On Satan’s Division Against Himself

Luke 11:14-23
1 Thessalonians 2:9-14

One day the Lord “was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.”

The Pharisees, instead of glorifying the Healer and rejoicing over the healed, said: “He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.” Where did this idea come from? Was it just to brush off the truth? Or does anyone who feuds against the truth inevitably begin to believe only in the power of demons?

The Lord further shows that these words do not mean reproach for Him, but rather the condemnation of the dark kingdom itself. He shows that even lies can be used to glorify the truth, and the more shameless the lies, the greater the glory. He says, Even if you are right, even if I “cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub,” it means that Satan is divided against himself. But if so, how can his kingdom stand?

We often witness a deadly struggle between evil and evil. Passions fight for a person. Anger destroys adulterous alliances. Vanity cancels out gluttony. In some cases, base passions shatter one’s pride. It seems that you have defeated this or that passion, but in fact, just your master has changed, and you have remained a slave.

There is also a struggle between tyranny and anarchy in public life. Hardly do we start rejoicing at the fact that a violent tyranny is overthrown that there comes such a rampage of anarchy that you sorrowfully recall the old times. And as soon as someone starts to restore order, it immediately causes such rivers of blood that you think, Please, no more order!

But it is still good to remember the moment when, for example, a long-term passion suddenly calmed down, and it turned out that it was not all-powerful. Or the very first breath of freedom. Or, the feeling of joy when you find out that there comes a man who can challenge anarchy and collapse. All this is a promise that evil will not stand, because it is always divided and revolts against itself.

Well, the only thing that can really stand up to evil is that which has the power to unite. It must be able to unite even those things that are divided by nature. The apostle of Christ writes through the Spirit of Christ: “[W]e were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children” (1 Thess. 2:7).  And: “As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.”

The motherly tenderness, combined with the fatherly, wise and powerful edification — that’s the power capable of defeating demons with the “finger of God”.

Translated by The Catalogue of Good Deeds
Source: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Vyacheslav_Reznikov/propovedi-na-kazhdyj-den/30_4

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