Jesus’ Power Is from God^(A)

¹⁴ One time Jesus was ·sending [driving; casting] out a demon ·who could not talk [or who was making a man mute]. When the demon came out, the man who had been unable to speak, then spoke. The ·people were [crowd was] amazed. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “Jesus uses the power of Beelzebul [^Canother name for Satan], the ruler of demons, to ·force [drive; cast] demons out of people.”

¹⁶ Other people, wanting to test Jesus, asked him to give them a sign from heaven. ¹⁷ But knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom that is ·divided against [at war with] itself ·will be destroyed [is doomed/heading for ruin]. And a ·family [^Lhouse] that is ·divided against [at war with] itself will ·not continue [^Lfall]. ¹⁸ So if Satan is divided against himself, ·his kingdom will not continue [^Lhow will his kingdom stand?]. [^LFor] You say that I use the power of Beelzebul [v. 15] to ·force [drive; cast] out demons. ¹⁹ But if I use the power of Beelzebul to ·force [drive; cast] out demons, what power do your ·people [own exorcists; followers; ^Lsons] use to ·force [drive; cast] demons out? So they will ·be your judges. ²⁰ But if I use the ·power [^Lfinger] of God to ·force [drive; cast] out demons, then the kingdom of God has ·come to [arrived among] you.

²¹ “When a strong person ·with many weapons [fully armed] guards his own ·house [villa; or palace; ^Ca large building with a courtyard], his possessions are safe. ²² But when someone stronger comes and ·defeats [overpowers; conquers] him, the stronger one will take away the ·weapons [armor] ·the first man trusted [on which he relied] and will ·give away the possessions [^Ldivide his plunder].

²³ “Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not ·work [^Lgather] with me ·is working against me [scatters; ^Cthe metaphor is probably to gathering or scattering a flock; John 10:12].

Jesus’ Power Is from God^(A)

²² Then some people brought to Jesus a man who was blind and ·could not talk [mute], because he ·had a demon [was demon-possessed/demonized]. Jesus healed the man so that he could talk and see. ²³ All the people were amazed and said, “Perhaps this man is the Son of David [^Ca title for the Messiah, a descendant of King David; 2 Sam. 7:11–16]!”

²⁴ When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man uses the power of Beelzebul [^Canother name for Satan], the ruler of demons, to ·force [drive; cast] demons out of people.”

²⁵ Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking, so he said to them, “Every kingdom that is ·divided against [at war with] itself ·will be destroyed [is doomed/headed for ruin]. And any city or ·family [^Lhouse] that is ·divided against [at war with] itself will not ·continue [survive; stand]. ²⁶ And if Satan ·forces out himself [^Ldrives/casts out Satan], then Satan is ·divided against [at war with] himself, and ·his kingdom will not continue [^Lhow will his kingdom stand?]. ²⁷ You say that I use the power of Beelzebul [v. 24] to ·force [drive; cast] out demons. If that is true, then what power do your ·people [own exorcists; followers; ^Lsons] use to ·force [drive; force] out demons? So they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if I use the power of God’s Spirit to ·force [drive; cast] out demons, then the kingdom of God has ·come to you [arrived among you; or overtaken you; caught you unaware].

²⁹ “·If anyone wants to [^LOr how can anyone…?] enter a strong person’s house and ·steal [seize; plunder] his things, he must first ·tie up [bind] the strong person. Then he can ·steal [seize; plunder] the things from the house. [^CSatan is the strong man and his possessions are the people Jesus is freeing from Satan’s power.]

The Sin Against the Holy Spirit^(B)

³⁰ “Whoever is not with me is against me. Whoever does not ·work [gather] with me ·is working against me [scatters; ^Cprobably a reference to gathering or scattering a flock; John 10:12].

²² But the ·teachers of the law [scribes] from Jerusalem were saying, “·Beelzebul [^Canother name for Satan] is ·living inside [possessing] him! He uses power from the ·ruler [prince] of demons to ·force [drive; cast] demons out of people.”

²³ So Jesus called the people together and ·taught them with stories [^Lspoke to them in parables; ^CGreek parabolē, which can mean stories and analogies of various kinds]. He said, ·“Satan will not force himself out of people. [^L“How can Satan drive out Satan?] ²⁴ A kingdom that is ·divided [at war with itself] cannot ·continue [stand], ²⁵ and a ·family [household; ^Lhouse] that is divided cannot ·continue [stand]. ²⁶ And if Satan ·is [rises; rebels] against himself and ·fights against his own people [is divided], he cannot ·continue [stand]; that is the end of Satan. ²⁷ No one can enter a strong man’s house and ·steal [seize; plunder] his things unless he first ·ties up [binds] the strong man [Is. 49:24–25]. Then he can ·steal [seize; plunder] things from the house. [^CSatan is the strong man and his possessions are the people Jesus is freeing from Satan’s power.]