Scripture Daily

Context No. 2192 of 4322 · Matthew

Context · Reflection

Matthew 12:22-29: in context

22Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him; and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23All the multitudes were amazed, and said, “Can this be the son of David?” 24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.” 25Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you. 29Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house.

When Jesus heals a man who was blind and mute by casting out the demon that afflicted him, the Pharisees, unable to deny the deliverance, accuse him of casting out demons by the power of the prince of demons. Jesus exposes the folly of this: a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand; if Satan casts out Satan, his kingdom is finished. Then he gives the true explanation, with an image of his own authority: how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then he can plunder the house.

Jesus' image of the strong man reveals his authority and victory over the powers of evil. To plunder a strong man's house, to carry off what he holds, one must first overpower and bind the strong man himself; otherwise his goods cannot be taken. And this, Jesus says, is what he is doing: his casting out of demons, his setting free of those the enemy held captive, shows that he has entered the strong man's house and bound him. The enemy, strong as he is, has met one stronger; Christ has overpowered and bound him, and is plundering his house, setting his captives free. If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, Jesus says, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. His victory over the demonic is the sign that God's kingdom has arrived and the strong man is bound. This is a deep assurance about Christ's authority over the powers of evil. The enemy is real and strong; he holds people captive, afflicts, blinds, and binds. But he is not the strongest; he has met his master in Christ, who has entered his house and bound him. Christ's authority over the powers of evil is not in doubt; his casting out of demons demonstrates it. He has overpowered the strong man; he plunders the enemy's house; he sets the captives free. He disarmed the principalities and powers, Paul says, and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them. The Son of God appeared, John says, to destroy the works of the devil. Christ's victory over the enemy is real and accomplished. This gives us confidence against the powers of evil. We are not left at the mercy of a strong enemy with no one stronger; Christ has bound the strong man, overpowered the enemy, and set captives free. The powers of evil, real as they are, are not supreme; they have been overcome by Christ, who is stronger, who has entered the strong man's house and plundered it. This assures us that in Christ we are on the side of the victor, delivered from the power of one who has himself been bound and overcome. Christ bound the strong man and plundered his house; and his authority over the powers of evil, demonstrated in his casting out of demons, assures us that the enemy, strong as he is, has been overpowered by a stronger, so that we need not fear the powers of evil as though they were supreme, for Christ has bound the strong man and set his captives free.

Do I fear the powers of evil as though they were supreme, holding people captive with no one stronger to overcome them, or can Jesus' image of binding the strong man and plundering his house, demonstrated in his casting out of demons as the sign that God's kingdom has come, assure me of Christ's authority and victory over the powers of evil, so that I take confidence that the enemy, strong as he is, has met a stronger in Christ, who has bound the strong man and set his captives free?

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