The spirit of Christ's answer to this malicious attack is calm, fearless, and full of light. He meets the charge with convincing and irrefutable logic.

I. THE DEFENCE. There are two elements in his argument:

1. A demonstration. It is the familiar reductio ad absurdum, such as one might use with a schoolboy. It is so simple and trenchant that it straightway becomes an attack of the most powerful kind. He treats them as children in knowledge, and convicts them at the same time of diabolical malice.

2. An inference. Here the advantage is pushed beyond the point expected. He is not satisfied with a mere disclaimer; he comes to a further and higher deduction. If it was true that he did not cast out Satan by Satan, then it must also be true that he cast out Satan in spite of the latter; and that could only mean one thing. Satan, "the strong man," must have been bound by the Son of man, else he would not suffer himself to be so "spoiled." This is at once an assurance full of comfort to his friends and a warning to his enemies.

II. POSITIONS ASSUMED IN IT.

1. The solidarity of evil.

2. The irreconcileableness of the kingdoms of light and darkness. - M.

Christ is showing that He casts out demons by a greater power than Satan's, viz., by the power of His own Godhead. This He illustrates by a comparison taken from one who forcibly enters the house of a strong man, and makes spoil of it by violent seizure of the goods and weapons that he had in his house. Such an one must be stronger than the strong man, else he cannot do it. Even so (says the Saviour) seeing that I have forcibly entered upon Satan's possession, and have bound him and spoiled his goods, i.e., taken from him that power and tyranny which he before exercised over the body of him that was possessed; and seeing I have also cast him out of his own house, i.e., out of the person possessed; hence it may appear that I have done all this by a greater power than the power of Satan is, even by the power of My Godhead. Note that —

1. Christ likens Satan to a strong man well armed, and furnished with weapons to defend himself and his house in which he dwells.

2. He likens Himself to One that is stronger than that strong man.

3. He resembles the person that was possessed with the demon to the house of the strong man in which he holds possession.

4. He resembles the power of Satan to the goods and weapons of the strong man.

5. He compares the casting out of Satan by Himself to the entering into the strong man's house, and binding of him, and spoiling of his house, etc.

(G. Petter.)

this teaches us that he is a creature of great strength and power (Luke 11:21; 1 Peter 5:8; Ephesians 6:12).

I. WHEREIN THIS POWER OF THE DEVIL IS MANIFESTED —

1. In working upon the insensible creatures — air, earth, water, etc.

2. In working upon those sensible creatures that want reason — beasts, birds, fishes, etc. He is able to enter into them and to move and work in them.

3. On the bodies of men; entering into them, hurting and annoying them, vexing and tormenting them with pain and disease.

4. On the minds, hearts, and affections of men, in tempting them inwardly, and soliciting them to sin by inward suggestion. This he does, not directly, but partly by the outward senses representing evil objects to them and so conveying evil thoughts to the mind, and partly by insinuating himself into the fancy or imagination.

II. WHAT KIND OF POWER IT IS. Not an absolute power, but limited.

III. FROM WHENCE HE DERIVES IT. From God only; and He who gave, controls it.

IV. WHY GOD GIVES HIM SUCH POWER.

1. That His own Divine power may the more appear in subduing Satan.

2. For the trial of His own children.

3. For the executing of His heavy vengeance and punishment on the wicked by Satan.

(G. Petter.)

