Binding the Strong man

Main Idea

God’s Kingdom unites. Satan divides. Which one are you building?

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln faced a nation that was pulling apart at the seams. In one of his most famous speeches, he looked back in time…not to Jefferson, not to the Constitution… but to the words of Jesus: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” By using this quote, he wasn’t calling for war. He was issuing a warning. Slavery had divided the moral conscience of the country, and Lincoln knew what Jesus declared long before him: no kingdom, no household, no movement of any kind can survive when it’s at war with itself.

Now, fast-forward to today — tell me… are we a divided people? Political parties can’t communicate without shouting. Current social justice issues and ideologies create deep divisions among people groups. Friendships break over differing worldviews. Even churches divide — sometimes not over heresy, but over preferences.

Division isn’t just a political problem; it’s a spiritual one because it’s not merely a phenomenon but also a strategy. If the enemy can divide us, he can destroy us.

That’s exactly what Jesus reveals in the story we’re about to read. In Mark 3, He’s not teaching abstract truth—He’s drawing a line in the sand when He says:

Mark 3:25 CSB

25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

The lines of loyalty are being drawn: some accuse Him of evil… others call Him Lord. Some try to pull Him away… others gather closer around Him. And in the middle of it all, Jesus drops a truth bomb:

So let’s lean in and listen—not just to Jesus' words, but also to the warning and invitation embedded in them.

Passage

Mark 3:20–35 CSB

20 Jesus entered a house, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He’s out of his mind.” 22 The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23 So he summoned them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. 28 “Trwrite an opener about the civil war, uly I tell you, people will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies they utter. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” 31 His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent word to him and called him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him and told him, “Look, your mother, your brothers, and your sisters are outside asking for you.” 33 He replied to them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 Looking at those sitting in a circle around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

Markan Sandwich #1

The bread

Jesus’ earthly family

Jesus’ true family

The meat

The scribe’s accusation

Jesus’ response

Jesus’ warning

So, to guide us through today, I’ll call this a club sandwich. We have two slices of bread with bacon, turkey, and ham in the middle.

I - Jesus’ Earthly Family

This is the top bread slice.

Jesus’ family is coming to Him. He is likely in Capernaum now, and He is originally from Nazareth. It would have been nice if they came to support His ministry and listen to Him preach. After all, isn’t family supposed to support one another? Instead, they came to drag Him back home in a straightjacket. The word ‘restrain,’ literally means to arrest, and they think Jesus is out of His mind. Possible reasons for this could include:

A concern about confronting religious leadership. The Pharisees and Scribes were the spiritual leaders. They were experts in the law and believed they knew what was best for the people. They also had the authority to permit or expel individuals from worship in the synagogues. I’m sure they were worried about Jesus and His new, impressionable followers and their spiritual future. I’m also fairly confident they didn’t want that negative attention turning its eye on them either.

A concern about other messianic attempts. Jesus isn’t the first to arrive on the scene and claim divine rights. There were other messianic figures in recent history who tried to gain influence and rebel against established leaders, and since those leaders remain, you can imagine what happened to the rebels. While Mary knows that Jesus’ divine rights are true, His brothers and sisters weren’t so sure.

A concern for His well-being. I also want to believe the best of His siblings and think they were genuinely concerned for Jesus’ physical well-being. As we mentioned last week, being in large crowds can be physically risky (which is why Jesus had a boat prepared ahead of time), and here, we see that Jesus doesn’t even have the time or ability to eat amidst the crowd. This was not a healthy lifestyle for their brother.

Yet, at the end of the day, they were coming to town to ‘arrest’ Jesus and bring Him home. Thinking He has lost all reason was literally insane. Before Jesus gives a parable about a house divided, we see that His earthly family is exactly that. Imagine how that must have felt to Jesus. Not having family support in your calling is tough enough, but having them believe you have completely lost your senses and any sense of reality is devastating.

Yet, even in this difficult reality, God has purposed this divisive moment to reveal a fundamental theological truth we will explore towards the end of our time together today.

For now, if you've ever felt the pain of family rejection… take comfort. Your Redeemer has been where you are and stands as your compassionate High Priest who can fully understand your current pain with perfect love.

