It was June 18, 1815, the Battle of Waterloo. The French under the command of Napoleon were fighting the Allies (British, Dutch, and Germans) under the command of Wellington. The people of England depended on a system of semaphore signals to find out how the battle was going. One of these signal stations was on the tower of Winchester Cathedral. Late in the day it flashed the signal: "W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N---D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D- -." Just at that moment one of those sudden English fog clouds made it impossible to read the message. The news of defeat quickly spread throughout the city. The whole countryside was sad and gloomy when they heard the news that their country had lost the war.
In a moment, I am going to say a word. When I say the word, I want you to think of a person. Okay, are you read? The word is “captive.” Do you have a person in your mind? A person all bound up and in captivity or in prison?
One of the most exciting stories in the Bible occurs in the OT book of Judges. The story is told of a man who had supernatural strength from God. He could lift huge metal gates effortlessly, rip ropes tied around his wrists, kill lions bare handed, and defeat overwhelming foes. It could be said that Samson is truly one of the strong men of the OT.
Recently, the world’s finest athletes assembled to participate in the ultimate competition: the Olympics. In Olympics, all of the abilities of the athlete are put to the test. Only the best and the bravest athlete will go home with the prize. On a worldwide scale, the Olympics is the ultimate strong man contest.
Today lets read about another strong man contest found in the gospel of Mark and in chapter 3:22-27. Let's read.
22 “And the scribes the ones from Jerusalem after coming down were saying, "He has Beelzebub" and "By the ruler of demons he drives-out the demons." 23 And he after calling them in parables he was speaking to them, "How is Satan able to drive out Satan?" 24 "And if a kingdom upon itself might be divided, that kingdom is not able to stand." 25 "And if a house upon itself might be divided, that house is not able to stand." 26 "And if Satan rose upon himself and has been divided, he is not able to stand but he is terminated. 27 "But no one is able into the house of the strong after he entered to plunder his vessel, if not first he bound the strong man.”
I.RECEIVING THE ACCUSATION (22)
In the middle ages, the flickering lights of marsh gas were, for many people, fairies or goblins; fireflies were the souls of unbaptized dead infants. Many thought sorcerers and ghosts manipulated human lives. Astrology was used to explain things. For example, the University of Paris concluded that the bubonic plague of 1340s-50s was due to the conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars.
Long before the middle ages, in the small corner of the world called Palestine, Emissaries from the Great Sanhedrin had come to determine if Capernaum was indeed a “seduced city” under the influence of a magician. This group of investigators sought to uncover whether or not speculation abut this Jesus of Nazareth was true. Reports went out that Jesus could perform incredible miracles. But it was also reported that he taught things contrary to the law and scribal tradition. The emissaries arrive in Capernaum and come face to face with their sorcerer.
“You are possessed by Beelzebub and you cast out demons by the ruler of demons” is the accusation against Jesus. Their accusation lingers in the air: Jesus is possessed by Beelzebub.
The thunder of this accusation has been lost over several hundred years. To say someone is of Beelzebub today does not contain the same meaning? But in those days it was a deadly insult.
So who is this Beelzebub? Well that’s a good question. The word itself comes from the ancient world of the Cannanites. Literally it is translated as the “lord of the flies” or perhaps “lord of the heavens” depending on whether the word is Beelzebub or Beelzebul. It was a derisive term to the Jewish people. Beelzebub was the god of the Philistines. He was the god of Ekron.
This was the God that King Ahaziah had sought, when he had fallen from the lattice work in 2 Kings 1:1-18. Sending out messengers to find out from Beelzebub if he would survive, the messengers were intercepted by a mysterious man. Dressed in strange clothing, he spoke to the king’s messengers: “Is it because there is no God in Israel that the king has done this? Because he has done this he will not survive–but die.” The messengers so startled by the news immediately turned around and reported what they heard to the king. The king enquired of this man. They told him of his strange clothes. Instantly the king named the mysterious man. It was Elijah the Tishbite. King Ahaziah commanded that fifty men be sent to bring Elijah back. But when they got to the prophet, fire descended from heaven and consumed them. A second envoy was sent, and they too were consumed. Finally the last group arrived, and their leader begged for mercy. God had pity on the man, and ordered Elijah to go with him. Elijah arrived in the King’s palace. He stood before King Ahaziah and said: “Is it because there is no God in Israel you have sought out Beelzebub? Because of this you will not survive, but you will die.” First Kings chapter one verse seventeen says that indeed the king died.
There is the charge–the accusation: Jesus is possessed by Beelzebub the pagan god of the Philistines and the enemy of Yahweh the God of Israel. Who could imagine? Who could ever think that even Jesus himself was being accused of such a thing? We should not be too surprised since he prophesied of such things. He even prophesied that we too would experience such things.
But if we too are to experience such things, I wonder when is the last time you were accused of being of Beelzebub? What enemy has seen your work for Christ and brought accusation. Some may say, “Enemy? I have no enemies I am a Christian.” I am reminded of an old poem by Charles Mackay (1814-1889):
You have no enemies, you say?
Alas! my friend, the boast is poor-
He who has mingled in the fray
Of duty, that the brave endure,
Must have made foes! If you have none,
Small is the work that you have done;
You’ve hit no traitor on the hip;
You’ve dashed no cup from perjured lip;
You’ve never turned the wrong to right-
You’ve been a coward in the fight!
