Matthew 12:27

“And if I by Beelzeboul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore shall they be your judges.”

Furthermore let them consider another factor. If Jesus cast out demons by Beelzeboul, how did their own exorcisers cast them out? ‘Your sons' indicates those of whom the Pharisees approved. Or it may mean just ‘true Jews' in their eyes. But either way they accepted that their work, if successful, was of God. Any who were seen as ‘good Jews' who cast out evil spirits were seen as doing so by the power of God. And in that case they could be their judges as to the fact that demons only responded to God's power. For it was no different in His case.

There certainly were exorcisers around Galilee at that time, and in many parts of the world. Jews were famed for exorcism. And there was widespread belief in evil spirits, not all of which was concerned with genuine phenomena, and these men made claims to deliver men from evil spirits (compare Acts 19:13, which would, however, appear to have been a genuine case). Josephus speaks of having witnessed such an exorcism which he saw as genuine, and links it with the abilities of Solomon in the field. But it does not matter here whether they were genuine or not. The argument still stood.

It is sometimes said that Jesus could not have used this argument as it would have suggested that these men also brought in the Kingly Rule of God. But that is not so at all. All that He is claiming here is that their ability, combined with their acceptability to the Pharisees, proves that the Pharisees accepted in their case that what they did was being done by the power of God. Thus it should also demonstrate that He too does it by the power of God. But the difference lies in the fact that these exorcisers did not make any special claims for themselves for God to be displeased about. So their exorcisms simply revealed the power of God through godly men. But in His case it was different In His case He is casting out evil spirits while claiming to be the Coming one. So His following argument is now also based on the fact of Who He is claiming to be. It is when it is done by  Him  that it demonstrates that the Kingly Rule of God is here, because the very fact that God acts through Him demonstrates that God does not see His particular claims about the presence of the Kingly Rule of God in Him as false, but is well pleased with Him.