What is the meaning of Matthew 12:27? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul • Jesus answers the Pharisees’ slander that His power is satanic (Matthew 12:24; Mark 3:22). • The “if” is rhetorical—He does not concede their claim but exposes its folly. Scripture consistently shows Him commanding unclean spirits with absolute authority (Luke 4:33-36; Matthew 8:16). • Scripture never portrays Satan working against himself; Christ’s argument later in the passage makes this clear (Matthew 12:25-26). • This opening phrase therefore confronts the impossibility of evil defeating evil while affirming that the Son of God works by the Spirit of God (Isaiah 11:2; Matthew 12:28). by whom do your sons drive them out? • “Your sons” points to Jewish exorcists active in that era, men the Pharisees recognized as legitimate (Acts 19:13-14 gives a later example of such exorcists; Luke 9:49-50 shows others casting out demons in Jesus’ name). • Jesus presses the leaders to apply their standard consistently. If exorcisms prove satanic power when He performs them, logic says the same about their own followers—but the Pharisees never accuse their disciples. • By highlighting this double standard, the Lord uncovers their prejudice and resistance to divine revelation (Matthew 23:24; Romans 2:1). So then, they will be your judges. • Because the Pharisees accept their own exorcists, those very “sons” stand as living testimony that Jesus acts righteously. Their approval of one group and rejection of another exposes their guilt (John 5:45). • Throughout Scripture God often raises unexpected witnesses against unbelief—Nineveh and the queen of the South against that generation (Matthew 12:41-42), or Gentiles who live by conscience against hypocritical Jews (Romans 2:14-16). • The line anticipates final judgment, where every mouth is silenced by the evidence it once embraced (Revelation 20:12-13). summary Matthew 12:27 shows Jesus dismantling a false charge with simple, undeniable logic. If His critics admit that their own people cast out demons by God’s power, they must concede the same about Him—or stand condemned by their own standard. The verse underscores three truths: Jesus’ deliverance is divine, hypocrisy blinds the heart, and God will use even our acknowledged facts to affirm His righteous judgment. |
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