...and He healed him

A house divided against itself cannot stand

A man possessed with a demon, blind and mute, was brought to Christ; and He healed him, so that the man could see, and speak. The witnesses were amazed, and said, "Can this be the son of David?" But when the Pharisees heard about it, they said, "This man cannot cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of the demons."

Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself cannot stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how could his kingdom exist?"

"If I drive out demons by the power of Beelzebub, by whose power do your sons cast them out? They will be your judges. But if I, by the Spirit of God, cast out demons, then the kingdom of God is upon you. For how can one enter a strong man's house to steal his goods, unless he first ties up the strong man; and then, he can rob his house."

Matthew 12:22-29

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Comment on the Scripture

In this passage, Christ asks questions, and the answers to the questions disprove a contention by reducing it to a contradiction. This is a formal method of argument that scholars generally associate with Greek philosophy. He first shows the logical flaw in a criticism that he was using Beelzebub's power to defeat Beelzebub.

The second question, "by whose power do your sons cast out demons?", is a little hard to follow, and especially the phrase "they will be your judges". (We must remember that we are dealing with an account several thousand years old.) Christ seems to be saying that the Pharisees must admit that their sons are in the service of the prince of demons, if they want to accuse Christ of the same thing. They would then have to admit that their judges were servants of Satan rather than God (and to the ancient Hebrews, a "judge" was even more important than a judge in modern Western civilization, with enormous religious significance). But if they are going to claim that their sons are serving God, they must also admit that Christ's power comes from the Spirit of God. And if Christ is serving God, then they must believe Him when He says that the Kingdom of God is upon them.

The last analogy, also presented in the form of a rhetorical question, is easy to understand and rather charming. Christ is tying up Satan/Beelzebub, so that He can rob his house; but He isn't stealing gold, but rather men's souls, actual people whom Satan has possessed.