‘And he called them to him and said to 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 has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.”
Jesus called them to Him, and when they came He pointed out that if what they were saying was true then Satan was engaged in civil war and would thus destroy himself. He would be constantly casting himself out, which could only be seen as quite ridiculous. Satan wanted men to be possessed. Why then should he behave otherwise? Thus would Satan, divided, be the cause of his own destruction. But, as everyone must recognise, Satan is too wise for that. Therefore they can clearly not be right.
‘He called them to Him.' It says much for His status that they came. And by their coming they destroyed their own argument. Would they have so come for a devil-possessed maniac? They came because they knew that He was not a maniac, and that He was dangerous to their own position.
‘And said to them in parables.' ‘Parable' has a wide meaning based on the meaning of Hebrew ‘mashal' (which it translates in LXX) meaning a saying, a word picture, a proverb, a riddle, an ethical maxim, a comparison, and so on. Thus ‘He spoke using illustrations, or picture stories'.
‘How can Satan cast out Satan?' They know that Satan is subtle, deceptive, scheming and clever. That all his efforts are set on defying God and deceiving and accusing men. Thus the thought of him casting himself out is ludicrous. Did they honestly believe that? It has only to be put into words to make clear how ridiculous it is. And it is blasphemy against the One Who does cast them out, the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28). Notice that Jesus imputes all the work and manifestation of evil spirits to Satan. They are but tools. In the end the fight is against Satan.
‘If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.' Civil wars destroy kingdoms and make them vulnerable to preying enemy. They destroy themselves from within. Did anyone seriously claim that this was what Satan, who has survived through the ages, was now seeking to do, or would do? All know that Satan's forces are united against God and man. He does not war against himself. The Pharisees themselves admitted this when they expected Satan to be strong to the end of the age. So why should they now see him as guilty of such folly?
We should note here the contrast with what Jesus' actual message was. It was the message of the presence of the Kingly Rule of God. He might well have asked how they could tie this up with claiming that He was involved in the kingly rule of Satan.
‘And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.' The ‘lord of the dwelling' (Beelzeboul), the master of the house, would never allow division in his house, for it would destroy his household. (It is only Christians who are foolish enough to let themselves be divided).
‘And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.' Did they really believe that Satan had risen up against himself? That Satan had gone mad and was destroying himself? He who deceived Eve (Genesis 3:4-5), impoverished Job (Job 1-2), caused David to sin grievously (1 Chronicles 21:1), accused Joshua the High Priest before God (Zechariah 3:1-2)? Had he now risen up against himself, fighting with himself and bringing himself to nought, to his final end? Did they really believe this? Did they really believe that he was finished? Was he not rising stronger than ever as witness the spate of devil possession in Judaea and Galilee and the world? And even their own teaching declared that only God could defeat him, and that he had in the end to be defeated by God. Thus they were being totally inconsistent in what they were saying.