The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed by Anjela Paje of Spokane, WA, from the tape, GC 1301-Q, titled "Bible Questions and Answers Part 19."  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE.  ©1980. All Rights Reserved.

Question

From Sunday’s message, Matthew 10:25, maybe you can expand on it. Beelzebub? I think it says, "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!" Could you kind of expand on that?

Answer

All we have in that statement is the words, and so it becomes a matter of trying to interpret what the Lord meant. There are possible variations of things that he meant. So, the best you can do is try to fit it into the context. Beelzebub or Beelzebul, as it appears in some other places, is a term that was used by the Jews of that day to refer to Satan.

Basically, Beelzebub was the name of the Lord of the flies who was a particular deity of the Philistines. But, down through the years, that particular name had come to be identified as a title for Satan. Now, it says, if they have called the master of the house Beelzebub. Now, if you look at the assembly of believing people as a household, and, it says, if the critics and the unbelievers have called the master Beelzebub. And, who is the master? It’s the Lord. Did they call Him that? Yes, they did, as we find in Matthew 12. They actually said that He did what He did by the power of Satan. That’s what that means.

So, if they’re going to condemn the master of the house, they’re certainly not going to be hesitant to condemn the people who are in the household. In other words, if they would strike out a blow at the highest level, they’re certainly not going to hold back at the other lower levels. So, the Christian needs to be aware of the fact that, if they call the Lord, Himself, Satanic...If the religionist say the Lord, Himself, is the ultimate heretic, then they’re going to condemn us for that as well.

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
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