Beelzebub. See on Mt 10:25.

And. Not connecting two parts of one accusation, but two accusations, as is evident from the two otiv, which are equivalent to quotation marks.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

THE UNPARDONABLE SIN, V. 22-30

1) “And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said,” (kai hoi grammateis hoi apo lersoslumon katabantes elegon) “And the scribes who were (up there), having gone down from Jerusalem, said;- The assertion of the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem, to Galilee, to consort with the Galileean Pharisees, scribes, and Herodians against Jesus, Mar 3:6.

2) “He hath Beelzebub,” (hoti Beezeboul ekei) “That He has or is possessed by Beelzebub;- He (Jesus) is a slave agent to Beelzebub, a god of flies or of dung.

3) “And by the prince of the devils casteth He out devils (kai hoti en to archonti ton diamonion ekallei ta daimonia) “And by the ruler of the demons (the devils) He expels demons;” They admitted that He had cast out unclean spirits, Mar 3:11. These scribes assumed Jesus was a demon, of a more powerful order or rank than were those demons He was casting out of people.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

(22-30) He hath Beelzebub.See Notes on Mat. 12:24-32.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

22. Scribes which came down from Jerusalem Of course these great scribes from Jerusalem would be very wise, and be able to state the case with perfect learning!

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘And the Scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzeboul, and by the prince of the devils he casts out devils”.’

Note the immediate parallel with what Jesus’ family and friends were saying of Him. They said that He was mad. These said that He was possessed with a powerful devil. The world can never understand those who truly follow Jesus Christ.

‘The scribes who came down from Jerusalem.’ It was certainly something pretty important that drew these great teachers to wretched Galilee. As they were not talking in front of Jesus (Mar 3:23) we can assume that they were meeting in a semi-official council, so that their decision was one to be passed on as bearing their seal of approval.

‘He has Beelzeboul.’ Their decision was that He Himself was possessed (always the best way to discredit someone), and not just by any evil spirit but by the great Beelzeboul, prince of devils, himself (compare Joh 7:20; Joh 8:48; Joh 8:52; Joh 10:20). This may well have started the rumours that Jesus was mad (compare Joh 10:20).

‘Beel’ probably represents ‘baal’ (‘lord’). Different manuscripts and versions present the full name differently, ‘Beelzebub’ (Syriac and Vulgate versions – probably taken from the name of an oracular god in 2Ki 1:2-3), ‘Beelzeboul’ in most manuscripts, ‘Beezeboul’ in a few, but including weighty ones. The latter may have dropped the ‘l’ because ‘lz’ was difficult to Greek speakers. The original is probably Beelzeboul. ‘Zeboul’ may represent ‘zebel’ (dung) or ‘zebul’ (dwelling). Thus the name may mean ‘lord of the house (or dwelling)’ (see Mat 10:25 b which seems to confirm this). This would explain the stress on ‘house’ in Jesus’ repudiation. Mat 10:25 b suggests that Beelzeboul is seen as master over a household of devils.

‘By the prince of devils He casts out devils.’ How could a man cast out devils? Why, by being possessed by their prince. This was their explanation of His power. (The irony of this comes out in that He has already appointed twelve Apostles, one of whose two primary tasks was to cast out devils). The only other alternative would have been to acknowledge Him as a prophet of God, and that they would not do. He was not subservient enough to them. In Mark Beelzeboul and the prince of devils might be seen as two separate representations, but Luk 11:15 tells us that ‘Beelzeboul’ did in fact represent the prince of devils. So they tried to argue that Jesus was devil possessed.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Scribes from Jerusalem and the Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit (3:22-30).

By now Jesus had attracted the attention not only of the local Scribes but of the great Doctors from Jerusalem. They had probably been called in because of the influence that He was having. And once they had considered His accomplishments they knew that they could only come to one of two conclusions. Either they had to admit that His casting out of evil spirits was accomplished by the power of God, meaning that they must accept Him as a prophet, or they must find something else to account for it. As it was they seized on the only possible alternative acceptable to them. He could only do it because He was in league with the Devil, for in their eyes His refusal to conform to all their ways indicated that He could not be of God.

Jesus then accused them of dishonest thinking and warned them that if they continually rejected the clear testimony of the Spirit in that way they were in danger of the unforgivable sin, ‘blasphemy against the Holy Spirit’, that is, to so harden their hearts and reject the testimony of the Spirit that they made themselves impervious to His pleadings. Once a man is in that position he has lost hope.

And in the course of His argument He brought out to them Who He was. He was the stronger than Satan. He could bind Satan with a word. None other that they knew of could do that. Other sought to do it by quasi-magical plants and secret mysteries and incantations, and by calling on the names of people like Solomon (see note on Mar 1:21-28). But He did it by the exercise of His own authority. Let them then consider the significance of that, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Analysis.

a And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzeboul,” and, “By the prince of the demons He casts out the demons” (Mar 3:22).

b And He called them to Him, and said to them in picture language, “How can Satan cast out Satan?” (Mar 3:23).

c “And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand” (Mar 3:24-25).

d “And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end” (Mar 3:26).

c “But no one can enter into the house of the strong man, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house” (Mar 3:27).

b “Truly I say to you, All their sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and their blasphemies with which in any way they will blaspheme, but whoever will blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” (Mar 3:28-29).

a Because they said, “He has an unclean spirit” (Mar 3:30).

Note that in ‘a’ they said, ‘He has Beelzeboul”, and in the parallel they said, ‘He has an unclean spirit’. In ‘b’ they impute His casting out of Satan to Satan, and in the parallel are thus in danger of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. In ‘c’ a house must be undivided in order to stand, and in the parallel such a house can only be despoiled by One Who is stronger than the strong man. Centrally in ‘d’ if Satan is fighting himself then he has no hope, and the end is in sight for him.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Discourse on the Casting Out of Devils.

The pharisaic theory and the defense of Jesus:

v. 22. And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth He out devils.

v. 23. And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?

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

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

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

v. 27. No man can enter into a strong man’s house and spoil his goods except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

The work of Jesus had been characterized especially by the healing of demoniacs, a cure both difficult and pronounced. It was for this reason that the enemies of Jesus took occasion to attack above all these signs of healing. The scribes from Jerusalem they were, both Pharisees and elders, since it became evident that the local rabbis could not cope with the situation. They literally came down from the capital city, for Jerusalem is situated at an elevation of 2,800 feet, while the Sea of Galilee is 620 feet below the level of the Mediterranean. The leaders of the Jewish Church were deeply troubled over the fact that this unknown rabbi, who had received neither His instruction nor the sanction for His teaching from them, should have such marvelous success; hence the delegation. An expressive and comprehensive term: they said. They made it their business, continually, and wherever an opportunity presented itself, to influence the people against Jesus. And their most malignant slander was this: He has Beelzebub, or Beelzebub; this prince of the devils gives Him the power to cast out demons. Beelzebub was the name of the patron idol of Ekron, a city of the Philistines. It meant “the god of flies”; but the Israelites changed one consonant, and had it read Beelzebub, “the god of dung,” to ridicule the false god. In this way the word gradually came to designate the devil. The intention is plain. The meaning is: If this man were not in league with the devil, if He did not possess His power by authority and gift of the devil, the demons would not obey Him in going forth from the demoniacs. But Jesus has an answer ready to confound them. Knowing their thoughts, He assumes the offensive. He cites them to appear before Him and proposes to them a number of questions. Is it reasonable to suppose that Satan would cast out Satan? Would he be so foolish as to destroy his own kingdom by permitting divisions in the midst of his own armies! Would he permit the members of his own household to be at loggerheads with each other! Satan is far too keen and too prudent to bring harm upon himself and to destroy his own kingdom, for he knows that such a proceeding would signify and foretell the end of his reign. In a positive form, the defense of Christ was: Not by Beelzebub, but by the Spirit of God, I cast out devils. And this Spirit of God that spoke through Him and manifested Himself through Him, bore witness to the heart and minds also of the Pharisees. And yet they blasphemed and exhibited the poison of their heart by labeling the work of God as the work of the devil and hindering the spread of the Gospel. Similar blasphemies occur in the very midst of the so-called Christian Church to this day. The doctrine of Christ, the way of salvation as taught by Him, is blasphemed as a dangerous, harmful doctrine, and those that adhere to it in simple faith are adjudged undesirable neighbors and citizens. But the word of Jesus at this point may still be applied.

Over against the slanderous, blasphemous explanation of the Jews, Jesus now places His simple and true explanation. The devil is strong and mighty, indeed, but in Christ he has found more than his match, he has met Him whom he must acknowledge, without question, as his Master. Christ, the Son of God, has entered into the house of the strong one, Satan; He has taken with Him the spoil which fell to His lot at the time of His great victory. The demons, all the evil angels, had to confess Him and bow before Him as the Son of God; they were obliged to obey, even against their will, for all things have been put under His feet, Eph 1:22. By His life, Passion, and death, by His active and passive obedience to His heavenly Father’s will Christ has conquered the devil and delivered all men from his power. Thus it is that Christ can now seize the spoils taken from Satan, tear from him his possessions, also those poor people whom he has possessed. This our Lord does even today through the Word, by which the souls of men are delivered from the power of the devil.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Mar 3:22-30 . See on Mat 12:24-32 , who narrates more completely from the collection of Logia and historical tradition. Comp. Luk 11:15-23 ; Luk 12:10 .

