Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 12:25-26

"And knowing their thoughts he said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: and if Satan casteth out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?" — Matthew 12:25-26 (ASV)

St. Jerome: The Pharisees attributed the works of God to the prince of demons. The Lord, however, answers not what they said, but what they thought, so that they might be compelled to believe his power, who saw the secrets of the heart. This is why the Gospel says, Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them...

St. John Chrysostom: Previously, they had accused Christ of having cast out demons by Beelzebub. At that time, however, he did not rebuke them, allowing them, if they wished, to acknowledge him from further miracles and to learn his greatness from his teaching. But because they persisted in saying the same things, he now rebukes them, although their accusation was completely unreasonable.¹

But jealousy does not care what it says, so long as it says something. Yet Christ does not treat them with contempt, but answers with gracious gentleness, teaching us to be gentle to our enemies. We should not be troubled, even if they say things against us that we do not recognize in ourselves and that have no basis in reason.

In this, he also proves that what they had said against him was false, for it is not characteristic of one who has a demon to show such mercy and to know the thoughts of others. Moreover, because their accusation was so unreasonable and they feared the multitude, they did not dare to proclaim it openly but kept it in their minds. This is why he says, Knowing their thoughts.

He does not repeat their thoughts in his answer, so as not to expose their wickedness; his object was to do good to the sinners, not to publicize their sin. He does not answer them from the Scriptures, because they would not listen to him, since they interpreted them differently. Instead, he refutes them using common reasoning.

For external assaults are not as destructive as internal quarrels, a principle that holds true for physical bodies and all other things. Meanwhile, he draws examples from more familiar matters, saying, Every kingdom divided against itself shall be brought to desolation. For there is nothing on earth more powerful than a kingdom, and yet even that is destroyed by internal conflict.

What then must we say about a city or a family? Whether it is great or small, it is destroyed when it is in conflict with itself.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: For a city or family is analogous to a kingdom, as the passage continues, And every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.

St. Jerome: For just as small things grow through harmony, so the greatest things fall apart through dissension.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: But the word of God is rich, and whether taken literally or examined for its deeper meaning, it is necessary for our spiritual growth.

Therefore, leaving aside the literal interpretation, let us consider some of the deeper meanings. The Lord is about to answer what they had said concerning Beelzebub, and in doing so, he frames his response in a way that sets the terms for their own reply. For instance, the Law was from God, and the promise of the kingdom to Israel came through the Law. But if the kingdom of the Law is divided against itself, it must surely be destroyed. And so, Israel lost the Law when the nation to whom the Law belonged rejected its fulfillment in Christ.

The city spoken of here is Jerusalem. When it raged with the madness of its people against the Lord—driving out his apostles along with the multitude of believers—it became divided and therefore could not stand. And so (as soon happened as a result of this division), the destruction of that city is foretold.

Again, he puts forward another case: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?

St. Jerome: This is as much as to say that if Satan fights against himself, and demon is an enemy to demon, then the end of the world must be near. For then these hostile powers, whose mutual war is peace for humanity, would have no place.

Glossa Ordinaria: He therefore holds them in this dilemma: Christ casts out demons either by the power of God or by the prince of demons. If by the power of God, their accusations are malicious. If by the prince of demons, his kingdom is divided and will not stand, and therefore they should depart from his kingdom. He suggests that they had chosen this latter alternative for themselves when they refused to believe in him.²

St. John Chrysostom: Or, to put it another way: if Satan is divided, he is made weak and perishes. But if he perishes, how can he cast out another?

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Alternatively, if the demon was driven to this division in order to afflict other demons, even so we must attribute a higher power to the one who caused the division than to those who are divided. Thus the kingdom of the devil, once this division is made, is destroyed by Christ.

St. Jerome: But if you think, you Scribes and Pharisees, that the demons depart from the possessed in obedience to their prince, so that people may be deceived by a coordinated fraud, what can you say about the healing of diseases which the Lord also performed? It is a far greater stretch to also assign to demons the power over bodily infirmities and the performance of acts that appear to be spiritual virtues.

1. Hom. xli
2. ord.