Is God Supreme in Your Life?

Matthew 12:23-28 All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.” 25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every Kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his Kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.”

MANY in Israel were beginning to understand. Through his teachings, miracles and exorcisms, Jesus showed his covenant people Israel Heaven’s pure power had come to earth. How could anyone not understand?

The Pharisees’ could not. Their pride was a powerful force resisting God. Pride had separated Satan from God. Pride had separated Eve and Adam from God.

But one reason the Pharisees may have doubted Jesus’ power over the devil is found in Jesus’ question, “By whom do your people drive them out?”

Jesus’ question suggests that some Jews claimed to cast out demons. Did the Pharisees accept some claims of exorcisms but reject Jesus?

These leaders were so threatened with Jesus’ authority that they accused the Son of God to be a son of the great, evil idol, Beelzebub, the “fly god”. This “lord of the flies” is a demonic force Israel worshiped in the prophet Elijah’s time: 2 Kings 1:2 Now King Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, “Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury.”

Then God responded to this hideous insult: 2 Kings 1:3 But the angel of the LORD (often understood to be the pre-incarnate Christ) said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron.’” Ahaziah’s heart illustrates the natural human heart’s tendency to look everywhere but to the Supreme God for guidance, security, and hope. Is there no God in all the earth?

We thank God Jesus has come to rescue the world from evil’s dominion: Revelation 20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Help others know that God is powerfully present in his world. He knows the depth of Satan's evil and the fullness of his own victory. Through Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of God has come near. Rejoice in his salvation. Believe in his authority. Share the hope of his eternal reign.

Jesus Teaches: Our Lord God reigns.