Arulvakku

24.01.11 KINGDOM OF GOD OR OF SATAN

 The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons." Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin." For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit." (Mk 3:22-30)

 

 

He is possessed by Beelzebul is the view of the scribes. They could only think of demon casting out demons. Probably they had the view that there two worlds: world of good and world of evil. Each world was independent and there were interaction between them. Whatever happened in one world was caused by its own members. Since Jesus was casting out demons it only be done by the prince of demons.

 

The parables of Jesus in this passage give another slant to the problem. He says that division will lead to destruction or to the end of a family or a society. Any division is a journey to the end. He argues that the work that he does is not towards evil and not a work of division rather it is a work of completion and it is a work towards wholeness.

 

Sin against the Holy Spirit is materialism or looking at creation and created things with the materialistic perspective. It is to deny the presence of God in the world. Jesus condemns those who see the world without God. He has come into the world to announce the presence of the kingdom of God and in fact he has come to say that God is revealed in him and in his ministry. This is the demand made on every believer.