Strong Man Down

by | Oct 25, 2012 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

Luke 11:21 -22  – When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.

The above words are those of Jesus after He has been charged with casting out demons by the power of Satan. “Satan does not work against himself” Jesus responds and then he tells the little parable about a strong man guarding a house. The strong man guarding the house is Satan. The house is safe until someone stronger than the strong man comes along and overpowers the guard and runs off with the spoil.

It puts me in mind of this:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayLPl4yX5ew]

The puny god here is Satan himself. Satan does not cast out demons. Satan guards them. He puts them in the houses of the hearts and souls of men so that they are enslaved and useless and damned.  He puts people under the influence of evil and keeps them captive to sin and despair and hate and greed and all manner of whatever can keep their attention off their Creator and Saviour. Paul puts it this way:

2 Corinthians 4:4 – In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  
But then the stronger man, the man who has vowed to overthrow the works of Satan, comes and puts this strong man to rout. He grabs him by the foot and pummels him into the ground and forces him to release the grip that he has on whoever it is that Jesus is setting free. And as Jesus walks away with a freed soul in His loving embrace, He turns and says to a battered bruised Satan lying on the ground – “puny god”.
II Corinthians 4:4 calls Satan the god of this world. But then in verse 6 we read this:
2 Corinthians 4:6 – For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
 People are in bondage to Satan. And there is only One who can overpower him and give freedom to these poor enslaved people. No – not the Hulk – one who can even pummel the Hulk into the ground. Jesus Christ, the eternal, equal with God, Son of God. And the weapon Jesus uses to triumph over Satan is the cross. Colossians 2:13-15:
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Jesus is on the attack. Jesus invades the planet to win a war. He won it at the cross dear ones and He shall lose none of all that the Father gives Him (John 6:37-39)
It is Jesus and only Jesus who is the stronger man. People may not be demon possessed, but they are in Satan’s kingdom if they are not in Christ. He doesn’t need to take up residence in their bodies. He has their souls. He does not need to make mute or blind. They are already blinded to the light of the glory of God in the face of Christ. They think that God smiles on them because they go to church,  or show kindness to others or for a host of other reasons… . That is real slavery.
And the glorious Good News is that Jesus frees from it. He bashes Satan and His work into the ground because Satan is such a puny god. And when Jesus walks away He escorts a vast numberless host with Him who have all been liberated and will sing in gratitude for eternity.
Revelation 7:9-10 – After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,  [10] and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth and followed Thee.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQeIGbKqiw8]
 

 

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *