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3. The Climax of Rejection

22. Then there was brought to Him one possessed by a demon, blind and dumb, and He healed him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw.
23. And all the crowds were amazed and said, Is this not the Son of David?
24. But the Pharisees, hearing this, said, This man does not cast out the demons except by Beelzebul, ruler of the demons.
25. But knowing their thoughts, He said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself becomes desolate, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
26. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
27. And if I, by Beelzebul, cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
28. But if I, by the Spirit of God, cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29. Or how can anyone enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will thoroughly plunder his house.
30. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
31. Therefore I say to you, Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
32. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the one to come.
33. Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for by the fruit the tree is known.
34. Offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
35. The good man, out of his good treasure, brings forth good things, and the evil man, out of his evil treasure, brings forth evil things.
36. And I say to you that every idle word which men shall speak, they will render an account concerning it in the day of judgment.
37. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.

4. The Sign
to the Rejecting Generation

38. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying, Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.
39. But He answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
40. For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
41. Ninevite men will stand up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something more than Jonah is here.
42. The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something more than Solomon is here.

5. The Rejecting Generation
Becoming Worse

43. When the unclean spirit goes out from the man, it roams through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it .
44. Then it says, I will return to my house from which I came out. And it comes and finds it unoccupied, swept, and decorated.
45. Then it goes and takes along with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter in and settle down there. And the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Thus shall it be also with this evil generation.

6. Rejection Resulting In
the King’s Forsaking

46. While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and His brothers stood outside seeking to speak to Him.
47. And someone said to Him, Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.
48. But He answered and said to him who spoke to Him, Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?
49. And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, Behold, My mother and My brothers!
50. For whoever does the will of My Father who is in the heavens, he is My brother and sister and mother.