Jesus’ Power Is From God^(A)

²⁰ Then Jesus went home, but again a large crowd gathered there. There were so many people that he and his followers could not eat. ²¹ His family heard about all these things. They went to get him because people said he was crazy.

²² And the teachers of the law from Jerusalem said, “Satan^[a] is living inside him! He uses power from the ruler of demons to force demons out of people.”

²³ So Jesus called them together and talked to them using some stories. He said, “Satan will not force his own demons out of people. ²⁴ A kingdom that fights against itself will not survive. ²⁵ And a family that is divided will not survive. ²⁶ If Satan is against himself and is fighting against his own people, he will not survive. That would be the end of Satan.

²⁷ “Whoever wants to enter a strong man’s house and steal his things must first tie him up. Then they can steal the things from his house.

²⁸ “I want you to know that people can be forgiven for all the sinful things they do. They can even be forgiven for the bad things they say against God. ²⁹ But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. They will always be guilty of that sin.”

³⁰ Jesus said this because the teachers of the law had accused him of having an evil spirit inside him.

Jesus’ Power Is From God^(A)

¹⁴ One time Jesus was sending a demon out of a man who could not talk. When the demon came out, the man was able to speak. The crowds were amazed. ¹⁵ But some of the people said, “He uses the power of Satan^[a] to force demons out of people. Satan is the ruler of demons.”

¹⁶ Some others there wanted to test Jesus. They asked him to do a miracle as a sign from God. ¹⁷ But he knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “Every kingdom that fights against itself will be destroyed. And a family that fights against itself will break apart. ¹⁸ So if Satan is fighting against himself, how will his kingdom survive? You say that I use the power of Satan to force out demons. ¹⁹ But if I use Satan’s power to force out demons, then what power do your people use when they force out demons? So your own people will prove that you are wrong. ²⁰ But I use the power of God to force out demons. This shows that God’s kingdom has now come to you.

²¹ “When a strong man with many weapons guards his own house, the things in his house are safe. ²² But suppose a stronger man comes and defeats him. The stronger man will take away the weapons that the first man trusted to keep his house safe. Then the stronger man will do what he wants with the other man’s things.

²³ “Whoever is not with me is against me. And anyone who does not work with me is working against me.

¹⁰ “Whoever says something against the Son of Man can be forgiven. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.