And the scribes, etc., asserted a still worse charge.

Mar 3:23 . . ] De Wette is of opinion, without warrant, that this could only have taken place in the open air , not in the house (Mar 3:20 ). They were in the house along with, but further away from, Jesus; He calls them to Him to speak with them.

] not: one Satan the other, but: Satan himself; see on Mat 12:26 . Comp. , Mar 3:26 . The want of the article with the proper name is not opposed to this.

Mar 3:24 . Now, in order to make good this , ( i.e. . . .), there come, linked on by the simple and (not ), two illustrative analogues ( ), after which at Mar 3:26 , but likewise by the simple and , not by a particle of inference, is added the point, quod erat demonstrandum . This symmetrical progression by means of is rhetorical ; it has something in it impressive, striking a feature also presenting itself in the discourse as it proceeds asyndetically in Mar 3:27-28 .

Mar 3:28 . The order of the words: . , places them so apart, as to lay a great emphasis on . See Bornemann and Herbst, ad Xen. Mem. ii. 10. 2. The expression . ., not a singular reminiscence from Mat 12:32 (Weiss), is rather a trait of Mark, depicting human weakness.

.] namely, in respect of the guilt , “nunquam delendi,” Beza.

Mar 3:30 . : (He spake thus) because they said . Comp. Luk 11:18 .

] not again as at Mar 3:22 : , because of the contrast with . The less is it to be said that Mark places on a par the blasphemy against the person of Jesus (Mat 12:31 f.) and that against the Holy Spirit (Kstlin, p. 318), or that he has “already given up” the former blasphemy (Hilgenfeld). It is included, in fact, in Mar 3:28 .

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

(22) And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince, of the devils casteth he out devils. (23) And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? (24) And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. (25) And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. (26) And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. (27) No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

See Mat 12:24-30 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

22 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.

Ver. 22. By the prince of devils, &c. ] A devilish blasphemy, occasioned perhaps by the former calumny of his kinsmen. What advantages make our adversaries of our smaller differences! Every subdivision is a strong weapon in the hand of the contrary party.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

22. ] . ., peculiar to Mark: see note on Mat 12:24 . Here Matt. has . Luke , i.e. .

. ] This addition is most important. If He was possessed by Beelzebub, the prince of the dmons , He would thus have authority over the inferior evil spirits.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Mar 3:22-30 . Pharisaic theory as to the cures of demoniacs wrought by Jesus (Mat 12:22-37 , Luk 11:17-23 ).

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Mar 3:22 . . ., the scribes from Jerusalem . The local Pharisees who had taken the Herodians into their murderous counsels had probably also communicated with the Jerusalem authorities, using all possible means to compass their end. The representatives of the southern scribes had probably arrived on the scene about the same time as the friends of Jesus, although it is not inconceivable that Mk. introduces the narrative regarding them here because of the resemblances and contrasts between their theory and that of the friends. Mt. sets the incident in different relations, yielding a contrast between Pharisaic ideas and those of the people respecting the cure of demoniacs by Jesus (Mar 12:22 f.). , He hath Beelzebub, implying that Beelzebub hath Him, using Him as his agent. The expression points to something more than an alliance, as in Mt., to possession, and that on a grand scale; a divine possession by a base deity doubtless, god of flies (Beelzebub) or god of dung (Beelzebul), still a god, a sort of Satanic incarnation; an involuntary compliment to the exceptional power and greatness of Jesus. . .: the assumption is that spirits are cast out by the aid of some other spirit stronger than those ejected.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Mark

THE MISTAKES OF CHRIST’S FOES AND FRIENDS

Mar 3:22 – Mar 3:35 .

We have in this passage three parts,-the outrageous official explanation of Christ and His works, the Lord’s own solution of His miracles, and His relatives’ well-meant attempt to secure Him, with His answer to it.

I. The scribes, like Christ’s other critics, judged themselves in judging Him, and bore witness to the truths which they were eager to deny.

Their explanation would be ludicrous, if it were not dreadful. Mark that it distinctly admits His miracles. It is not fashionable at present to attach much weight to the fact that none of Christ’s enemies ever doubted these. Of course, the credence of men, in an age which believed in the possibility of the supernatural, is more easy, and their testimony less cogent, than that of a jury of twentieth-century scientific sceptics. But the expectation of miracle had been dead for centuries when Christ came; and at first, at all events, no anticipation that He would work them made it easier to believe that He did.

It would have been a sure way of exploding His pretensions, if the officials could have shown that His miracles were tricks. Not without weight is the attestation from the foe that ‘this man casteth out demons.’ The preposterous explanation that He cast out demons by Beelzebub, is the very last resort of hatred so deep that it will father an absurdity rather than accept the truth. It witnesses to the inefficiency of explanations of Him which omit the supernatural. The scribes recognised that here was a man who was in touch with the unseen. They fell back upon ‘by Beelzebub,’ and thereby admitted that humanity, without seeing something more at the back of it, never made such a man as Jesus.

It is very easy to solve an insoluble problem, if you begin by taking the insoluble elements out of it. That is how a great many modern attempts to account for Christianity go to work. Knock out the miracles, waive Christ’s own claims as mistaken reports, declare His resurrection to be entirely unhistorical, and the remainder will be easily accounted for, and not worth accounting for. But the whole life of the Christ of the Gospels is adequately explained by no explanation which leaves out His coming forth from the Father, and His exercise of powers above those of humanity and ‘nature.’

This explanation is an instance of the credulity of unbelief. It is more difficult to believe the explanation than the alternative which it is framed to escape. If like produces like, Christ cannot be explained by anything but the admission of His divine nature. Serpents’ eggs do not hatch out into doves. The difficulties of faith are ‘gnats’ beside the ‘camels’ which unbelief has to swallow.

II. The true explanation of Christ’s power over demoniacs.

Jesus has no difficulty in putting aside the absurd theory that, in destroying the kingdom of evil, He was a servant of evil and its dark ruler. Common-sense says, If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself, and his kingdom cannot stand. An old play is entitled, ‘The Devil is an Ass,’ but he is not such an ass as to fight against himself. As the proverb has it, ‘Hawks do not pick out hawks’ eyes.’

It would carry us too far to deal at length with the declarations of our Lord here, which throw a dim light into the dark world of supernatural evil. His words are far too solemn and didactic to be taken as accommodations to popular prejudice, or as mere metaphor. Is it not strange that people will believe in spiritual communications, when they are vouched for by a newspaper editor, more readily than when Christ asserts their reality? Is it not strange that scientists, who find difficulty in the importance which Christianity attaches to man in the plan of the universe, and will not believe that all its starry orbs were built for him which Christianity does not allege, should be incredulous of teachings which reveal a crowd of higher intelligences? Jesus not only tests the futile explanation by common-sense, but goes on to suggest the true one. He accepts the belief that there is a ‘prince of the demons.’ He regards the souls of men who have not yielded themselves to God as His ‘goods.’ He declares that the lord of the house must be bound before his property can be taken from him. We cannot stay to enlarge on the solemn view of the condition of unredeemed men thus given. Let us not put it lightly away. But we must note how deep into the centre of Christ’s work this teaching leads us. Translated into plain language it just means that Christ by incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and present work from the throne, has broken the power of evil in its central hold. He has crushed the serpent’s head, his heel is firmly planted on it, and, though the reptile may still ‘swinge the scaly horror of his folded tail,’ it is but the dying flurries of the creature. He was manifested ‘that He might destroy the works of the devil.’

No trace of indignation can be detected in Christ’s answer to the hideous charge. But His patient heart overflows in pity for the reckless slanderers, and He warns them that they are coming near the edge of a precipice. Their malicious blindness is hurrying them towards a sin which hath never forgiveness. Blasphemy is, in form, injurious speaking, and in essence, it is scorn or malignant antagonism. The Holy Spirit is the divine agent in revealing God’s heart and will. To blaspheme Him is ‘the external symptom of a heart so radically and finally set against God that no power which God can consistently use will ever save it.’ ‘The sin, therefore, can only be the culmination of a long course of self-hardening and depraving.’ It is unforgivable, because the soul which can recognise God’s revelation of Himself in all His goodness and moral perfection, and be stirred only to hatred thereby, has reached a dreadful climax of hardness, and has ceased to be capable of being influenced by His beseeching. It has passed beyond the possibility of penitence and acceptance of forgiveness. The sin is unforgiven, because the sinner is fixed in impenitence, and his stiffened will cannot bow to receive pardon.

