Wednesday Sermon: “Satan Is Done For” – On Binding the Strong Man

Pastors have a frequent question when they begin to discover mimetic theory. “That’s great. But how does it preach?”

Reverends Tom and Laura Truby show that mimetic theory is a powerful tool that enables pastors to preach the Gospel in a way that is meaningful and refreshing to the modern world. Each Wednesday, Teaching Nonviolent Atonement will highlight Tom and Laura’s sermons as an example of preaching the Gospel through mimetic theory.

This sermon, The House of the Strong Man, highlights Jesus’ statement about “binding the strong man.” Tom and Laura show that the “strong man” refers to Satan. For mimetic theory, Satan is the human principle of accusation. Tom and Laura reveal that Jesus’ mission was to “bind the strong man” and that through Jesus “Satan is done for.” They claim, “There is no room for accusation in the kingdom Jesus brings. A huge gap separates accusation and love.” This sermon guides us to move away from the satanic spirit of accusation and into the kingdom of love that Jesus brings.

Year B, Pentecost 2
June 7th, 2015
By Thomas L. and Laura C. Truby
Mark 3:20-35, (Common English Bible, copyright 2011)

The House of the Strong Man

Everywhere Jesus goes people flock to him and he heals them. Doctors are always in demand! It gets to the point where “whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, ‘You are the Son of God!’” even though Jesus sternly ordered them to not reveal his identity. Very strange and sure to attract the authorities!

The first three chapters of Mark record all kinds of things that have happened prior to Jesus returning to Capernaum and when he does return, the crowds who gather at this house are so thick, he and his disciples cannot even eat. From Jesus’ family’s point of view, Jesus is saying things and doing things he is not supposed to do and it is going to get him into trouble. They are afraid for him and tell everyone they think he is out of his mind. They have come to take control and take him back to Nazareth.

Already he has attracted the legal experts from Jerusalem who over and over say, “He’s possessed by Beelzebub. He throws out demons with the authority of the ruler of demons.” It is a very dangerous accusation and the family is right in being concerned.

Jesus calls the legal experts to him and speaks to them using the language riddle. In Mark a parable is used more in the sense of a riddle. The family looks on in horror as Jesus addresses his accusers. They’re thinking, “Don’t talk to those people! You will just get into more trouble!”

“How can Satan throw Satan Out?” he asks. “A Kingdom involved in civil war will collapse. And a house torn apart by division will collapse. If Satan rebels against himself and is divided, then he can’t endure. He’s done for.” What is the meaning of this riddle? Is Satan pitted against himself?

He most certainly is! Let me explain. In the New Testament Satan is the accuser, the one who points the condemning finger. Satan stirs people through accusation setting people against each other. He whispers, “You are good, and he is evil. You must push him to the margins or get rid of him to make the world safe.” Each side says this of the other and so both sides are thrust into conflict. To keep this conflict from spreading and destroying everyone, Satan then uses accusation to contain it. We fight fire with fire and it works. It worked in World War I and II and in the wars since but it is inherently unstable and never provides a lasting solution. It is accusation throwing out accusation and in the process always breeding more accusation. This is how Satan throws out Satan. Jesus knows that such division cannot last and will inevitably collapse. Jesus says, “If Satan rebels against himself and is divided, then he can’t endure. He’s done for.”

Satan is done for. He can’t endure. Accusation and division are on the way out and something new has already come to take his place and he stands among us. Jesus is his name. That sounds wonderful but how does Jesus expect to accomplish this? In verse 27 Jesus’ riddle shifts to address this question. It is a strange image that has baffled people for centuries.

He says, “No one gets into the house of a strong man and steals anything without first tying up the strong man.” Our Modern English Version of the Bible uses the term “strong person” but I don’t like it. The translators are trying too hard to be politically correct. I prefer the punch of “strong man” used in other translations. “No one gets into the house of a strong man and steals anything without first tying up the strong man.” How will Jesus tie him up?

The strong man is Satan and the human species lives in his house. We all live in the house of accusation. Every system in our culture is filled with anxiety and the fear of being blamed and attempts at protecting ourselves from it. Jesus is going to steal us out of this house but first he must tie the strong man. In a strange twist of metaphor Jesus names himself as the burglar. The world belongs to the strong man and Jesus will tie him up so that he can steal humanity from his clutches. Can you see why Jesus’ family thinks he has gone out of his mind?

And the way he ties the strong man, oh, this is almost beyond imagination! Jesus allows the strong man to point his accusing finger at Jesus and condemn him, but God vindicates him by raising Him up. Jesus does not kill the strong man, though the gospel is clear that he could, but instead allows himself to be killed by the strong man. This reveals the strong man’s accusing way and the revelation ties his hands. Binding the strong man happens as his accusing way is shown for what it is. In fact, part of the work of the Holy Spirit in history is showing how the accuser works thereby binding him.

In verse 28 and 29 Jesus again shifts his riddle leaving us bewildered. He begins, “I assure you that human beings will be forgiven for everything, for all sins and insults of every kind.” It is a flat and comprehensive pronouncement of forgiveness directed to all human beings. In the next verse he says, “But whoever insults the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. That person is guilty of a sin with consequences that last forever.” This verse has been a source of anxiety for millions of people who ask themselves if they have sinned against the Holy Spirit and condemned themselves for eternity. But notice that the preceding verse says all are forgiven. To be consistent verse 29 can’t refer to human beings. It refers to the Satan, the strong man. The strong man is the one condemned eternally. When it says, “that person is guilty of a sin with consequences that last forever” that person is the Satan; no particular human being at all.

There is no room for accusation in the kingdom Jesus brings. A huge gap separates accusation and love. They are diametrically opposed to one another and that will never change. Unlike the strong man, Jesus and the Spirit he set loose, does not accuse. In fact, throughout the New Testament the Spirit is the advocate for the accused. Accusation, the pointing finger, is characteristic of the strong man’s house and Jesus has stolen us out of there.

At this point Jesus’ family arrives. They stand outside and pass the word in to have Jesus come to them. The scene inside has a crowd seated around Jesus with Jesus in the middle. In a sense three concentric circles surround Jesus. There are those on the inside listening to Jesus, taking in what he has to say and wanting to learn from him. There is no accusing finger here. Their feeling toward Jesus is positive and receptive.

On the outside of this inner circle stands Jesus’ family accusing Jesus of being out of his mind. They believe they are protecting Jesus from the danger they know is gathering against him. And then beyond this circle the legal authorities from Jerusalem gather and they point their finger saying “he is possessed by Beelzebub,” the ruler of demons. Their accusation carries the threat of death.

We currently live in a world of accusation to the extent that we live in the world; nation against nation, politician against politician, sometimes spouse against marital spouse, brother against sister. The courts are full of it and we buy insurance to protect ourselves. But Jesus stands in the middle of the finger-pointers at the center of history and around him sit those who find him life-giving. No accusation disturbs their peace and all look to Jesus as their model. He tells them accusation is done for; tied up and defeated by love. He asks us to become his family by living his non-accusing love in the world. When we do he says we are his brothers and sisters and join him in defeating the power of accusation, the power Mark’s gospel calls “the House of the Strong man”. Amen.

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