But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
24. But when the Pharisees heard it. The scribes cannot withhold the acknowledgment of a fact so open and manifest, and yet they maliciously carp “Ils ne laissent pas toutesfois de ronger, comme par despit et d’un vouloir malicieux;” — “and yet they do not fail to carp as with spite, and with a wicked disposition.” at what Christ did by Divine power.
Satan blinds the eye of faith and seals up the lips of prayer; a soul under his power sees nothing and says nothing to the purpose. But Christ's mercy is directly opposite to Satan's malice. When Satan's power breaks, the eyes open to see God's glory and the lips open to speak His praise.
AI summary
Commenting on Matthew 12:22-37
Or else, how can anyone enter into a strong man's house,.... This is another argument of Christ's proving that his casting out of devils could not be by Satan, but by the Spirit of God; for if he did not act by any superior power to Satan's, and such by which he was able to master, overcome, and bind him, he could never spoil his...