Luke 11:14-23, And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” Others, to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So, they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed. But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.”
I grew up in a neighborhood where we locked our doors at night. It wasn’t always that way. I remember hearing adults talk about times when we didn’t need to lock our doors, much less take the measures we do today. We even have to have security plans for church worship services! We all guard our houses. Just as God is guardian over His kingdom, you can be sure that Satan guards all that He seems to own. In this parable of Luke 11, we see Satan as the strong man. Jesus comes along, is stronger, and defeats and plunders Satan’s possessions. The easy implication here is that Jesus can not only defeat Satan, but He can even restore those who have been victimized by Satan.
Satan is strong, but Jesus is easily stronger. Satan’s power is real and should never be “over” or “under” estimated. While we may be no match for Satan, Satan will never be victorious over God. So, the choices we make in regard to our loyalty and dedication matter greatly here. We are at war with Satan, but we are the property of one immeasurably more powerful in God. Ephesians 6:10 points out very clearly that we are only “strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”
Not only is Christ defensive of us, He can and will attack Satan. Wouldn’t you like to be a fly on that spiritual wall! Interestingly, Satan was defeated by the sacrificial nails driven through that hands of our innocent Savior. The work was completed when Christ finally gave His life on that cruel cross of Calvary for our sins. On a spiritual calendar seen only by the father, (Matthew 23:46) we all wait for the perfect time when all of this culminates in the complete and final victory for God’s people. One day the wrath of God will bring Satan to eternal task for the sin he has wrought in this creation, and all of his devices and schemes will fail.
Once Satan is defeated his loot will be divided up among those found victorious. Jesus will return what Satan has stolen. The blessing here is that we don’t have to wait for every blessing. We can accept salvation today.
Some might ask what Satan has taken from us. It’s an interesting question, and space in this article will not allow me to name every item, but here are a few. He has stolen our dignity, purity, integrity, honesty, freedom, hope, value and even our eternity. Satan can only give us pain, degradation, hate, and apathy. Once we have sold out to Satan, we are helpless and enslaved. The grace of God is a gift of the most magnificent value. It is not only a restoration of my current items, but the gift of a future with Him. Far away from the turmoil, fear and disgust of life in servitude to the devil. Do you feel the weight of the pain and abuse Satan has heaped upon your life? Do you have the unavoidable hopelessness of indentured slavery to hell’s master? If you are such a person, you have but to call on the name of Christ through acceptance of His word, (Romans 10:17, John 8:32) believing in Jesus, (Hebrews 11:6, John 20:31) repenting of your sins, (Luke 13:3, Acts 17:30) confession of Jesus as Lord, (Romans 10:10, Matthew 10:32) being baptized for the forgiveness of your sins, (Galatians 3:27, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38) and living a life of true faith. (Revelation 2:10) Freedom is easily found through the active acceptance of a relationship with God! Godspeed…