He Entered the Strong Man’s House
by Howard Reagan
via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 19 No. 2, June 1993
"Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house" (Matthew 12:29).
Before Jesus came into this world, all people of accountable age were under the condemnation of sin, not because of Adam’s sin, but because they (each one) had sinned and therefore had been separated from God. Every soul had come under the power of Satan by virtue of the effectiveness of his deceptive work. Satan could rightly claim that every soul belonged to him. Man was utterly helpless, in and of himself, to redeem himself. Satan reigned supreme in this world.
This is where the grace of God came in. God, in his love and mercy, sent forth Jesus Christ as His beloved Son for the very purpose of suffering the pangs of spiritual death as a sacrifice for all mankind. He suffered the penalty of spiritual death, which was due to all of us. Jesus had no sin Himself, but He took our sins upon His spotless soul and died as a sinner in our place.
When Jesus came into the world, He entered the "strong man’s house" (Satan’s realm). Satan was the ruler of this world (John 12:31). He had everyone under his control because all had bowed to his rule. When Jesus came to redeem man, He had to challenge and defeat Satan (the strong man) to accomplish His purpose. Jesus would have to defeat him in open conflict before He could "carry off his property" (free those who were his captives). This is precisely what Jesus did.
Satan tried on several occasions to defeat the purpose of Jesus by putting Him to death. He finally succeeded when the Jewish rulers prevailed upon the Roman authorities to have Him crucified. By putting Jesus to death, Satan had delivered his "Sunday punch," his most devastating blow. He must have been celebrating and congratulating himself on what he thought was the final and ultimate victory. But on the third day (after his burial), Jesus came forth from the tomb, alive, never to experience death again. In His resurrection, He triumphed over all the power of Satan. "He had disarmed the rulers and authorities and He made a public display of them" (Colossians 2:15). He destroyed Satan’s power over death and provided everyone a means of victory (Hebrews 2:14). It is now Jesus who has the power over death (Revelation 1:18).
While it is true that Satan succeeded in putting Jesus to death, in reality Jesus gave His life willingly for you and for me, for all mankind (Hebrews 2:9). While Satan thought he had gained the complete victory in putting Jesus to death, it was by the means of that death and His resurrection that Jesus destroyed the power of Satan and gained the freedom of those held captive.
It is clear that Jesus came, entered the "strong man’s house," and attacked the strong man. Since Jesus was stronger than the strong man, He wholly and decisively defeated him. He bound the strong man, and then He was able to "plunder his house." As a result of Jesus’ surpassing victory, we can be assured of the complete and final victory in Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. Thanks be unto God!
Don’t you want to be on the winning side?
