Matius 8:31

8:31 Then the demons begged him, ¹  “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

Matius 9:34

9:34 But the Pharisees ²  said, “By the ruler ³  of demons he casts out demons.” ⁴ 

Matius 12:26

12:26 So if ⁵  Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

Matius 12:28

12:28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God ⁶  has already overtaken ⁷  you.

Matius 17:19

17:19 Then the disciples came ⁸  to Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?”

[8:31]  ¹ tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[9:34]  ² sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[9:34]  ³ tn Or “prince.”

[9:34]  ⁴ tc Although codex Cantabrigiensis (D), along with a few other Western versional and patristic witnesses, lacks this verse, virtually all other witnesses have it. The Western text’s reputation for free alterations as well as the heightened climax if v. 33 concludes this pericope explains why these witnesses omitted the verse.

[12:26]  ⁵ tn This first class condition, the first of three “if” clauses in the following verses, presents the example vividly as if it were so. In fact, all three conditions in these verses are first class. The examples are made totally parallel. The expected answer is that Satan’s kingdom will not stand, so the suggestion makes no sense. Satan would not seek to heal.

[12:28]  ⁶ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong.

[12:28]  ⁷ tn The phrase ἔφθασεν ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς (efqasen ef’ Juma") is quite important. Does it mean merely “approach” (which would be reflected in a translation like “has come near to you”) or actually “come upon” (as in the translation given above, “has already overtaken you,” which has the added connotation of suddenness)? Is the arrival of the kingdom merely anticipated or already in process? Two factors favor arrival over anticipation here. First, the prepositional phrase ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς (ef’ Jumas, “upon you”) in the Greek text suggests arrival (Dan 4:24, 28 Theodotion). Second, the following illustration in v. 29 looks at the healing as portraying Satan being overrun. So the presence of God’s authority has arrived. See also L&N 13.123 for the translation of φθάνω (fqanw) as “to happen to already, to come upon, to come upon already.”

[17:19]  ⁸ tn Grk “coming, the disciples said.” The participle προσελθόντες (proselqontes) has been translated as a finite verb to make the sequence of events clear in English.