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BUT DIDN’T JESUS INSTRUCT US TO “BIND THE STRONG MAN”?

A. Three times in the Gospels we find Jesus making mention of “binding the strong

man.”

1. Matthew 12:29 (NKJV)

Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods,

unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his

house.

2. Mark 3:27 (NKJV)

No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless

he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.

3. Luke 11:21-22 (NKJV) When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods

are in peace. 22

But when a stronger than he comes upon him and

overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted,

and divides his spoils.

B. In none of those three cases, however, did He tell His followers that “binding the

strong man” was something they should practice. Let’s examine exactly what Jesus

did say, and let’s read what He said contextually:

4. Mark 3:20-21 (NKJV) An accusation from His own family.

20 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so

much as eat bread. 21

But when His own people heard about this, they

went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”

a. So that they could not so much as eat bread: The idea is that the huge crowds so pressed upon Jesus and the disciples that they did not have the time or the space to eat.

b. His own people: This refers to Jesus’ family and close friends. Since Jesus grew up in Galilee and practiced His ministry there, many knew Him before this time of wide popularity.

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c. He is out of His mind: There was at least some reason why some from His own people thought that Jesus was out of His mind.

He left a prosperous business to become an itinerant preacher.

The religious and political leaders plotted to murder Him, but He did not back down (Mark 3:6). They were afraid for Jesus’ sake.

Huge crowds began to follow Jesus, and they knew how such fame and attention and celebrity could go to someone’s head (Mark 3:7-8).

He showed spiritual power and ministry He had never really shown earlier in His life (Mark 3:9-11). Was something very wrong?

He picked such an unlikely group of disciples that His judgment could fairly be questioned (Mark 3:13-19).

But there was one last straw: the pressures of this incredible ministry made Him miss regular mealtimes (they could not so much as eat bread).

i. Jesus constantly faced the rejection of the religious and political leaders of the day, and in a way their hatred of Jesus made sense – He actually threatened their status quo. Undoubtedly, it was far more painful and challenging for Jesus to deal with the way His own people rejected Him. It isn’t easy to be profoundly misunderstood as you try to walk with God. “When the Lord said ‘a man’s enemies will be those in his own home’ (see Matthew 10:36), He may well have been speaking from bitter experience.” (Cole)

ii. The brothers of Jesus didn’t believe in Him until after His resurrection, and during His earthly ministry they prodded Him to prove Himself (John 7:3-5).

5. Mark 3:22 (NKJV) An accusation from the religious leaders.

22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has

Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”

a. The scribes who came down from Jerusalem: This was an official delegation of experts from Jerusalem coming to Galilee to observe and assess the ministry of Jesus. The opinion of these scribes carried a lot of weight with many people.

ii. “It is possible that they were official emissaries from the Great Sanhedrin who came to examine Jesus’ miracles and to determine whether Capernaum should be declared a ‘seduced city,’ the prey of an apostate preacher.” (Lane)

iii. Being completely unable to explain away the power and authority Jesus had shown, they mercilessly accuse Him of being under the direction and influence of the devil. The Son of

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God is accused of demon possession and working through Satan’s power by those who knew the Scripture. If they admitted Jesus was working through the power of God, they would have been obligated to follow Him.

They would have had to confess Jesus was in fact the Christ. They are unwilling to relinquish their power and way of life, so they are determined to find any means possible to accuse Jesus.

iv. If others would believe their accusation, they could convince them to abandon following the Lord and minimize His influence.

b. He has Beelzebub: Actually, they accused Jesus of being possessed by Satan. “He hath Beelzebub, implying that Beelzebub hath Him, using Him as his agent. The expression points to something more than an alliance [but] to possession, and than on a grand scale.” (Expositor’s)

i. They wouldn’t say that Jesus was possessed by

just any demon, but by Satan himself. This was “an involuntary compliment to the exceptional power and greatness of Jesus.” (Expositor’s)

ii. This wasn’t the only time Jesus was insulted like this.

