12:25 What does Jesus mean by "...a house divided against itself shall not stand"?

12:25 What does Jesus mean by “...a house divided against itself shall not stand”?

(cp Mt 12:22-29). This teaching is also found in Mk 3:22-27 and Lk 11:14-22 (cp Lk 11:14-22).

In all these passages Jesus shows the absurdity of the Pharisees’ charge that He was casting out demons by the power of Satan.

Firstly, Satan would not be a party to the destruction of His own kingdom, and secondly, only those who were stronger than Satan could enter his house and spoil his goods – cast demons out of people, etc.

Jesus was able to enter Satan’s house and spoil his goods because he was empowered by God to do so, which proved that the kingdom of God - the realm of God’s rule – was now manifest in the earth (cp Mt 3:1-3; 4:13-17; 10:1-8; Lk 17:20-21; Ac 10:38).

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