Beelzebul Accusations Kill Even The Little That We Do As Humanity

There is something more damaging than refusal or inability to do good; and that is spreading lies, false accusations, Beelzebul accusations about people who are doing good.

Jesus the healing one, merciful one, inclusive one, and someone who is ready to die is a dangerous truth for some to accept. What Jesus does is an undeniable truth to all: the lame walk, the mute speaks, sinners receive forgiveness, and the outcaste experience inclusivity; no one could refute it, so they bring in a confusing false narrative. "He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons."

Here we encounter something deeply unsettling—the human capacity to witness truth and then fabricate a counter-story that serves our resistance to it. The miracle itself was not in dispute. The man spoke. The demon was gone. What was contested was the meaning of the event, the source of the power, the narrative framework into which this reality should be placed.

This is the essence of false narratives: they are not primarily about information but about protection. They shield us from truths that would require us to change, submit, or acknowledge we were wrong. The false narrative about Jesus wasn't ignorance—it was strategic rejection dressed as explanation. It is the protection of their position, money, privileges, and entitlements.

Life and its meaning is becoming more and more about which narrative is louder and more suitable. In our political landscape, virtually every event is now subject to duelling narratives so complete that people can witness the same reality and construct entirely opposite meanings. A protest is either a "peaceful demonstration for justice" or "violent rioting and destruction"—often describing the exact same footage. Many function like the Beelzebul accusation—not attempts to understand what actually happened, but attempts to neutralise the implications of what everyone saw.

The most unsettling aspect of Luke 11:14-23 is this: the people who constructed the false narrative about Jesus weren't stupid. They weren't necessarily more wicked than others. They simply couldn't afford for Jesus to be who he claimed to be. The truth was too expensive. If they accept it they would lose control. It is interesting in this context to remember Luke 9: 49, wherein john comes to Jesus and says, “Master, we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not belong to us.” Jesus categorically told him, “Do not stop him for whoever is not against you is for you.”

The question for us is not whether false narratives exist—they obviously do. The question is: What truths are we protecting ourselves from? What realities have we witnessed but explained away because accepting them would cost us too much? What demons have we watched cast out, what mute made to speak, what obvious work of divine power have we attributed to Beelzebul because the alternative would require us to gather rather than scatter, to submit rather than control, to change rather than explain?

Take a modern parallel, when there are caste related incidents happening around us, we conveniently say that caste is a question of Dalits and the religious elites, and caste discourse is for them. We do not want to inspect our lives though caste discourses and see caste hierarchies and discriminations working in our words, actions and lives; if we inspect our lives and engage critically in caste discourses it will force us to reform and change. Thus we do not engage in Dalit discourses and live and behave as if we do not follow caste hierarchies. It is also true of gender discourses, class discourses, etc.

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