The true reason why that sin has never forgiveness is suggested by the accurate rendering, ‘Is guilty of an eternal sin’ R.V.. Since the sin is eternal, the forgiveness is impossible. Practically hardened and permanent unbelief, conjoined with malicious hatred of the only means of forgiveness, is the unforgivable sin. Much torture of heart would have been saved if it had been observed that the Scripture expression is not sin , but blasphemy . Fear that it has been committed is proof positive that it has not; for, if it have been, there will be no relenting in enmity, nor any wish for deliverance.

But let not the terrible picture of the depths of impenitence to which a soul may fall, obscure the blessed universality of the declaration from Christ’s lips which preludes it, and declares that all sin but the sin of not desiring pardon is pardoned. No matter how deep the stain, no matter how inveterate the habit, whosoever will can come and be sure of pardon.

III. The attempt of Christ’s relatives to withdraw Him from publicity, and His reply to it.

Mar 3:21 tells us that His kindred sent out to lay hold on Him; for they thought Him beside Himself. He was to be shielded from the crowd of followers, and from the plots of scribes, by being kept at home and treated as a harmless lunatic. Think of Jesus defended from the imputation of being in league with Beelzebub by the excuse that He was mad! This visit of His mother and brethren must be connected with their plan to lay hold on Him, in order to apprehend rightly Christ’s answer. If they did not mean to use violence, why should they have tried to get Him away from the crowd of followers, by a message, when they could have reached Him as easily as it did? He knew the snare laid for Him, and puts it aside without shaming its contrivers. With a wonderful blending of dignity and tenderness, He turns from kinsmen who were not akin, to draw closer to Himself, and pour His love over, those who do the will of God.

The test of relationship with Jesus is obedience to His Father. Christ is not laying down the means of becoming His kinsmen, but the tokens that we are such. He is sometimes misunderstood as saying, ‘Do God’s will without My help, and ye will become My kindred.’ What He really says is, ‘If ye are My kindred, you will do God’s will; and if you do, you will show that you are such.’ So the statement that we become His kindred by faith does not conflict with this great saying. The two take hold of the Christian life at different points: the one deals with the means of its origination, the other with the tokens of its reality. Faith is the root of obedience, obedience is the blossom of faith. Jesus does not stand like a stranger till we have hammered out obedience to His Father, and then reward us by welcoming us as His brethren, but He answers our faith by giving us a life kindred with, because derived from, His own, and then we can obey.

It is active submission to God’s will, not orthodox creed or devout emotion, which shows that we are His blood relations. By such obedience, we draw His love more and more to us. Though it is not the means of attaining to kinship with Him, it is the condition of receiving love-tokens from Him, and of increasing affinity with Him.

That relationship includes and surpasses all earthly ones. Each obedient man is, as it were, all three,-mother, sister, and brother. Of course the enumeration had reference to the members of the waiting group, but the remarkable expression has deep truth in it. Christ’s relation to the soul covers all various sweetnesses of earthly bonds, and is spoken of in terms of many of them. He is the bridegroom, the brother, the companion, and friend. All the scattered fragrances of these are united and surpassed in the transcendent and ineffable union of the soul with Jesus. Every lonely heart may find in Him what it most needs, and perhaps is bleeding away its life for the loss or want of. To many a weeping mother He has said, pointing to Himself, ‘Woman, behold thy son’; to many an orphan He has whispered, revealing His own love, ‘Son, behold thy mother.’

All earthly bonds are honoured most when they are woven into crowns for His head; all human love is then sweetest when it is as a tiny mirror in which the great Sun is reflected. Christ is husband, brother, sister, friend, lover, mother, and more than all which these sacred names designate,-even Saviour and life. If His blood is in our veins, and His spirit is the spirit of our lives, we shall do the will of His and our Father in heaven.

Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren

scribes. Others also came, with hostile intent.

Beelzebub. See note on Mat 10:25.

by. Greek. en. App-104.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

22.] . ., peculiar to Mark: see note on Mat 12:24. Here Matt. has .-Luke , i.e. .

. ] This addition is most important. If He was possessed by Beelzebub, the prince of the dmons, He would thus have authority over the inferior evil spirits.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Mar 3:22-27

9. CHRIST’S POWER ASCRIBED TO BEELZEBUB

Mar 3:22-27

(Mat 12:22-37; Luk 11:14-22)

22 And the scribes that came down from Jerusalem–Scribes were wise men among the Jews, doubtless sent by those in authority to watch the movements of Jesus. They were his enemies and seeking to destroy his influence. Matthew gives a fuller report of this matter. (Mat 12:22-29.) The leaders were a delegation of men from the religious sects at Jerusalem that finally put him to death.

said, He hath Beelzebub,–The meaning is, he is possessed with Satan–Satan is with or in him, hence he has power over inferior evil spirits–he is in league with the devil.

and, By the prince of the demons casteth he out the demons.–“The prince of the demons” was the captain–that is the chief ruler over all the devils. He was leader and commander over all the host of evil spirits. Hence he is called the devil. We can now see what use the scribes would have made of the testimony before borne to Jesus, by evil spirits (Ch. 1 :34; 3:12), if he had not rejected it; as well as the wisdom of Jesus in rejecting it.

23 And he called them unto him,–Those who had made the charge. Jesus, on this, as on other occasions, knew the thoughts of the Pharisees (Mat 12:25), and now proposes to discuss it out with them and expose their reasoning.

and said unto them in parables,–Parable means comparisons. It is commonly applied to our Lord’s beautiful comparisons in the form of a narrative, but sometimes, as here, to comparisons simply stated without the form of a story.

How can Satan cast out Satan?–Jesus begins his reply by asking a question which was not answered except by himself. The mere asking the question shows the absurdity and the impossibility of Satan fighting against his own agents and representatives. How can he fight against himself? To do this would be self-destructive. He would be fighting for God and against himself. [The scribes had said this to the people, not to him. Luke (11:17) says: “He, knowing their thoughts”–that is, by divine wisdom he read their thoughts, perceived what they were thinking, so he called them to him, and spoke in parables. He used the effect of such a division in a kingdom or family presented in succeeding verses to show how, if their statements were true, then Satan was destroying his own kingdom. To cast a demon out was to dispossess him of his home; was to destroy his power to serve Satan. Demons did harm only as they entered into and misled men. How could Satan cast them out?]

24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.–He uses this as his first illustration to show them their folly in the charge they had made against him. If Satan casteth out Satan, he is divided against himself and hath risen up against himself; “how then shall his kingdom stand?” In this way Satan himself “cannot stand, but hath an end.” [If an earthly kingdom be divided against itself, one part destroying another part, that kingdom would weaken and waste itself so as to be not able to stand, be brought to desolation, as Matthew says (12:25.) Their subtle and cunning device was completely overthrown, and Jesus made their own arguments recoil on their own heads. Jesus does not teach that the kingdom of Satan is at peace with itself. It is a kingdom of anarchy, conflict, hate. But in its relation to the kingdom of God it stands a unit.

25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.–This is the second illustration used by Jesus to show the folly of the scribes. Here, the word “house” is used for family. A family divided against its own interest and existence will not be able to stand, for the reason it has no solid foundation upon which to stand. It is resting upon sand which will give way. [The welfare of every family, nation, or body of any kind depends upon its unity of purpose and harmony of action. A ruling head must be recognized. If discord prevails and faction fight against faction, ruin must come to the whole body.]

26 And if Satan hath risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.–Here our Lord applies what he has already said.

[If he by the power of Satan was casting out demons, the subjects and servants of Satan, dislodging them from the homes they had secured to go forth as homeless wanderers through desert places (Mat 12:43), then Satan in and through him was making war upon and destroying his own subjects; then he is so divided against himself that he cannot stand, but must come to an end. Matthew (12:27, 28) tells he made his further reply: “And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore shall they be your judges. But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you.” Some of their children claimed to cast out demons, and he made the thrust that “if I cast out demons by the power of Satan,” they doubtless did also. The point he makes is, Satan would be foolish to so destroy his servants, and Satan has never been a fool. The weakness and ruin pictured here as produced by division in the household, the kingdoms of earth, or the kingdom of Satan, ought to warn Christians of the fearful weakness of division and strife in the church of Christ which so fearfully prevails, and ought to keep before Christians the important thought that union and harmony can be maintained in the church only by all accepting the things God has required, and rejecting every service not required by God in his holy word.]

