And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, he is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons — the accusation from the Jerusalem scribes is qualitatively different from the family's concern. The family thinks Jesus has lost his mind; the Jerusalem scribes attribute his power to Beelzebul, the lord of the house (or lord of the flies), the demonic prince. The accusation is designed to explain the undeniable reality of the exorcisms without conceding divine origin: yes, the demons obey him, but only because he commands them on behalf of their own master. The accusation requires Jesus to respond not with a counter-claim but with a logical demonstration of its incoherence.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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