The Parables of Jesus - The Divided House

Introduction

Today we are going to talk about  a parable that is among the first given by Jesus. It is a powerful reflection of the work of God accomplished through Jesus, showing that the Kingdom of God was truly present and revealing the supremacy of Jesus, visible and victorious before the people of God.

Jesus was performing miracles, rendering Satan defeated and subject to His authority, thus presenting a picture of Satan powerless before the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, the King of the Jews, who had come to overthrow his oppressive power over humanity, manifested through sickness and infirmities, but above all through the power of sin and death, which have reigned over mankind since the fall of Adam and Eve.

But Jesus is indeed speaking of division, a separation between two kingdoms: that of Jesus Christ and that of Satan; between victory and captivity; between light and darkness. This separation is divinely established by the power of Christ over darkness and, at the same time, provokes serious opposition from the religious leaders toward Jesus, helping us understand the hostility we face when proclaiming Christ in a dark world.

However, because of this heavenly work of Jesus, there is also a work of reconciliation between man and his Creator, giving us a new identity and bringing us spiritual victory over Satan in Jesus Christ, in every circumstance, through His Holy Spirit who lives in us and acts for us.

Reading of the passage of the day.

“Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast 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, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.“ Mark 3:20-27 ESV

Context of the passage.

We can clearly see the tension that reigns in this passage. Jesus is seated in a house, surrounded by His disciples and other people, but the crowd gathers again to such an extent that they could not even eat. The Pharisees, as well as the scribes, arrive from Jerusalem to attack Him verbally. There was also a part of His own family speaking negatively about Him, for they were saying that He had brought embarrassment upon His family.

Why did they want to attack Him verbally? Because Jesus had performed signs and miracles, such as healings, even on the Sabbath, which caused great anger among the religious leaders. Jesus had come to demonstrate His authority and power from heaven, liberating captives from their bondage and thereby revealing that He was the Son of God.

So what happened? Those who did not understand who He was and what He had come to accomplish wanted to treat Him as a blasphemer, which could ultimately lead to a death sentence, thus attempting to prevent Him from exposing the religious leaders before the people of God and revealing their visible powerlessness and limitations in the face of infirmities and sin.

When Jesus says in different passages of the Gospel that the religious leaders were hypocrites, He was speaking about this kind of behavior, shining outwardly, yet spiritually blind, unable to see the Messiah revealed in the Scriptures and now standing before them.

“Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, ‘He is out of his mind.’“ v.20-21

The movement of the crowd into Jesus’s private setting shows us that opposition, even from some of His own family, was directed against Him, and as we know through the progression of the Gospel, this growing rejection would ultimately lead to the cross. Yet none of His disciples knew this would happen; only Jesus knew.

What Jesus would endure in terms of attacks and suffering would serve so that the message of the Kingdom might be proclaimed, thus showing His disciples, during their training, that nothing would be easy, but that through the work of the Holy Spirit, what God needed to accomplish, He would accomplish. The Master was setting a never-ending divine pattern for His disciples to follow until He returns.

By saying that He was out of His mind, we could translate it into modern wording as, “this person is crazy, or weird, or has lost his mind,” which at that time would expose a person to serious attacks, especially if people believed it was a matter of blasphemy, since misunderstanding often creates hatred and rejection.

When the Holy Spirit takes hold of us and we share the Word of God, the Bible tells us that it does not return void or come back without effect. There will always be both understanding and misunderstanding, which will lead either to a deeper discovery of the truths of God through His Word, so as to know who He is and what He asks us to accomplish, or to visible and even hostile rejection from those who do not understand, thus opposing the truth, whether through pride or through spiritual blindness.

What matters for us today, as children of God, born again through faith in Jesus Christ, is first to test every spirit through the revelation of the Holy Scriptures. Not everything on this earth comes from God, yet nothing escapes God’s sovereign hand, and He uses all things to make us grow in love and faith in Him.

Therefore, by praying to God with our hearts and asking Him to reveal His Word to us through His Holy Spirit, in humility and wisdom, we arm ourselves with this powerful spiritual weapon that helps us move forward in the victory that Christ gives us. 

