COMMENTARY ON MARK
LESSON NUMBER 33
“ Mark 3:23 And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27 No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.” (Mark 3:23-27; Matt 12:25-29; Luke 11:17-22).
ABOUT DEALING WITH SATAN
INTRODUCTION
Jesus’ mother and brothers have just left to come and lay hold of Him, because they felt He was “beside Himself” – thrown unto an unstable state because of the pressing multitudes, and having to go without eating. In the meantime, while they are coming, certain scribes who have come down from Jerusalem had diagnosed Christ’s ministry, announcing “He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth He out devils” (Mark 3:22). Jesus will now respond to that charge – one that was made on other occasions as well: “He casteth out devils through the prince of devils,” “they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub,” “Thou hast a devil,” “Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil,” “Now we know Thou hast a devil,” and “He hath a devil, and is mad” (Matt 9:34; 10:25; John 7:20; 8:48,52; 10:20). During these other occasions, Jesus told His disciples not to fear such people (Matt 10:26). On one occasion He simply said, “I have done one work, and ye all marvel” (John 7:21). Another time He responded, “I have not a devil” (John 8:49). On this occasion Jesus will cast down their imagination, revealing its utter foolishness. Here we will see Christ, who is “the Wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24), unveiling the weakness of the lie, and the inability of it to remain when once the light of God is shined upon it. He will come to grips with what has been said, and show how absurd it really was.
HE CALLED THEM AND SAID UNTO THEM
“ 3:23 And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?”
HE CALLED THEM. The scribes from Jerusalem did not appear to have made their charge directly to Jesus. Mark says they said this of Jesus, “He hath Beelzebub . . . ” Matthew represents the scribes as saying, “This fellow doth not cast out devils but by Beelzeub,” then states that Jesus “knew their thoughts” (Matt 12:24-25). Luke says, “But He, knowing their thoughts, said unto them” (Lk 11:17). Now Jesus summons them to come to Him in order that He might deal directly with them. He will not allow them to remain in the background, but will deal with them publicly. This is also a manner Paul taught Timothy concerning elders who sinned: “Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear” (1 Tim 5:20). These scribes were leaders about the people, whom Jesus said “sit in Moses’ seat” (Matt 23:2). They occupied “the chief seats in the synagogues” (Mk 12:39), and were held in high regard. He will not allow such men to privately spread their venom among the people, but will call them out into the open, displaying their folly to all.
Christ’s blistering denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees, in which He eight times said to them, “Woe unto you” (Matt 23:13,14,15,16,23,25,27,29), was pronounced publicly, before the multitude and His disciples. As it is written, “Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to His disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees. . . ” (Mat 23:1-2). The record of His words continues through verse thirty-nine without a single interruption, interpretation, or interjection by Matthew.
In a sense, we have here a miniature picture of “the day of judgment,” when men will be called into account for their words. As it is written, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Mat 12:36-37). Those words were included in the response Jesus gave in this very text. An “idle word” is a careless one, spoken without regard to the whole of the truth. It is also a word that is “inoperative, nonworking” AMPLIFIED, being unable to produce any fruit to God or bring any advantage to men. Such words are altogether too common in our day. Our text reveals how Jesus will deal with them.
AND SAID TO THEM IN PARABLES. Only Mark points out that Jesus spoke to them “in parables.” The definition of a parable is, “a comparison, figure, or proverb.” Jesus will speak to them in similes, proverbs, and parables, thus blunting the edge of the truth because of their blindness. Once, when speaking to His disciples of the time when He would return to heaven and send the Spirit to them, Jesus said, “These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father” (John 16:25). In this case, “proverbs” were contrasted with plainness. Elsewhere, when the disciples asked Jesus, “Why speakest Thou unto them in parables?” Jesus answered, “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given” (Matt 13:11). He went on to say, “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive” (Mat 13:13-14).
This was, therefore, the means Jesus used to blind hard-hearted people, putting the truth beyond their reach because of their deadness to God. He also spoke in parables to fulfill the word of the prophet: “I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world” (Matt 13:34-35). A parable is truth NOT expounded, or opened up. Thus it is written, “But without a parable spake He not unto them: and when they were alone, He expounded all things to His disciples” (Mk 4:34).