If we are to do the work of Christ, then we will also share in his fate–we too will experience accusations like these.
II.RESPONDING TO THE ACCUSATION (23-26)
Since we too will experience such things. The question is, How would we personally respond? If someone were to accuse you of something awful, how would you respond? What would you do?
Facing arrest as an Anabaptist, Dirck Willems fled for his life across a frozen lake. When his pursuer broke through the ice, Willems gave up his chance to escape by turning to save his persecutor. He was then captured, imprisoned and burned at the stake in 1569.
Willems’ response seems a little out of the ordinary. Sometimes the temptation for us is to seek revenge or to refuse the responsibility of forgiveness. Some may say, "I can forgive, but I cannot forget." But it was Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) who once said that saying that is only another way of saying, "I will not forgive."
So what happened. How did Jesus respond? What did Jesus do? Did he strike back at the accusers? Did he spray them with fire from heaven? Well not exactly. Jesus responded to their attacks with three statements.
First, Jesus asked them, “How can Satan drive out Satan?” Secondly, “How can a Kingdom divided against itself stand?” Thirdly, “How can a house divided against itself stand?”
What do those statement mean? How do they apply to the scribes accusation against Jesus? One of the big stories in the mid-nineties that you may recall being on all the TV news broadcasts was the concern for a dying species of owl in the Northwest called the Spotted Owl. The concern was that the logging being done in the area was actually destroying the species. But according to a Newsweek article published in November of 1996, research showed that the owl’s greatest enemy was not coming from the loggers but somewhere else. For the past fifteen years, the barred owl has migrated westward rapidly. Barred owls, which used to live exclusively east of the Mississippi, compete for the same food as spotted owls but are more aggressive and adaptable. The great enemy of the spotted owl did not in fact come from without–i.e. the logging industry–but was actually from within–a similar species competing for the same area.
What is Jesus saying here? What is he talking about kingdoms and houses? Why can’t Satan drive himself out, or a kingdom be divided, or a house be divided? The answer–if a kingdom or a house is divided, or if owls are competing for the same area, then there is not without but their enemy is within. The unity of the organization has been compromised and eventually the entire thing will fall. It will be, in the words of Jesus, “terminated” or “finished.”
The unity of the structure must be maintained. If Satan has turned upon himself, then he must be finished. But he is not finished and therefore the scribes are simply wrong. Their accusation is absurd.
III. REVERSING THE ACCUSATION WITH PARABLE (27)
But the question remains: if Jesus is not of Beelzebub, then who is he? Where does his power come from if not from magical arts? How does he drive out demons if not by the ruler of demons? Jesus in one verse, twenty-seven, attempts to answer that entire question.
This is the story of Mr. Strong. Mr. Strong lived in a palatial manor. He lived in a palace. In this palace were great treasures he had plundered from his enemies. He held them in this impenetrable fortress. People from miles around would love to have stolen his treasures, but they could not, for he was Mr. Strong. No one was as strong as him, and therefore his treasure remained. One day a knock came at the door of his mansion. He opened the door and a strange mysterious figure emerged. Walking through the manor this individual saw all his treasures. But realizing that Mr. Strong was mighty, he knew the only way to take his plunder was to first bind him. So he did. He bound up Mr. Strong, and walked away with all the booty, the treasure, of his fortress.
What does this strange parable that Jesus told mean? Who is Mr. Strong and what about this strange visitor? And what does this have to do with the accusation made against Jesus about being possessed by Beelzebub?
Well the mystery of this parable would remain as such unless one looked at the allegory from the background of two ancient Hebrew verses found in Isaiah 49:24-25:
“Can plunder be taken from warriors, or captives rescued from the fierce? 25 But this is what the LORD says: "Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save.” (NIV)
This passage enlightens the reading of this mysterious parable. With the text the details of the parable become obvious. So what is it? Who is Mr. Strong? Who is the mysterious man? What are these treasures he steals? Why does he bind him up?
Well let's start with the mysterious visitor. Who was he? The mysterious visitor is none other than Jesus. Who is the strong man? He is non other than Satan. Jesus then binds the strong man, and he is able to plunder his palace. But what are these treasures? They are in fact people. They are captives. People held captive under the power of Satan, and Jesus is their deliverer. Only a stronger man could defeat Mr. Strong. Jesus is in fact Mr. Strongest. He is the man who enters the strong man’s house and sets frees the captives of Satan.
Jesus is the winner of the ultimate strong man contest. But what does that have to do with the accusation about Beelzebub? Well, obviously if Jesus is the man who goes into Satan’s palace and binds him up and defeats him, then it is impossible for Jesus to also be possessed by him. Therefore Jesus proves that he is not possessed by Beelzebub and he does not do miracles by the ruler of demons.
Alright now I want you to remember the face of the person you associated with captivity or prison. Now, I want you to imagine, that you are the person in captivity or in prison. Do you have it? Here is the bad news: there is no way to get out of that bondage or captivity. Here is the good news. Jesus is the strongest man who comes in and sets the captive free.
Remember the story I started at the beginning? The story about Wellington Defeated. That is not the end of that story.
Suddenly the fog lifted, and the remainder of the message could be read. The message had four words, not two. The complete message was: "W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N- - -DE-F-E-A- T-E-D- - -T-H-E- - -E-N- E-M-Y!" It took only a few minutes for the good news to spread. Sorrow was turned into joy, defeat was turned into victory! The strongest man has won!