27 But no one can enter into the house of the strong man, –The “strong man” is Satan. His house or palace is this lower world and the heart of man, the center of his work. These are his dwelling places. Satan, as well as Jesus, works and operates upon the heart. The human heart is the great battlefield. The future destiny of man depends upon which party succeeds in forcing the other out and gaining possession of the heart.

and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.–The stronger than the “strong man” and who binds him is Christ. He first bound him when Satan endeavored to invade the heart of Jesus through his temptations and when he triumphed over the temptations. (Luk 11:21-22.) Here Jesus presses home one of his highest thoughts. [Jesus entered the heart of man, in which the subjects of Satan are fixed as their home, and has cast them out. Now, no man can enter a strong man’s house (Satan is a strong man) and spoil his goods until he has first bound the strong man. If he binds him he shows he is stronger than the strong man. Jesus has done this with Satan, entered his house and bound him, and so shows he is stronger than he . Only God is stronger than Satan. Therefore he is God.] There is now, as there has ever been, no middle ground, between truth and error, right and wrong, true worship and vain worship. The fact that one endeavors to be noncommittal, “indifferent” or “on the fence,” places him on the wrong side. If one is not actively engaged in the service of Christ, he is against Christ. One must work, climb up, and prove faithful until life ends to be saved; but he can be lost by doing nothing. He who does nothing is lost. But one of the most dangerous and despicable characters is he who identifies himself with God’s true worshipers while he works subtly to undermine the truth and to advance false systems of worship.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

CHAPTER 13

The Glory of the Gospel and the Danger of Unbelief

And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong mans house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

Mar 3:22-30

The Scribes came down from Jerusalem specifically to slander the Son of God. They saw the miracles he performed and could not deny their reality. They heard his doctrine and could not refute it. Yet, they would not bow to the Lord Jesus as their Lord, acknowledging him to be the Christ of God. They would not repent of their sins and believe on the Son of God. Instead they accused him of being in league with the devil. They said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of devils casteth he out devils!

Throughout his life on this earth, our Master was misunderstood by his family and friends, and deliberately misrepresented by his enemies. This was a trial he had to endure from his childhood until his death as our Substitute upon the cursed tree. While he was most humble, he was thought to be most arrogant. When he went about his Fathers business, he was thought to be negligent and irresponsible. Though he was perfectly righteous, he was thought to be altogether sinful.

We must not expect better treatment in this world. As we endeavor to live for Christ, as we seek the glory of God, as we try to walk in obedience to the will of God, others will judge us to be self-serving, self-promoting, rebels and antinomians. Unbelieving friends and relatives will not understand us. Enemies will deliberately misrepresent our actions and accuse us of being ruled by the most vile and base motives imaginable. Our Lord Jesus told us plainly that these things must come to pass (Mat 10:16-26).

Our Saviors kinsmen said, He is beside himself! The Pharisees called him a glutton, a drunk, and a sinner. The Scribes said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of devils casteth he out devils. We will be wise to expect and be prepared for the same treatment, because the world knoweth us not, even as it knew him not.

Yet, even these base actions of wicked men were turned by our sovereign Master into an occasion for good to his chosen. He took their evil works and words and used them to teach us much needed spiritual lessons that we would be wise always to remember. The things taught in these verses deserve special attention. They are recorded here by divine inspiration for our learning and admonition.

Slandering Scribes

Lost, self-righteous, religious people, while pretending to be loving, benevolent, and gracious are never reluctant to slander the names of others to promote themselves. But, as John Trapp observed, envy never regards how true, but how mischievous. The lying heart is manifest by the lying tongue. The Scribes who had come down from Jerusalem, seeking to find some accusation against the Lord Jesus, when they saw, or were informed that he had cast out unclean spirits, said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils (Mar 3:22). Sometimes they called him Beelzebub (Satan), the prince of devils (Mat 10:25). At other times they said our Saviors work of mercy and grace was the work of the devil.

They were filled and guided by enmity and envy toward the Son of God. These men knew that he was not insane. And they knew that he had exercised power that only God possesses, healing the bodies of men and casting out devils; but that, they refused to acknowledge. In their malice and envy they attributed to Satan the power and work of God, hoping by their slander to defame him whose doctrine they could not refute and whose work they could not deny.

The Scribes were trying to protect themselves, to guard their religious turf, and protect their position of influence. They had no concern for either the souls of men, the truth of God, or the glory of God. They were moved by nothing more noble than envy. If they owned the Saviors work to be of God, their religious importance, their occupation, and their gain would be gone. The proud, self-serving religionists, claiming to be Gods servants, were the slaves of Satan. As such, they blasphemed the Son of God.

Let all be warned. Such deceitful workers are present and highly esteemed throughout the religious world in all ages, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christas the ministers of righteousness (2Co 11:13-15). And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (2Pe 2:2).

The Parable

Our Lord Jesus responded to the Scribes accusation by a parable (Mar 3:23-26). In the parable he clearly shows the absurdity of their accusation against him. Any fool knows that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.

And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

There are many things that may be properly taught from this parable. However, that which is, in my opinion, the most important lesson to be drawn from these words of our Redeemer is the one thing most often overlooked. This parable shows us the shameful sinfulness of strife and division among those who are supposed to be friends and allies in the same cause.

I realize that wicked men, men who would utterly destroy the gospel of Christ, promote peace at all cost. There are many who tell us that we must never oppose anything or anyone. Such traitors to Christ and his gospel must not be heard. Yet, there is a form of strife and division that is evil, always evil, and only evil. It is to be avoided by us at all cost. It is our responsibility to seek, pray for, and promote the peace of Jerusalem, the unity and harmony of Gods church and kingdom in this world (Eph 4:1-6; Eph 4:30-32; Eph 5:1-2). We should, as much as possible, avoid needless differences, disputes, and debates about spiritual things.

Nothing so weakens the arms of the church as the carnal strife which divides it. Needless disputes absorb thought, energy, time, and effort that should be spent in the furtherance of the gospel. They furnish infidels with weapons to use against us. The divisions that exist among Gods true people in this world, no matter how justified we think we are in maintaining them, are but taking sides with the devil against ourselves.

Satan is the one who initiates them, the one who maintains them, and the one who profits by them. If he cannot extinguish the kingdom of God, he labors tirelessly to divide the soldiers of Christs kingdom into combating armies, fighting each other. The crafty old serpent knows by long experience that to divide is to conquer.

We must and should be zealous for the glory of God and the truths of the gospel. I utterly abhor that sentimentality that is willing to sacrifice the truth and glory of God upon the altar of what men call love and peace. We cannot be too jealous about the truths of the gospel and the glory of our God. Divine sovereignty, total depravity, eternal election, effectual atonement, almighty grace, and the preservation of Gods elect are matters vital to truth, vital to the glory of God, and vital to the souls of men. With regard to these things, we must never budge an inch for anyone. But the method of church government, the kind of musical instruments employed in worship, and whether the congregation concludes the sermon by saying, Amen, or saying nothing are matters totally insignificant.

We should never make a fuss about trifles. Far too many are morbidly scrupulous about pointing out, calling attention to, and debating differences with others about the most minute details. They are far more anxious to point out insignificant differences and magnify them than they are to lock arms with their brethren and promote truth for the glory of Christ.

Nothing can ever justify such behavior. Nothing! There is something more important than you and me, something more important than our opinion, our name, or our desires. The truth of God, the glory of God, and the kingdom of God are infinitely more important. The fact is, all debate is wicked. It is of the flesh, does nothing for Gods glory, accomplishes no good, and only gratifies the flesh. Debate is always listed in the Word of God with envy, wrath, strife, whisperings, backbiting, slander, and murder (Rom 1:29; 2Co 12:20).

As we ought to scrupulously avoid needless strife about words and promote the unity of the church and kingdom of God throughout the world, let every child of God be doubly scrupulous in protecting and promoting the peace, harmony, and unity of the local church to which God has joined him (1Co 1:9-13). Love one another. Be kind and thoughtful toward one another. Speak well to and of one another. Forgive one another. Be patient, forbearing, and longsuffering with one another (Jas 3:13-18; Jas 4:1-3).

Great Grace

No man can enter into a strong mans house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house (Mar 3:27).

Here our Savior speaks of his great, omnipotent, saving grace. There seems to be a direct connection between these words and the prophetic words of Isaiah concerning our most glorious Lord Jesus Christ and his almighty, gracious, saving operations in and upon chosen, redeemed sinners.

Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. (Isa 49:24-26)

We are all, by nature, sinners under the dominion of Satan. Our hearts are his house and palace. His tyrannical rule and dominion over us is so great that we are his willing servants. We could never free ourselves from his dominion if we would, and would not if we could. Salvation comes when the Lord Jesus Christ invades the city of Mansoul by the sovereign power of his omnipotent grace, casts Satan out, and takes possession of our lives, planting his throne where once Satan reigned, in the very core of our hearts.

The Lord of glory is not a pathetic little Jesus, knocking at the sinners hearts door, waiting for the dead sinner, by an act of his will, to open the door and let him in! He who is our Savior is the sovereign Son of God, omnipotent in mercy and irresistible in grace. When he knocks at the hearts door, he knocks the door in, bolt and bar. He comes in, takes possession of the soul. And when he comes in, he brings his welcome with him! The first time the heaven born soul is aware of his presence is when he begins to cast the devil out!

Every chosen, redeemed sinner shall be set free by the power of Gods omnipotent grace at Gods appointed time. Our glorious Christ regenerates and gives eternal life to dead sinners by the irresistible power and grace of his sovereign Spirit. And awakened, regenerate sinners come to Christ with willing hearts, because he gives them faith and causes them to come to him (Psa 65:4; Psa 110:3). All who are saved by the grace of Christ willingly bow to him as their only and rightful Lord. Believers are his willing bond-slaves, men and women who willingly stoop down before him and slip under his yoke.

