Mark 3:22

22 And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul!" and "By the ruler of the demons he expels the demons!"

Mark 3:22 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 3:22

And the Scribes which came down from Jerusalem
Or, "but the Scribes" who had an aversion to Christ, and a different opinion of him: these were they, who having heard much of the doctrine and miracles of Christ, came down from Jerusalem, which lay in the upper, and higher part of the land of Israel, into Galilee, a low country, to make their observations upon him; and take every advantage they could against him, being men, in their way, letter learned, and artful, and cunning: these

said, he hath Beelzebub:
or, as the Syriac and Persic versions render it, "Beelzebub is in him": sometimes they call him Beelzebub; sometimes say that he cast out devils by him; and here, that he had him, or was in him; Beelzebub possessed him, and assisted him, and there was a confederacy and familiarity between them:

and by the prince of devils casteth he out devils;
for so they reckoned Beelzebub to be; (See Gill on Matthew 10:25), (See Gill on Matthew 12:24).

Mark 3:22 In-Context

20 And he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they were not even able to eat a meal.
21 And [when] {his family} heard [this], they went out to restrain him, for they were saying, "He has lost his mind!"
22 And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul!" and "By the ruler of the demons he expels the demons!"
23 And he called them to himself [and] was speaking to them in parables, "How can Satan expel Satan?
24 And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom is not able to stand.
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.