The Power of One

Mark 3: 22-27 reads: And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” And Yeshua called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. The scribes said Yeshua was possessed by Beelzebul. Beelzebul was a derogatory name for that Adversary. Further, it was the name of a Philistine god and in Hebrew means, "lord of a fly." In post-biblical Hebrew, the root z-b-l means "dung." The Pharisees were no doubt seeking to insult and discredit Yeshua by saying He was possessed of a disgusting spirit. How does Yeshua respond?

He speaks a parable. A divided kingdom will not stand. Division brings weakness. If Yeshua is of Satan, then Satan's kingdom will fall. Now we can understand why division and disunity in the church is so destructive. Yeshua is teaching on the power of unity. While Jewish exorcists existed, casting out a blind, deaf, and dumb demon was a major miracle that only the Messiah could perform. By His actions, Yeshua is teaching that He has absolute authority over unclean spirits. By His actions, He is establishing Himself as the Messiah. He has demonstrated His absolute authority because Yeshua is in perfect unity with the Father. During His ministry, Yeshua will demonstrate the power of unity.

Today, have you forgotten about the power of one? When we are in unity with Yeshua and He is in unity with the Father, absolute authority over unclean spirits is available to us. Yeshua wants no division in His body. Yet, do we not see division at every turn? Perhaps this is a reason that the body is so weak and ineffective. Is there someone you need to make peace with today?