A Concord Minute: Built on the rock we shall stand

“[Jesus says:] If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. ” - Mark 3:24-26

Division causes destruction. No church, no home, no family, no marriage, no country, no community can withstand division without succumbing to destruction. In recent years, churches have been divided over progressive or orthodox understandings of the Scriptures. Divorce rates continue to climb. Families are broken apart by internal strife and abuse. Even our own country continues to divide into camps and tribes, all the while fractured by selfishness and hedonism. What to say to these things? Built on the Rock we shall stand.

Jesus is being attacked by the theological dividers of his day: the scribes. These scribes witnessed Jesus heal the paralytic, reorient his hearers to a proper understanding of the Sabbath, and do other bizarre acts in their eyes. The scribes’ conclusion? Jesus must be in league with the devil, Beelzebul, or as we know him, Satan. The only way Jesus could be doing these acts must not be of God but of Satan. The scribes equated Jesus with Satan.

Jesus’ response: How can Satan cast out Satan? If Jesus is equal to Satan, how can Jesus overcome sin, death, and someone’s possession of the devil? Satan cannot cast out Satan. Evil cannot overcome evil. A kingdom divided cannot stand. But Jesus can overcome evil. Jesus makes whole what Satan divides. A kingdom divided cannot stand, but a kingdom unified in Christ is made whole.

Jesus teaches us today that Christians especially should not be surprised by the divisions of this world. For sure, we should lament and decry these divisions, praying and moving towards unity of faith in Jesus. Yet, the prince of this world, Satan, is in the business of driving wedges between churches, families, communities, homes, marriages, and even countries. Therefore, Christians should recognize that the devil and our sinful flesh contribute to those divisions.

What to do? Be built on the rock, Jesus. Under His cross, Jesus overcomes all divisions, especially the divide between God and man. Under Christ’s cross, the devil’s skull is crushed. Under Christ’s cross, churches and families and communities and homes and marriages and countries can find wholeness and unity. Built on the Rock, we shall stand. All other ground is shifting sand.

The Rev. Matthew Berry is pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Sikeston, Missouri. Based in Sikeston’s Historic North End, Concordia is a member congregation of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), a theologically conservative, biblically sound, Christ-centered church.