprised since as God He is omniscient. It was at that moment the Lord Jesus shared a logical defense to the religious leaders of Israel. He didn't do this for His benefit but for theirs. Essentially, the Lord Jesus built a case to accommodate the faith of the religious leaders when He told them, "If I am doing this by Satan's power then I'm diminishing Satan's kingdom. It makes no sense that Satan would cast out Satan." But, His case was rejected because He did not fit their definition of the Messiah. They couldn't understand that their sin had to be vanquished before their enemies could be crushed.
The kingdom of anyone who rejects the free gift of being made right with God will be brought to desolation or waste. Oh, it will not be God who will do the destructive work, it will be Satan who is bent on destroying everything God has pronounced as good. The wrath of God is the absence of His goodness and love in any context. The absence of God in any context will result in that context falling apart. In Colossians 1:16-17 we read, "16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." The Lord Jesus spoke the worlds into being by just one word and "in Him" all things consist. This means the Lord Jesus holds the worlds from falling apart. He is the rebar, the glue to it all. Without His ability to hold all things together, we would be hurled into orbit.
In v.26-28 of today's passage we read, "26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you."
It was at this point that the Lord Jesus turned the tables on the religious leaders of Israel. His logic was sound which enabled Him to make a cogent presentation to His skeptics. The patience demonstrated here by the Lord Jesus underscores His character which they attacked. This is the way it is for those who shroud themselves in lies. Their lies made it impossible for them to think straight.
In v.29 of today's passage we read, "Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house."
The Lord Jesus demonstrated by His ability to tie up Satan, that He was and is greater than Satan. He took his property, controlled his hosts, threw out his demons, and He delivered the people who were captive to his system. The religious leaders of Israel knew well that Lucifer was the anointed cherub. They knew there was only one person who can bind the Devil and He stood before them. They just didn't believe the Lord Jesus was the promised Messiah.
In v.30 of today's passage we read, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."
Those who lack a personal relationship with God do not have His heart for others. Sadly, those who are against the Lord even lack His heart for themselves. As a result, they repel others by their rebellion against God. On the other hand, those who know God's heart for them, they not only love themselves but they love their neighbor as themselves. It is all about the heart and who sits on that heart. The road that leads to brokenness is most often long because the journey from head to the heart is one of the longest and most difficult journeys of all. This is why the Lord Jesus began this presentation to these religious leaders with a logical argument.
God knows everything there is to know about us and the amazing thing is that He still likes us. But, His love is only accessed through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross. His love is not dependent upon who we are or what we do but upon who He is and what the Lord Jesus did on the cross. It is through the cross that we have been given the truest definition of God's love toward us. He stopped at no expense to deliver us from the clutches of the evil one. Once we have become unafraid to admit everything that is wrong with us, it is then that we have become the objects of His love precisely because of our sincere cries for Him to help us. Such sincerity is based in our confidence in His unfailing mercy and unbelievable grace.
