Mark 3:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

NIV: If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

NASB: If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

CSB: If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

NLT: Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart.

KJV: And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

NKJV: And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

Jesus is using the parable of a divided kingdom and a divided house to show that if He is using Satan's power to cast out demons, Satan's kingdom won't survive. Satan would gain no strategic value by allowing Jesus to use Satan's authority to attack his own work.

"Divided" is from the Greek root word merizo, which means to separate into component parts and distribute those parts. "Stand" is from the Greek root word histemi. It means to maintain authority and force, to keep whole. The word translated "house" refers to the members of the house—the family.

This phrase is better known in American culture for its use by President Abraham Lincoln during the U.S. Civil War. Lincoln's use pleaded for a united nation, rather than one bound for destruction through conflict. Jesus' intent, here, is to point out that it would be foolish for Satan to use his own power to interfere with demons.

Jesus' "house" can weather minor lapses in unity such as Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial. To be a serious threat, the rebelling authority needs to be on par with the leader of the house. That is, the members of the Trinity would have to work against each other. Jesus' attitude toward the Father prohibits this. He, "though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped," (Philippians 2:6) and "humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8).

But Jesus' family contains much more than just the Trinity. In Mark 3:34–35, Jesus explains that His family includes anyone who follows God. Paul talks about the inherent oneness of the church in Ephesians 4:1–6. The church is built on the unity of the Trinity and has "… one body and one Spirit…one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:4–6).

Although Jesus designed the church for unity, even Paul witnessed a lot of false teachings, jealousy, pride, and sin as he ministered to the Gentile church. Today, there are seemingly countless examples of churches whose members disagree on a grand scale, causing their local church to fall. Paul reminds us that we choose if we will remain loyal to our local body of believers (1 Corinthians 1:10–13). We should remember that ultimately we are members of God's universal church which is based on the unity of the Trinity and the one faith of its members. God's house will never fall (Matthew 16:18).

Mark 3:22–30 continues as the Pharisees from Galilee show their disapproval of Jesus (Mark 3:6). Here, in the fourth story about people's reaction to Jesus, scribes from Jerusalem join in. They have heard that Jesus healed a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute (Matthew 12:22–23). The scribes quickly judge that Jesus is performing miracles through the power of Satan. This stubborn belief, in the face of logic, leads Jesus to condemn their blasphemy and warn that if they continue along this vein, they will be damned forever. Matthew 12:22–32 and Luke 11:14–23 also record this confrontation; in Luke 12:10 Jesus talks similarly about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

The bulk of chapter 3 deals with how different people react to Jesus' teaching and His assumption of authority. The Pharisees' confusion transitions into plotting. The crowds that continually follow Jesus for healing become more frenetic and dangerous. Jesus' own family, afraid for His sanity, try to pull Him away. But true followers also show themselves. Twelve join together to become a core group, while a slightly bigger crowd, more interested in Jesus' teaching than miracles, earn the honor of being called His true family.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.