First, "the strong man armed keepeth his palace." For indeed it is "a palace" — that soul of yours — made to be a royal habitation; and well did the King of kings furnish it for Himself. He had supplied it marvellously with all that should be for royal use and royal glory, and He had decked it with the most precious ornaments, and He set a throne there. Is it empty? No. Who sits on it? Who is supreme there over the affections? Who is that that is holding his silken reins that are as bands of iron? "The strong one" — none know how "strong" but those who try to escape, and throw off his tyranny; so "strong" that his strength is unseen, while in stillness and in silence he holds his own; so "strong" that the greatest determination of the most strong-minded man, unaided, trying to break any one of those many bonds, would be as if he were to try to uproot a mountain. And well is that strong one "armed." Not in vain has he been reading the human heart for six thousand years; not in vain are all his vast experiences. Of amazing intellect is he — of immense power — a fallen angel of light, and he can wear all aspects, and he can bear all disguises. Awful the thought — that as the Lord Jesus had His "armour" so has that strong one — wherein he rightly trusts. There are the light, glittering "darts" of pleasure, that which has slain many a mighty one. And there is the heavy "sword" of unsanctified intellect to lay low the strong-minded. And there is the "breastplate" of selfishness, wrapping the heart round in its soft indulgences. And there is "the shield" of uncharitable controversy, which irritates without convincing. And there is "the helmet" of bold presumption, starting high in its false professions; and "the girdle" of infidelity — cramping, binding, girding the very loins of the man; and "the shoes" that walk roughly, and "the spirit" that takes converse only with itself. So, for years and years, "the strong one armed" rules, and so he "keeps" his captives quiet. And it is a weeping sight before the holy angels — those noble courts of man's immortality, so trodden down, and profaned, and desolate. But "the stronger" comes; and now the fighting begins. Go with me a little way; for, thank God! that that gentle One who is so tender with weak and child-like hearts that "He will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax," is yet of such gigantic might that He, stronger than the strongest, can and will trample down all His enemies and ours under His feet, "till He brings forth judgment unto victory." See, then, how He "binds." A little while ago some straitening circumstance happened to you, and you felt strangely circumscribed. Perhaps you were confined to your house; perhaps you were laid on a sick bed — you were shut out from the scenes you loved so well — your spirit felt cramped — your life became as a galling fetter — and you chafed against the restraint which you felt, but could not overcome. You did not know or think at that time that this was the very way by which that "stronger one" was proceeding to "bind" that old, strong, self-willed, impetuous nature in you, which, rampant so many years, had done you such grievous harm — you, who were the slave of your evil passions! Or, a very heavy trial almost crushed you — not you, but the old habit — the old affection — the old man in you — which many a lighter means had been tried, and tried in vain, to subdue and to destroy. Or, a very deep humiliation visited your heart, and many a high thought of your youth was brought low — you felt it very hard; for you did not realize into what pride "the strong one" was lashing you, and what curbing that proud heart of yours needed before it could be broken. And remember, even the knocking off the prisoner's chains will give him pain, and the longer he has worn the chain the greater the pain of loosening. Now mark "the spoil." "He will bind the strong man, and then He will spoil his house." The habit of sin broken, the soul emancipated; Christ is free to claim His own property, which His own blood has purchased, and His own right hand has rescued. He had restored the property to its rightful owner. And wondrously, in His infinite love, He "divides the spoils" which He has taken. You, He gives to yourself, so that that is which was not before, nor ever could be — He has made you your own. Nevertheless, "you are not your own," but His — your own, because you are His. Your heart, which Satan bound, and He looses, He keeps all for Himself. Your fellowships, your sympathies, He allots for the Church. Your time, your talents, your energies, your charities for the world; your highest exercises of mind, for communion with Himself; your faith for the promises; your ambition for the extension of the truth, and the exalting of His own empire; your awe and love for holy worship; your soul, "bound up in the bundle of life," for heaven, and for eternity; your knees for prayer; your tongue for holy utterances; your ears for truth; your eyes to receive and emit sacred influences; your feet for mission; your whole body for saintly service. So He "divides the spoils;" and yet they are all the more one, because they are divided; for it is all for all; and all for all for Him; and all for all for Him forever.

(J. Vaughan, M. A.)

Alphaeus, Andrew, Bartholomew, Beelzebub, Boanerges, Herodians, James, Jesus, John, Judas, Matthew, Peter, Philip, Simon, Thaddaeus, Thomas, Zabdi, ZebedeeCapernaum, Galilee, Idumea, Jerusalem, Jordan River, Judea, Sea of Galilee, Sidon, TyreAble, Bind, Binds, Carry, Cords, Enter, Entered, Except, Goods, Indeed, Man's, Nay, Plunder, Possessions, Property, Putting, Rob, Round, Seize, Spoil, Strong, Ties, Unless, Vessels1. Jesus heals the withered hand,
10. and many other infirmities;
11. rebukes the unclean spirit;
13. chooses his twelve apostles;
22. convinces the blasphemy of casting out demons by Beelzebub;
31. and shows who are his brother, sister, and mother.

