As Jesus resume his journey toward Jerusalem for the final
confrontation, he heals a man tormented by an evil spirit which had made him
mute. The miracle itself was no
different than dozens of other miracles that Jesus had performed, and the
healing no different than many, many others that Jesus had healed, but some in
the crowd saw this not as the act of grace that it was, but as an insidious
attempt by the devil to deceive the people of God. The doubters in the audience accused Jesus of
casting out demons under the authority of Beelzebub the prince of demons, in
other words, they were calling Jesus a double-agent, saying that his acts of
righteousness were in reality acts of deception. That such an accusation, against Jesus of all
people, is ludicrous doesn’t stop it from happening, just as the lack of
evidence doesn’t stop some people from withholding vaccines from their
kids. This crazy situation is troubling,
but it does provide Jesus with a chance to illustrate a principle that is
applicable in nearly every human interaction and even within the life of every
person: A house divided against itself will fall.
The universal principle given by Jesus has wide application,
it applies to nations, too many of which are torn by civil strife, it applies
to businesses, institutions, churches, families, and marriages. We cannot long endure when were are
fundamentally divided as a group of people.
This is a danger in secular situations just as it can be deadly to a
church. Because division is so
dangerous, we ought always to be supporting reconciliation and healing, trying
to hold together those who are in danger, and helping to pick up the pieces
when splits do occur. That this is a
fundamental problem in the church and society as a whole is beyond doubt. The divorce rate in America confirms our
weakness on the issue of unity, as does the poor record of church splits.
Beyond the groupings of people in danger because of
division, we must also be aware that individual people can be torn internally
by conflicting goals, an unclear sense of purpose, or even simply a lack of
commitment. We cannot serve two masters,
both will be disappointed in us, and we cannot avoid choosing which side we are
on because we have already begun by being on the side at war with God, our only
chance is to make peace with God through Jesus Christ.
Jesus ends his comments with two important additions to this
principle: Those who aren’t with me are against me, and it will be worse for
those who see the light but don’t change.
These two thoughts remind us that this is no game, God takes very
seriously our choice to either continue as we are or repent and follow him, the
good news is that when we do choose to join his side and help out in the work
of the kingdom, we’ve chosen the side that has already been victorious in the
battle, a battle won by Jesus on Easter morning.
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