A Nation That Cannot Stand ^(A)

²² Then they brought to Him a man who had a demon. He was blind and could not speak. Jesus healed him and he could talk and see. ²³ All the people were surprised and said, “Can this Man be the Son of David?” ²⁴ But when the proud religious law-keepers heard it, they said, “This Man puts out demons only by Satan, the leader of demons.”

²⁵ Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every nation divided into groups that fight each other is going to be destroyed. Every city or family divided into groups that fight each other will not stand. ²⁶ If the devil puts out the devil, he is divided against himself. How will his nation stand? ²⁷ If I put out demons by Satan, by whom do your followers put them out? So your followers will say if you are guilty. ²⁸ But if I put out demons by the Spirit of God, then the holy nation of God is come to you. ²⁹ How can anyone go into a strong man’s house and take away his things, unless he ties up the strong man first? Only then can he take things from his house.

The Sin That Cannot Be Forgiven

³⁰ “Whoever is not with Me is against Me. Whoever is not gathering with Me is sending everywhere. ³¹ I tell you, every sin and every bad word men speak against God will be forgiven, but bad words spoken against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ³² Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this life or in the life to come.

The Sin of Saying Bad Things

³³ “A good tree gives good fruit. A bad tree gives bad fruit. A tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴ You family of snakes! How can you say good things when you are sinful? The mouth speaks what the heart is full of. ³⁵ A good man will speak good things because of the good in him. A bad man will speak bad things because of the sin in him. ³⁶ I say to you, on the day men stand before God, they will have to give an answer for every word they have spoken that was not important. ³⁷ For it is by your words that you will not be guilty and it is by your words that you will be guilty.”

A Nation That Cannot Stand ^(A)

¹⁴ Jesus was putting a demon out of a man who could not speak. When the demon was gone, the man could speak. All the people were surprised and wondered about it. ¹⁵ Some of them said, “He puts out demons through Satan, the king of demons.” ¹⁶ Others tried to trap Jesus. They asked for something special to see from heaven. ¹⁷ But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every nation divided into groups that fight each other will be destroyed. Every family divided into groups that fight each other will not stand. ¹⁸ If Satan is divided against himself, how will his nation stand? And yet you say I put out demons through Satan! ¹⁹ If I put out demons through Satan, by whose help do your sons put them out? Your own sons will say if you are guilty or not. ²⁰ But if I put out demons by the power of God, then the holy nation of God has come to you.

²¹ “When a strong man watches his house and is ready to fight, his things are safe. ²² When a stronger man comes along, he wins the fight. He takes away all the things to fight with that the man of the house had put his trust in. Then the stronger man takes anything he wants from the house. ²³ Whoever is not with Me is against Me. Whoever does not gather with Me is sending them everywhere.