Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 3:23
And he called them [unto him,] and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
23. How can Satan cast out Satan? ] Using an irresistible argumentum ad hominem He shews them the absurdity of supposing that Satan could be his own enemy. If neither kingdom, nor city (Mat 12:25), nor house could stand, when divided against itself, much less could the empire of the Evil One.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And he called them unto him,…. The Jerusalem Scribes, to come nearer to him, and attend to what he had to say in defence of his character and miracles:
and said unto them in parables: similitudes, and proverbial expressions, as the following seem to be,
how can Satan cast out Satan? or one devil cast out another? how unreasonable is it to suppose it? can it ever be thought that such, whose interest it is to unite, would ever oppose and dispossess one another? if therefore, as if he should say, I am Beelzebub, or have him, and he is in me, and I am in confederacy with him; was this the case, can any think I should ever cast him out of others, as I do?
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In parables ( ). In crisp pungent thrusts that exposed the inconsistencies of the scribes and Pharisees. See on Mt 13 for discussion of the word
parable (, placing beside for comparison). These short parabolic quips concern Satan’s casting out (, the very word used of casting out demons) Satan (rhetorical question), a kingdom divided (, for a mere portion) against itself, a house divided () against itself, two conditions of the third class undetermined, but with prospect of determination.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) ”And He called them unto Him,” (kai proskalesamenos autous en parabolais) “And calling them to Him,” for instruction or reasoning, calling the whole motley gang of Pharisees, scribes, and Herodians who were in consort and collusion to take His life, Mar 3:6; Mar 3:22.
2) “And said unto them in parables,” (en parabolais elegan) “He said to them (chided them) in parables,” which “blew their minds,” upset their reasoning, in figures of speech, as kingdom, house, plundering the house of a stronger man, Mat 12:24-29; Luk 11:14-20.
3) “How can Satan cast out, Satan?” (pos dunatai Satanas Satans ekballein) “How is it possible (for) Satan (the devil) to expel or cast out Satan?” Explain please how the Devil can cast out himself, or expel himself, out of, and away from himself? First, such an assertion is an absurdity; Second, what motive would Satan have of casting himself out of himself.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(23) Said unto them in parables.The word is used in its wider sense, as including any form of argument from analogy more or less figurative. As in most reports of discourses as distinct from facts, St. Mark is somewhat briefer than St. Matthew.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And he called them to him and said to 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 has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.”
Jesus called them to Him, and when they came He pointed out that if what they were saying was true then Satan was engaged in civil war and would thus destroy himself. He would be constantly casting himself out, which could only be seen as quite ridiculous. Satan wanted men to be possessed. Why then should he behave otherwise? Thus would Satan, divided, be the cause of his own destruction. But, as everyone must recognise, Satan is too wise for that. Therefore they can clearly not be right.
‘He called them to Him.’ It says much for His status that they came. And by their coming they destroyed their own argument. Would they have so come for a devil-possessed maniac? They came because they knew that He was not a maniac, and that He was dangerous to their own position.
‘And said to them in parables.’ ‘Parable’ has a wide meaning based on the meaning of Hebrew ‘mashal’ (which it translates in LXX) meaning a saying, a word picture, a proverb, a riddle, an ethical maxim, a comparison, and so on. Thus ‘He spoke using illustrations, or picture stories’.
‘How can Satan cast out Satan?’ They know that Satan is subtle, deceptive, scheming and clever. That all his efforts are set on defying God and deceiving and accusing men. Thus the thought of him casting himself out is ludicrous. Did they honestly believe that? It has only to be put into words to make clear how ridiculous it is. And it is blasphemy against the One Who does cast them out, the Holy Spirit (Mat 12:28). Notice that Jesus imputes all the work and manifestation of evil spirits to Satan. They are but tools. In the end the fight is against Satan.
‘If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.’ Civil wars destroy kingdoms and make them vulnerable to preying enemy. They destroy themselves from within. Did anyone seriously claim that this was what Satan, who has survived through the ages, was now seeking to do, or would do? All know that Satan’s forces are united against God and man. He does not war against himself. The Pharisees themselves admitted this when they expected Satan to be strong to the end of the age. So why should they now see him as guilty of such folly?
