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MATTHEW 12:26 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
Matt 12:25Matt 12:27
“And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?”
And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? The application of the divided-house argument to Satan's kingdom: if the exorcisms are Satan casting out his own demons, Satan's kingdom is self-destructing. The argument is not that Satan's kingdom is good but that the coherence of Satan's kingdom is necessary to explain the Beelzebul charge — and the charge is self-defeating. A self-destructing Satan cannot account for the exorcism.

Church Fathers on Matthew 12:26

The Pharisees ascribed the works of God to the Prince of the daemons; and the Lord makes answer not to what they said, but to what they thought, that even thus they might be compelled to believe His power, Who saw the secrets of the heart; 'Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said unto them.'

Jerome · 4th century

Above they had accused Christ of having cast out daemons by Beelzebub; but then He did not reprove them, suffering them, if they would, to acknowledge Him from further miracles, and to learn His greatness from His doctrine. But because they continued to maintain the same things, He now rebukes them, although their accusation had been very unreasonable.

Chrysostom · 4th century · Hom. xli

For a city or family is analogous to a kingdom; as it follows, 'And every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.'

Hilary of Poitiers · 4th century
Read all 10 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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Matthew 12:26 — Community Reflections | HolyStudy