Father Snort

The obvious part of our Gospel story today is that Jesus is telling the scribes that no, he is not using the power of the prince of demons to cast out demons. “If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” Satan would not be stupid enough to be here casting out demons; he would not be working against himself. Jesus is making clear that he is casting out demons with the power of God, not the power of the enemy. Less clear is that Jesus is warning the Scribes not to turn the house of Israel against itself, lest Israel not be able to stand. Jesus spoke about not being able to plunder a strong man’s house until you first bind the strong man. On the one hand, he is saying that he has bound Satan, otherwise he wouldn’t be casting out demons. On the other hand, Jesus is warning the Scribes against binding the Holy Spirit. Don’t blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. Don’t ascribe the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan.