But when the Pharisees heard it, they said: it is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons. The Pharisaic response to the crowd's messianic wonder is the Beelzebul charge: Jesus casts out demons by the power of the prince of demons. The accusation is the Pharisees' only available alternative to acknowledging what the miracle suggests: since they cannot deny the exorcism, they must explain it by attributing Jesus' power to Satan. The this fellow communicates the contempt behind the charge.

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