And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons He drives out demons.”
So Jesus called them together and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand. And if Satan is divided and rises against himself, he cannot stand; his end has come. Indeed, no one can enter a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.
“Truly I tell you, the sons of men will be forgiven all sins and blasphemies, as many as they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of eternal sin.”
Jesus made this statement because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Mark 3:22—30
Jesus had already cast out many demons, and in doing so he freed men from the power of Satan. Nevertheless, the Scribes claimed that Jesus worked by the authority of Beelzebub, that is, by the authority of Satan. Through the use of parables Jesus refutes the claim of the Scribes and teaches his disciples about his divine authority and the spiritual war which is taking place all around them.
The strong man in the parable is Satan who uses his power to enslave men through lies, sins, demons and other means. Satan is like a bully who oppresses people and controls them. Only someone who is stronger than Satan can enter into his territory, bind him, and plunder his house — thereby freeing men from his possession.
Jesus is infinitely stronger than Satan. The kingdom of Satan is collapsing, but not from within as the Scribes claim, but rather from without, through a full frontal assault. Jesus came into this world to destroy the works of Satan and to establish the Kingdom of God in the lives of his disciples. Jesus waged a campaign against Satan throughout his entire ministry. And finally in his death he defeated Satan and abolished his power to enslave people. When Jesus was crucified he took the sins of the world upon himself in order to bring forgiveness of sins to all those who trust in him. In doing so he disarmed Satan from his weapon — his power to accuse people because of their sins.
Jesus frees all those who trust in him from the power of Satan. However, as long as we are in this world, a spiritual war continues to rage all around us and we are commanded to vigorously resist the devil:
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Ephesians 6:10—13