Great Forgiveness

Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme (Mar 3:28).

What a great, glorious declaration this is! He who delights in mercy declares, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme! That may appear to be a trifling matter to some. But to that person who has tasted his sin, who knows the corruptions of his own heart, whose soul burns with the very fires of hell tormenting his conscience, this is the greatest thing ever heard. All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme! The sins of my youth and the sins of my old age, the sins of my heart and the sins of my hand, the sins of my mind and the sins of my mouth, open sins and secret sins, past sins, present sins and future sins, my sins as an infidel and my sins as a believer he has freely, fully and forever forgiven! The sins of persecutors like Saul, the sins of idolaters like Manasseh, and the sins of harlots like Rahab are forgiven by the Son of God.

All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme! What a magnificently broad proclamation of Gods infinite mercy! The blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin (Act 13:39; 1Jn 1:7; 1Jn 1:9; 1Jn 2:1-2). The righteousness of Christ covers all iniquity. The intercession of Christ prevails over all transgressions. This, J. C. Ryle said, is the glory of the Gospel. The very first thing it proposes to man is free pardon, full forgiveness, complete remission, without money and without price.

Lay hold of this thing, which is the very glory of the gospel. Often we faint, falter, and fail. We rightly feel ourselves altogether unworthy before our God. We are cast down in our souls. And Satan harasses us with our countless sins. But this is a fact beyond all dispute. If we trust Christ alone as our Lord and Savior, if we trust his blood alone to atone for our sins and his righteousness alone to give us acceptance with God, then our God has cast our sins, all our sins behind his back forever. He will never remember them against us.

Eternal Damnation

It has become acceptable, and even popular, in many circles today for men, while claiming to believe the Bible, while claiming to preach the gospel, to deny the reality of hell and eternal punishment; but in Mar 3:29-30 the Son of God speaks about eternal damnation!

But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

Terrible as this truth is, it is truth. We must not shut our eyes to it. We must not fail to declare it. Sin is an infinitely evil thing. It required a sacrifice and an atonement of infinite value to satisfy the justice of God for our sins. And if God finds sin upon any in the day of judgment, he will pour out upon that soul his infinite wrath, without mercy in everlasting damnation!

Let it ever be ours to preach the gospel of free, full forgiveness by the blood of Christ, calling and urging eternity bound sinners everywhere to flee from the wrath of God. Come take refuge for your soul in the City of Refuge. Never rest until you rest in him who is the Rock of Ages. You and I will spend eternity either under the blackness and darkness of the terror and torment of everlasting hell, or in the bliss, glory, and delight of heaven. Where will you spend eternity? We must soon meet the holy, eternal God in judgment. What will you plea for acceptance with him? The sinners only hope is Christ; and, oh, what blessed hope believing sinners have in him by the gospel!

In Christ I now believe,

And trusting in His name,

Redemption through His blood I have!

Complete in Him I am!

This hope my soul uplifts,

When sin and Satan press:

Unchanging are my Fathers gifts,

Who promises to bless.

My sins, my sins, my sins,

Are blotted out, each one!

No cause for wrath on me remains!

God sees me in His Son!

So, come to me what may,

It must, I know, be blest.

God, Who for me His Son did slay,

Will do for me whats best!

The Unpardonable Sin

In verse twenty-nine the Son of God states emphatically, He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness. There is such a thing as the unpardonable sin. This is not a matter of speculation. It may not fit well with our theological systems; but it is a matter of divine revelation, plainly stated and undeniable (Heb 6:4-6; Heb 10:26; 1Jn 5:16-17).

What is the unpardonable sin? I fully recognize that caution must be used here. The Scriptures clearly reveal the fact that there is an unpardonable sin; but they do not expressly tell us what it is. However, the Word of God does hold these Scribes and their cohorts, the Pharisees (Mat 12:31-32), as examples of men who committed it.

The unpardonable sin appears to be the willful rejection of Christ and his gospel, a deliberate, persistent refusal to bow to the claims of Christ as Lord. It seems to be a combination of a clear intellectual knowledge of the gospel and a deliberate rejection of it, a knowledge of Christ in the head and a hatred of Christ in the heart (Pro 1:23-33). Though Saul of Tarsus was a persecutor and a blasphemer, he obtained mercy because he did it ignorantly (1Ti 1:12-13).

Many of Gods children in this world have been greatly distressed with this, fearful that they may have committed the unpardonable sin. I understand their fear. I have had the same fear. It is a fear with which Satan often buffets the soul brought low with the knowledge of his sin. Of this much I am certain, the blasphemy our Lord speaks of here, this sin that is unpardonable, whatever it is, none of Gods elect can commit it.

The sinner who trusts Christ alone for all grace, salvation, forgiveness, righteousness, eternal life, and acceptance with God has not and cannot commit it. Those fearful, timid, tempted souls who are most fearful they may have committed it before they trusted Christ, have unfounded fears. If you believe on the Son of God, you have not committed this blasphemy; and you can never be in danger of committing it.

Yet, some are in danger of committing this unpardonable crime. Those who trifle with the gospel, trifle with their souls! There is forgiveness with God for all sin through the blood of Christ. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1Jn 1:9). But, for every unbelieving soul is in danger of eternal damnation. Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near (Isa 55:6).

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

which: Mar 7:1, Mat 15:1, Luk 5:17

He hath: Psa 22:6, Mat 9:34, Mat 10:25, Mat 12:24, Luk 11:15, Joh 7:20, Joh 8:48, Joh 8:52, Joh 10:22

Reciprocal: 2Ki 1:2 – Baalzebub 2Ki 1:3 – ye go Eze 11:5 – Thus have Mar 3:30 – General Mar 5:10 – General

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Chapter 22.

Christ and the Scribes

“And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth He out devils. And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.”-Mar 3:22-27.

Malice and its Fruit.

The preceding paragraph tells us of the way in which our Lord’s own kinsfolk misunderstood Him. This paragraph tells us how utterly the religious leaders of Palestine misunderstood Him, and how cruelly they misrepresented Him. The misunderstanding of His brethren was born of ignorance and prejudice. The misunderstanding of the scribes was due to malice and wickedness. We may have pity for the one as a mistake, we can have nothing but indignation for the other as a sin.

The Miracle and the Blasphemy.

These scribes had come down from Jerusalem on purpose to watch Christ and pick a quarrel with Him. An occasion soon presented itself. According to Matthew’s account (Mat 12:22), there was brought to Jesus one day a blind and dumb lunatic. And Jesus healed him, “insomuch that the dumb man spake and saw.” It was, as all have agreed, a most striking miracle; and indeed may be regarded as three miracles in one. The multitudes who witnessed it were amazed, and the excited question began to pass from lip to lip, “Is it possible that this is the Son of David?” It was just at this point these scribes gave utterance to their terrible blasphemy. “He hath Beelzebub,” they said, “and, By the prince of the devils casteth He out the devils” (Mar 3:22, R.V.). They put down all Christ’s deeds to Satanic agency. No doubt the slander was uttered in order to check the growing enthusiasm for Jesus; but it illustrates to what lengths of wickedness malice and hate will carry men.

The Lord’s Reply.

Now let us look at the answer Christ makes to this wicked and slanderous charge. For the “meek and lowly in heart” condescends to reply to these men. Never had deadlier insult been flung at any man, and yet He does not retort with hot words. “Reviled, He reviled not again” (1Pe 2:23). Instead of denouncing these scribes, He reasons with them.

The Folly of the Charge.

“By the prince of the devils casteth He out the devils” was their account of His wonderful power. But, Jesus asks, “how can Satan cast out Satan?” Then, in two very brief seed-parables, He sets forth the consequences of disunion. “If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand” (vers.

24, 25, R.V.). That is to say, disunion alike in states and houses ends in destruction. And so, our Lord adds, “if Satan hath risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end” (Mar 3:26, R.V.). And that was exactly what their blasphemous assertion came to. For manifestly and undeniably, when Christ cast out evil spirits, and gave sight to the blind and speech to the dumb, and so on, He was destroying the works of the devil. But, according to the blasphemy of the scribes, He did it all “by the prince of the devils.” So this was the absurdity to which the scribes had committed themselves-that the devil was busy destroying the works of the devil; in a word, that Satan was committing suicide!

The True Explanation.

But if the “casting out” of these evil spirits was not Satan’s voluntary act, if it was not suicide, what was it? There was only one answer-Satan had been conquered and overpowered. And in another brief parable our Lord gives the true explanation. Far from being Satan’s ally, He was Satan’s spoiler. “No one,” He said, “can enter into the house of the strong man, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man” (Mar 3:27, R.V.). No one, He says in effect, can rescue the slaves and captives of Satan, unless he first overcome Satan himself. But the fact that Jesus had done it, that this man, afflicted with a blind and dumb spirit, had been rescued from the grip of Satan, and now both spoke and saw, was proof that Satan himself had been bound, that in Jesus he had more than met his match.