“He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?” (John 10:20)

“Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” (John 8:48)

“We were not born of fornication.” (John 8:41)

“A glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ (Luke 7:34)

“You have a demon.” (John 7:20)

c. By the ruler of demons He casts out demons: Luke 11:14 tells us this accusation came in response to a dramatic demonic deliverance. The religious leaders attributed this working of Jesus to Satan (Beelzebub).

i. His own people misunderstood Jesus, but the scribes who came down from Jerusalem viciously and cynically attacked Jesus. Because of their official position, this was the first step in the plot to destroy Jesus referred to in Mark 3:6. Before they could destroy Him, they had to first discredit Jesus in the eyes of the multitude.

d. Beelzebub: This name clearly refers to Satan, but it is a difficult name to analyze. It may have been coined because it sounds similar to the Hebrew phrase for “Lord of the Flies.”

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i. “It is supposed that this idol was the same with Baalzebub, the god fly, worshipped at Ekron… who had his name changed afterwards by the Jews to Baal zebul, the dung god, a title of utmost contempt.” (Clarke)

6. Mark 23-27 Jesus answers those who attributed His work to Satan.

23 So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How

can Satan cast out Satan? 24

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that

kingdom cannot stand. 25

And if a house is divided against itself, that

house cannot stand. 26

And if Satan has risen up against himself, and

is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. 27

No one can enter a

strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the

strong man. And then he will plunder his house.

a. How can Satan cast out Satan? Jesus challenged their accusation with common sense and reason. How can Satan cast out Satan? Why would he do such a thing if he could? Jesus argued their accusation was without merit. their accusation made no sense. Why would Satan oppose himself? Jesus showed that if He were an agent of Satan and was working against Satan, then surely Satan’s kingdom was in a civil war and would not stand. Jesus said this to show that Satan would not work against himself. This reveals the tactics of the enemy and the gullibility of mankind. While this claim was ridiculous, no doubt some would agree. The world’s claims against the Word of God and the church are without merit, being totally ridiculous, and yet many believe those accusations as truth. b. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods: With this Jesus answered the charge that He was in league with the Devil. He said, “I’m not under Satan. Instead, I am proving that I am stronger than he is.” c. Unless he first binds the strong man: In this parable Satan is the strong man who guards what belongs to him. Jesus’ ministry was defeating this strong man, both in the case of casting the demon out of the man who was mute and in the broader sense. d. Then he will plunder his house: Jesus looked at every life delivered from Satan’s domination and said, “I’m plundering the kingdom of Satan one life at a time.” There is nothing in our life that must stay under Satan’s domination. The one who binds the strong man and will plunder his house is our risen Lord.

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Notice that Jesus was not teaching His followers to bind any strong men. Rather, He was responding to the criticism of the Jerusalem scribes with unassailable logic and a clear metaphor.

They accused Him of casting out demons by using demonic power. He responded by saying that Satan would be insane to work against himself. No one can intelligently argue with that.

If it wasn’t Satan’s power that Jesus used to cast out demons, then whose power was He using? It had to be a power stronger than Satan’s. It had to be God’s power, the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus Jesus spoke metaphorically of Satan, comparing him to a strong man guarding his possessions. The only one able to take the strong man’s possessions would be someone even stronger, namely, Himself. This was the true explanation as to how He cast out demons.

Mark 3:22-30 is simply Jesus’ explanation of his power to cast out devils and his

eventual binding of the Devil when he takes away the Devil’s kingdoms at the Second

Advent.

Look at the correct, scriptural application of Mark 3:27:

“No man can enter into a strong man’s house”

That’s Jesus entering into the Devil’s world. As 2 Cor 4:4 shows us, Satan is the “god

of this world.” He is the strong man with power to steal, kill and destroy (Jn 10:10) and

he has the ultimate power of death (Heb 2:14). The kingdoms of the world and their

power and glory are the Devil’s right now (Lk 4:5-6).

“And spoil his goods”

That’s the people in the world who are the devil’s children. According to 1 Jn 3:10,

whoever is not a child of God is a child of the devil. In this age, only those who have

trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior are children of God (Jn 1:12-13). Everyone else is a

child of the devil (Eph 2:1-3, 12; Jn 8:44; Acts 13:10).

While Jesus was here during his earthly ministry, he freed people from the Devil, by

casting him out of them (Matt 9:32-34; Lk 13:11-16; Mk 5:1-15; Jn 8:32-36; etc).

