Bible Strands
Mark 3:22
And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons He drives out demons.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Scribes traveling from Jerusalem publicly accuse Jesus of demonic allegiance, immediately after His own family attempts to restrain Him for being "out of His mind" (Mark 3:21). Jesus addresses them directly in the following verse with a logical challenge (Mark 3:23).
The words — γραμματεῖς (grammateis) identifies the accusers as trained legal experts, while καταβάντες (katabantes) literally means "having come down," reflecting Jerusalem's elevated geography relative to Galilee. ἔλεγον (elegon) records their sustained public claim that Jesus' exorcisms derive from demonic power.
The thread — The charge that Jesus casts out demons by demonic power appears in Matthew 9:34, while Matthew 15:1 records the same scribes and Pharisees arriving from Jerusalem to confront Him about tradition. Matthew 10:25 later contextualizes this hostility by noting a disciple's fate mirrors his master's.
Why it lands — It demands a reader examine the source of spiritual authority rather than accept surface-level accusations. It requires distinguishing between observed miracles and the theological explanation assigned to them.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
Cross-references
- Matthew 10:25 It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
- Matthew 15:1 Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,
- Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons.”
- Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “Only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, does this man drive out demons.”
- John 7:20 “You have a demon,” the crowd replied. “Who is trying to kill You?”
- Matthew 11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’
- Mark 7:1 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus,
- Luke 11:15 but some of them said, “It is by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons, that He drives out demons.”
- John 8:48 The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You have a demon?”
- John 8:52 “Now we know that You have a demon!” declared the Jews. “Abraham died, and so did the prophets, yet You say that anyone who keeps Your word will never taste death.