Which practically means that if someone speaks to you about Jesus, God’s Kingdom, the Holy Spirit, or anything regarding our new identity in Christ, the first thing we should do is go to the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit for understanding, or seek counsel from someone more mature in the Word of God.

Even through persecutions and sufferings, the peace of God shall always be upon us, not weakening our relationship with Christ or leading us into sin against Him, but enabling us to walk by faith in Him, always remembering how the Lord Jesus suffered and endured at the cross to fulfill His mission in order to save us. It is not easy to put into practice, it is true, but if we submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit, we can overcome every situation and give glory to our God.

“And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul,’ and ‘by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.’ And he called them to him and said to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? ” v.22-23

The religious authorities had set themselves in motion in order to give the impression to the people that they could provide a solution. By portraying Jesus as a blasphemer or a heretic, casting out demons by an evil power, and presenting themselves as saviors according to their prideful and earthly point of view, they were seeking to preserve and protect their religious influence and authority before the people, a position that would glorify them in the place of God.

Misunderstanding and a lack of discernment in spiritual matters can lead us to say or do terrible things. Persistent hardness of heart can lead a person into great spiritual sin, even to the point of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. So the religious leaders described the miracles performed by Jesus in a way that would diminish Him and make Him appear demonic in the eyes of the people. The name Beelzebul is not insignificant.

Beelzebul is a name used in Jewish tradition to designate Satan as the chief of evil spirits. The term was used as a mocking designation. In the biblical context, this name refers to the prince of demons, that is, Satan himself, as the head of the kingdom of darkness.

So who is Satan? Scripture reveals Satan as a fallen angel who once held an exalted position in heaven. He was cast out by God, along with other angels, because of his pride and rebellion against God Himself. He then appears in the garden of Eden in the form of a serpent, bringing about the fall of humanity through the disobedience of Adam and Eve.

His various names reveal his work: as “Satan,” he opposes; as “the devil,” he slanders; as “the tempter,” he leads man into sin. His objectives are to kill and destroy, but above all to take the place of God, seeking to usurp power, authority, and the throne of God for himself, while remaining a limited creature under God’s sovereignty.

Satan even tempted Jesus by telling Him to throw Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and sought to receive His worship. He attacks humanity, God’s creation, through seduction and deception, lies, temptation, theft, accusation, and even through sickness and murder.

But because Christ has defeated the enemy and bound the strong man, that is, Satan,   believers, in whom the Spirit of God dwells, can resist him, put on Christ through faith and the power of the Holy Spirit, remain vigilant, and rely on the armor of God, living in the victory that Christ has won.

When Jesus asked them this simple question, “How can Satan cast out Satan?” nobody could answer. They could only listen to what Jesus was telling them. This is a heavenly truth, spoken in parables, to expose the condition of their hearts and their spiritual state. It is clear that reading Scripture does not necessarily mean understanding its message.

As the Bible says, it is only through the revelation of the Holy Spirit that we can discern the mysteries of God. The Apostle Paul expresses the same truth that Jesus taught.

«The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. » 1 Corinthians 2:14

Understanding the natural man helps us see what the human condition is like apart from God’s grace. The Bible shows that without the new birth and the work of the Holy Spirit, a person remains spiritually dead; but through Christ, the Spirit brings new life and enables true spiritual understanding of Scripture.

“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, but is coming to an end.” v.24-26

In this passage, Jesus exposes the inconsistency of their accusation and their religious ignorance, but He also reveals the depth of their spiritual blindness. If we were to summarize what Jesus is saying here, it would be this: “To fight against one’s own camp leads inevitably to ruin; rather, what is united cannot be divided and remain standing.”

Division within a kingdom implies internal conflict and tension. Historically, kingdoms that have experienced internal division have often faced downfall or conquest, as we see in the divided kingdom of Israel after the reign of Solomon, which led to the exile of Israel to Assyria and later of Judah to Babylon.

