Kingdom Divided

Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and 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? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

          Matthew 12:22-30

A divided kingdom is a weak kingdom. As Jesus clearly points out in the above verses, a divided kingdom cannot stand. When people cannot agree nor work together, how can they accomplish their goals? How can they overcome trials when they are, themselves, throwing obstacles in each other’s path.

As Christians we ought to be on the same side; we are to be gathered with Christ, such that we are not scattered. Christians need to be with Christ - standing with Him and not against Him.

Christians are on Christ’s side and we are in His kingdom. We are a part of His church, of which He is the head and we are the body (Colossians 1:18). As a part of Christ’s kingdom, we are to dwell together in unity (Psalm 133:1).

Will everyone always agree on every single thing? Most likely not. We all have different personalities and interests. But we each share a commonality in Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour! In Christ we are one and we ought to put aside our difference, as we do our best to work together to strengthen, comfort, and encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11). We also ought to work together to spread the gospel message of Jesus, so that others can enter into His great kingdom!

We are not a part of a divided kingdom, but one of unity. Let us behave as Christians should, helping one another and not hindering each other.

                -- John Thrower Jr.