Matthew 12:22-29 Plunder

Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, "This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?" 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?  If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. [Matthew 12:22‭-‬29 NASB]

When the crowds saw the demon-possessed man healed so that he could speak and see, they were amazed. This confirmed their expectation that Jesus was the "Son of David". The use of this title indicates that they were still expecting the Messiah to come and establish an earthly kingdom after driving out the Romans. The thinking was that if He had the power to heal and cast out demons, then He would have the power to raise and army to cast out the Romans.

When the Pharisees heard this, they became afraid. For all of the talk of hating the Romans, and wanting a free Israel, the Pharisees loved the status quo. The Pharisees held a place of respect and power. If Jesus were to be the one to overthrow the Romans and establish a kingdom, then that would change. Jesus had already called them out for their hypocrisy. By opposing Him early, they had demonstrated their animosity towards Him, and couldn't expect favors in the new kingdom.

So they started saying (paraphrased), "His healings are of the devil. He's using sorcery or witchcraft to cast out demons."

Even today, when the Spirit of God moves in power, and people receive miraculous healing, those with a Pharisaical mindset say, "God doesn't heal anymore. Healing is of the devil." Yet, in all of my reading and searching in the Bible, I have never seen a passage that says that Satan goes about doing good and healing the oppressed.

Jesus' argument still stands. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. Satan is evil, but he is not stupid. Why would he cause the the name of Jesus to be glorified?

Jesus said, "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." It is clear that Jesus is referring to the kingdom of God in a very different sense than what the crowds expected. They wanted a physical kingdom, but Jesus gave them a spiritual kingdom.

Don't think of the kingdom of God as something that will come when Jesus returns to rule for a thousand years, nor of the eternal New Jerusalem. The kingdom of God is here, now, in our midst. It is a spiritual kingdom that unites all believers as citizens of Heaven, regardless of nationality or language.

The kingdom of God exists in each one of us who believe, and it seen by the world when we do God's work, whether that be charitable good works in the name of Jesus, or demonstrations of power with miracles and healing.

Satan is the strong man in this world. But with His death and resurrection, Jesus has bound the strong man once and for all. The world, which is the kingdom of Satan, is plundered when we show love and compassion to the world, when those who are oppressed are set free, and when souls are saved. Let us go out and plunder the world.