He summoned them, and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?
Parallel Translations
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He summoned them, and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?
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And he called them vnto him and sayde vnto them in similitudes. How can Satan drive out Satan?
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But he called them vnto him, and said vnto them in parables, How can Satan driue out Satan?
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to Mark 3:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 12:25-30 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you. Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house. “He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters.
- Luke 11:17-23 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. A house divided against itself falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. But if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if I by God’s finger cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come to you. “When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own dwelling, his goods are safe. But when someone stronger attacks him and overcomes him, he takes from him his whole armor in which he trusted, and divides his plunder. “He that is not with me is against me. He who doesn’t gather with me scatters.
- Matthew 13:34 Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them,
- Matthew 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’ ”
- Mark 4:2 He taught them many things in parables, and told them in his teaching,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (7 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 23 And he called them unto him, and said…
23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
Ver. 23. {See Trapp on "Mat 12:25"} {See Trapp on "Mat 12:26"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And if a kingdom be divided against itself,.... Any…
And if a kingdom be divided against itself,.... Any of the kingdoms of this world, and the kingdom of "Satan":
that kingdom cannot stand: not long; its internal broils and divisions will, soon bring it to desolation; See Gill on Mat 12:25.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 23. How can Satan cast out Satan?] Using an…
23. How can Satan cast out Satan?] Using an irresistible argumentum ad hominem He shews them the absurdity of supposing that Satan could be his own enemy. If neither kingdom, nor city (Mat_12:25), nor house could stand, when divided against itself, much less could the empire of the Evil One.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (23) Said unto them in parables.—The word is used…
(23) Said unto them in parables.—The word is used in its wider sense, as including any form of argument from analogy more or less figurative. As in most reports of discourses as distinct from facts, St. Mark is somewhat briefer than St. Matthew.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 23-27. How can Satan cast out Satan? Observe…
Vers. 23-27. How can Satan cast out Satan? Observe here that our Lord distinctly affirms the personality of Satan, and a real kingdom of evil. But then he goes on to show that if this their allegation were true, namely, that he cast out devils by the prince or the devils, then it would follow that Satan"s kingdom would be divided against itself. As a house divided against itself cannot stand, so neither could the kingdom of Satan exist in the world if one evil spirit was opposed to another for the purpose of dispossessing, the one the other, from the minds and bodies of men. Our Lord thus employs another argument to show that he casts out evil spirits, not by Beelzebub, but by the power of God. It is as though he said, "As he who invades the house of a strong man cannot succeed until he first binds the strong man; in like manner I, Christ Jesus, who spoil the kingdom of Satan, whilst I lead sinners who had been under his power to repentance and salvation, must first bind Satan himself, otherwise he would never suffer me to take his captives from him. Therefore he is my enemy, and not in league with me, not my ally in the casting out of evil spirits, as you falsely represent me to be. It behoves you, then, to understand that it is with the Spirit of God that I cast out devils, and that therefore the kingdom of God is come upon you.
Vers. 23-27. "How can Satan cast out Satan?" or, the logic of spiritual forces.
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The spirit of Christ"s answer to this malicious attack is calm, fearless, and full of light. He meets the charge with convincing and irrefutable logic.
I THE DEFENCE. There are two elements in his argument:
1. A demonstration. It is the familiar reductio ad absurdum, such as one might use with a schoolboy. It is so simple and trenchant that it straightway becomes an attack of the most powerful kind. He treats them as children in knowledge, and convicts them at the same time of diabolical malice.
2. An inference. Here the advantage is pushed beyond the point expected. tie is not satisfied with a mere disclaimer; he comes to a further and higher deduction. If it was true that he did not cast out Satan by Satan, then it must also be true that he cast out Satan in spite of the latter; and that could only mean one thing. Satan, "the strong man," must have been bound by the Son of man, else he would not suffer himself to be so "spoiled." This is at once an assurance full of comfort to his friends and a warning to his enemies.
II POSITIONS ASSUMED IN IT.
1. The solidarity of evil.
2. The irreconcilableness of the kingdoms of light and darkness. M.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Jesus explains with a parable why it is foolish for people to think that Jesus is controlled by Satan. (See: Parables)
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Jesus called them to him
"Jesus called the people to come to him"
How can Satan cast out Satan?
Jesus asked this rhetorical question in response to the scribes saying that he cast out demons by Beelzebul. This question can be written as a statement. AT: "Satan cannot cast out himself!" or "Satan does not go against his own evil spirits!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
If a kingdom is divided against itself
The word "kingdom" is a metonym for the people who live in the kingdom. AT: "If the people who live in a kingdom are divided against each other" (See: Metonymy)
cannot stand
This phrase is a metaphor meaning that the people will no longer be united and they will fall. AT: "cannot endure" or "will fall"(See: Metaphor and Litotes)
house
This is a metonym for the people who live in a house. AT: "family" or "household" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
Jesus
Satan
kingdom
house
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 3:23-27 Jesus showed the absurdity of this charge by…
3:23-27 Jesus showed the absurdity of this charge by giving several analogies. Satan would not undo his own work.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.