HOW CAN SATAN CAST OUT SATAN? Other versions read, “How can Satan drive out Satan?” NIV and “How is the Adversary able to cast out the Adversary?” YLT Can one demon cast out another demon? Can Satan put himself out of those he possesses? The thing to see here is that Satan is, in fact, a person, not an impersonal force or power. That is, he is an intelligent foe who purposes, strategizes, snares, and traps. He promotes erroneous thoughts, fulfills diabolical designs, and has intentions. He is of such a nature that men cannot confront him in their own strength. He is above the natural order, being “the god of this world,” and “the prince of the power of the air” as well (2 Cor 4:4; Eph 2:2). Such a person cannot work against his own designs, intentionally frustrate his own purpose, or himself overthrow what he himself has contrived. Another thing to see here is that, while Satan might well feign such a work, Jesus really did drive out Satan, and with His word expelled demons from those whom they possessed.
A KINGDOM OR A HOUSE DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF
“ 24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.”
A KINGDOM DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF. Mark states that a kingdom divided against itself, or competing with itself, “cannot stand.” Matthew and Luke say such a kingdom “is brought to desolation” (Matt 12:25; Lk 11:17). Other versions read, “A kingdom at war with itself will collapse,” NLT and “If a kingdom is divided and fights against itself.” IE
Here, Satan’s domain is called a “kingdom” – a arena over which he rules. Both Matthew and Luke affirm that Jesus, at this time, also said if Satan was against himself, “how shall his kingdom stand?” (Matt 12:26; Luke 11:18). Satan’s kingdom is a vast domain that is characterized by “darkness” – “darkness” that is with “power” (Lk 22:53; Acts 26:18; Eph 6:12; Col 1:13). It is a kingdom that promotes sin, spiritual ignorance, and disobedience. It works in strict accord with the purposes of the devil, and is not divided. No part of Satan’s empire promotes truth, encourages obedience to God, or illuminates His truth.
Satan’s kingdom will not fall because it is against itself. It will fall by force – by Christ Jesus, who will bring it down at the appointed time, calling an abrupt and final end to its activity. When Satan is thrown down, all of his works will come down as well.
This principle – that a house divided against itself cannot stand – has been exploited by God against the wicked. It has often been the means He employed to bring an end to wicked dominance. This is how God brought the building of the tower of Babel to an end – by dividing the people in the breakdown of their language (Gen 11:7-8). It is what he used in the time of Gideon, to overcome the Midianites, setting “every man’s sword against his fellow” (Judges 7:22). He did the same with the Philistines in the time of king Saul (1 Sam 14:20). It happened again when the Lord “set abushments” against the children of Ammon and Moab, and they “helped to destroy one another” NKJV (2 Chron 20:22-23). Isaiah prophesied that God would use this means to destroy Egypt. “And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof” (Isa 19:2-3).
When a kingdom is divided against itself, and war is found among its various parts, doom is sure, and decimation is on the way.
A HOUSE DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF. Matthew says “city or house” (Matt 12:25). This principle is also true on a smaller scale – with a house, or household. Abraham and Lot traveled together until their entourage was divided by discontent and war among their servants (Gen 13:6-7). The household of Jacob was also divided, with the brothers of Joseph being against him, and unable to “speak peaceably with him” (Gen 37:4). Only when they came together in harmony was the household of Jacob made secure (Gen 50:16-17).
Those who are in Christ Jesus, being His “house” (Heb 3:6), are told, “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another” (Gal 5:15). When the “unity of Spirit” is not maintained “in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:3), desolation is sure.
CANNOT STAND. When either a kingdom or a house is divided against itself, experiencing civil war, it “cannot stand.” Disunity sets the decaying process and decline in motion. Whether it is a kingdom, a house, or even a marriage, where discord exists, the possibility of remaining is taken away.
Even evil purposes, if men unite in them, can produce success and longevity in this world. It was for that very reason that God confused the speech of the people who were building a “city and a tower” in Shinar to secure their own name, and give them guaranteed safety. God said of that group, “Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do” (Gen 11:6). By destroying their accord, the work was brought to a close – “they stopped building the city” NASB (Gen 11:8).
Once, when Paul was brought before the high priest Ananias, he perceived that his accusers (theSadducees and the Pharisees) were divided. Knowing that they were in theological disagreement, with the Sadducees saying “that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit,” while the Pharisees “confess both,” Paul said he was “called in question” concerning “the hope and resurrection of the dead.” As a result, “a dissension” arose among his accusers, “and the multitude was divided.” The outcome of it all was that the Pharisees dropped the charges (Acts 23:6-9). Paul knew that a house divided against itself “cannot stand.”
