Here Jesus was at it again. They brought Him a blind
and mute man and He healed him. It was to be expected in any true encounter
with Jesus, that man saw and spoke. Everyone in the crowd was amazed and could
roughly see that He was the promised Messiah. Everyone except the Pharisees.
For when they heard what the people said, they immediately insinuated that
Jesus did the healing by the power of Beelzebul, a slang name for the
arch-demon. This term literally mean “Lord of flies or filth.” He is none other
than Satan, the devil himself.
But we know that what Jesus did, He did it by the
power of the Living God. The source of Jesus’ power came from the Heavenly
Father. Everything, from casting out demons to healing to welcoming the outcast
and etc., Jesus did all to introduce the Kingdom and its program. Through Him,
the Kingdom of heaven had been in operation. So the reason they accused Him of
doing everything by the power of Beelzebul was obvious. How else could they
discredit the Lord Jesus and His work! If what they said of Jesus was the truth,
than you can imagine the repercussion. It would mean that everything Jesus did
could be attributed to Satan. All His work of healing and deliverance would be
seen as the power of Satan at work. Bluntly speaking, they were accusing Jesus of
being in league with Satan. More than that, they were charging Him of dabbling
with witchcraft. If what they had suggested was believed, it would have spelt
the end of all the Kingdom movement. What a preposterous suggestion! It was one that Jesus couldn’t take lying
down. He knew their thoughts. He knew where they were coming from. So He gave
His response.
Firstly, He showed that if Satan was His source than
it would mean that the devil was undoing his own kingdom. A kingdom divided
cannot stand. It’s almost like a man in the midst of building his house, also
engages a demolition team to tear down a part of that house concurrently. Secondly,
He pointed out to the people that in His day, there were also people
successfully casting out demons. He asked them, “By whose power did those
exorcists exercise the deliverance ministry? Were they in league with the devil
as well?” Of course not. Thirdly, Jesus then candidly pointed out that He
delivered by the Spirit of God and this is an indication that the Kingdom of
God had burst on the scene. Jesus was in fact invading Satan’s territory. This
devil is the strongman in a house and Jesus had come to bind him and take back
the goods that he had stolen.
The Kingdom of God is upon us. Daily, we are engaging
in a warfare to extend the Kingdom of God. We must do so in collaboration with
the Spirit of God. Let’s be committed to the task. Let’s take heed to verse 30.
It’s a challenge by the Lord to work with Him. There is no two-way about it.
There is only one way: be committed to His work. If we aren’t fully committed,
we are simply not committed. Partial commitment is a euphemism for
non-commitment!
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