We have learned from the movies that the person with the biggest guns wins the gunfight. If it is hand to hand combat, the person who is the fastest with the best moves wins. We also learn that winning and losing fights depends on the plot line, much more than reality! How the enemy machine guns never hit our hero and how a rock thrown blindly around a corner can kill multiple people. Or that the villains in car accidents get killed and heroes survive.
Jesus work and reputation have been attacked by His family and by the religious establishment. Both have heard about what Jesus was doing and came to a conclusion based on what they knew. And since they were missing some essential facts, they drew the wrong conclusions.
The religious leaders have charged that Jesus was under the power of Satan and it was Satan’s power that enabled Him to be able to cast out demonic entities. Jesus showed that this just can’t happen.
The religious leaders’ second charge against Jesus is that He is using someone else’s power to cast out demons, not His own. This is where the use of the word picture of the strong man comes into play. Jesus is talking about home invasion. You can’t break into the strong man’s house and get away with it. Their strength will overcome any intruder.
If you think about the houses of drug dealers, at least the ones portrayed on TV and in the movies, they have multiple layers of security. They have security cameras and alarms, and big, muscular, gun-wielding thugs protecting them. At the low end houses, they have booby traps and explosives rigged to protect themselves. They also have escape routes planned and practiced. They usually also have some people with guns.
In order to penetrate these houses you have to come with more power and strength. You have to bring battering rams, snipers, flash-bang grenades, insertion teams, body armor, armor protected vehicles, high-tech listening devices, and overwhelming manpower. You can’t beat a strong man unless you are stronger.
That is Jesus’ point. Satan is the strong man. If Satan is being defeated, then someone stronger than him has arrived. Jesus is stronger than Satan, that is why He is able to defeat him and cast out demons.
No matter what battle you are facing, Jesus is more powerful than the battle. Invite Him to be with you in that battle. Or get out of the battle and be with Him.
The Arnold Journey 