But the Pharisees said, He casts out demons by the prince of demons. The Pharisees' counter-interpretation is the alternative explanation that the same evidence produces when observed by those committed to rejecting it: the demon-caster works by the power of the demon-chief. This accusation — not developed here but fully engaged in Matthew 12:24–32 — is the response of those who cannot deny the reality of what Jesus is doing but refuse to draw the obvious conclusion from it. The same evidence produces marveling in the crowds and blasphemy in the Pharisees. The difference is not in the evidence but in what each group has already decided about Jesus.

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