Mark 3:27

     4165   exorcism
     5340   house
     5598   victory, over spiritual forces
     6660   freedom, through Christ
     8483   spiritual warfare, causes
     9155   millennium

Mark 3:22-27

     3245   Holy Spirit, blasphemy against
     7464   teachers of the law

Mark 3:22-30

     3045   Holy Spirit, sovereignty
     4133   demons, possession by

Mark 3:23-27

     8738   evil, victory over

And Judas Iscariot
AND JUDAS ISCARIOT TEXT: "And Judas Iscariot."--Mark 3:19. There is something about the name of this miserable man which commands our attention at once. There is a sort of fascination about his wickedness, and when we read his story it is difficult to give it up until we have come to its awful end. It is rather significant, it would seem to me, that his name should come last in the list of the Apostles, and the text, "And Judas Iscariot," would suggest to me not only that his name was last, but …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot

'He is Beside Himself'
'And when His friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, He is beside Himself'--Mark iii. 21. There had been great excitement in the little town of Capernaum in consequence of Christ's teachings and miracles. It had been intensified by His infractions of the Rabbinical Sabbath law, and by His appointment of the twelve Apostles. The sacerdotal party in Capernaum apparently communicated with Jerusalem, with the result of bringing a deputation from the Sanhedrim to look into …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ's Relations
'Whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and mother.'--Mark iii. 35. There was a conspiracy to seize Jesus because He is 'mad,' and Mary was in the plot! I. The example for us. (1) Of how all natural and human ties and affections are to be subordinated to doing God's will. Obedience to Him is the first and main thing to which everything else bows, and which determines everything. If others compete or interfere, reject them. Out of that common obedience new ties …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Anger and Grief of Jesus
He looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts.'--Mark iii. 5. Our Lord goes into the synagogue at Capernaum, where He had already wrought more than one miracle, and there He finds an object for His healing power, in a poor man with a withered hand; and also a little knot of His enemies. The scribes and Pharisees expect Christ to heal the man. So much had they learned of His tenderness and of His power. But their belief that He could work a miracle did not …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Mistakes of Christ's Foes and Friends
'And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth He out devils. 23. And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? 24. And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27. No man can enter into a strong man's …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ's Kindred
'There came then His brethren and His mother, and, standing without, sent unto Him, calling Him. 32. And the multitude sat about Him; and they said unto Him, Behold, Thy mother and Thy brethren without seek for Thee. 33. And He answered them, saying, Who is My mother, or My brethren? 34. And He looked round about on them which sat about Him, and said, Behold My mother and My brethren! 35. For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and mother.'--Mark iii. 31-35. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Ambassadors for Christ
'And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodlans against Him, how they might destroy Him. 7. But Jesus withdrew Himself with His disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judaa 8. And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaa beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things He did, came unto Him. 9. And He spake to His disciples, that a small ship should wait on Him because of the multitude, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Necessity of Divine Influences. [*Continued]
Luke xi. 13.--"If ye, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him." In expounding the doctrine of these words, in the preceding discourse, the argument for the necessity of Divine influences had reference to the more general aspects of man's character and condition. We were concerned with the origin of seriousness in view of a future life, and the production of a sense of moral corruption and …
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

Jesus Angry with Hard Hearts
But I must not let imagination mislead me: they did nothing of the kind. Instead of this, they sat watching the Lord Jesus, not to be delighted by an act of his power, but to find somewhat of which they might accuse him. When all came to all, the utmost that they would be able to allege would be that he had healed a withered hand on the Sabbath. Overlooking the commendation due for the miracle of healing, they laid the emphasis upon its being done on the Sabbath; and held up their hands with horror …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 32: 1886

Mutual Help.
(Female Friendly Society.) S. MARK iii. 35. "Whosoever shall do the Will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and My mother." There are just two points which I want to put before you to-day. First, what you as Christian women ought to be. Secondly, how you can help each other to be so. On the first point I would ask you to remember the glory and dignity of womanhood. You get this dignity from Jesus Christ, who was born of a woman, and who said, "Whosoever shall do the Will of God, the …
H. J. Wilmot-Buxton—The Life of Duty, a Year's Plain Sermons, v. 2