II - The Scribe’s Accusation

This is the bacon, which is particularly hilarious because Jews are forbidden to eat bacon.

The Big Wigs. Jesus’ family isn’t the only visiting group in town. Another group also arrives, but not from Nazareth—they come from Jerusalem. The bigwigs have crashed the party! Think about this from a modern perspective: imagine you're a troublemaker. A concerned citizen views you as a threat, so the authorities get involved. First, the local police question you, but they can’t find any fault, so they call in the state police. Since we live in North Carolina, they make a call to Raleigh, and the SBI is called in. They interrogate you more extensively. Even after you challenge some of their assumptions and unlawful tactics, they still can’t prove anything against you. But they still remain convinced you’re guilty. So, they call in some favors and involve federal agents. The full power of the Bureau is brought to bear on you. This escalation pattern is what we see happening: the Jerusalem scribes, possibly from the Sanhedrin, are called in to analyze and accuse. And accuse they did! They leveled two main charges against Jesus.

1. Jesus is possessed by Beelzebul.

2. Jesus drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.

These are serious allegations with significant consequences, so let’s examine both more closely.

Jesus is accused of being possessed by Beelzebul. Beelzebul is used here as a title for Satan, “the prince of demons.” The name probably comes from the Philistine god Baal-Zebub, meaning "lord of the flies," worshiped in Ekron (2 Kgs 1:2), although some traditions interpret it negatively as “lord of dung.” Over time, Jewish usage shifted the name to refer to the chief of demons. Scholars suggest various etymologies, including “lord of the high dwelling” or “Baal of the heavens," but in all three Synoptic Gospels, the name clearly means Satan himself. In this passage, Beelzebul is not just a demon but the leader of a kingdom of darkness that Jesus is actively defeating.

Jesus is accused of driving out demons by the ruler of the demons. As a natural consequence of #1 above, Jesus is able to perform these supernatural feats of exorcism by the power of the enemy. Let that sink in for a moment. The Jerusalem Scribes do not doubt Jesus has miraculous power. They’ve heard testimony about His ability to heal the sick, restore the broken, and free those held captive by demonic forces. They, like the crowds, believe He has the power to do these things. However, what they cannot accept is the origin of His power. Because they are ‘servants of Yahweh’ and guardians of His truths found in the scriptures… and because they refuse to accept that Jesus is God or sent from God… then they can only come to one other conclusion. Jesus is so wickedly evil that He is empowered by Satan himself.

III - Jesus’ Response

Now for the turkey: lean and nutrient-rich.

Interestingly, Jesus summons them, much like He summoned the disciples, except for one glaring difference. He summoned the apostle into a relationship. Here, He summons the Scribes to discover the truth and heed His warning of an eternal sin they are dangerously flirting with. And He does this through a parable that begins with a question: “How can Satan drive out Satan?”

Jesus starts with their accusation that He is casting out demons by demonic power. That’s like a house divided against itself, which makes absolutely no sense. As Lincoln reminded our ancestors, any organization, whether a kingdom or a household, cannot survive if there is constant fighting. If there’s conflict among the powers in a kingdom or government, it will eventually fall apart from the inside. This alone should make us pray daily for our divided nation, but I won’t go further. Similarly, if members of a household are divided and turn against each other, how can that family survive? The answer? It can’t! If family members are against one another, the family will eventually collapse. So Jesus adds, if Satan is fighting his own officers and soldiers, his kingdom can’t stand, and he will be finished (or utterly defeated). The unspoken point Jesus makes is that Satan is too clever to operate so foolishly. If anything proves this, it’s Israel’s own history! When the Israelites first became a nation in the promised land, it was divided within just three generations (Saul, David, and Solomon). If they could understand this, then they should realize that Jesus isn’t overthrowing Satan’s kingdom by using demonic power.