Thus, Jesus, in parabolic form, confronts the scribes with this principle, which could not possibly be controverted. He made them confront the foolishness of their own words.
BINDING PRECEDES SPOILING
“ 26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27 No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.”
IF SATAN RISE UP AGAINST HIMSELF. Earlier Jesus had asked, “How can Satan cast out Satan?” (verse 23). Matthew and Luke add that Jesus asked, “And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges” (Matt 12:27; Luke 11:19). That is, they themselves knew that any effort to cast out devils, whether from themselves or anyone else, could not possibly have been prompted by Satan. Just as surely as “no man ever yet hated his own flesh” (Eph 5:29), so Satan cannot possibly “rise up against himself.” Christ and Belial can have no “concord” (2 Cor 6:15), but Satan and his hosts are in agreement, working together for a common cause.
A STRONG MAN. Here is a parabolic description of Satan, and it is from our point of view – “a strong man.” Although Jesus could deal with Satan’s hosts with “the finger of God,” so to speak (Lk 11:20), this is not how men deal with him. He is “strong” toward men, especially those who are not in Christ Jesus. That is why John writes, “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” NKJV (1 John 5:19). He blinds men’s minds (2 Cor 4:4), takes men “captive” (2 Tim 2:26), and works in “the children of disobedience” (Eph 2:2).
ENTERING AND SPOILING. Before Jesus liberated those who were bound by Satan in the flesh, He first dealt with the wicked one himself. During Jesus’ ministry, when He “went in and out” among men, these deliverances were largely, if not completely, wrought externally. Of the thirty-six recorded miracles of Jesus, twenty-six of them had to do with liberating people from the hold of Satan. All of them were wrought in their bodies. No one’s mind was healed. No one received a new heart or a new spirit. No one as healed of covetousness, or lying, or blasphemy, or fornication, or drunkenness. No one was freed from delusion, or fleshly anger, or of malice. Inner deliverances followed Christ’s death, in which He delivered a mortal wound to Satan, bruising His head (Gen 3:15; Heb 2:14).
Nevertheless, these observable deliverances were an actual liberation of people from the grip of Satan. Jesus entered into Satan’s own domain, first subdued him, then freed those who were dominated by him.
FIRST BIND THE STRONG MAN. In order for his kingdom to be disrupted, Satan must first be bound, or “tied up.” NIV When Jesus sent out seventy of His disciples, He gave them power to “heal the sick” (Lk 10:9). When the seventy returned, they exulted in what they had done saying, “Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name” (Lk 10:17). Jesus immediately responded, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven” (Lk 10:18). What did He mean? He had first bound the strong man, else the seventy would not have been able to enter Satan’s house and take his goods from him!
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ERA OF THE NEW COVENANT. Jesus was introducing people to “the kingdom of God” – a kingdom that would be most fully revealed in this world with the inauguration of the New Covenant. Once sin had been “put away” (Heb 9:26), and the devil “destroyed” (Heb 2:14), Jesus entered into Satan’s house, and began to “spoil his goods.” On the day of Pentecost, in the very city associated with the crucifixion of Jesus, and before the very multitude that had cried out “crucify Him,” less than two months before (50 days), Peter announced what had really happened when Jesus died. That very day, 3,000 souls were snatched from the grasp of Satan. For the first time they saw Jesus for who He really was. For the first time they asked what they ought to do. For the first time they “gladly received the word.” For the first time they instantly obeyed. For the first their sins were forgiven. For the first time they received the gift of the Holy Spirit.
What had happened? The “strong man” had been bound, and could hold his victims no longer! Rather than crying out against Jesus, they confessed and obeyed Him. Jesus had found them, and brought them to His own abode. This work was of an even more exalted nature than the many miracles that He had wrought. Now men were being raised above Satan’s domain into the “heavenly places” (Eph 2:6). Now they were experiencing “eternal life.” Now they were able to “partake of the Divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4).
Now, bound by the Lord Jesus, Satan cannot stop anyone who believes from coming to Jesus. He cannot thwart their prayers, or stop them from growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. His only power is delusion, and even that has no effectiveness where faith is found. He cannot blind the person who is looking to Jesus, or restrain the one who comes to God through Him. What a day this is!