Pastor Marq Toombs • February 21, 2021

Sermon Overview

MARK 3:22–27

Jesus says no one can enter a strong man’s house unless the strong man is first bound. Throughout the Bible there are stories of how God acts to bind the strong man, the devil, to achieve his purposes. But in Jesus, the strong man is ultimately defeated by one who became weak on our behalf.

Sermon Transcript

Grace and peace be with you from the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a pleasure to be with you today. Happy that we've all survived the Snowpocalypse of 2021, #snowvid21. Good to see you here today in person, and hopefully as we walk through this story today you will find a renewed sense of strength and grace as we encounter the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It's that time of year again when football season is over and baseball season is just getting into the swing of things, and you are reminded that basketball season is still up for grabs.

If you're extra desperate for sports and competition, you might channel surf around or get on the internet and you'll discover other fascinating sports like the one that I came across recently called the World's Strongest Man competition. Some of you might be familiar with that, but for those of you who are not familiar with it I want you to know that there's more to the competition than meets the ear.

According to the official website the World's Strongest Man competition is about more than just force. It is about stamina, skill, tactics, training, and strategy. Every event is designed to push the strong men to their absolute limits, challenging not only their physical strength, but their agility and mental toughness too. Events in this strong man competition include Atlas Stone lifts, keg toss, fridge carry, giant dumbbell press, and my favorite, the loading race.

The loading race is an event in which five objects must be carried a distance of 50 feet and then loaded onto a truck or a platform. Each of those objects weighs between 220 pounds and 360 pounds. Objects include things like anchors and chains, anvils, lobster pots, blocks of ice, wine casts, and beer kegs. Before the Snowpocalypse, I watched highlights of last year's competition and I was just fascinated by the sheer strength and stamina of these men. Now I don't care who you are, I don't care how tough and strong you think you are, unless you have a name like Jouko or Magnus or Mariusz or Yon Pol, you're a weakling. These guys are massive in their strength, but to make some of the men in the room feel better I want you to know that every single one of these image-bearing men has a massive Dad Bod. And judging by the looks of things some of us are well on our way to becoming the world's strongest men.

I learned in fact this last week that as of November 2020, the world's strongest man is a 24 year old Ukrainian man named Oleksii Novikov, Oleksii Novikov. Now what does all of that have to do with our series? Very little, very little to be honest. I simply use it because we're entering into a story in which Jesus told a parable about a strong man and I needed an on-ramp into that parable, so thank you for coming along for the ride.

The parable that we're going to explore today is one in which Jesus tells us about a strong man and not just one strong man, we find out in the story of Scripture that there is more than one strong man, and there is more than one way to measure who the strongest man in the world is.

So I'll just refresh your memory a little bit, in this series we have been looking at two things, the inability of man and the ability of God, and Jesus has pointed out to us again and again what our inabilities are. No one can see the kingdom of God, no one can enter the kingdom, no one can come to Jesus, or be taken away from Jesus or snatched out of his hand, no one can do that unless God permits it. On the other hand, God's ability is highlighted as Jesus talks about the power and the grace and the glory of God in all of His work.

And so we're living between these two poles in this series. First of all, being confronted with our weaknesses and our inability, but at the same time hearing the good news of God's ability and God's power. And today's story is no different as we hear that Jesus is able to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

So today we want to explore specifically this one phrase or one sentence that Jesus mentions in the form of a parable where He says, "No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods "unless he first binds the strong man." So we're gonna ask questions like Who is the strong man? and Why in the world would anyone want to enter his house in the first place? Much less plunder his house? And plundering sounds like it might be wrong, so why would we do that? And how could this man even be bound at all? Well, to answer these questions, I want to take you back into the Old Testament and show you a bit of the story of God's mission in the world, and I want to connect a few dots from the Old Testament coming to the New and show you some foreshadowing that brings us to the reality, which is Jesus.

In the beginning, at the beginning of creation we see that there is a strong man in the world and there's more than one strong man in the story that unfolds. In fact, the strong man comes in many shapes and sizes.

