The Parables (22)
Satan Casting Out Satan
(Bible Study - October 1999)

In the early stages of the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, the miracles of his healing evoked profound joy in the multitudes: "Insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion" (Mk. 2:12). The man bedridden with palsy is not only healed of his infirmity, but is also given instant physical therapy -- "immediately he arose and took up his bed." Even with all the wonders of modern medicine, such instantaneous physical strength from a bedridden person is impossible.

Yet for all the amazement, lurking in the background were the skeptics, and their refusal to see the power of God manifested in the miracles of Jesus Christ turned very ugly indeed. They accused the Lord of performing his healing through the power of Beelzebub. This was an especially vile and odious charge and it leads Jesus to convey a series of short, yet most powerful and frightening parables. The answer to the question: "How can Satan cast out Satan?" (Mk. 3:23) leads to the teaching of a basic principle that is among the most profound ideas found in our entire Bible; namely, there is a sin which is totally and completely unforgivable. Within this teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ is also a great message of hope that can be easily overlooked, namely, all other sins can be forgiven.

Context of Christ’s indignation
First, let us take a step back and examine the background which leads to our Lord Jesus telling this set of parables, parables which focus on the nature of a house divided. We mustn’t think of Christ as some synthetic plastic personality incapable of the full range of human emotions. Nor, for that matter, should we envisage him as the timid, tepid remote character often portrayed in the paintings of renaissance artists.

Instead, he showed a sense of humor (Mote and Beam, Camel and the Eye of a Needle, Matt. 19:24), compassion ("Jesus wept," John 11:35), paternal feelings ("Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of heaven," Mk. 10:14), anger (Mk. 3:5), and even (as in this incident) frustration and anger (Mk. 3:21).

The word "anger" appears to be a reasonable translation of the Greek (in Mk. 3:5), but we must not think of this in the sense of how we usually get angry. It was not a question of loss of self-control because the ego of the Lord Jesus was offended! So often our anger is an expression of our own inadequacies and is plainly nothing but ill-temper. This was not the case here instead, the Greek word translated as "anger" has a connotation of indignation. Jesus Christ was upset because the visibly manifested power of God was being denied! He was indignant for his Father’s sake, not his own. There can be no doubt that this was the motive for his anger, for the text reads: "Being grieved for the hardness of their hearts" (Mk. 3:5). It was what was in the hearts of the Pharisees and other leaders of the nation that concerned our Lord. His own heart was pure and undefiled by his anger.

Anger, right and wrong
It is in the same sense that the apostle Paul exhorts us to, "Be angry, and sin not" (Eph. 4:26). The word translated "angry" in Ephesians is from the same Greek root word that is used in the Gospel of Mark. Anger, in and of itself, is not sin, in spite of the fact that in some cultures the mere showing of emotion may have such a connotation.

Unfortunately, the causes that lead to anger in ourselves usually (almost always) arise from the wrong motives. We are indignant to slights perceived against our own egos, but silent in the face of daily indignities heaped upon the work, teachings and name of the Lord. In the face of his false accusers, Jesus maintained silence when we would probably have screamed loudly, protesting our innocence.

The indignity that the Lord Jesus Christ felt because of the refusal of the leaders of the nation of Israel to see the power of God revealed in his works of healing is the most powerful element that ultimately leads to his unambiguously defining the one limit upon the patience and forbearance of the Lord in forgiving sin, i.e. blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Problems with his family
There is another aspect to the story that hits closer to home. His own family (note: "kinsmen" in margin of many Bible versions) thought that he was beside himself. Other Bible versions render verse 21 as follows: "And when His own people heard [of this,] they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, ‘He has lost his senses’" (Mk. 3:21 NAS). "When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind’" (NIV).

Here were relatives who may have known him from birth, and siblings who had played and worked with him while growing up and thought they knew him intimately. What is it that they heard about him that made them think he was losing his senses? The answer appears to be the claim made in Mark 3: 11, "Thou art the Son of God."

Though he charged those whom he healed not to make known his Sonship, yet eventually this claim reached the ears of his relatives, which is indicated by the words, "when his kinsmen heard" (Mk. 3:21). Clearly his kinsmen must have felt uncomfortable by this revelation.

The scribes also heard of his accomplishments and the rumors of his Sonship and they accused him of being the agent of an evil foul pagan god (Mk. 3:22).

Given the reaction of his own family, as well as the leaders of the nation, the time had come for Jesus to define beyond a shadow of a doubt what was the source of the power which allowed him to perform his miracles. Further, we might suggest that it may have been apparent to him that he had to make it absolutely certain that all, whether within his own close family or among the nation’s leaders, understood what would be the consequences of denying this power. Thus the message of these parables applies to us within the household as well as to the world in general.

Response in several parables
"And he said unto them in parables..." (Mk. 3:23). Note the plural – what follows is a series of short parables. Repetition in scripture is always a sign of importance and in this the repetition case is of extreme significance. We may recall our Lord Jesus had said earlier that the pagans think they will be heard for their "vain repetitions" (Matt. 6:7). On the contrary, there is never anything vain about repetition in the scriptures. Repetition is for emphasis and for assurance that an idea will be (for all future times) independent of language, cultural context, or social bias due to a particular translation in a given time and place.

We now have some idea what led Jesus to give these parables, but what does it mean to ask: "How can Satan cast out Satan?" First and foremost is the plain Bible statement that this is a parable, it is not reality and one can hardly claim a belief in a real personal devil based on a scriptural allegory any more than one would believe tortoises and hares talk because Aesop’s Fables uses this device!

The immediate context is the wicked claim of the scribes that the great work of healing (v. 10) was from Beelzebub (v. 22). This pagan god has particularly disgusting roots as his name comes from an Aramaic origin meaning the "dung-god." And, in Jewish tradition, Beelzebul was an alternate name for Satan (the false accuser).

The four parables
The sequence of these short parables is to juxtapose a series of unlikely and unpleasant possibilities:
1) Satan against Satan.
2) Kingdom against itself.
3) House against itself.
4) Thief binding a strong man.

It is more logical to suppose that:
1) Satan would oppose God and not himself.
2) That a kingdom should oppose other kingdoms.
3) That a house (or family) would be united within.
4) That a thief would bind a weak man.

The idea is the same in all these brief sayings: It is impossible that good can come out of evil! To claim that the wonderful miracles of healing were the work of a demon was an outright denial of the power of God. It was a blasphemy so hideous that it was unforgivable. Indeed, he says in verse 30 they accused him of having an unclean spirit, thus denying the power of God which had been made manifest in Christ.

An unforgivable sin
Our Lord Jesus Christ here teaches us that all manner of sin is forgivable save this one. Why? Consider the following: God forgave denial in Peter. Jesus forgave adultery (John 8:11) and God forgave murders that had been committed by both David and Paul. But how can someone be forgiven if that person denies the power of God? It is impossible – for by denying the power of God one must also logically believe that there is no way to overcome sin.

It is a danger that can also befall us if we turn our backs on the Word once having accepted its grace: "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" (Heb. 10:29).

The lessons embodied in these parables certainly have parallels in our own community history and to ignore the teachings given here by our Lord could well be to our peril. It is easy to blame the other person for setting our house against itself whether it be within the family, or in an individual ecclesial context , or even, for that matter, in our entire community. Wherever problems exist that separate brethren, the fact remains a house divided against itself cannot stand; the Lord has spoken and we should not gainsay his teaching lest we deny the power of the word. Let us pray that through his power, the body may be healed and we should pick up our bed and walk in newness of life that we may be prepared for his soon appearing.

John C. Bilello, Ann Arbor, MI

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