Binding the strong man. This then leads into another vivid illustration of Jesus’ true mission and authority. If Satan isn’t attacking his own army, and if his army is truly being devastated, then Jesus is coming against Satan’s kingdom with the power of a stronger kingdom. That is what Jesus explains in the illustration of the bound strong man. Satan has power in this world; therefore, he is described as a strong man, and he has acquired plunder for himself through his great power. In this case, his power is sin, disease, demonic possession, and death. And his plunder is God’s image-bearers whom he has taken captive. If he is that powerful, who can challenge him? If it isn’t a challenger from within his own ranks, then it must be someone more powerful from a different kingdom.

Jesus affirms His lordship by confronting and defeating Satan. The king of God’s kingdom is more powerful than the ruler of darkness. Because of this, Jesus can enter Satan’s territory, bind him, and plunder his kingdom. He began this act of plundering during the wilderness temptation and will complete His dominion rule at the cross. When He says He came to set the captives free, this is who He is freeing them from!

IV - Jesus’ Dire Warning

Finally, we have ham: savory, but salty and potentially harmful to your health in large amounts.

First, when Jesus says “Truly I tell you,” He’s not just grabbing attention—He’s letting us know, “What I’m about to say is absolutely true and deeply important.” It’s like a spiritual highlighter. This isn’t just a casual comment; it’s a moment to lean in and really listen. This phrase and others like it are only attributed to Jesus and are meant to introduce a life-changing truth, so let’s ensure that we have ears to hear what Jesus is saying to us now.

The Unpardonable Sin. In Mark 3, Jesus delivers one of His most serious warnings: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an eternal sin that “will never be forgiven.” This warning comes after the scribes repeatedly accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul… that is, by Satan himself. This well-known passage has caused much fear in the hearts of many Christians over the past 2,000 years. What did Jesus mean by this statement, and who can commit the unpardonable sin? Let’s quickly review it in its proper context.

Who is the audience?Jesus is not addressing atheists, agnostics, or followers of other religions. He is speaking to the Jewish religious leaders.

What sin is actually being discussed? To answer this, we need to examine what the Scribes are doing alongside what Jesus describes. In Jesus’ own words, when someone blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, they are guilty of an eternal sin and will not receive forgiveness. Jesus is very direct, but it’s hard to know exactly what constitutes blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is why it has caused so much confusion. That’s why we need to understand what the Scribes are doing, because Jesus is warning them directly, not the crowd or His disciples. So, what are they doing that is bringing them to the edge of such a perilous ledge?

The scribes don’t just throw this accusation at Jesus once out of anger or pride. No, the verb tense here indicates a repeated claim that Jesus was casting out demons by Satan himself. But Jesus makes it clear: His miracles are performed through the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, to continually, knowingly, and willfully attribute the Spirit’s holy work in Jesus to demonic power is to commit an act of spiritual perversion… calling good “evil” and light “darkness.”

This is not a careless slip of the tongue but a deliberate, heart-hardened resistance to the Spirit’s testimony about Christ, rooted in unbelief, pride, and defiant hostility. The scribes had seen God's works firsthand, they knew the Scriptures, and they bore unique responsibility for spiritual leadership—yet they were dangerously close to sealing themselves off from repentance by rejecting the very One who could save them. Jesus does not say they had already committed the sin, but He warns them: persistent rejection of the Spirit’s witness to the truth of Christ leaves no path to forgiveness because such a defiant, hostile, and hardened heart closes the door to grace itself.

As Daniel Akin says in his commentary on Mark —

“The unpardonable sin is to knowingly, willingly, and persistently attribute to Satan the works of God done by and in Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit, who testifies to these truths in your heart. (1) It is a sin of full knowledge. (2) It is an ongoing disposition of the heart that resists the conviction of the Holy Spirit. (3) It is a verbal act that attributes the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan. (4) It is a willful rejection of God’s grace in Jesus. (5) It is rooted in unbelief. (6) It is a sin a Christian cannot commit. (7) It is a sin not committed by one who is concerned that he may have committed it.”

So be warned of a persistent attitude of defiant hostility toward God and calling the work of the Spirit ‘evil,’ while also resting in the truth that if you are genuinely worried about whether or not you have committed this offense, it is strong evidence that you haven’t.

V - Jesus’ True Family

Finally, we reach the last slice of bread, which is directly connected to where we started.

