It is astonishing how Jesus polarised opinion. The same action was seen by different people who came to radically different conclusions. When a demonised person was brought to Jesus, the man was unable to see or talk. When he left, the man had perfect sight and could talk normally. The difference only came through the encounter with Jesus. Naturally, everybody was amazed. It was miraculous.
Jesus had just been accused of being demonised. The Pharisees said that He cast out demons by the power of Satan. It was a wicked and blasphemous allegation. Jesus knew the full extent of their thoughts and demolished their conclusion by careful logical argument, as a lawyer would.
This saying of Jesus seems rather strange. Was He really suggesting that people should violently enter other people's houses and steal their possessions? Of course not! Jesus was using an illustration to show that the power of Satan could not be overcome unless he is confronted by a person who is stronger than him. Jesus was saying that Satan is very strong and thinks that he owns a large house (the world); but he is not all-mighty.
These are very strong verses which leave no room for compromise. Jesus is clear that there is no middle way (somewhere between loving Jesus and hating him). It does not exist. Those who do not work with Jesus are working against Him and having an anti-Jesus effect on others, discouraging them from following Him. Those who will not identify with Jesus are against Him, they are his enemies. However they can turn and repent, and if they do they will be forgiven.
It is easy to say the right sort of things to make a good impression. Many do just that. It is the stuff of sales and marketing, job interviews and romantic encounters. Most families adhere to a code of acceptable speech, and so do most groups in society including churches. So we learn how to stay included, by what we say.
The sick people who were healed needed no convincing: Jesus was God's Messiah. But the religious leaders did not want any Messiah from God: they wanted to have power over the people. So they were trying to find any reason to accuse Him in order to get rid of Him. But at the same time they were also intrigued, wondering how He did His miracles, as though He was some kind of illusionist or fairground curiosity.
Jonah and Solomon both achieved much. Although their historical legacy was a source of pride for Israel, they also had significant faults. Jonah preached judgement to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria which had given much grief to God's people. Despite Jonah's early disobedience in running away (and later discontent when God showed mercy), God used a great fish to transport Jonah back to his mission field, Nineveh (which means 'House of Fish') and the king and people all repented.
'Nature abhors a vacuum' - this was apparently first stated by the Greek physicist and philosopher Parmenides around 485BC. Others including Aristotle have been credited with using the expression. In physics it means that if you remove everything, then something has to fill the space. A vacuum is always in tension with its surroundings. That is helpful as we use a vacuum cleaner to suck up dirt.
The Bible is clear that Jesus was not a solitary religious icon who represented God's love: He was raised and lived in a human family. His mother Mary, guardian father Joseph and His brothers and sisters all lived together (although by the time of Jesus' ministry Joseph is not mentioned, we presume he had died). Matthew 13:55-56 reports the people as criticising Jesus by saying, "Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?"
No house was big enough to accommodate all the people who wanted to hear Jesus. The Master left the home where He had taught about the difference between the Holy Spirit and evil spirits (Matthew 12:22-50), and went to the shore of Lake Galilee with His disciples. As they went, many other people followed; and as the news spread a large crowd gathered to hear Him.
