Matthew 12:29
Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
Jesus spoke these words after healing a demon-possessed man who was blind and dumb, answering the Pharisees and rulers who charged that He cast out devils through Beelzebub. The strong man is Satan, who must first be bound and restrained before his house can be plundered, his goods spoiled, and his captives freed. Christ binds him in his own house by casting out devils through the Spirit of God and by works of healing no man could do, proving the kingdom of God is come, for a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, so all who refuse to gather with Him scatter abroad. That binding was secured when Christ met Satan as humanity's Champion and overcame him victory after victory, with the decisive conflict in Gethsemane deciding the mastery of the earth and the fate of the human race, a triumph marked by His resurrection that opens the way for millions to become more than conquerors through Him. To call that work of the Holy Spirit the work of the devil cuts off the channel by which God works on the heart and cannot be forgiven, while speaking against Jesus Himself in ignorance can still be washed away if the soul repents and believes. There is therefore no middle ground, for God's people must show their colors as separate from sin and must not confuse Christ's work with Satan's counterfeit, which though disguised as truth is exposed by its fruit.
Setting and Meaning
Jesus spoke these words immediately after healing a demon-possessed man who was both blind and dumb, in direct answer to the charge of the Pharisees and rulers that He cast out devils through Beelzebub, the prince of devils. The strong man is Satan, who must first be bound and restrained before his house can be entered and spoiled, his goods plundered, his captives freed, and what he holds reclaimed.
He binds the strong man in his own house by casting out devils through the Spirit of God, thereby overpowering Satan in order to free those Satan holds. This binding was wrought by the holy power of God manifested in works of healing which no man had done or could do and which could not be evaded or attributed to natural causes. Such deliverance proves that the kingdom of God is come, for a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, so the claim that this deliverance was done by Beelzebub is false. Refusal to cooperate with Christ in this work of relieving the afflicted puts priests and rulers against Him, scattering abroad instead of gathering with Him.
At the time of this answer Jesus spent entire nights in prayer and by day was so thronged by great companies that He took no time even to eat. His friends felt He was wearing Himself out by incessant labor and were unable to account for His attitude toward the Pharisees, and some feared His reason was becoming unsettled. His brothers had no sympathy with His work but felt keenly the reproach of relation to Him and knew the tumult His words and works created. They were alarmed at His bold statements and indignant at His denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees, and decided He must be persuaded or constrained to cease such labor and induced Mary to unite with them to prevail upon Him to be more prudent. The verse allows no middle ground in serving Christ, for God's elect must show their colors, be a peculiar people separate from sin, and depart from all iniquity.
Victory Over Satan
The strong man must be bound and driven out, and that binding would come through winning the final conflict in Gethsemane. Satan's last attempt to gain mastery of the earth depended on winning that conflict. Its outcome would decide whether Satan gained the mastery or Christ won the kingdoms of the earth, and whether the human race would be lost. Christ had power to bind Satan and to strip him of his goods, and the resurrection marks that victory.
That conflict was with a strong and crafty foe armed with deception and falsehood. As humanity's Champion, Christ met him and overcame him with victory after victory. Those victories exalted humanity and left the way open for people to become more than conquerors through His merits. Through His triumph millions can share the victory and become victors with Him in His kingdom. Binding the strong man is restraining and resisting his power before his hold can be overcome. All heaven is working to do this, with God's angels restricting the enemy's power while people are tested until every person is fully tested and tried.
Warning Against Rejecting Light
To ascribe the casting out of devils to Beelzebub, the prince of devils, is to cut the sinner off from the fountain of blessing. It rejects the Spirit by whom God works upon the heart and cuts off the channel by which God communicates with the soul. Once that channel is cut, the soul is placed where repentance and faith cannot come, and when the Spirit is finally rejected there is nothing more that God can do for the soul. To speak against Jesus Himself without discerning His divine character can still be forgiven, because through the Holy Spirit the sinner may yet be brought to see the error and repent. Whatever the sin, if the soul repents and believes, the guilt is washed away in His blood; but wilfully to declare the Spirit's work to be from Satan is the sin against the Holy Ghost.
Those healing works were wrought by holy power in a way no man had done or could do, and they could not be evaded or attributed to natural causes. To call them the works of the devil is to charge Christ, the Son of God and the world's Redeemer, with being in league with hell, to speak of Him as a mere human being, and to use the talent of speech to abuse Him. Such an accusation rejects the evidence of God's power in Christ and shows refusal to turn from set purposes. Words so spoken in unbelief are written by the recording angel in the books of heaven. When they are spoken with stubborn, sullen, ironhearted determination to close the eyes to all evidence, they are the unpardonable sin, with no forgiveness in this world or in the world to come.
The contrast between Christ and Beelzebub warns against confusing God's work with Satan's work, whether by treating the work of Christ as Satan's or Satan's work as God's. Satan can disguise his work to resemble truth and righteousness, but his counterfeit falls short of God's work and is exposed by its fruit. The rebuke belongs to those in that day who opposed His work and showed the spirit of Satan, for the strong man whose house is plundered only after he is bound stands behind such opposition. That same oppressive, unjust spirit is seen in people separated from God who resist the Holy Spirit and oppress others.