Christ the Mighty.

That is the account Christ gives of this mighty deliverance; that is the great claim He makes for Himself. He is the “stronger than the strong.” He has “bound the strong man.” He has “cast out” Satan. He can “spoil his house.” He can rob him of all his captives and slaves. And no one else can do it.

Fuente: The Gospel According to St. Mark: A Devotional Commentary

The Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost

Mar 3:22-35

INTRODUCTORY WORDS

In order to get the full view of our Scripture before us, it is necessary for us to study some of the accompanying scenes which lead up to Christ’s statement, “But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness.”

Scene 1: The man with the withered hand. In the last study we had the healing of this man. At that time it stood before us as one of the signs of the mighty power of the Living Christ The miracles of our Lord Christ shows forth His glory.

As the Lord Jesus moved among the people healing the sick, raising the dead, and casting out demons, Satan became more and more fearful of His power, so also did the scribes and Pharisees become alarmed. It was natural, therefore, that both Satan, and Satan-energized men would set themselves together against the Lord.

Scene 2: The call and mission of the twelve. Jesus Christ after His miracles of healing, and of the casting out of unclean spirits, went up into a mountain and called unto Him His followers, from whom He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sickness, and to cast out the demons.

When the enemy saw these men sent forth upon their mission of good, they were the more alarmed. The power of Christ was growing day by day. His Name was being heralded afar. The fame of His mighty deeds was upon every lip.

Scene 3: The enlarging crowds who followed Him. The multitudes which came together to see and to hear Jesus, were so great that they could not eat bread. Had the scribes and Pharisees kept their hands off, the crowds would have followed the Lord in ever-increasing groups. The scribes, however, realized that it was necessary for them to get busy and antagonize the mighty Christ. In the scribes, Satan found his allies. He could use them to work out his will, and to fulfill his strategies against the Son of God.

To us, the saddest thing about the persecutions which befell our Lord was this; the men who led the fight were always the outstanding religionists of the day. They stood in Moses’ seat, they paraded themselves as the lovers of God, and as the preachers of His testimony. It has always been so, the persecutors against the saints are still found within the church.

So far as Satan is concerned, he had from the beginning sought to make it impossible for the promised “Seed of the woman” to be born. Now that Christ had come, and now that Satan’s kingdom was being shaken to the foundation, the devil was quick to join in with the scribes, if possible, to overthrow the Lord of glory.

Let us sum up the causes for Christ’s words relative to the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. (1) Christ’s mighty power in healing. (2) The commissioning of the twelve. (3) Christ’s ever growing popularity. This drove the scribes to almost any strategy, if that, by any means, they might stop the sweep of religious fervor.

(4) In Christ’s exaltation to authority, they felt their own authority waning It was for these causes, that they, maddened by circumstances, designed to say that Christ was working under the power of Beelzebub, the prince of the devils.

We who love the Blood must not cease to contend for the faith once delivered.

I. A BITTER THRUST (Mar 3:22)

“And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth He out devils.”

1. The assaults upon the Truth came from the men sent to herald the Truth. The scribes themselves, along with the Pharisees, made a great show to piety and to goodness. The Lord said of them, “They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.”

The scribes and Pharisees did all their works to be seen of men. They boasted their religious superiority. They loved the uppermost rooms at the feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues. They loved the “greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.”

However, these scribes and Pharisees were hypocrites, shutting up the Kingdom of Heaven against men. They devoured widows’ houses, and then covered their wickedness by the pretense of a long prayer.

They were deceivers of the people. They would carry out details of religious rites to the limit, but omit the weightier matters of Law, judgment, mercy and faith. They strained at gnats, while they swallowed camels. They “make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.”

Christ called them whited sepulchers, beautiful without, but full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness within. Such were the men who had made their thrusts against Christ.

2. The assaults against Christ were unfair and untrue. They said concerning the Master, “He hath Beelzebub.” They also said that He worked under the power of the prince of devils. Nothing could have been more falsely stated.

The One who came down from glory, they acclaimed as having come from Satan. The One upon whom the Holy Spirit rested at His baptism, the One who was led of the Spirit, and filled with the Spirit, the Pharisees claimed was filled and energized by Beelzebub. The One who spake the “Words of the Father, did the will of the Father, and wrought the works of the Father, they insinuated was under the power of the devil.

The Pharisees sought to say that He who came down to undo the works of the devil, was in league with the devil.

We marvel at the depths of Satan. He tried to malign the Son of God, and God the Son, as His own vassal.

May God reveal unto those who deny the Virgin Birth, the sacrificial and substitutionary Death of Christ, the literal Resurrection of our Lord, and His glorious personal Return; may God reveal to them that they are walking in the footsteps of the Pharisees who were the dupes and slaves of Satan.

II. CHRIST’S REPLY (Mar 3:23-26)

As soon as the scribes had ceased to speak, Christ called them unto Him, and spake unto them in parables, saying “How can Satan cast out Satan?” Jesus had been casting out demons, the scribes said He cast them out by Beelzebub, the prince of demons. The Lord at once showed them the folly of their philosophy, because they had made Satan to fight against himself.

His parables included two things;

1. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. Where is the king which would sow the seeds of strife, or kindle any fire, that would destroy himself?

2. A house divided against itself cannot stand. Kingdoms are made up of houses. Would any house set its members in array, the one against the other, each member of the house, trying to subdue and to overthrow each other member of the house? Such a house could not stand.

We remember how the disciples, on one occasion, sought to stop a man from speaking for Christ, because he did not number himself among them. The Lord immediately bade them, “Nay.” He said in effect, “He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad.” When men honor the Lord Jesus in their hearts, and call Him “Lord,” we know that they are Christ’s disciples.

To be sure Satan may put many into our camps who will say, “Lord, Lord,” with their lips. We may find within our ranks many wolves, who are wearing sheep’s clothing. They come, however, to destroy and not to build up. They come to darken, and not to illumine the minds of men.

Such men are spies, trying to get within the citadel in order to sow the seeds of discord and contention among saints.

We do not deny that there are many heretics who stand behind the pulpit. They use loud speaking words; they really are corrupters of the faith. Of these Jesus did not speak, when He said, “If a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” These men are in the house, but not of it. They may be clothed, outwardly, with the robes of saints, but they are within far from saints.

III. CHRIST’S SUPREME TASK (Mar 2:26-27)

Our verses read, “And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.”

1. We have the picture of a strong man. This strong man is none other than Satan himself. The present day mimicking of Satan is perverse. Satan is the king of darkness, he is the head of a tremendous force, Heavenly and earthly. He has innumerable fallen angels and demons under his power. In addition to these, he has an untold number of demonized men, under his authority.

He is the strong man. Even the archangel, Michael, durst not bring against him a railing accusation. People laugh at Satan, they call him the old nick, the old scratch, and any other name with which to scare children. They amuse grownups by their folly.

The truth is, no one can dare to face Satan alone. He goes about seeking whom he may devour; and, unless we stand clothed in the power of the Lord Jesus Christ we will fall beneath his onslaughts.

2. The picture of the stronger man. There must be some one stronger than the strong man, if he hopes to spoil the strong man’s goods. There must be some one strong enough to bind the strong man. In these words, the Lord Jesus Christ was setting forth the fact that He and Satan stood against each other in a death conflict.

It was a question as to whether Satan could overwhelm our Lord, or, whether He could overwhelm Satan. All along, during the earth life of our Lord, the conflict was on. The conflict, however, came to its climax upon the Cross where Jesus Christ, alone, and unassisted, met Satan and all of his combined forces. There, the Bible says, He met principalities and powers and vanquished them; triumphing over them in it.

Let us plead with people to gather under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty Christ for protection from Satan and his wiles.

IV. THE SIN OF SINS (Mar 3:28-29)

We now come to the verses upon which we chose the naming of this study. Our verses read: “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.”

1. We read that all sins, including blasphemies against the Father and the Son, may be forgiven. How great is God’s grace; how deep is His love; how rich is His mercy. All sins may be forgiven unto men but one sin. Mark these words: There is no promise of forgiveness to demons, or to angels, but to man. How comforting are the words, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Sometimes men have come to me and said, “I am too great a sinner, God could not love me.” With what joy do I answer him, “That whosoever will, may come.” “The Blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

If anyone reads these words and thinks himself excluded, we would like to quote the oft-used expression of Charles H. Spurgeon, the noted London preacher; “None are excluded thence, but those who do themselves exclude, welcome the learned and polite, the ignorant and rude.”

2. We read of the sin which may not be forgiven to men. The Lord said, “But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness.” How many have been troubled by these words. People try to read into them, many things that God never said, and never meant. The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, is strictly against the Holy Ghost. It is not against God the Father, or against God the Son. It is not a sin against our fellow men. All of these may be forgiven. This sin is expressly against the Holy Ghost; it is a specified, definite sin. It is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. It is not in grieving the Spirit; it is not in quenching the Spirit; it is not in resisting the Spirit; it is blaspheming the Spirit.

