Thought from today’s Bible reading from Matthew 12:22-50; Luke 11.
When Jesus healed a demon-possessed man, the Pharisees rejected this as proof of Jesus being the Son of God. Instead, they accused Him of doing this by the power of Beelzebul.
“But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, ‘This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.’ And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, ‘Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any 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?‘ (Matthew 12:24-26).
As He addressed their absurd charge, Jesus stressed the importance of unity. It was His prayer that His disciples be united with one another (John 17:20-21). However, the Scriptures teach that this unity certainly had limits placed upon it by the Lord. It was not the “unity in diversity” that many today like to practice.
Jesus said a “house divided against itself will not stand” (Matthew 12:25). The house to which Christ’s disciples belong today is the church. We are “being built up as a spiritual house” with Jesus being “the very corner stone” (1 Peter 2:5, 7). Everything is built upon Jesus and His word (which was revealed to the apostles and prophets). Paul told the Ephesians that they were “of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone” (Ephesians 2:19-20).
Yes, unity within the household of God must be emphasized. But that unity is meaningless apart from Christ. If unity is not based upon a foundation of Jesus and His word, then although the house may not be divided, it has shifted off of its foundation. Jesus explained earlier that a house in this condition would not stand, either.
“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall” (Matthew 7:26-27).
Let us strive for unity, not based upon the creeds and opinions of men, not based upon ignoring and condoning sin and error, but unity which is based upon the word of God.
Tomorrow’s reading: Matthew 13; Luke 8
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
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