He was driving out a demon [that was] mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute person spoke and the crowds were amazed. 15 Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” 16 Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. 17 But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. 18 And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. 19 If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if it is by the finger of God that [I] drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. 22 But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. 23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Jesus’ miracle was not disputed but some in the crowd challenged the source of his power to exorcise demons and heal the sick. The deaf man was healed so that he could hear Jesus’ word about the Kingdom of God and then speak about it. Hearing is very important for discipleship. Jesus’ healings resulted in two opposing responses – those who hear and believe and those who do not. The Pharisees in the crowd said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons (Mt. 9:34).” Mark prefaced that response with “By the power of Beelzebul (v. 15).” Others in the crowd asked for a “sign from heaven (v. 16).” Even though Jesus’ works clearly showed that it was God working through him (Jn. 10:25) they wanted to see an extraordinary sign from God. By using the expression, “The finger of God (v. 20),” Jesus alluded to the Exodus where during the third plague, Pharaoh's magicians told him that the gnats were by, “The finger of God (Ex. 8:15)”. Jesus was rescuing the people from slavery to sin just as God rescued the Israelites from slavery to the Egyptians. The Kingdom of God was being manifested through Jesus’ ministry. Luke used imagery like palace (v. 21) to depict the worldly forces of evil that were being conquered by the stronger one, Jesus (v. 22). Luke was encouraging his community to remain faithful to Jesus or they would be working against the Kingdom of God.
Almighty God, help us to hear your word and believe and to profess the Kingdom of God as you inspire us to speak or work. Grant that we may never challenge your faithfulness to us or believe that you could be the source of any evil. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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