A House Divided

(Matthew 12:22–30; Luke 11:14–23)

20 Then [Jesus] went home,[fn] and once again a crowd gathered, so that [He and His disciples] could not even eat. 21 [When] His family heard [about this], they went out to take custody of Him, saying, “He is out of His mind.”

22 And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,[fn]” and, “By the prince of the demons He drives out demons.”

23 So [Jesus] called them together [and] began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, [it] cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, [it] cannot stand. 26 And if Satan is divided and rises against himself, he cannot stand; [his] end has come. 27 Indeed, no one can enter a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.