A House Divided and the Sign of Jonah

Matthew 12

²² Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him; and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.

²³ All the multitudes were amazed, and said, “Can this be the son of David?”

²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”

²⁵ Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.

²⁶ If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

²⁷ If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

²⁸ But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you.

²⁹ Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house.

³⁰ “He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters.

³¹ Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.

³² Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come.

³³ “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit.

³⁴ You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

³⁵ The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things.

³⁶ I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

³⁷ For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

³⁸ Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

³⁹ But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.

⁴⁰ For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here.

⁴² The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³ “When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, and doesn’t find it.

⁴⁴ Then he says, ‘I will return into my house from which I came;’ and when he has come back, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.

⁴⁵ Then he goes and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation.”

Mark 3

²⁰ The multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.

²¹ When his friends heard it, they went out to seize him; for they said, “He is insane.”

²² The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons he casts out the demons.”

²³ He summoned them and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?

²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

²⁵ If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

²⁶ If Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he can’t stand, but has an end.

²⁷ But no one can enter into the house of the strong man to plunder unless he first binds the strong man; then he will plunder his house.

²⁸ “Most certainly I tell you, all sins of the descendants of man will be forgiven, including their blasphemies with which they may blaspheme;

²⁹ but whoever may blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.”

³⁰ —because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Luke 11

¹⁴ He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the multitudes marveled.

¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”

¹⁶ Others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven.

¹⁷ But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. A house divided against itself falls.

¹⁸ If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.

¹⁹ But if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

²⁰ But if I by God’s finger cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come to you.

²¹ “When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own dwelling, his goods are safe.

²² But when someone stronger attacks him and overcomes him, he takes from him his whole armor in which he trusted, and divides his plunder.

²³ “He who is not with me is against me. He who doesn’t gather with me scatters.

²⁴ The unclean spirit, when he has gone out of the man, passes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will turn back to my house from which I came out.’

²⁵ When he returns, he finds it swept and put in order.

²⁶ Then he goes and takes seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

²⁷ It came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts which nursed you!”

²⁸ But he said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.”

²⁹ When the multitudes were gathering together to him, he began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks after a sign. No sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.

³⁰ For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will also be to this generation.

³¹ The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and will condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, one greater than Solomon is here.

³² The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, one greater than Jonah is here.

³³ “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, that those who come in may see the light.

³⁴ The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness.

³⁵ Therefore see whether the light that is in you isn’t darkness.

³⁶ If therefore your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light.”