Jesus’ earthly family cannot physically push through the crowd to talk to Him, let alone seize Him, so they send a messenger to inform Jesus that they are looking for Him. As we’ve already learned, they weren’t there to cheer Him on. They were there to forcefully remove Him from the crowd. Knowing this, and I am sure painfully so, Jesus used the division within His own family to teach the truth about His spiritual family.

As He always does, Jesus begins with a question: “Who are my mother and my brothers?”

Then, He responds with a glance. He looks around the table where His disciples are. Then He responds with his words. “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

In a culture that is highly family-oriented, this would have been a shocking response! And in this compelling reply, Jesus aims for His listeners (then and now) to grasp two essential theological truths:

Unity. This family is a unified family, as seen in their current fellowship. We also see this in the book of Acts. After Jesus’ resurrection, at least one half-brother (James) comes around and accepts that his brother is God. Mary has known this all along. We don’t know the full story about all of them. But even James entered into the spiritual family by sharing a common attribute that all the redeemed possess: they are doers of God’s will, which leads to the second point.

True followers are both Seekers and Doers. I want to be clear… this does not mean that we are saved by our works. We are saved by God's unmerited grace through faith, which is a gift given to us. Salvation is entirely God’s work on the unworthy sinner. However, that salvation is evidenced— or proven genuine— through works (which was coincidentally taught by James).

Don’t miss this. If you prayed a sinner’s prayer 10 years ago and haven’t seen any spiritual fruit since then, you need to reconsider what happened 10 years ago. Jesus is clear: His spiritual family is made up of doers of God’s will, not just knowers of God’s will. The Scribes and Pharisees knew a lot about God’s will but ended up actively rebelling against God in the flesh.

Knowledge is only part of the equation. The Spirit raises us from spiritual death to spiritual life when the gospel is proclaimed. The knowledge of God in the gospel is the mechanism of redemption. The Spirit is the Agent who does the work of regeneration. From the moment a person is awakened by the Spirit, the person’s eyes are opened to the truth of the gospel... their hard heart is replaced with a new heart... and they reach out to God in repentant faith. Then, in that moment of new creation, the person is transformed and desires to do God’s will BECAUSE they have already been set free and subsequently act from a loving and grateful heart that has been made new. That is how you know they are a genuine brother or sister.

Explaining the Sandwich

In typical Markan fashion, we’re given what scholars call a “sandwich”—a story that begins, gets interrupted by another story, and then resumes to create a layered meaning. In Mark 3, the top and bottom layers are about Jesus’ earthly family, who come to restrain Him, thinking He’s lost His mind. Sandwiched in the middle is a confrontation with the religious leaders—members of Israel’s Old Covenant family—who go beyond misunderstanding and accuse Jesus of being possessed by Satan. At first glance, these stories may seem unrelated, but Mark intentionally weaves them together to make a profound point: both groups, though very different, fail to see Jesus rightly. One misunderstands Him out of concern, the other maligns Him out of hardened rebellion. But in the end, Jesus reveals who His true family is—not those bound by biology or bloodlines, but those born of the Spirit and marked by obedience. The true family of God is made up of those who see Jesus rightly, submit to Him as Lord, and do the will of the Father.

🔥 Application:

Unity is a Marker of God’s Kingdom—So Division is Satan’s Favorite Strategy.

Wherever God is at work, Satan will try to divide what God is building. The Kingdom of God is marked by Spirit-led unity rooted in love, truth, and mission. That’s why Jesus prays in John 17, “Make them one, as We are one.” Unity is not a side benefit of the gospel. It’s a supernatural fruit of it.

So if you’re feeling relational strain, if tension is rising in your church, your marriage, your team, your community—don’t just chalk it up to personalities or politics. Recognize the spiritual battle beneath the surface. The enemy knows that division weakens witness and distracts from mission.

➤ Reflect/Challenge: So wherever you find yourself today—misunderstood by family, under spiritual attack, or tempted toward division—take heart. You belong to a stronger King. Jesus has already bound the strong man, and He stands ready to free you from anything that keeps you from walking in His will.

Now rise up—live like one who’s been set free, and take your place in the family of God.