Matthew 9:4

9:4 When Jesus saw their reaction he said, “Why do you respond with evil in your hearts?

Matthew 12:25

12:25 Now when Jesus ¹  realized what they were thinking, he said to them, ²  “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, ³  and no town or house divided against itself will stand.

Mark 3:23-26

3:23 So ⁴  he called them and spoke to them in parables: ⁵  “How can Satan cast out Satan? 3:24 If ⁶  a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom will not be able to stand. 3:25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 3:26 And if Satan rises against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand and his end has come.

John 2:25

2:25 He did not need anyone to testify about man, ⁷  for he knew what was in man. ⁸ 

Revelation 2:23

2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ⁹  with a deadly disease, ¹⁰  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ¹¹  each one of you ¹²  what your deeds deserve. ¹³ 

¹ tc The majority of mss read ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (Jo Ihsous, “Jesus”), which clarifies who is the subject of the sentence. Although the shorter text is attested in far fewer witnesses (̲¹ א B D 892* sy^s,c sa bo), both the pedigree of the mss and the strong internal evidence (viz., scribes were not prone to intentionally delete the name of Jesus) argue for the omission of Jesus’ name. The name has been included in the translation, however, for clarity.

² sn Jesus here demonstrated the absurdity of the thinking of the religious leaders who maintained that he was in league with Satan and that he actually derived his power from the devil. He first teaches (vv. 25-28) that if he casts out demons by the ruler of the demons, then in reality Satan is fighting against himself, with the result that his kingdom has come to an end. He then teaches (v. 29) about tying up the strong man to prove that he does not need to align himself with the devil because he is more powerful. Jesus defeated Satan at his temptation (4:1-11) and by his exorcisms he clearly demonstrated himself to be stronger than the devil. The passage reveals the desperate condition of the religious leaders, who in their hatred for Jesus end up attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan (a position for which they will be held accountable, 12:31-32).

³ tn Or “is left in ruins.”

⁴ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

⁵ sn Jesus spoke two parables to demonstrate the absurdity of the thinking of the religious leaders who maintained that he was in league with Satan and that he actually derived his power from the devil. The first parable (vv. 23-26) teaches that if Jesus cast out demons by the ruler of the demons, then in reality Satan is fighting against himself, with the result that his kingdom has come to an end. The second parable (v. 28) about tying up a strong man proves that Jesus does not need to align himself with the devil because Jesus is more powerful. Jesus defeated Satan at his temptation (1:12-13) and by his exorcisms he clearly demonstrated himself to be stronger than the devil. The passage reveals the desperate condition of the religious leaders, who in their hatred for Jesus end up attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan (a position for which they will be held accountable, 3:29-30). For an explanation of what a parable is, see the note on parables in 4:2.

⁶ sn The three conditional statements in vv. 24-26 express the logical result of the assumption that Jesus heals by Satan’s power, expressed by the religious leaders. The point is clear: If the leaders are correct, then Satan’s kingdom will not stand, so the suggestion makes no sense. Satan would not seek to heal.

⁷ tn The masculine form has been retained here in the translation to maintain the connection with “a man of the Pharisees” in 3:1, with the understanding that the reference is to people of both genders.

⁸ tn See previous note on “man” in this verse.

⁹ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

¹⁰ tn Grk “I will kill with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

¹¹ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

¹² sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

¹³ tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”