Matthew 12:25, commentary and pictures

Jesus discerned the thoughts of the leaders who claimed His healing of a blind and mute possessed man was done by league with the ruler of demons. He laid down the universal law that every kingdom, city, and household turned against itself is headed for desolation and cannot stand. Satan casting out Satan would therefore be tearing down his own rule, which exposes the charge as unreasonable and shows that God's work and Satan's work are distinct rival causes that cannot be confused. To call the work of the Holy Spirit the work of Satan cuts off the channel by which God touches the heart, leaving the soul where repentance and faith cannot come, and stubborn closing of the eyes to plain evidence of divine power is the sin against the Holy Spirit that cannot be forgiven. By the same law, division inside a church, home, united labor, or nation brings weakness, confusion, and ruin and turns observers to contempt, while union with Christ and with one another brings strength and is the only safety.

Setting and Plain Meaning

Jesus knew their thoughts and answered the Pharisees' reiterated charge that He cast out devils through the prince of devils, Beelzebub, by Satan's power, by being in league with hell. This answer came just after He had healed a possessed man who was blind and dumb, and after other healings of the suffering that manifested the holy power of God in works of mercy which no man had done or could do. The charge that He worked by Satan's power had spread and reached His brothers and brought keen reproach upon them through their relation to Him. At that time Jesus spent entire nights in prayer and by day was thronged by great companies so that He had no time so much as to eat.

His friends felt He was wearing Himself out by incessant labor and were unable to account for His attitude toward the Pharisees, and some feared His reason was becoming unsettled. The sons of Joseph were far from sympathy with His work, filled with astonishment and dismay at reports of His life and labors. They were alarmed at His bold statements and indignant at His denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. They decided He must be persuaded or constrained to cease this manner of labor, and induced Mary to unite with them hoping His love for her would make Him more prudent and prevail upon Him to be more prudent.

The verse states a universal principle that every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation and ruin, and every city or house or household divided against itself shall not stand and cannot endure. A kingdom, city, or household so divided will collapse and cannot endure. Jesus applied that principle to refute the accusation, for if Satan were driving out Satan he would be undermining his own kingdom, which divided would fall and could not stand. Satan opposing himself is unreasonable, and Christ's works of mercy contradict the charge, showing opposing sides cannot be treated as serving the same cause.

Holy Spirit and Rival Kingdoms

To call the work of the Holy Spirit the work of Satan is to cut oneself off from the fountain of blessing. To speak against Jesus Himself without discerning His divine character may still be forgiven, for through the Holy Spirit the soul may yet be brought to see the error and repent, and whatever the sin, if the soul repents and believes the guilt is washed away in the blood of Christ. But he who rejects the work of the Holy Spirit puts himself where repentance and faith cannot reach him, because it is by the Spirit that God works upon the heart. When men wilfully reject the Spirit and declare it to be from Satan they cut off the channel by which God can communicate with them, so that when the Spirit is finally rejected there is no more that God can do for the soul.

The healings done before the Pharisees, which no man had done or could do, were a manifestation of the holy power of God, and in unbelief they could not evade them or attribute them to natural causes. They therefore spoke of the Son of God as a mere human being and attributed God's holy power to satanic agencies, saying His miracles were the works of the devil and He was in league with hell. They used their talent of speech to abuse the world's Redeemer, and their words were written by the recording angel in the books of heaven. In resisting the evidence of divine power, misrepresenting His work, rejecting the light that could lead them to confess Him as Messiah, and upholding their wicked purposes in determined unbelief, they chose deception and yielded themselves to Satan's control. This stubborn, sullen, ironhearted determination to close the eyes to all evidence is sin against the Holy Ghost, the unpardonable sin.

To ascribe to Satan what belongs to God or what the Holy Ghost has done is the sin against the Holy Ghost. Those who say the shut door is of the devil sin in this way against their own lives unto death. By their own conclusions they are brought into close quarters, lost in foggy terrible fear with anguish of spirit seizing them, unable to tell where they are or to admit the door is shut. Deliverance is in looking at the Pattern and following Him because He is meek and lowly in heart, and in shutting the eyes to everything but present saving truth, for one who has the truth will chase a thousand and two will put ten thousand to flight.

