Matthew 12:22-35

Then some people brought a man to Jesus. This man was blind and could not talk, because he had a demon inside him. Jesus healed the man, and he could talk and see. All the people were amazed at what Jesus did. They said, “Maybe he is the promised Son of David!” When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man uses the power of Satan to force demons out of people. Satan is the ruler of demons.” Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking. So he said to them, “Every kingdom that fights against itself will be destroyed. And every city or family that is divided against itself will not survive. So if Satan forces out his own demons, then he is fighting against himself, and his kingdom will not survive. You say that I use the power of Satan to force out demons. If that is true, then what power do your people use when they force out demons? So your own people will prove that you are wrong. But I use the power of God’s Spirit to force out demons, and this shows that God’s kingdom has come to you. Whoever wants to enter a strong man’s house and steal his things must first tie him up. Then they can steal the things from his house. Whoever is not with me is against me. And anyone who does not work with me is working against me. “So I tell you, people can be forgiven for every sinful thing they do and for every bad thing they say against God. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. You can even speak against the Son of Man and be forgiven. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven—not now or in the future. “If you want good fruit, you must make the tree good. If your tree is not good, it will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces. You snakes! You are so evil. How can you say anything good? What people say with their mouths comes from what fills their hearts. Those who are good have good things saved in their hearts. That’s why they say good things. But those who are evil have hearts full of evil, and that’s why they say things that are evil.