I watched with great pity the man named ‘Slappy.’  The scowling face he wore did not look happy.

Each meal brought a struggle his way – With his right hand he’d try to eat, but the left hand slapped his food away.

The battle for food, starvation setting in – Little wonder this man is thin.

A withered man, hungry for food – If only his left hand weren’t so rude.

A simple fix with rope and a twist – tie his left hand back by the wrist.

“The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul,’ and ‘He casts out the demons by the ruler of demons.’  So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: ‘How can Satan drive out Satan? If a Kingdom is divided against itself, that Kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come.  In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up.  Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.”  Mark 3: 22 – 27

It’s not about us, really…

I’ve seen this passage preached to mean that we can bind the ‘strong man.’  However, I don’t believe that to be an accurate accounting of Jesus’ words here.

Jesus is talking about kingdoms – specifically, Satan’s kingdom.  After all, He was just accused of being in league with the ruler of demons.

Jesus moves away from the obvious logical fallacy to then talk about binding the strong man and plundering his house.

Jesus’ Purpose:

In a succinct mix of imagery, Jesus sums up what He is going to do to Satan.  Jesus’ story is warning to Satan of his own impending doom where Jesus will come, bind him up and then take back what is rightfully His – us.

Justice for All:

For us, this passage offers hope.  During Jesus’ earthly ministry, he focused on a message of restoration.  He restored people’s health, hope, and even life.  He bound the demons possessing people and cast them out.

All as a foreshadow of what is to come when He returns to bind up the strong man and bring final restoration to His kingdom.  The hope this offers is that sense of final and ultimate justice where the author of evil will be brought to justice, found guilty and bound up for all eternity.

[KiwiClickToTweet tweet=”The hope of justice – the author of evil will be brought to justice & found guilty #Godislove #Godwins ” quote=”The hope this offers is that sense of final and ultimate justice where the author of evil will be brought to justice, found guilty and bound up for all eternity.  “]

It’s making all things right for the people who didn’t get their ‘day in court’ here on this earth.

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