Division within a house is another statement highlighting the destructive nature of internal discord, which can apply both to governing authorities, such as kings and presidents, and to spiritual communities, such as the Church. 

Jesus speaks of division within a kingdom and a house to demonstrate that such division inevitably brings destruction, serving as a prelude to what He reveals about His own Kingdom, which He has come to establish and of which He is the King and Lord.

When Jesus says, “but is coming to an end,” this is a clear statement announcing the downfall of Satan’s power under Christ’s authority.

On the other hand, this passage shows us that unity in the Spirit and in the truth is essential among our communities, homes, and families, in order to be aligned with God’s will. When instability in our relationships is manifested among us, it may reflect the work of Satan seeking to create conflict or division; indeed, our own flesh, which produces sin, is also at work.

To overcome these situations, the best course for us, as children of God, is always to be united in sound biblical doctrine, to avoid conflict and confusion among us, to love one another, to avoid misunderstanding, to pray together constantly, to avoid individualistic behavior, with Christ in our midst, reflecting the fruit of the Spirit in us and making Christ visible in our lives.

“But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.” v.27

Which house was Jesus speaking about? He uses the image of a visible and organized house to illustrate an invisible spiritual reality. The house represents the domain where the strong man exercises authority and rule.

The strong man here represents Satan, the one who exercises power in this world and who holds souls captive under his authority, in their sins and separated from God. When Jesus says that “no one can enter,” He uses a simple metaphor: humanly speaking, no one can plunder the goods of a strong man if he is present and not first restrained or bound.

But here Jesus is speaking of Himself. He alone is able to enter the house and bind the strong man. This means that Jesus enters the domain controlled by Satan, binding his authority and bringing captives to Himself, saving them from the kingdom of darkness and bringing them into the Kingdom of the Father. Jesus is the door to the Father’s house.

The word “plunder” means to seize something by force. That is exactly what Jesus came to accomplish: to seize captives from the hands of Satan and free them from his grip, forgiving them them from their sins, and granting them eternal life.

The prophet Isaiah says from the Lord « Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be delivered? Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved; I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children. » Isaiah 49:24-25 BSB

Jesus moves forward in His mission with divine authority. Through His miracles, signs, and wonders, the defeat of Satan becomes visible. These supernatural works show that Scripture is true and that He is the Son of God, sent to save humanity.

Conclusion

Jesus confirms in this parable that through His authority over Satan, He has rescued us from a kingdom of darkness and brought us into His heavenly Kingdom. He alone has shown all humanity that without Him, no one can come to the Father.

This parable presents a confrontation between two kingdoms with eternal consequences: one is paradise, in the presence of God forever, in freedom and joy; the other is hell, separated from that presence forever, in suffering and torment.

When we were far from God, in our thoughts, our plans, and our lives, He came to seek us in all our weaknesses and sufferings to free us from our captivity, not because we deserved it, but because of the grace of God, our heavenly Father, who has justified us.

When Jesus brings division, it means belonging. To be separated from the world for God is to be taken from Satan’s grip and brought into the Kingdom of God, whose Lord of lords is Jesus Christ, the Savior in this fallen world. He came to bring eternal salvation through faith in Him, saving not only the soul of a person, but the whole being.

For those who belong to Him, our sins have been forgiven, not because we are perfect, but because we were imperfect, living according to the desires of the world and unaware of their terrible consequences. For those who do not yet belong to Him, the Bible says, “Whoever believes in Him shall be saved.” This is a call for anyone today who is far from God to believe in Him and, by God’s grace, be forgiven and set free from the power of sin and receive eternal life.

For God loved us first by sending His only Son, Jesus Christ. The Creator of the universe glorifies Himself through our transformation so that we may be ambassadors for Christ and draw to Him those who have been chosen, according to God’s righteous sovereignty, for eternal life.

Therefore, let us remain aware, thankful, and joyful that it is God, through Jesus Christ, who has saved us and given us His Holy Spirit, by whom we are alive forever. Let us give Him all the glory, for the Kingdom has come, the strong man is bound, and salvation belongs to our Lord. Glory to the King of kings, Jesus Christ!