Jesus Christ wrought by the Holy Ghost. At His baptism, He was baptized by the Spirit. He was afterwards led by the Spirit, and filled by the Spirit. Therefore, we truly say, that Christ cast out demons, by the Spirit of God. Thus, when the scribes said, “By the prince of the devils casteth He out devils,” they blasphemed against the Holy Ghost. They claimed the work of the Holy Ghost, was the work of the devil. They did not make a thoughtless statement to that effect; they made a dogmatic, malicious, statement, a statement backed with all the venom and wrath of Satan’s engendered fury.

Let us faithfully give this warning to all. Never permit yourselves even casually to criticize the work of the Spirit of God. Let us even be cautious lest we decry what the Spirit does. When we come into the presence of God, let us bow the head, and reverence His Holy Name.

V. CHRIST REVEALS HIS INNER CIRCLE OF FRIENDS (Mar 3:34)

1. Of those who stood around Him, He said, “Behold My mother and My. brethren.” What meaneth such words of tender compassion? We, who know Him, and trust Him, are welcomed into His loving fellowship. How near, how dear, to the heart of God, are those who trust him? He calls us His jewels, His crown. He thinks of us as, “the joy that was set before Him.” We are His beloved, His very own.

What then, is He to us? He is our Saviour, our Lord, our King; He is our Elder Brother, the Fairest among ten thousand.

2. The nearness of saints to each other. We have spoken of how near, and of how precious are the relations of saints to their Lord. We go on to suggest that as we are near to Him, we become near to each other. There is no fellowship on earth so sweet, and so pure as the fellowship among believers. There is a comradeship and a fellowship between saints, that is more precious than family ties. Even the love of husband and wife, of parent and children, are made sweeter, and richer, when they have added fellowship, as Christians.

VI. THE CAPSTONE OF THE CHRISTIAN’S LIFE (Mar 3:35)

1. Sin means disobedience. God says, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and * * let him return unto the Lord.” As long as we walk in our own way and will we are among the wicked. When grace changes us, we immediately deny ourselves, and everything in the realm of our own way, and we follow Him.

2. Salvation means obedience. If you would ask me to express, with one word, the result of being born again, I think I would use the word, “obedience.” When we are saved, we take His yoke upon us; we follow Him in the way; we begin to live in Christ. Our desire, at once, is to exercise ourselves always to obey His every wish and command.

Jesus did not only say, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments,” but, He also said, “He that loveth Me, keepeth My commandments.” How then can we who are disobedient, walking in divers lusts, fulfilling the desires of our own flesh and mind, call ourselves His own? He has said, “My sheep hear My voice, * * and they follow Me.”

3. Our highest ambition should be to know and to fulfill God’s will. We should strive to stand perfect, and complete, in all the will of God. We should never seek our own, but Christ’s.

One of the saddest phases of my ministry, is the necessity that is thrust upon me to call Christians to full consecration.

Why should God, the Holy Ghost, plead with us saying, “Present yourself to God”? We are not our own, for we have been bought with a price. Should we not, therefore, glorify God in both our bodies, and our spirits? Let us say unto God, “I am Thine, and all that I have is Thine.”

AN ILLUSTRATION

Hear the pledge of Jesus Christ: “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” As long as God lives, and our souls live, so long does this pledge stand. It is true, we cannot always feel this presence. But we can always know that it is there, always think of it, so long as thought endures, always rest upon it forever and forever; and the reason why this promise is given is that we may hold fast to this truth. There may be a moment in the very depths of sorrow and anguish when the presence is hidden from us. But is it not because we are stunned, unconscious? It is like passing through a surgical operation. The time comes for the ordeal. The anaesthetic is ready. You stretch out your hand to your friend: “Don’t leave me, don’t forsake me.” The last thing you feel is the clasp of the hand, the last thing you see is the face of that friend. Then a moment of darkness, a blank-and the first thing you see is the face of love again. So the angel of God’s face stands by us, bends above us, and we may know that he will be there even when all else fails. * * Amid the mists that shroud the great ocean beyond the verge of mortal life, there is one sweet, mighty voice that says: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. In all thy afflictions I will be with thee, and the angel of My face shall save thee.”-Dr. Henry van Dyke.

Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water

2

The scribes are explained at Mat 13:52. They would not deny the fact of his casting out devils, but pretended to believe that he got his power for the work from Beelzebub (Satan).

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

WE all know how painful it is to have our conduct misunderstood and misrepresented, when we are doing right. It is a trial which our Lord Jesus Christ had to endure continually, all through His earthly ministry. We have an instance in the passage before us. The “Scribes which came down from Jerusalem” saw the miracles which He worked. They could not deny their reality. What then did they do? They accused our blessed Savior of being in league and union with the devil. They said, “He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.”

In our Lord’s answer to this wicked accusation, there are expressions which deserve special attention. Let us see what lessons they contain for our use.

We ought to notice, in the first place, how great is the evil of dissensions and divisions.

This is a lesson which is strongly brought out in the beginning of our Lord’s reply to the scribes. He shows the absurdity of supposing that Satan would “cast out Satan,” and so help to destroy his own power. He appeals to the notorious fact, which even his enemies must allow, that there can be no strength where there is division. “If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.”

This truth is one which does not receive sufficient consideration. On no point has the abuse of the right of private judgment produced so much evil. The divisions of Christians are one great cause of the weakness of the visible church. They often absorb energy, time, and power, which might have been well bestowed on better things. They furnish the infidel with a prime argument against the truth of Christianity. They help the devil. Satan indeed is the chief promoter of religious divisions. If he cannot extinguish Christianity, he labors to make Christians quarrel with one another, and to set every man’s hand against his neighbor. None knows better than the devil, that “to divide is to conquer.”

Let us resolve, so far as in us lies, to avoid all differences, dissensions, and disputes in religion. Let us loathe and abhor them as the plague of the churches. We cannot be too jealous about all saving truths. But it is easy to mistake morbid scrupulosity for conscientiousness, and zeal about mere trifles for zeal about the truth. Nothing justifies separation from a church but the separation of that church from the Gospel. Let us be ready to concede much, and make many sacrifices for the sake of unity and peace.

We ought to notice, in the second place, what a glorious declaration our Lord makes in these verses about the forgiveness of sins. He says, “all sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme.”

These words fall lightly on the ears of many persons. They see no particular beauty in them. But to the man who is alive to his own sinfulness and deeply sensible of his need of mercy, these words are sweet and precious. “All sins shall be forgiven.” The sins of youth and age-the sins of head, and hand, and tongue, and imagination-the sins against all God’s commandments-the sins of persecutors, like Saul-the sins of idolaters, like Manasseh-the sins of open enemies of Christ, like the Jews who crucified Him-the sins of backsliders from Christ, like Peter-all, all may be forgiven. The blood of Christ can cleanse all away. The righteousness of Christ can cover all, and hide all from God’s eyes.

The doctrine here laid down is the crown and glory of the Gospel. The very first thing it proposes to man is free pardon, full forgiveness, complete remission, without money and without price. “Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him all that believe are justified from all things.” (Act 13:39.)

Let us lay hold on this doctrine without delay, if we never received it before. It is for us, as well as for others. We too, this very day, if we come to Christ, may be completely forgiven. “Though our sins have been as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” (Isa 1:18.)

Let us cleave firmly to this doctrine, if we have received it already. We may sometimes feel faint, and unworthy, and cast down. But if we have really come to Jesus by faith, our sins are clean forgiven. They are cast behind God’s back-blotted out of the book of His remembrance-sunk into the depths of the sea. Let us believe and not be afraid.

We ought to notice, in the last place, that it is possible for a man’s soul to be lost for ever in hell. The words of our Lord are distinct and express. He speaks of one who “hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.”

This is an awful truth, beyond doubt. But it is a truth, and we must not shut our eyes against it. We find it asserted over and over again in Scripture. Figures of all kinds are multiplied, and language of every sort is employed, in order to make it plain and unmistakable. In short, if there is no such thing as “eternal damnation,” we may throw the Bible aside, and say that words have no meaning at all.

We have great need to keep this awful truth steadily in view in these latter days. Teachers have risen up, who are openly attacking the doctrine of the eternity of punishment, or laboring hard to explain it away. Men’s ears are being tickled with plausible sayings about “the love of God,” and the impossibility of a loving God permitting an everlasting hell. The eternity of punishment is spoken of as a mere “speculative question,” about which men may believe anything they please.-In the midst of all this flood of false doctrine, let us hold firmly the old truth. Let us not be ashamed to believe that there is an eternal God-an eternal heaven-and an eternal hell. Let us recollect that sin is an infinite evil. It needed an atonement of infinite value to deliver the believer from its consequences-and it entails an infinite loss on the unbeliever who rejects the remedy provided for it. Above all, let us fall back on plain scriptural statements, like that before us this day. One plain text is worth a thousand abstruse arguments..