The very first strong man to enter the world was a fallen angel. He came into the world in the form of a serpent and he entered the Garden of Eden, bound Adam and Eve who were image bearers, bound them in sin, plundered their house, and then sent them into exile.

And from then on their descendants including you and me were in exile being taken captive in the strong man's house. That is the situation we all face.

As the story of the Old Testament unfolds we see other strong men rise up and threaten God's people just as the serpent did in the garden. And I'll give you a few examples.

There was a strong man named Pharaoh that enslaved God's people for many generations and he mistreated them, treated them harshly for many, many years. Another strong man called the Philistines wreaked havoc on Israel in their own backyard after they came into the Promised Land. And then another strong man whom you all know - Goliath - threatened the armies of Israel and mocked their God in the Valley of Elah. And then another strong man named King Nebuchadnezzar dragged God's people out of their land and took them off into captivity.

And so, in the Old Testament we see that time and time again different kinds of strong men appear and they oppose and they oppress God's people. They act very much like the serpent did in the garden.

By the time we get to the Gospel of Mark 3, and Jesus tells this parable, we learn that Jesus is not just pulling this idea out of thin air, this is not a figment of his imagination, Jesus is telling a truth, a universal truth that corresponds to reality. "No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man."

Now he told a parable and we might ask, well, what is a parable anyway? I was taught that a parable is simply a truth standing on its head, and as poetic as that might appear it doesn't really help define what a parable is, does it? But a parable is simply a story that Jesus tells us to put a slant on things, so he's telling the truth slant so that we look at things in a different way. The gospel helps us to see the world in a different way and helps us understand our circumstances and situation in a true and better way.

Jesus is talking about a strong man here, and so we want to ask, well, who is the strong man? Well, the strong man is none other than the serpent, the devil who steals and kills and destroys. That is the strong man in view in this parable. So from the beginning of the world til now he was known as the god of the age, the world's strongest man from generation to generation. He was a foe that no one could topple, that no one could bring down. He reigned over his house, no one was able to enter his house much less bind him up or plunder his goods. The Apostle John warns us at the end of his first letter that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one, and so the world around us is a dangerous place fraught with enemies, with forces of evil arrayed against us. This is the situation. And everyone who has ever lived from Adam forward has encountered this foe, this strong man, and everyone has met the same fate.

So why does Jesus bring up this strong man in a parable when he's being charged with doing things in the power of the devil? Well, the reason Jesus brings up the strong man is because his critics were accusing him of casting out demons in the power of Beelzebub. Now Beelzebub is a word we don't use very often, it simply means lord of the flies, lord of the flies. It's like the title of the novel that you didn't read when you were assigned to read it in high school. Remember that book? The "Lord of the Flies" — a very small book, ends in a very dark and painful way. Well, the story we're looking at today has a dark and painful beginning, but it ends in a much better way.

In the Gospel of Mark, in the first three chapters leading up to the story we just heard, we see Jesus fighting many demons and unclean spirits again and again, one after another, one round after another. And why is he doing this? Well, he's doing this because the strong man is unleashing his minions against Jesus. The strong man is feeling threatened and wants to find some way to bring Jesus down.

The critics in the story don't know who Jesus is, they don't have a clue who Jesus is other than to think he's a troublemaker because “He doesn't toe our party line. He doesn't hold our view of things. He's challenging us." And so in order for them to make themselves feel better about who they think Jesus is, they say, "Oh, he must be from the devil and he must be doing things in the power of the devil." They don't know who Jesus is, but the demons knew exactly who He was.

Now you know me well enough to know that I don't often quote Baptists, but when I do, it's usually Charles Spurgeon. And Charles Spurgeon says, "Atheism is a strange thing, even the devil never fell into that vice for the demons also tremble and believe."

In the first three chapters of the Gospel of Mark the demons that Jesus confronted shrieked and trembled in fear in his presence, and they were not shy about announcing the truth that Jesus was the Holy One of God and the Son of God. So the religious critics heard those things, but rejected them, heard those things, but did not believe them.