The Eccentricity of Religion
"They said, He is beside Himself,"--MARK iii. 21. THE most pathetic life in the history of the world is the life of the Lord Jesus. Those who study it find out, every day, a fresh sorrow. Before He came it was already foretold that He would be acquainted with grief, but no imagination has ever conceived the darkness of the reality. It began with one of the bitterest kinds of sorrow--the sorrow of an enforced silence. For thirty years He saw, but dared not act. The wrongs He came to redress were there. …
Henry Drummond—The Ideal Life

The Hardening Operation of Love.
"Being grieved for the hardness of their heart."--Mark iii. 5. Love may also be reversed. Failing to cherish, to uplift, and to enrich, it consumes and destroys. This is a mystery which man can not fathom. It belongs to the unsearchable depths of the divine Being, of which we do not wish to know more than has been revealed. But this does not alter the fact. No creature can exclude itself from the divine control. No man can say that he has nothing to do with God; that he or any other creature exists …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Life and Character of John
"Volat avis sine meta, Quo nec votes nec propheta Evolavit altius: Tam implenda quam impleta, Numquam vidit tot secreta Purus homo purius. (Adam of St. Victor.) The Mission of John. Peter, the Jewish apostle of authority, and Paul, the Gentile apostle of freedom, had done their work on earth before the destruction of Jerusalem--had done it for their age and for all ages to come; had done it, and by the influence of their writings are doing it still, in a manner that can never be superseded. Both …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

Whether the Sin against the Holy Ghost is the Same as the Sin Committed through Certain Malice?
Objection 1: It would seem that the sin against the Holy Ghost is not the same as the sin committed through certain malice. Because the sin against the Holy Ghost is the sin of blasphemy, according to Mat. 12:32. But not every sin committed through certain malice is a sin of blasphemy: since many other kinds of sin may be committed through certain malice. Therefore the sin against the Holy Ghost is not the same as the sin committed through certain malice. Objection 2: Further, the sin committed through …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

The Great Schism
If a house be divided against itself.--Mark iii, 25. From such a revival as that of the Great Awakening, parties must of necessity arise. Upon undisciplined fanaticism, the Established church must frown. But when it undertook to discipline large numbers of church members or whole churches, recognizedly within its embracing fold and within their lawful privileges, a great schism resulted, and the schismatics were sufficiently tenacious of their rights to come out victorious in their long contest for …
M. Louise Greene, Ph. D.—The Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut

The Abrogation of the Saybrook Platform
That house cannot stand.--Mark iii, 25. The times change and we change with them.--Proverb. The omission of all persecuting acts from the revision of the laws in 1750 was evidence that the worst features of the great schism were passing, that public opinion as a whole had grown averse to any great severity toward the Separatists as dissenters. But the continuance in the revised statutes of the Saybrook Platform as the legalized constitution of the "Presbyterian, Congregational or Consociated Church," …
M. Louise Greene, Ph. D.—The Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut

The Apostle Judas
"And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed Him." MARK 3:19 (R.V.) THE evidential value of what has been written about the apostles will, to some minds, seem to be overborne by the difficulties which start up at the name of Judas. And yet the fact that Jesus chose him -- that awful fact which has offended many -- is in harmony with all that we see around us, with the prodigious powers bestowed upon Napoleon and Voltaire, bestowed in full knowledge of the dark results, yet given because the issues of …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Withered Hand
"And He entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had his hand withered. And they watched Him, whether He would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse Him. And He saith unto the man that had his hand withered, Stand forth. And He saith unto them, Is it lawful on the sabbath day to do good or to do harm? to save a life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their heart, He …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Characteristics of the Twelve
"And He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, and to have authority to cast out devils: and Simon He surnamed Peter; and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and them He surnamed Boanerges, which is, Sons of thunder; and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeaus, and Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot which also betrayed Him." MARK 3:14-19 (R.V.) THE pictures …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Christ and Beelzebub
"And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when his friends heard it, they went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, He is beside Himself. And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and, By the prince of the devils casteth He out the devils. And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if an house be …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

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