Finally, if it be true that there is an “eternal damnation,” let us give diligence that we ourselves do not fall into it. Let us escape for our lives, and not linger. (Gen 19:16-17.) Let us flee for refuge to the hope set before us in the Gospel, and never rest till we know and feel that we are safe. And never, never let us be ashamed of seeking safety. Of sin, worldliness, and the love of pleasure, we may well be ashamed. But we never need be ashamed of seeking to be delivered from an eternal hell. [Footnote: There is an expression in the passage now expounded, which appears to demand special notice. It is confessedly one of the hard things of Scripture, and has often troubled the hearts of Bible readers. I refer to the saying of our Lord, “He that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness.” It seems that there is such a thing as an unpardonable sin.

Some interpreters have endeavored to cut the knot of the difficulty, by maintaining that the sin here referred to was entirely confined to the time when our Lord was on earth. They say that when the Scribes and Pharisees saw the evidence of our Lord’s miracles, and yet refused to believe in Him as the Messiah, they committed the unpardonable sin. Their assertion that our Lord worked miracles through Beelzebub, was blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.

There might be something in this view, if the passage under consideration stood entirely alone-though even then he would be a bold man who would assert that there were no hardened Scribes and Pharisees among the three thousand converted and forgiven an the day of Pentecost. But, unfortunately for this theory, the doctrine here laid down is to be found in other places of Scripture beside this. I allude of course to the well-known passages, Heb 6:4-6; Heb 10:26, and 1Jn 5:17. In all these places there seems a reference to a sin which is not forgiven.

What then is the unpardonable sin ? It must be frankly confessed that its precise nature is nowhere defined in holy Scripture. The most probable view is, that it is a combination of clear intellectual knowledge of the Gospel, with deliberate rejection of it, and wilful choice of sin. It is a union of light in the head, and hatred in the heart. Such was the case of Judas Iscariot. We must not flatter ourselves that none have walked in his steps. In the absence of any definition in Scripture, we shall probably not get much nearer to the mark than this. Yet even this view must be carefully handled. The limits which knowledge combined with unbelief must pass, in order to become the unpardonable sin, are graciously withheld from us. It is mercifully ordered of God, that man can never decide positively of any brother, that he has committed a sin which cannot be forgiven.

But although it is difficult to define what the unpardonable sin is, it is far less difficult to point out what it is not. A few words on this point may possibly help to relieve tender consciences.

We may lay it down as nearly Certain, that those who are troubled with fears that they have sinned the unpardonable sin, are the very people who have not sinned it. The very fact that they are afraid and anxious about it, is the strongest possible evidence in their favor. A troubled conscience-an anxiety about salvation, and a dread of being cast away-a concern about the next world, and a desire to escape from the wrath of God-will probably never be found in the heart of that person who has sinned the sin for which there is no forgiveness. It is far more probable that the general marks of such a person will be utter hardness of conscience-a seared heart-an absence of any feeling-a thorough insensibility to spiritual concern. The subject may safely be left here. There is such a thing as a sin which is never forgiven. But those who are troubled about it, are most unlikely to have committed it.

The following quotation from Thomas Fuller deserves attention: “The sin against the Holy Ghost is ever attended with these two symptoms-absence of all contrition, and of all desire of forgiveness. Now, if thou canst truly say that thy sins are a burden to thee-that thou dost desire forgiveness, and wouldst give anything to attain it, be of good comfort; thou hast not yet, and, by God’s grace, never shall, commit that unpardonable offence. I will not define how near thou hast been unto it. As David said to Jonathan, ‘there is but a step between me and death’-so, may be, thou hast missed it very narrowly; but assure thyself thou art not as yet guilty thereof.”- Fuller’s Cause and Cure of a Wounded Conscience.]

Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

Mar 3:22. The scribes that came down from Jerusalem. Mark thus defines the parties, while Matthew (Mat 12:23) states the occasion of the accusation. The purpose of their coming was doubtless to entrap and oppose Him, and hence the place was probably Capernaum, since they would go to His headquarters.

He hath Beelzebub. See on Mat 10:25; Mat 12:24. Mark, however, both here and in Mar 3:20, states with greatest definiteness that they charged Him, not only with exercising Satanic power, but with being Himself possessed by an evil spirit.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Mar 3:22. The scribes (and Pharisees, Mat 12:22) who had come down from Jerusalem, &c. Purposely, on the devils errand; and not without success. For the common people now began to drink in the poison from these learned, good, honourable men! He hath Beelzebub At command; is in league with him: And by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils How easily may a man of learning elude the strongest proof of a work of God! How readily can he account for every incident, without ever taking God into the question! See note on Mat 9:34; Mat 12:22-32, where this passage occurs, and is explained at large.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Mar 3:22 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. 23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27 No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. 28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: 29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

The term translated “scribe” is related to our English word grammar. Not sure what we might make of that fact other than the fact that I would never have made a good scribe since grammar and I are sworn enemies.

“The Scribes which came down from Jerusalem” might be of interest to you. Since the Lord is in the northern part of the country and Jerusalem is in the south, why would Mark state that they “came down” from Jerusalem? The Jews viewed Jerusalem to be the center of the world. Everywhere in the world is down from Jerusalem. If they are anywhere in the world except Jerusalem and they are going to Jerusalem, they would go “up” to Jerusalem.

Just a little off the subject, but this is another reason why I personally view the Garden of Eden as being in the area of Jerusalem, if not on the very site of the old temples. There is a study on thison my website if you are interested. In the short of it the temple site has been God’s place to deal with Israel, and even back to Abraham, and it will be prominent in the coming kingdom as well.

I suspect that this is all tied up with the Jewish thought of Jerusalem being God’s holy hill so to speak.

Beelzebub means “lord of the house.” It is one of the names for Satan. One might suggest that any family that is not living for God ought to call upon their lord Beelzebub, for their failure on God’s part is certainly success on the Devil’s part.

This is kind of typical of religious leaders, saying things that are illogical and poorly thought through. Why in the world would the Devil throw his own workers out of people and cause failure for his team? He would not and the scribes did not think their conclusions through.

I trust as you minister and study the Word that when you make a conclusion about something take time to think through to the logical end of your conclusion. Recently in a Sunday school class we were told by a lady who if we live for God He will bless us materially. Now that is a great sounding sound bite and I’ve heard it more than once from pulpits around the country however some are not thinking that one through to the logical end. If this is really the case then all Christians that are poor and living without food are not spiritual because God is not blessing them. Not a valid conclusion – God blesses those He chooses to bless but also tests those He would test.

In verse twenty-three Christ points out the fallacy in their thinking. He does not just ask them, he illustrates it for them so they are sure to get the fallacy of their thinking. Indeed he illustrates it in four different ways for them to be sure they understood his point.

He then continues to blast them with the news that they are blaspheming and that they will never have forgiveness for such sin. The unpardonable sin is right here. Many wonder about it and many have all sorts of ideas of what it is, but Christ states clearly what it is. “because they said He hath an unclean spirit.” They had accused Christ of being possessed by the Devil.

Now in their context they were denying Christ’s deity, but more importantly they were denying the Holy Spirit’s witness in their life. Today the only sin that is unpardonable is that sin of rejecting the Spirit’s witness about who Christ is. When one rejects Christ in salvation they will not be forgiven of this sin, they will spend eternity with the lord of the house – Satan.

The following translations translate this passage as follows: asv: ” hath never forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” Darby: “has no forgiveness; but lies under the guilt of an everlasting sin;” Net Bible: “will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin”

The point might be made that the verse mentions the person is “in danger of” or in other words he is not yet destined for hell, but he certainly is in danger of it. The phrase prior states however “hath never forgiveness” indicating that this is a done deal. I would assume that the Christrejecter has ample opportunity to accept the Lord until one day he finally and completely rejects Him and it is then that they have committed the unpardonable sin.

Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson

The unbelief of Jesus’ enemies 3:22-30 (cf. Matthew 12:22-37; Luke 11:14-26)

Evidently it was between the time that Jesus’ family left Nazareth to take custody of Him and the time they arrived in Capernaum (Mar 3:31) that this incident occurred. Mark’s account is shorter than Matthew’s and stresses the nature of the mounting hostility of the religious leaders.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

While well-meaning family opponents were coming from Nazareth, which lay to the west, hostile adversaries were moving up from Jerusalem to the south. The scribes (teachers of the law) who constituted an official delegation had concluded that Satan possessed Jesus and gave Him power to exorcize demons. They viewed Jesus as being allied with Satan.

"In the Greek, the name is always Beelzeboul; the familiar ’Beelzebub’ is from the [Latin] Vulgate. Some view the name as a derisive corruption of the title of the god of Ekron, Baal-zebub, ’the lord of flies,’ to make it mean the lord of dung. More probably it means lord of the dwelling, that is, the dwelling of the evil spirits. This agrees with the reference to ’the strong man’s house’ in Mar 3:27, as well as Christ’s comment in Mat 10:25, that as ’the master of the house,’ He has been called Beelzebub." [Note: Hiebert, p. 92.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)