Subduing a Strong Man

No one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house

Mark 3:27

Yesterday, we began examining the parable of two opposing kingdoms. The conversation arose when some teachers of the law interrupted a deliverance session by accusing Jesus of casting out demons under the influence of Beelzebul, the prince of demons. To educate their ignorance, Jesus uses the imagery of a divided kingdom, house, and Satan opposing himself to illustrate the absurdity of their accusation. He emphasises that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, nor can a house endure internal strife. 

Now that the argument regarding the source of Jesus’ power is out of the way, He goes on to make another critical point. Look at verse 27: “No one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house”. In this verse, Jesus is comparing Satan to a strong man, the plunder is the possessed person who is being set free while the one who has entered the strong man’s house is Jesus himself. So, not only is Jesus saying that his power doesn’t come from Satan but that his power supersedes that of Satan. 

What does this mean for us? The bible says that not only has Jesus won total victory over Satan, he also “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” ( Ephesians 2:6). 

However, our eyes must be opened to this reality in order for us to be able to actualize it. This is reflected in Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:17-21: “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your [f]understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality[g] and [h]power and [i]might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come”

May God open your eyes this day to the power that has been made available to you. 

PRAYER