Matthew 12:28 is the 28th verse in the twelfth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. Content In the original Greek according to Westcott-Hort, this verse is: Εἰ δὲ ἐγὼ ἐν πνεύματι Θεοῦ ἐκβάλλω τὰ δαιμόνια, ἄρα ἔφθασεν ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ. In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads: But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. The New International Version translates the passage as: But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Analysis "But if I by the Spirit of God ..." If Jesus by the power of God and the Holy Ghost not by Beelzebub cast out devils, then the preaching of Christ and John the Baptist, which primarily stated that the kingdom of Heaven was at hand, was true. It appears that Christ is working to drive out the kingdom of the devil and to replace it with the king of God. Luke 11:20 has "finger of God" rather than "Spirit of God." A reference to Exod. 8:19 in which the Egpytian magicians recognized the power of God working in Moses. Commentary from the Church Fathers Chrysostom: "Yet He said not, My disciples, or Apostles, but your children; that if they chose to return again to their own privileges, they might take occasion hence; but if they should be ungrateful, they might not have even an impudent excuse. And the Apostles cast out dæmons by virtue of power which they had from Him, and yet the Pharisees made no such charge against them; for it was not the actions themselves, but the person of Christ to which they were opposed. Desiring then to show that the things which were said against Him were only jealous suspicions, He brings forward the Apostles. And also He leads them to a knowledge of Himself, showing how they stood in the way of their own good, and resisted their own salvation; whereas they ought to be joyful because He had come to bestow great goods upon them; If I by the Spirit of God cast out dæmons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you. This also shows that it is a matter of great power to cast out dæmons, and not an ordinary grace. And thus