There's a reason why Jesus had to fight off so many demons and unclean spirit in his ministry as he entered into his mission, and the reason is because he came into the world to face off with the strong man who had taken the world captive.

And as he drew closer and closer to the strong man's house, what does the strong man do? The strong man begins to send out unclean spirits and demons, send out his minions to fight against Jesus in hopes of bringing Jesus down before he gets too close to the house, before he gets too close to the strong man. The strong man is hoping to bring Jesus down just like he's brought down everyone else whoever came upon the face of the earth. And so what we see happening is as Jesus advances on the strong man's house and on his kingdom and on his territory, the strong man grows fearful and he begins to fire everything he has at Jesus.

Now in context of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has already defeated the strong man once in the wilderness. He spent 40 days and 40 nights being tempted by the devil and overcame the devil in the power of the Spirit with the help of God's Word. And now we see Jesus fighting one minion after another, in synagogues, in villages, and in the regions surrounding Jerusalem.

The religious critics in this story cannot believe what they are seeing and hearing. It's driving them crazy, and so what did they do? They accused Jesus of doing what he's doing in the power of the Evil One. Now, here we are in the 21st century and we hear something like this, and we don't even flinch. None of you even went like, “Ooh, I can't believe they said that” because we don't understand the gravity of the situation, we don't understand the gravity of the situation.

This should shock us far more than it does. Why? Because these religious critics are actually speaking evil against the Holy Spirit. They're calling good evil and evil good, they're confusing the person and work of the Holy Spirit with the devil, they're counting the Spirit's gracious work as if it were a serpent's malicious work, and it's not only a grave sin. It is, according to Jesus, a sin that cannot be forgiven.

The Lord and giver of life should never ever be mistaken for the lord of flies. Those who do such things as Jesus says, never have forgiveness, they are guilty of an eternal sin.

Let that soak in for just a moment.

They never have forgiveness and they're guilty of an eternal sin.

Just a few moments ago we confessed our sins and our need of God's grace by appealing to the strong man who is seated at God's right hand, and then we heard the assurance of pardon hard on the heels of our confession of sin and our expression of need. We heard the assurance of pardon that says, Comfort, comfort, oh my people, my grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in your weakness. But those who chalk up the work of the Holy Spirit to the work of the devil will never hear those words of comfort and assurance, they will have to carry the guilt of their sin with them forever.

Now Jesus' defense against all of these trumped up charges from the religious leaders were simply this, "That don't make no sense!" You guys are accusing me of doing things in the power of the devil, you're accusing me of waging war against the devil in his power, that don't make no sense, right? You've all heard the expression, "United we stand, Divided we fall". You've heard the expression, "Divide and conquer" — well, so has the devil. And Jesus' point is that not even the devil would send his minions out to fight against his minions, that not even the prince of darkness would divide his house against itself. Why? Because even the devil knows that his house, his kingdom, and his identity is not able to stand under such division and internal conflict.

So, what Jesus is trying to convey to these critics around Him and to anyone who will hear is that He waged war on the devil and cast out demons and unclean spirits by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now, the question remains, Why would anyone feel the need to do this? Why did Jesus feel the need to engage the strong man in conflict or enter the strong man's house and tie him up and plunder it? What's going on in Jesus' heart and mind?

Well, as we heard earlier, from the beginning of creation till now a strong man named the devil has been wreaking havoc on the world, taking people down, making them captives of sin, threatening them with death and destruction. But God promised to send a Savior into the world to crush the serpent's head, to send a Stronger Man to catch that strong man and to plunder his goods.

