Mark 3:22-27 22The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by bBeelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished! 27But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.
A new group of people show up to start harassing Jesus. The scribes from Jerusalem had heard the rumors but had not witnessed the miracles. Since they came from the capital city where the temple was located, they represented official opposition. The situation had escalated enough that something had to be done. The scribes also represented knowledge and so were the ones to refute Jesus’ teaching. They had already made up their minds about the verdict without seeing the evidence of changed lives. They basically call him an imposter, or even worse, an agent of Beelzebul. The background of this term is uncertain. It might be related to the Canaanite god Baal, the chief rival of the one true Lord God Yahweh in the history of Israel. This word may be intended as ridicule and a reference to Satan.
Jesus shows in his response that their assumption was wrong. They must have shouted out this slur from the midst of the crowd because Jesus called them over and told them a story. This parable was an opportunity for them to change their thinking. This is the first mention in Mark of Jesus’ teaching style using parables, which will be explained further in chapter 4. Jesus appeals to logic and common sense. The saying is divided into three parallel parts that build upon one another until they reach the conclusion. If one part is true, then the other part is also true.
The first thing Jesus states is a question that introduces the absurdity of their assumption. Their logic breaks down with further scrutiny, as the next three statements show. The first statement about a kingdom could reflect back on the mention of Beelzebul. Satan’s kingdom would not fight against itself; otherwise, it would become weak. The house mentioned here could represent more of a dynasty and not simply a small family home, but the same idea is true for whatever size of household. Satan will not fight against himself. The assumption behind this whole passage and in the minds of the Jews is that Satan is the master of the demons who do as he directs. There were no demons who had gone rogue. They all were evil sought to destroy people.
The last short statement breaks the parallel pattern and introduces a new idea. The image is of a robber who tries to get into a house and steal what is in it. But the problem is that this house is owned by a strong man. It would not be wise to try to get past a strong man because he would be able to protect his house. The only way to get in is to somehow trick the strong man and get him tied up. Today, we have security systems that serve the same purpose. The application is that the strong man represents Satan. Jesus is the only one who can bind and take away was Satan has assumed as his possession, namely, the demon-possessed people. Jesus has bound Satan because he is infinitely more powerful and has broken Satan’s hold on people. The scribes of Jerusalem clearly misunderstood the nature of spiritual warfare and who has the power.
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