A HOUSE DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF CANNOT STAND

PROCLAMATION

“And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He hath Beelzebub, and  by the prince of the devils casteth out devils.  And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan?  And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.’ ”  Mark 3:22-26 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, as recorded under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God according to Mark, a companion Simon Peter. (1 Peter 5:13)   While in the synagogue, Jesus had healed a man who was possessed with an impure spirit. (Mark 1:21-28)  On another occasion while He was teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath, a man with a shriveled hand was there and Jesus healed him. (Mark 3:1-5)  Jesus and His disciples left the synagogue and went to the lake and large crowds followed them and He healed them. (Mark 3:7-12)  Jesus ordained His twelve disciples so that He could send them forth to preach and have the power to heal the sick and to cast out demons. (Mark 3:13-19)  The scribes and Pharisees also followed Him, but they were plotting against Him. (Mark 3:6)  They said that He could drive out demons because He was a demon.  That was when Jesus said that Satan could not oppose himself and still stand. (Mark 3:22-26)  Then Jesus told them that all of the sins of man could be forgiven except for he who blasphemes The Holy Spirit of God. (Mark 3:28-30)  After being told that His mother and brothers were outside of the house, Jesus said, “Behold My mother and My brethren!  For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother.” (Mark 3:31-35)

 

APPLICATION

The old saying, “united we stand, and divided we fall” applies to teams, groups, families, countries, and kingdoms.  If we stand together, work together, and support each other, we will all succeed.  However, if we fight against one another then we will all fail.  We should not tear other believers down; we should help to build one another up.  None of us will succeed if we all act like crabs in a barrel, pulling a person down if that person gets ahead of us.