The Jewish people were expecting the Kingdom of God to come with a mighty military leader, but Jesus was a gentle and compassionate Servant. What Jesus is saying is that the real enemy to be conquered was not the Romans but Satan. That fact that Jesus was casting out demons by His own authority revealed that the kingdom of God had begun.
Let’s look at these two scriptures in context. First we will look at the Gospel of Matthew 12:22-30:
Matthew 12:22-30 (TNIV)
22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”
25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions without first tying up the strong man? Then his house can be plundered. (emphasis added)
30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Then, in the Gospel of Luke 11:14-23 we read:
Luke 11:14-23 (TNIV)
14 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. 15 But some of them said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” 16 Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.
17 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. 18 If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 19 Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.
20 But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. 22 But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.
23 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.(emphasis added)
Here we see Jesus healing and driving out a demon. First, I would point out that ancient exorcist used a variety of incantations and spells; potions and herbs; and material things like rings, to try to manipulate the spirit world. Look at what Jesus does — He “commands’ demons out on His own authority — and they immediately submit! The Pharisees attribute Jesus’ power to Satan, or “Beelzebub, the prince of demons”.
It is interesting to note that in Matthew we are told that “the people” were astonished, amazed, and asked could Jesus be “the Son of David” which is a Jewish term meaning “Messiah”. This of course prompts the Pharisees to anger and they react strongly accusing Jesus.
The full meaning of “Beelzebub” is unknown. Essentially, both “Beelzebul” and “Beelzebub” have been identified with Satan on the basis of their use in the New Testament. Both are derogatory names for the Adversary, or Satan. The name “Beelzebub” in Hebrew means “Lord of the Flies”. This comes from 2 Kings 1:2 where we read about the Phoenician god at Ekron being called “Baal-Zebub”. “Baal-Zebub” is probably a derogatory term used for “Baal-Zebul” coming from the Ugaritic text , meaning “Lord Baal” and could also be understood as “Master of the Heavenly House” . Interestingly enough, in Aramaic, “Beelzebul” could also be construed as “Lord of Dung”. During the Greco-Roman period, these terms came to be used for a leader among the demons opposed to God. “Baal” of course was an ancient pagan storm god . So, you can see why it is hard to pin down the full meaning of this word. It is clear to me, however that based on it’s use in the New Testament that it was identified with Satan.
These next verses (Matthew 12:17-19 and Luke 11:17-19) are often perplexing to many people but in reality, I find they make perfect sense. Jesus responds to the Pharisees with a simple parable that shows the absurdity of their charge that He is driving out demons with Satan’s power — Jesus tells them simply that it is absurd that Satan would drive himself out of people! If their charge would be true, that would mean that there was a civil war going on in the kingdom of evil! Another interesting note is that Pharisees were known to exorcise demons . So, Jesus is telling them that if it takes Satan’s power to exorcise that they too must be demon-possessed!
Now we get to the center of our study: What is Jesus saying about the Kingdom of God? In Matthew 12:28, Jesus tells us, “But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” and in Luke 11:20 He says, “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.”
The Jewish people were expecting the Kingdom of God to come with a mighty military leader, but Jesus was a gentle and compassionate Servant. What Jesus is saying is that the real enemy to be conquered was not the Romans but Satan. That fact that Jesus was casting out demons by His own authority revealed that the kingdom of God had begun.
I like very much what the Life Application Bible Commentary says:
“If the kingdom of God has come, take a reality check. If you live your days without much reference to God, with a few passing words of prayer, your mind consumed with earning and buying, your eyes dashing from one advertisement to another, your heart longing for one more nice purchase—then wake up! There’s a reality you haven’t seen or paid much attention to. It’s the kingdom of God, right here, and it’s very, very important to you. Unless you check in, life will be a dash—and then gone. But people of the kingdom live forever in God’s peace and love. Take time today, right now. Live one day regarding your life as being in God’s kingdom and yourself as his true servant.”
Matthew 12: 29-30 may also be a little perplexing to some, as well as Luke 11:31-33: Although Satan still works in our world , God is in control. We can overpower Satan by refusing his temptations! Jesus overpowers Satan! The kingdom of God overthrows evil! In these verses of Scripture I can see the demons scatter because people have entered the kingdom, refusing his temptation. I believe that Jesus then tells us that any person who tries to remain neutral in the struggle of good against evil is choosing to be separated from God.
Today’s CLUE: The real enemy to be conquered is Satan. That fact that Jesus was casting out demons by His own authority revealed that the kingdom of God had begun. The Kingdom begins with Jesus.