We should note here the contrast with what Jesus’ actual message was. It was the message of the presence of the Kingly Rule of God. He might well have asked how they could tie this up with claiming that He was involved in the kingly rule of Satan.
‘And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.’ The ‘lord of the dwelling’ (Beelzeboul), the master of the house, would never allow division in his house, for it would destroy his household. (It is only Christians who are foolish enough to let themselves be divided).
‘And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.’ Did they really believe that Satan had risen up against himself? That Satan had gone mad and was destroying himself? He who deceived Eve (Gen 3:4-5), impoverished Job (Job 1-2), caused David to sin grievously (1Ch 21:1), accused Joshua the High Priest before God (Zec 3:1-2)? Had he now risen up against himself, fighting with himself and bringing himself to nought, to his final end? Did they really believe this? Did they really believe that he was finished? Was he not rising stronger than ever as witness the spate of devil possession in Judaea and Galilee and the world? And even their own teaching declared that only God could defeat him, and that he had in the end to be defeated by God. Thus they were being totally inconsistent in what they were saying.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
23 And he called them unto him , and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
Ver. 23. See Trapp on “ Mat 12:25 “ See Trapp on “ Mat 12:26 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
23. ] . is not inconsistent (De Wette) with His being in an house He called them to Him , they having been far off. We must remember the large courts in the oriental houses.
. ] namely, a kingdom , &c., a house , &c., the strong man , &c.
. ] The external unity of Satan and his kingdom is strikingly declared by this simple way of putting the question: see note on Matt. The expression must not be taken as meaning, Can one devil cast out another? The and are the same person: cf. Mar 3:26 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 3:23 . : Jesus, not overawed by the Jerusalem authorities, invites them to come within talking distance, that He may reason the matter with them. , in figures: kingdom, house, plundering the house of a strong man. Next chapter concerning the parabolic teaching of Jesus casts its shadow on the page here. The gist of what Jesus said to the scribes in refutation of their theory is: granting that spirits are cast out by aid of another spirit, more is needed in the latter than superior strength . There must be qualitative difference in nature and interest. The argument consists of a triple movement of thought. 1. The absurdity of the theory is broadly asserted. 2. The principle on which the theory is wrecked is set forth in concrete form. 3. The principle is applied to the case in hand. , etc., how can Satan cast out Satan? It is not a question of power , but of motive, what interest can he have? A stronger spirit casting out a weaker one of the same kind? (so Fritzsche).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
said = began saying.
in. Greek. en. App-104.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
23.] . is not inconsistent (De Wette) with His being in an house-He called them to Him, they having been far off. We must remember the large courts in the oriental houses.
.] namely, a kingdom, &c., a house, &c., the strong man, &c.
.] The external unity of Satan and his kingdom is strikingly declared by this simple way of putting the question: see note on Matt. The expression must not be taken as meaning, Can one devil cast out another? The and are the same person: cf. Mar 3:26.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 3:23.[27] , having called them to Him) By that very act He led them on to some degree of attention.-, Satan) see Mat 12:26, note.
[27] Mar 3:22. , who came down from Jerusalem) on the days immediately before the Passover, when by this time all other men were going up. Jesus had been away from Jerusalem for a considerably long interval of time: therefore at this particular time now they were trying to restrain [check] Him in Galilee, where a great multitude of people was flocking around Him, that multitude being free from other concerns at the time, and preparing to go up to celebrate the Feast.-Harm., p. 314.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
in parables: Psa 49:4, Mat 13:34
How: Mat 12:25-30, Luk 11:17-23
Reciprocal: Mar 4:2 – by parables
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
3
The foolishness of their theory was shown by this question. Even a wicked being like Satan would not be working against himself.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jesus replied to the charge against Him with parables (cf. Mat 12:29; Luk 11:21-22). That is, He used comparisons. He pointed out that it was illogical for Him to cast out Satan’s agents if He was one of Satan’s agents. Satan would then be working against himself. Moreover since Jesus was really destroying Satan’s work, He must be stronger than Satan (Mar 3:27).
"It may be enough to say that Mar 3:22-27 declares Jesus’ ministry, without specifying the ’when,’ to reflect the eschatological defeat of Satan as seen in his exorcisms." [Note: Guelich, p. 177.]
"Jesus occasionally avoids indictment by talking in riddles." [Note: Rhoads and Michie, p. 85.]