And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast [them] out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

Matthew 12:25-30

And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

Mark 3:23-27

Jesus heard the statements of the people calling Him the Son of David. Jesus also knew the thoughts of the unbelieving Pharisees who said He was in league with Satan himself. Jesus responds to both groups with a parable.

A parable is similar to allegory in that it tells a story with a moral lesson. Most allegories have many parallels to real-life people or situations. Parables generally do not have as many parallels so the focus is more on the moral lesson than an effort to figure out who is who in the story.

In this parable of the house divided, Jesus confronts the absurdity of the Pharisees’ argument. If Jesus was casting out devils by the power of the prince of devils, then Satan’s house would fall. Further, He says that the Pharisees claim their children could cast out devils. So, Jesus asks if that is by the power of Satan too!

Jesus goes on to explain where His power came from. He says that He casts out devils by the Spirit of God. This means that the kingdom of God has come to earth, and it came in Jesus. Jesus is flat out telling them, “Yes, I am the Messiah.”

Jesus also says that He has work to do. Part of that work is to cast out the strong man which is Satan. The miracles of exorcism that Jesus performed were not just signs of Who He was. They were the acts of the Messiah binding up the strong man, Satan, who had possession of so many minds.

When Jesus came, He cast out devils from inside men, and He wrecked the devil’s control on the world.

Jesus exposes the hypocrisy of the Pharisees once again. They have shown that they just want the people to stop following Jesus and return to them. He makes it public knowledge that the Pharisees are not just questioning Who He is. They are actually working against the Prince of Peace!