Jesus and Beelzebul^(A)

²² Then some people brought to Jesus a man who was blind and could not talk because he had a demon. Jesus healed the man, so that he was able to talk and see. ²³ The crowds were all amazed at what Jesus had done. “Could he be the Son of David?” they asked.

^24 (B)When the Pharisees heard this, they replied, “He drives out demons only because their ruler Beelzebul gives him power to do so.”

²⁵ Jesus knew what they were thinking, and so he said to them, “Any country that divides itself into groups which fight each other will not last very long. And any town or family that divides itself into groups which fight each other will fall apart. ²⁶ So if one group is fighting another in Satan's kingdom, this means that it is already divided into groups and will soon fall apart! ²⁷ You say that I drive out demons because Beelzebul gives me the power to do so. Well, then, who gives your followers the power to drive them out? What your own followers do proves that you are wrong! ²⁸ No, it is not Beelzebul, but God's Spirit, who gives me the power to drive out demons, which proves that the Kingdom of God has already come upon you.

^29 (C)“No one can break into a strong man's house and take away his belongings unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder his house.

^30 (D)“Anyone who is not for me is really against me; anyone who does not help me gather is really scattering.

Jesus and Beelzebul^(A)

²⁰ Then Jesus went home. Again such a large crowd gathered that Jesus and his disciples had no time to eat. ²¹ When his family heard about it, they set out to take charge of him, because people were saying, “He's gone mad!”

^22 (B)Some teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem were saying, “He has Beelzebul in him! It is the chief of the demons who gives him the power to drive them out.”

²³ So Jesus called them to him and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? ²⁴ If a country divides itself into groups which fight each other, that country will fall apart. ²⁵ If a family divides itself into groups which fight each other, that family will fall apart. ²⁶ So if Satan's kingdom divides into groups, it cannot last, but will fall apart and come to an end.

²⁷ “No one can break into a strong man's house and take away his belongings unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder his house.