And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
The Pharisees had just accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan. Right off the bat, that is a totally ridiculous accusation, as Jesus made clear by his statement that "no house divided against itself will stand." But then he made the statement quoted above.
The word "sons" in that verse probably designates the followers/disciples of the Pharisees. And they were well known for their own efforts at "exorcisms." They probably used all kinds of potions and incantations, stuff that we, today, would consider sorceror or "magic." Yet, when Jesus successfully cast out demons by the power of God, he was accused of using Satan's power.
The Pharisees had no interest in results or evidence. They were clearly prejudiced against Jesus and had already made up their minds that they didn't like him and didn't like what he was doing, so hang the evidence.
Read the words of John MacArthur in Daily Readings From the Life of Christ: "The Pharisees' response illustrates the response of every unbelieving individual who prejudicially rebuffs Christ and His message. The Jewish leaders' rejection derived not from the lack of evidence but from a fundamental bias against the Messiah. Their deeds and thoughts were sinful and they could not tolerate the intimidating reality of Jesus' light and righteousness (John 3:19). As with all unrepentant sinners, they did not seek truth but rather ways to justify their sin and destroy anyone who exposed them."
Do we ever react this way as God's children? Do we formulate opinions and reactions based on presuppositions rather than on facts and evidence? Ever heard the phrase, "I've got my mind made up, don't confuse me with the facts?"
Humanity is notorious for just such reactions to many things. We, as believers in Christ, in my opinion, have a responsibility to make wise judgments and responses, based on truth and facts, not on what we have already decided beforehand. We definitely have a responsibility to NOT be prejudiced. Bigotry is bad, no matter what direction it is pointed, whether towards race, sex, politics, financial status, whatever. If we truly believe, as one of our nation's documents says, that "all men are created equal," then why don't we treat all men that way?
All this political mumbo jumbo that is ripping our country apart right now is meaningless. All that matters is what we do for Christ, and even that is not based on a physical location. We must be citizens of heaven before we are citizens of a man-made nation. God only created one nation, the nation of Israel. And by the blood of Jesus, we are part of that nation.
Trust me, I'm stomping on my own toes, here, too. I've spent a large part of my life making judgments based on nothing sound. I've been a "knee-jerker" plenty of times.
I'm done with that, God help me.
Thank you for the great month that Stephanie has had this month. We are so grateful for this, and pray that it will continue on into April. Thank you that it was determined that she will be eligible for MHMR services when she turns 18. This gives her Mother and I a great deal of relief.
PRAY FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA AND HIS ADMINISTRATION
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, in testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, laid out President Obama�s road map for the mortgage crisis fix, saying abandoning Fannie Mae is not the solution.
A new U.S.-Russian treaty reducing long-range nuclear weapons to be signed later this year was presented by President Obama to Sen. John Kerry (Massachusetts) and Sen. Richard Lugar (Indiana), ratification leaders.
Pray for all of the Administration�s activities, domestic and foreign, to produce the best results for America.
Grace and peace, friends.