Jesus Accused Of Blasphemy Series

Harmony of the Gospels

-AD 28-

-Capernaum-

Title: Jesus Accused of Blasphemy

Matthew 12:22-37, Mark 3:20-30, Luke 11:14-23

-Matthew-

22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?

24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.

28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

Jesus cast a demon out of a man who was both blind and deaf; what a sad condition. Those that witnessed this were full of admiration, and they exclaimed, “Is not this the son of David?”

It was to be expected that the Pharisees would be informed about what had happened, and their reaction was predictable, because they were jealous of the Lord. They declared to the people that Jesus had done this miracle by the power of Satan. By this accusation, they brought upon themselves the judgment of God.

Jesus answered the accusation, and in the process showed how absurd it was. Satan would not destroy his own kingdom. But if it was not through the power of Satan, it was by the finger of God, and the kingdom of God was among them in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, that the Pharisees admitted that the demons were cast out. There was never any attempt by the religious leaders to deny that the miracles happened. How could they; they saw it with their own eyes.

-Mark-

20 And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.

21 And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.

In verses 20 and 21, Mark gives us some information that Mathew did not.

The crowd gathered around Jesus and pressed in upon Him, so that there was not room enough to eat. However, He was kind toward them and welcomed them and gave them the attention they sought, despite the inconvenience and hardship it caused Him.

When His friends in Capernaum heard about the huge crowd and how hard Jesus worked to minister to them, they came to get Him, and to take Him home, because they said, “He is beside himself.” In other words, they thought He was in need of rest, or He may lose control of His faculties. At this time, we know that even His family did not believe in Him, because we read in John 7:5, “For even his brothers didn't believe in him.” And so they were willing to believe that the enthusiasm He showed for His work was due to a crazed intellect.

Jesus did not return to Capernaum with his friends and family, but continued His work and that leads us back to the accusation made by the religious leaders.

22 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.

23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?

24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

These Scribes had come down from Jerusalem for the purpose of hindering the progress and invalidating the work of Jesus. The reputation of these learned men would have had an influence not only upon the local people, but also upon the country Scribes. It had never occurred to the local Scribes to make such a vile accusation against Christ until the Scribes from Jerusalem put it into their heads. They could not deny that He cast out demons, which was testimony to His coming from God; but they insinuated that He had Beelzebub on His side, was in league with him and by the prince of devils cast out devils. However, there was no trick in how Christ cast out demons, because He did it as one having authority. Christ gave a very rational answer to this accusation, which demonstrated the absurdity of it. He stated that Satan is so subtle, that he will never voluntarily quit his possession; “If Satan cast out Satan, his kingdom is divided against itself, and cannot stand.”