Christ and Satan have two rival kingdoms in this world, so a line is to be drawn between believers and unbelievers. If Satan were driving out Satan he would be undermining his own kingdom, which divided would fall and could not stand, so opposing sides cannot be treated as serving the same cause and Christ's followers must take a clear stand for Him. Satan's work and God's work are distinct and must not be confused or treated as one work, and fanaticism cannot be combined with the work of God and attributed wholly to heaven. Satan leads the rival kingdom as one who was an exalted angel in the heavenly courts, acquainted with the refinement and courtesy and beauty of character of those who do the requirements of God, and he is not content to accept coarse and vulgar men but is searching for masters. Meanwhile the church shows little faith manifested in the Word of God, with few conversant with the Scriptures and few having fervent love for God, so that the world is converting the church rather than the church converting the world.

Christ's words of instruction are life eternal and must be strictly heeded without losing one word. This requires meekness and lowliness with rock-firm loyalty to His teachings because truth abides forever. To place trust in any lie or pretense brings loss of eternal life, and to make crooked paths that turn the lame from safe paths by setting aside His counsel for deceptions originating with the father of lies makes the misleaders accountable. Separation from God, so that the heart is not under the subduing power of the Holy Spirit, reveals the attributes of Satan in oppressing fellow men, with an influence contrary to truth and justice and righteousness. This is seen when workers oppress one another and when one institution desires to control all others, for men entrusted with weighty responsibilities but with no living connection with God indulge the very same spirit as Korah, Dathan, and Abiram and as the Jews in the days of Christ, doing despite to the Holy Spirit though warned by God again and again.

Division Destroys Unity Strengthens

Division within the church brings it to ruin and stops its work, for the hindrance from within is greater than any hindrance from without. Satan cannot read thoughts, but he watches words and actions to fit his temptations, so when wrong feelings are not controlled and repressed but are spoken and acted out he is given opportunity to divide and destroy, while if sinful thoughts and feelings were repressed and given no expression he would be defeated. Every dissension and quarrel with mutual accusation brings great loss, as friends take sides with favorites and accusation and counter-accusation are multiplied and the breach is widened, and Satan and evil angels are encouraged to work the seed thus sown to secure a harvest. Unbelievers and worldlings who rightly expect commandment keepers to honor Christ by godly example look on in contempt and jeer that Christians hate one another, they look upon their own irreligious character with satisfaction and decide they do not want such religion, and thus they are confirmed in impenitence while the advancement of truth is hindered and Satan exults at his success.

When Christians contend, Satan comes in to take control, destroying the peace and harmony of churches. Even a small or very little matter can start fierce controversy leading to bitterness and hatred, blasting hopes and rending families asunder by discord and contention.

The same principle applies to people working and planning together, for selfish independence and divided judgment weaken usefulness and bring weakness, confusion, perplexity and defeat. Acting independently and putting personal plans, opinions and work above counsel leads to weakness and defeat, while counsel, united effort, consulting together and shared judgment make plans safer and stronger. Consulting together helps expose poor decisions and guards the work from confusion and error.

Division weakens a nation, for a nation that remains united has strength but one divided against itself will fall. A kingdom divided against itself is brought to ruin and cannot stand, and the division of the kingdoms of the world comes from rejecting love for God and one another and making self the center. Selfishness and distrust with uncontrolled wills and violent passions destroy the bonds of human sympathy and brotherhood, producing distrust, conflict among relatives, betrayal, conflict and confusion with widespread destruction, misery and death.

Division is seen when workers oppress one another and when one institution desires to control all others, revealing an influence contrary to truth, justice and righteousness when the heart is not under the subduing power of the Holy Spirit. It is likewise seen when Protestant societies in the gospel work, as in Italy, compete for influence and promote their own sects, presenting the gospel as divided against itself and hindering its united advancement.

Disunion brings weakness, desolation and failure while union brings strength, for Christ is not divided against Himself so His children must blend in unity of purpose, devoting heart, mind and strength to the salvation of men. God will give no success while evil-surmising and discord remain unswept away, and refusing to work in harmony greatly dishonors God, delights the enemy, gratifies a watching world, pleases infidelity, and wastes strength in fighting one another instead of warring against Satan's forces. Strife and faultfinding deepen confusion and weaken witness, so questions that cause strife must be repressed, each must examine the heart and yield individual independence lest Satan's deceptions hold them fast, and those who expect to live together in heaven must live in unity now, for union with Christ and with one another is the only safety in the last days.