The Beelzebul Controversy
Legend:
High overlap
Moderate overlap
Low overlap
Matthew 12:22–32
12:22 Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 63%
12:23 All the multitudes were amazed, and said, “Can this be the son of David?” 77%
12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.” 83%
12:25 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 84%
12:26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 94%
12:27 If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 100%
12:28 But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you. 100%
12:29 Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house. 93%
12:30 “He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters. 100%
12:31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 95%
12:32 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 that which is to come. 82%
Mark 3:22–30
3:22 The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons he casts out the demons.” 67%
3:23 He summoned them, and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 83%
3:24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 92%
3:25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 92%
3:26 If Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he can’t stand, but has an end. 73%
3:27 But no one can enter into the house of the strong man to plunder unless he first binds the strong man; then he will plunder his house. 92%
3:28 Most certainly I tell you, all sins of the descendants of man will be forgiven, including their blasphemies with which they may blaspheme; 72%
3:29 but whoever may blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.” 60%
3:30 —because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.” 60%
Luke 11:14–23
11:14 He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the multitudes marveled. 85%
11:15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.” 93%
11:16 Others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven. 22%
11:17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. A house divided against itself falls. 74%
11:18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 90%
11:19 But if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 100%
11:20 But if I by God’s finger cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come to you. 94%
11:21 “When the strong man, fully armed, guards his own dwelling, his goods are safe. 57%
11:22 But when someone stronger attacks him and overcomes him, he takes from him his whole armor in which he trusted, and divides his plunder. 60%
11:23 “He that is not with me is against me. He who doesn’t gather with me scatters. 100%
Verbatim Agreement
Percentage of words that appear identically (same form and position) across gospel pairs.
Strong's Number Overlap
How much of each gospel's vocabulary (by Strong's number) is shared with another.
Mt
Mk
Lk
Mt
—
39%
37%
Mk
39%
—
22%
Lk
37%
22%
—
Unique Vocabulary
Strong's numbers that appear only in one gospel for this pericope.
Matthew (24)
Mark (22)
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Every word in the synoptic gospels links back to its Greek lexicon entry. See what the gospel writers actually wrote.
Morphological data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.