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3. Jesus Refutes the Charge of Having Made an Agreement with the Prince of the Devils (Mark 3:20-30)
MARK 3:20-27
20 The multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 When his friends heard it, they went out to seize him: for they said, “He is insane.” 22 The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons he casts out the demons.” 23 He summoned them, and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 If Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he can’t stand, but has an end. 27 But no one can enter into the house of the strong man to plunder, unless he first binds the strong man; and then he will plunder his house.
Satan organized his army against Christ. Experts in the Torah and the Law came from the magnificent Jerusalem to the despised mountains of the north, to watch the movement of Jesus the carpenter, to set a trap for him, arrest him for transgressing the law, and prove according to the law that he was the deceiver and troublemaker of the nation.
At that very moment, his family and those who were close to him, his disciples, were altogether in great danger of being rejected by the nation and put to shame.
This is why his family began to protect and defend him, claiming that he was out of his mind. This pretext was the easiest way to release them from responsibility and protect him at the same time. They also tried repeatedly to prevent him from continuing his devoted service, but they could not reach him because of the multitudes around him asking for healing and listening to his wise words. The experts in the Mosaic Law said enviously: “Jesus is not out of his mind, as his relatives claim, but he is possessed with the spirit of Beelzebul.” They charged him before the crowds that the ruler of the spirits himself, who had demons under him as numerous as the lies of the earth, dwelt in Jesus. Jesus, the embodied love of God they called Satan. The hatred of Hell blinded the Scribes so that they saw only the letter of the law, and were unable to feel God’s kindness in Jesus.
Christ defended himself rightly before the people, and explained to them the ignorant and wild charge of the principles of hell, and his hidden authority. Hell is a comprehensive strong state, which is working together in unity to carry out its destructive design in spite of apparent divisions and contradictions. The spirit of the lying devil rules over his followers and binds them to refuse God and his Anointed One.
But Jesus came alone without his angels or army to the midst of the state of darkness. He disarmed the tempter who could not make him yield to any sin, and snatched prisoners from him with the word of his power. Christ is the victor over Satan at all times. With his gospel he will free you from your selfishness and impurities, if you listen to him and accept his words obediently he will set you free, and then you will become an active member of the kingdom of God.
Woe to those who recognized the love of God only for a limited time! For those who refuse him become hardhearted, and they blaspheme against him. God may forgive him who ignorantly neglects God and his Son, mocks at them, and blasphemes against them, without knowing them truly. But he who rejects God’s mercy, which is proclaimed to him in spiritual experiences and powerful effects, becomes unclean in himself and will find forgiveness no longer. Never treat lightly the knowledge of Christ, or neglect the experiences of the Holy Spirit, but repent sincerely, changing your character that you may not become a traitor like Judas. Believe brokenly in Jesus, die to your bodily wishes, and surrender to the love of the Savior while it is yet “Today”.
PRAYER: O Holy Father, we worship you for you saved us from judgment through the death of your beloved Son. Establish us in his love, and free us from our inclination to evil that we may not become a prey to evil spirits, but be filled with your Holy Spirit, magnify, and serve you obediently, free from impurity. O Lord, protect our nation that no one may refuse you and fall into sin. Amen.
QUESTION:
- What is the meaning and aim of the charge of the delegation from Jerusalem?