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.”

--Parallel verses:
‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭19‬-‭21‬
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Jesus healed a man bound by demons, which had left him mute and blind. Instead of celebrating this incredible miracle, the Pharisees and teachers of the law tried to make this good thing into a bad thing. They accused him of casting out demons because he was full of Satan (or Beelzebul). The prophet Isaiah warned those who do this, ““Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” (‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭5‬:‭20‬)

Jesus points out the ridiculous nature of their argument: a kingdom divided, a city divided, or a house divided will not stand. What I find interesting is that these leaders, themselves, suffered from a divided heart. Their hearts were divided in serving both themselves and God.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” (Hebrews ‭12‬:‭1‬). Here we see that the writer of Hebrews calls us to have a focused heart, like Jesus; quite the opposite of a divided heart.

Jesus doubles down here, saying that if he did not do this miracle by Satan’s power, but by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon them. The implication is that they will be judged for standing against it.

What is distinctive about evil leaders who are proud is that they hate the truth, the light, and the power of God. Why? Because it shines on their evil deeds and exposes them, just as Jesus did here.

If instead we, as imperfect humans, step out into the light, people can see that we are sinners saved by grace and all that we do is because of God working through us.

Lord, thank you that you are the light of my life. You save and heal and redeem, and I want to be in the center of it all. Help me to trust you, and to rejoice when others are blessed by you.