This coming Sunday is the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time. So far we have heard the accusations of family and Scribes. Now it is Jesus’ turn to respond: 23 Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan?24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him.27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.

Jesus first addresses the second charge: he is in league with the “prince of demons.” His approach is to incorporate parables to construct a cumulative argument that shows in high relief the incongruity and fallacy of the scribal charges. Whatever one is to have understood by “Beelzebul,” Jesus makes clear what is at stake in their assessment is a confrontation between the power of God and the power of Satan. In this way Jesus brings the controversy into the context of his mission as a direct confrontation with Satan – a confrontation already begun in Mark’s recording of the wilderness confrontation. Immediately following the wilderness scene, Jesus clearly announces his mission: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand.” (Mark 1:15)

Lane succinctly explains Jesus’ refutation of the second charge: “Satan is not able to cast out Satan… His argument is cumulative in its force: If what you say is true there exists the impossible circumstance that Satan is destroying his own realm. For it is self-evident that a kingdom divided against itself will fall, while a household divided against itself cannot be established. If your accusation is factual, then Satan has become divided in his allegiance. This should mean that he has become powerless. Yet this is clearly not so. Satan remains strong, and this fact exposes the fallacy of your charge.”

Jesus then addresses the first charge, Jesus is possessed by a demon, by a single verse: “But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.” Although not specifically named, Jesus’ reference to the “strong man” is clearly Satan, whose power is evident in the world. The power of Satan is clearly seen in the corruption of man and the world: sin, possession by evil spirits, disease and death. The workers in this sphere of death are the demons. Clearly the demons are not stronger than their master, so it is only one stronger than Satan that can enter his “house,” the earthly realm, tie him up and plunder the goods.

In the Markan narrative so far, we have seen demons cast out, sins forgiven, and diseases cured. In just the  casting out of demons, Jesus has shown that he has the power to constrain and limit the power of Satan in his own realm and to release those “captive” to Satan’s power. It is especially this act of casting out demons that is at the heart of Jesus’ proclaimed mission and the evidence of being the agent of irresistible power. One has to decide on the source of that irresistible power.

Image credit: “Mocking of Christ” by Ciambue | 1280 |Louvre, Paris | PD-US