Jesus heals a man by restoring his sight, his speech, and his life. But instead of rejoicing, the Pharisees accuse him of using demonic power. Division creeps in not because of Jesus, but because of the refusal to recognize what is good.
Jesus names it plainly: A kingdom divided cannot stand. A house divided falls in on itself. This isn’t just political commentary; it’s spiritual reality. When suspicion outweighs trust and when accusations are our first instinct instead of wonder, something deeper is broken.
It’s not that disagreement itself is the problem. But the refusal to see the Spirit at work, the unwillingness to recognize goodness because it doesn’t come from our corner—that’s when we risk hardening our hearts. That’s when the bonds of love begin to break.
Jesus goes further. Our words matter. What we say comes from who we are. If we constantly speak in ways that divide, accuse, or poison, it reveals something deeper within us that needs healing too.
So maybe the question is: Can we see healing for what it is? Can we speak in a way that joins instead of tears? Can we be united not by uniformity, but by mercy? Can we recognize and chase after the true fruit of the kingdom?
Matthew 12:22-37
They brought to Jesus a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak. Jesus healed him so that he could both speak and see. All the crowds were amazed and said, “This man couldn’t be the Son of David, could he?”
When the Pharisees heard, they said, “This man throws out demons only by the authority of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”
Because Jesus knew what they were thinking, he replied, “Every kingdom involved in civil war becomes a wasteland. Every city or house torn apart by divisions will collapse. If Satan throws out Satan, he is at war with himself. How then can his kingdom endure? And if I throw out demons by the authority of Beelzebul, then by whose authority do your followers throw them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. But if I throw out demons by the power of God’s Spirit, then God’s kingdom has already overtaken you. Can people go into a house that belongs to a strong man and steal his possessions, unless they first tie up the strong man? Then they can rob his house. Whoever isn’t with me is against me, and whoever doesn’t gather with me scatters.
“Therefore, I tell you that people will be forgiven for every sin and insult to God. But insulting the Holy Spirit won’t be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Human One will be forgiven. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit won’t be forgiven, not in this age or in the age that is coming.
“Either consider the tree good and its fruit good, or consider the tree rotten and its fruit rotten. A tree is known by its fruit. Children of snakes! How can you speak good things while you are evil? What fills the heart comes out of the mouth. Good people bring out good things from their good treasure. But evil people bring out evil things from their evil treasure. I tell you that people will have to answer on Judgment Day for every useless word they speak. By your words you will be either judged innocent or condemned as guilty.”
Psalm 141:3-5
Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep close watch over the door that is my lips. Don’t let my heart turn aside to evil things so that I don’t do wicked things with evildoers, so I don’t taste their delicacies.
Instead, let the righteous discipline me; let the faithful correct me! Let my head never reject that kind of fine oil, because my prayers are always against the deeds of the wicked.
Prayer
(from the hymn, When the Bonds of Love Are Breaking by Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr.)
God,
When the bonds of love are breaking, hands that linked withdraw and hide,
eyes that once had met in candor now, distrustful, turn aside,
God of healing, reconcile!
When our tongues are silent, sullen, closing doors through which love came,
or where words are fiery arrows, wounding others with their flame,
God of healing, reconcile!
When the bridges that we travelled have collapsed and left a void,
when the chasm seems to widen, separating souls once joined,
God of healing, reconcile!
God, in Christ you crossed the chasm when our hearts were far from you!
Grant us grace to reach to others, broken bonds repair, renew!
God of healing, reconcile!
By your Spirit & in Christ,
Amen.