He Has Beelzebub - Mark 3:22

Mark wrote how, “the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself”, and in chapter three and verse twenty-two of his book, Mark shares how the “scribes” said of Jesus, “He has Beelzebub” where we read:

And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebub,

and by the prince of the devils casts he out devils.

The verse reads, “And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebub, ...” Mark began with the words, “and the scribes” or “and the men learned in the Mosaic law and in the sacred writings, interpreters and teachers” “which came down” or “who descended” “from Jerusalem” which means “from the city of Jerusalem which means set you double piece”, “said” or “uttered, declared and proclaimed”, “He has Beelzebub” which means “Jesus owns, holds, and possesses the lord of the house which was the dung god and is a name of Satan and the prince of evil spirits”. Mark shared how the “religious leaders” “descended” from the city of “Jerusalem” and said Jesus was filled with “Satan”.

The verse continues, “... and by the prince of the devils casts he out devils.” Mark added the words “and by the prince” which means “and through the ruler, commander, chief and leader” “of the devils” which means “pertaining to the evil spirits or the messengers and ministers of the devil” “casts he out devils” or “drives and sends out evil spirits or the messengers and ministers of the devil”. Mark shared how the “scribes” concluded that Jesus was able to “drive out demons” was through the power of “the devil”.

When we think through Mark's words in this verse, we see how wrong these “religious leaders” were about Jesus. They thought the only reason He was able to “cast out demons” was because He was influenced and empowered by the “devil”. This serves as an example of the way people make assessments about Jesus that are not accurate and in this case, they were as far off as they could be. God loves people, and He wants them to be in a relationship with Him through His Son Jesus. The first step is to recognize Jesus for who He truly is, the Messiah and Christ sent from God, and then a person can yield to Him as their personal “Savior and Lord”.

Next time Mark shares how “the scribes” said about Jesus, “He has Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils cast he out devils”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".