'By the Power of Beelzebub'
In this reading from the Gospel of St Matthew, we find the account of the Pharisees accusing Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub. It is a well known passage; I remember preaching on it in Senegal at a time when I was testing a vocation as an evangelical missionary. It had a real force in that situation since the Wolof people among whom I was living had a constant fear of demons and witchcraft.
It is always useful to consider a passage such as this in the context of those passages of Scripture which come before and afterwards. The Gospel writers are not producing a bare history of events but are both prophetic and theological. Their words are a spiritual message from God, and are filled with spiritual insight. Therefore, we should expect the wider structure of a series of chapters to have meaning and coherence.
At the beginning of this chapter, we find Jesus encountering the Pharisees in a number of contexts where they set themselves against him and seek to destroy him. In verse 1, he leads his disciples through the fields on a Sabbath and is criticised for allowing them to eat the corn. Jesus uses the opportunity to teach that ‘the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day’. He illustrates this further by entering the Pharisees synagogue in that place and healing a man whose hand was withered. They accuse him of doing evil, but he teaches that it is always lawful to good, even on the Sabbath.
Indeed, when he knew that the Pharisees were planning the means to destroy him, he left that place and far from ceasing to do good, he healed all of those ‘great multitudes’ who came to him in need of healing. St Matthew reflects on this and understands that the prophecy of Isaiah was being fulfilled which says: “I will put my spirit upon him” (Is. 42:1). There is a power at work in Christ. It is the power of the Kingdom of God; it is a spiritual power which heals and renews. This is the introduction to the passage in the gospel which we are considering. Jesus has come without great earthly might, ‘a bruised reed shall he not break’, and he goes about doing good, healing the sick. So, it is clear that he is indeed the beloved of God and it is the Spirit of God which is upon him.
Yet the Pharisees have not understood. They do not have the eyes to see nor the ears to hear. It is fitting that the man who is brought before Jesus in this passage is himself blind and dumb. He can neither see properly nor communicate properly; neither can the Pharisees. They fail to comprehend the Word of God in Christ and see merely an inconvenient opponent to their own power, authority and influence. Their every word is negative, critical and bears false witness against Christ.
The man brought to Jesus is demon possessed. The origin of his infirmities is spiritual rather than physical. St Matthew uses this example because he wishes to show that the infirmity of the Pharisees is also spiritual, and is not simply due to ignorance or a misunderstanding. Thus, when the man is healed of this blindness and dumbness, it is the ordinary people who have eyes to see the value of this miracle and it is the simple folk who cry out with their voices: “Is not this the Son of David?” We can imagine that a demon is also cast from him when he is healed, since the Pharisees immediately speak of Jesus casting out demons. But, when the simple and ordinary rejoice and see the action of the power of God for salvation and wholeness, the Pharisees are challenged by it in their own exercise of human power.
When the Pharisees hear of this same miracle, they are neither amazed nor filled with praise. Rather, they describe the casting out of this demon as being by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons. Beelzebub is named in the Old Testament in 2 Kings 1 as Baal Zebub, the lord of flying things. By the time of Christ, a much more developed angelology and demonology had been created among the Jews. Beelzebub would have been named as the 'Prince of Demons' and had been associated with the morning star (Venus). Therefore, he is identical to Lucifer. In the demonology of the period, it would seem that Beelzebub had authority over all the other demons. Therefore, the Pharisees claim that it is by this authority of Beelzebub that Christ has cast out the demon from the blind and dumb man.
Jesus knows their thoughts and explains that this doesn’t makes sense. If it is by the authority of Beelzebub that Christ is driving out demons, then Satan is found to be casting out Satan. Perhaps it might be imagined that in some circumstance, and for tactical advantage, Satan might instruct a demon to come out of some man; but, through the ministry of Christ, great numbers of demons are being driven from those whom they have possessed. If it is by the authority of Satan that these miracles of liberation are taking place, then Satan is shown to be destroying his own power.
Indeed since the followers of the Pharisees also have a ministry of exorcism, Jesus quite reasonably asks by whose power and authority they cast out demons. If it is that of God, then clearly there is a grace of God for the freeing of men from the power of demons. They will hardly bring themselves to say that their own followers exorcise by the power of Beelzebub.
The key verse in this passage is verse 28 in which Jesus asks the Pharisees to consider that in fact, his ministry is in the Spirit of God and that therefore the Kingdom of God is present among them. This is linked with verse 8 where Jesus declares that he is the Lord of the Sabbath, where St Matthew introduces the quotation from Isaiah: “I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles”. (Is. 42:1)
The coming of Christ is in the Spirit of God, but also in the kingdom or power of God. He comes to bring judgement, since the response which he draws is a measure of each man’s heart before God. To those who believe, he brings liberation from spiritual oppression and praise for God’s mercy. To those who are proud, he reveals the hardness of their hearts. They show no mercy to the hungry, the sick, or to the demon possessed, and they criticise Christ who meets their needs.
Where the Spirit of God is found, there is the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom stands for freedom and liberation from the oppression of sin and Satan. Indeed when Jesus first revealed himself in the synagogue, he read that other passage from Isaiah: ‘the Spirit of the Lord is upon me… to proclaim liberty to the captives’. (Is. 61:1) This is the unfolding story of the Gospel. In this chapter, we see St Matthew using various events to show that the ministry of Christ in the Spirit is indeed one which sets people free. Free from a moralistic and legalistic interpretation of the Law. Free from the power of Satan.
The coming of Christ in the Spirit is always a moment of judgement for us. This is not in the negative sense of punishment, but in the positive sense of being an opportunity to choose life and growth in that same Spirit. To submit to the rule of God in his kingdom is always a liberating experience. The Pharisees were blinded by their own pride and could not see this. As far as they were concerned, Christ was bringing chaos and disorder, overturning the settled order, therefore meaning that his ministry must be rooted in Satan.
In the verses which follow this passage, and which round off the context in which it is placed, St. Matthew records the dire warning which this perspective drew from Christ. Those who reject the Spirit of God, (even worse) those who confuse the activity of God with that of Satan, place themselves beyond the gracious activity of the Spirit, and are liable to be forever beyond the possibility of forgiveness.
If we are to apply this teaching to ourselves, perhaps we might want to consider that we are liable to act like the Pharisees when we condemn and criticise that which others are doing in the name of Christ, assuming that only we are aware of God’s will. We should perhaps exercise a greater degree of humility when we are about to find fault with another’s service and rather give thanks for what good has been done. We should pray for greater wisdom for those engaged in such works. The negative word is easy, but we are judged by it. The coming of Christ in the Spirit overturns our settled sense that we know best in all circumstances.
