A Nation That Cannot Stand ^(A)

²² Then they brought to Him a man who had a demon. He was blind and could not speak. Jesus healed him and he could talk and see. ²³ All the people were surprised and said, “Can this Man be the Son of David?” ²⁴ But when the proud religious law-keepers heard it, they said, “This Man puts out demons only by Satan, the leader of demons.”

²⁵ Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every nation divided into groups that fight each other is going to be destroyed. Every city or family divided into groups that fight each other will not stand. ²⁶ If the devil puts out the devil, he is divided against himself. How will his nation stand? ²⁷ If I put out demons by Satan, by whom do your followers put them out? So your followers will say if you are guilty. ²⁸ But if I put out demons by the Spirit of God, then the holy nation of God is come to you. ²⁹ How can anyone go into a strong man’s house and take away his things, unless he ties up the strong man first? Only then can he take things from his house.

The Sin That Cannot Be Forgiven

³⁰ “Whoever is not with Me is against Me. Whoever is not gathering with Me is sending everywhere. ³¹ I tell you, every sin and every bad word men speak against God will be forgiven, but bad words spoken against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ³² Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this life or in the life to come.

The Sin of Saying Bad Things

³³ “A good tree gives good fruit. A bad tree gives bad fruit. A tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴ You family of snakes! How can you say good things when you are sinful? The mouth speaks what the heart is full of. ³⁵ A good man will speak good things because of the good in him. A bad man will speak bad things because of the sin in him. ³⁶ I say to you, on the day men stand before God, they will have to give an answer for every word they have spoken that was not important. ³⁷ For it is by your words that you will not be guilty and it is by your words that you will be guilty.”

A Nation That Cannot Stand ^(A)

²² Teachers of the Law came down from Jerusalem. They said, “Jesus has Satan in Him. This Man puts out demons by the king of demons.” ²³ Jesus called them to Him and spoke to them in picture-stories. He said, “How can the devil put out the devil? ²⁴ A nation cannot last if it is divided against itself. ²⁵ A family cannot last if it is divided against itself. ²⁶ If the devil fights against himself and is divided, he cannot last. He will come to an end. ²⁷ No man can go into a strong man’s house and take away his things, unless he ties up the strong man first. Only then can he take things from his house. ²⁸ For sure, I tell you, all sins will be forgiven people, and bad things they speak against God. ²⁹ But if anyone speaks bad things against the Holy Spirit, he will never be forgiven. He is guilty of a sin that lasts forever.” ³⁰ Jesus told them this because they said, “He has a demon.”