Jesus and the Ruler of the Demons

(Mark 3.20-30; Luke 11.14-23; 12.10)

²² Some people brought to Jesus a man who was blind and could not talk because he had a demon in him. Jesus healed the man, and then he was able to talk and see. ²³ The crowds were so amazed they asked, “Could Jesus be the Son of David?”^[a]

^24 (A) When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “He forces out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons!”

²⁵ Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he said to them:

Any kingdom where people fight each other will end up ruined. And a town or family that fights will soon destroy itself. ²⁶ So if Satan fights against himself, how can his kingdom last? ²⁷ If I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons, whose power do your own followers use to force them out? Your followers are the ones who will judge you. ²⁸ But when I force out demons by the power of God's Spirit, it proves that God's kingdom has already come to you. ^29 (B) How can anyone break into a strong man's house and steal his things, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can take everything.

^30 (C) If you are not on my side, you are against me. If you don't gather in the harvest with me, you scatter it. ^31-32 (D) I tell you any sinful thing you do or say can be forgiven. Even if you speak against the Son of Man, you can be forgiven. But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven, either in this life or in the life to come.

A Tree and Its Fruit

(Luke 6.43-45)

^33 (E) A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. You can tell what a tree is like by the fruit it produces. ^34 (F) You are a bunch of evil snakes, so how can you say anything good? Your words show what is in your hearts. ³⁵ Good people bring good things out of their hearts, but evil people bring evil things out of their hearts. ³⁶ I promise you on the day of judgment, everyone will have to account for every careless word they have spoken. ³⁷ On that day they will be told they are either innocent or guilty because of the things they have said.

¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot,^[a] who later betrayed Jesus.

Jesus and the Ruler of Demons

(Matthew 12.22-32; Luke 11.14-23; 12.10)

²⁰ Jesus went back home,^[b] and once again such a large crowd gathered that there was no chance even to eat. ²¹ When Jesus' family heard what he was doing, they thought he was crazy and went to get him under control.

^22 (A) Some teachers of the Law of Moses came from Jerusalem and said, “This man is under the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons! He is even forcing out demons with the help of Beelzebul.”

²³ Jesus told the people to gather around him. Then he spoke to them in riddles and said:

How can Satan force himself out? ²⁴ A nation whose people fight each other won't last very long. ²⁵ And a family that fights won't last long either. ²⁶ So if Satan fights against himself, that will be the end of him.

²⁷ How can anyone break into the house of a strong man and steal his things, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can take everything.

²⁸ I promise you that any of the sinful things you say or do can be forgiven, no matter how terrible those things are. ^29 (B) But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven. That sin will be held against you forever.

³⁰ Jesus said this because the people were saying that he had an evil spirit in him.

Jesus and the Ruler of Demons

(Matthew 12.22-30; Mark 3.20-27)

¹⁴ Jesus forced a demon out of a man who could not talk. And after the demon had gone out, the man started speaking, and the crowds were amazed. ^15 (A) But some people said, “He forces out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons!”

^16 (B) Others wanted to put Jesus to the test. So they asked him to show them a sign from God. ¹⁷ Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said:

A kingdom where people fight each other will end up in ruin. And a family that fights will break up. ¹⁸ If Satan fights against himself, how can his kingdom last? Yet you say that I force out demons by the power of Beelzebul. ¹⁹ If I use his power to force out demons, whose power do your own followers use to force them out? They are the ones who will judge you. ²⁰ But if I use God's power to force out demons, it proves that God's kingdom has already come to you.

²¹ When a strong man arms himself and guards his home, everything he owns is safe. ²² But if a stronger man comes and defeats him, he will carry off the weapons in which the strong man trusted. Then he will divide with others what he has taken. ^23 (C) If you are not on my side, you are against me. If you don't gather in the crop with me, you scatter it.

Return of an Evil Spirit

(Matthew 12.43-45)

²⁴ When an evil spirit leaves a person, it travels through the desert, looking for a place to rest. But when it doesn't find a place, it says, “I will go back to the home I left.” ²⁵ When it gets there and finds the place clean and fixed up, ²⁶ it goes off and finds seven other evil spirits even worse than itself. They all come and make their home there, and that person ends up in worse shape than before.