And so, what we see unfolding in the story of God's mission in the world is that Pharaoh enslaved our forefathers and mistreated them in Egypt, but the Lord raised up a strong man named Moses to bring down Egypt's gods, to plunder Pharaoh's house, and to set God's people free to worship. The Philistines wreaked havoc on Israel in their own backyard, but the Lord raised up a strong man named Samson to crush his enemies and to deliver Israel from evil. Goliath threatened God's people and mocked their God in the Valley of Elah, but the Lord sent a strong man named David to strike down that giant with sticks and to cutoff his head with a sword and to lead God's people to victory. King Nebuchadnezzar dragged God's people into captivity, but the Lord raised up a strong man named Daniel who endured trials and shut the mouths of lions and brought the king to his knees and repentance. In all of these stories, those strong men who acted like the serpent were overcome by stronger men who acted in the power of Holy Spirit. Those stories were but a foretaste of things to come, they were shadows of the reality which is Jesus Christ.

The reason the strong man's house needed to be entered, the reason the strong man needed to be tied up, and the reason his house needed to be plundered is because the devil had come to steal and kill and destroy. He had taken things that did not belong to him, he had taken people that belong to God and Jesus came to fulfill God's promise, he came to take it all back. Jesus came to take the devil captive and to set the captives free. And so, like a man in black going around taking names, Jesus comes and fights his way through the strongholds into the strong man's house, and there he ties him up and he plunders his goods. And we might be asking, Well, how in the world was Jesus able to do that? How in the world was Jesus able to accomplish this impossible feat that no one before Him was able to do?

This is how he did it. Jesus bound the strong man by doing something that no one expected, that no one imagined, that no one anticipated. He allowed himself to be bound up by the strong man; He allowed himself to be spoiled by the strong man, in order that he might spoil the strong man's house.

As the Prophet Isaiah put it, He was despised and rejected by men, He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.

And the Evangelist Mark put it this way, He was bound and blindfolded. He was beaten and battered and bruised. He was crucified and condemned.

So how was Jesus able to enter the strong man's house and bind him and plunder his goods? How did Jesus do what no one else in the history of the world was able to do? He came into the world to give his life a ransom for many. And to unpack that for you, this is what it means -

It means that only Jesus was willing and able to pay the ultimate price for our deliverance.

It means that only Jesus was willing and able to do whatever it took to take down the strong man, that only Jesus was willing and able to go all the way to hell to defeat the strong man and to crush that serpent's head.

It was at the cross that Jesus descended into the sin and miseries of life, and into the death and darkness of the lowest realms of the world.

It was at the cross that Jesus showed everyone in heaven and on earth and under the earth that the weakness of God is stronger than the serpent's strength.

This is the good news of Jesus Christ:

- that Jesus is the true and better David who slew the giant with sticks and stones by the power of the Holy Spirit.

- that Jesus is the true and better Moses who broke the power of the serpent and set His people free to worship God in the power of the Spirit.

- that Jesus is the true and better Samson who stretched out his arms and smashed the house of his enemy at the cross by the power of the Holy Spirit.

- that Jesus is the true and better Daniel, the Son of Man who entered the strong man's house of suffering and shame and disarmed him and exposed him to public humiliation.

Jesus is the true and better Strong Man who struck down the old strong man by becoming weak to rescue the weak, by becoming a captive to set the captives free. And although Jesus was crucified in weakness, he lives by the power of God.

And in response to all of these things the Lord God says, "Therefore, I will divide with him a portion with the many, and He shall divide the plunder with the strong."

In other words, Jesus was rewarded with all the plunder from the strong man's house. And what is that plunder? Not the riches and wealth of the world, not the money and property of the ages, but with the heart, mind, and soul of the people of God.

Jesus led captives in his train and he gave gifts to men. And we are those captives who have been set free by the power of the [True And Better] Strong man.

Oleksii Novikov may hold the title for the World's Strongest Man in the first world in the Northern Hemisphere, but Jesus holds the title for the strongest man to ever live in the history of the world. He did what no one else was able to do, what no one else would ever be able to do, and that is, he brought down the strong man known as the devil and crushed His head.

Today as you come to the Lord's table to eat and drink with Christ and His church, consider that you are coming to the table of the mighty men of the true and better King, and you are taking your place at the Victor's table. You come by faith rejoicing in the good news that the strongest man to ever live became the weakest man to ever die, so that we who are weak might become strong, and we who are dead might live again.

Now to him who was able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Let us draw near to God in prayer.