Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”
It is a bad sign when we feel the need to attribute to apparent good to a secret evil. It is a sign that our dislike of another has so obscured our judgment that we are no longer interested in the obvious truth in front of us. Instead, we invent unlikely narratives to make everything another does consistent with our image of him. We refuse them the possibility that, whatever their perceived faults, they might do good in some way. This is of course much worse when applied to Jesus. It is only natural that some of the things that Jesus says and does will challenge us. But even when we are challenged we should seek to understand Jesus in light of the fact that we know how good he is, that we ourselves have seen that goodness at work in others, and experienced it in ourselves.
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
We can see that for these others a sign would never be enough, for Jesus had already demonstrated his power and authority. Just as the first group dismissed Jesus as someone who used the power of darkness so did these who asked for a test only do so to give themselves an excuse to dismiss him. The truth of things was not really of interest to either group. Rather, they feared the true implications of the amazement of the crowd. They secretly suspected and feared the ramifications of what Jesus himself made explicit.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
The fact was that Beelzebul's kingdom and authority were being undermined in every action Jesus took. More to it, actions that opposed Jesus played right into the hands of Beelzebul. Whoever was not with him was against him and whoever did not gather with him scattered. This was so because only Jesus was the one stronger the devil who could overcome him and release all of those he held captive. It was therefore not a matter of indifference to dismiss Jesus as unproven or evil. To dismiss Jesus was the act of a captive disparaging the one who came to rescue him or her, a kind of Stockholm syndrome in which a person develops positive feelings toward their captors or abusers over time. For such delusions, which could not even be cured by miracles, what did Jesus suggest?
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
He pointed to something that both the captive minds of his questioners and he both understood to be true and good, the exorcisms worked by others, as a common basis of understanding of genuine goodness on which to build. Look at that, Jesus seemed to say, and look at me and see that power on display in fullness, the very finger of God in your midst. At the same time he was clear that opposition to this power, manifested in the opposition to Jesus himself, was the true allegiance with Beelzebul. But he did this, not to condemn those who sought to condemn him, but rather to liberate them by the strength of truth and the power of genuine goodness displayed for all to see.
they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers.
When you speak all these words to them,
they will not listen to you either;
when you call to them, they will not answer you.
It is a constant concern that when the Lord speaks to us and calls us to a closer walk with him that we tend to look for ways to put him off or dismiss him. We hear from the Spirit suggestions of how to align our own lives more with the love of Christ but dismiss them as coming from the devil. Or we press God endlessly for signs after he has already done more than enough to amaze us and make himself clear. The questions for us are: What is the finger of God doing today in our midst and how can we get on board with it? How can we more fully commit to gathering with him, to more fully invest in his purpose of setting captives free?
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil (see First John 3:8).
No comments:
Post a Comment