By
Allen White
Then they brought him a demon-possessed man
who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and
see. All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
But when the Pharisees heard this, they
said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives
out demons.”
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or
household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he
is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out
demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will
be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then
the kingdom of God has come upon you.
“Or
again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions
unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house. Matthew 12:22-29
In the South, there
are two major religions – Christianity and football. Folks are loyal to their
churches and they’re loyal to their teams. In South Carolina that team is
either Clemson or USC.
Every once in a while,
you will encounter a house divided. Whether the spouses attended the
universities or not, one wears orange and purple, while the other wears garnet
and black. For some, it’s a joke. For others, it’s downright blasphemy.
I even have a
friend who has degrees from both schools. I asked if he has trouble getting
along with himself. Now, he is a licensed counselor, so maybe that answers the
question.
The ordinary people
who witnessed Jesus’ miracles jumped to a conclusion: this was the Son of
David, the Messiah. The Pharisees wouldn’t allow that conclusion. They scoffed,
“His power must come from the devil.” But, Jesus called them on it.
Let’s say you were
running a business called Satan, Inc. (don’t go there). Your job as CEO of
Satan, Inc. is to steal, kill and destroy as many folks as possible (John 10:10). Demons, fear and insecurity are in your arsenal. You can easily wreak
havoc on the population. Then, one day you get a crazy idea.
You decide to
flaunt your power by taking a notoriously demon-possessed person and casting
his demons out. While the crowd was amazed, you now freed a man who was once
under your control and you have a few demons out of a job. It’s not good for
business at Satan, Inc.
If Jesus was
Beelzebub, then He would have been in the business of installation, not
removal. Demons go in, influence goes up at Satan, Inc. Demons get cast out,
influence goes down. Jesus was bad for Satan’s business. But, He was also bad
for the Pharisees’ business.
Jesus wasn’t the
knight in shining armor that the Pharisees expected. He didn’t show up on the
scene to relieve the Jews from Roman oppression. Besides, if Jesus came to
fulfill the Law, then what would the Pharisees hold over people’s heads? Jesus
didn’t fit into their system. Their house was divided.
But, how can you
divide yourself between godly things and godly things? Weren’t the religious
people godly? Then, what was Jesus? Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6). What does that make the Pharisees?
You can’t mix
different beliefs just to create something that works for you. In the end, you
create a house divided. This runs deeper than football allegiances, though
football runs pretty deep.
You can’t serve God
for salvation, yet resist Him when it comes to obedience. You can’t trust Jesus
for Heaven, yet continue to nurture unsurrendered parts of your heart. You
can’t just love Jesus for the convenient and the comfortable. He often calls us
to inconvenience and sacrifice. Anything less than a full commitment is
actually no commitment at all.
Where is your
personal house divided? Are you a different person in business than you are in
church? How does God affect your life on a daily basis? Do you consult Him? Do
you read His Word?
I’m not trying to
make you feel bad. If your answers were mostly “no” in that last paragraph, I
just want you to understand that you’re missing out on so much of what God has
for you. The distractions of this world have put up a dividing wall in your
heart. A divided life is a distracted life. It’s a stressful life. It’s a heavy
burden. Jesus wants you to be free. What’s keep you from finding your freedom?
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