“Except he will first bind the strong man”

In Jesus’ earthly ministry, he didn’t bind the Devil, “the strong man.” Don’t ever forget

that. He simply loosed some of his prisoners. However, at the Second Coming of

Christ, the angel with the chain in Rev 20:1-2 will literally “bind” the Devil in the

bottomless pit for a thousand years. This is the literal, scriptural interpretation of binding

the Devil.

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“And then he will spoil his house”

At the Second Advent of Jesus, “the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of

our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever,” (Rev 11:15). In the

wilderness temptation, during Jesus’ 40 day fast, the Devil offered Jesus the kingdoms

if Jesus would bow down and worship him. Jesus refused, knowing that he would one

day gain the kingdoms when he spoils the Devil’s house.

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BIND IN THE NEW TESTAMENT (NKJV)

Matthew 5:31

[ Marriage Is Sacred and Binding ] “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces

his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’

Matthew 12:29

Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he

first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

Matthew 13:30

Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the

reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but

gather the wheat into my barn.”

Matthew 16:19

And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth

will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 18:18

“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and

whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 22:13

Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and

cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Matthew 23:4

For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but

they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. Mark 3:27

No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the

strong man. And then he will plunder his house. Mark 5:3

who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with

chains, Acts 9:14

And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”

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Acts 21:11

When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said,

“Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this

belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ” Acts 22:4

I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and

women,

BOUND IN THE NEW TESTAMENT (NKJV)

Matthew 14:3

For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of

Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Matthew 16:19

And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth

will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 18:18

“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and

whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 27:2

And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate

the governor. Mark 5:4

because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been

pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. Mark 6:17

For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake

of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. Mark 15:1

[ Jesus Faces Pilate ] Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation

with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus,

led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.

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Luke 8:29

For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often

seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he

broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. Luke 13:16

So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think

of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” John 11:44

And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face

was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.” John 18:12

[ Before the High Priest ] Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the

officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. John 18:24

Then Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. John 19:40

Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the

custom of the Jews is to bury. Acts 8:23

For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” Acts 9:2

and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who

were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Acts 9:21

Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who

called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might

bring them bound to the chief priests?” Acts 10:11

and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners,

descending to him and let down to the earth.

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Acts 12:6

And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with

two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the

prison. Acts 17:26

And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the

earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their

dwellings, Acts 20:22

And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will

happen to me there, Acts 21:11

When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said,

“Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this

belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ” Acts 21:13

Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am

ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord

Jesus.” Acts 21:33

Then the commander came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with

two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done. Acts 22:25

And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, “Is it

lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?” Acts 22:29

Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the

commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he

had bound him.

Acts 23:12

And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under

an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

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Acts 23:14

They came to the chief priests and elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under

a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul. Acts 23:21

But do not yield to them, for more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who

have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have

killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you.” Acts 24:27

But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a

favor, left Paul bound. Acts 28:20

For this reason therefore I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because

for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.” Romans 7:2

For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he

lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 1 Corinthians 7:27

Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not

seek a wife. 1 Corinthians 7:39

A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at

liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. 2 Thessalonians 1:3

[ God’s Final Judgment and Glory ] We are bound to thank God always for you,

brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one

of you all abounds toward each other, 2 Thessalonians 2:13

[ Stand Fast ] But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved

by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through

sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,

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Revelation 9:14

saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who

are bound at the great river Euphrates.” Revelation 20:1

[Satan Bound 1,000 Years] Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the

key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. Revelation 20:2

He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan,

and bound him for a thousand years;

References:

https://www.davidservant.com/books/dmm/dmm_31/09-but-didnt-jesus-instruct-us-to-bind-the-

strong-man/

https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/mark-3/

https://www.pulpitpages.com/uploads/9/5/3/2/9532717/15._attacked_with_false_accusation_-

_mark_3_22-30_.pdf

https://www.my3bc.com/963/binding-the-strong-man-mark-327/

https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?qs_version=NKJV&quicksearch=bound&startnumber=104

https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?qs_version=NKJV&quicksearch=bind&startnumber=51