In the sermon titled 'Parable of the Strong Man' delivered by Robert Bosley, the focus is on the teachings from Luke 11 and Mark 3 concerning the parable where Jesus illustrates His power over Satan. The sermon explores how Jesus, through this parable, demonstrates His ability to overthrow the kingdom of Satan by casting out demons, a sign that a greater kingdom has come. Jesus refutes the Pharisees' accusations that He operates under Satan's power, instead affirming that His actions are by the 'finger of God,' signifying the arrival of God's kingdom. The 'strong man' in the parable represents Satan, who holds dominion over human souls. However, Jesus, the stronger man, binds Satan and plunders his goods, symbolizing the liberation of souls from the kingdom of darkness. The sermon emphasizes the need for individuals to examine their allegiance, warning against a false sense of peace that may indicate enslavement to sin. It rejoices in the assurance that Christ's kingdom is advancing and encourages trust in Jesus' power to save and conquer spiritual enemies.

Good afternoon church. If you would please take out your copy of the scriptures and open up according to the book of Luke, the gospel according to Luke chapter 11. This afternoon 11. This afternoon we're continuing the study that we've been going through in the parables of our Lord during his earthly ministry. Last time we considered the parable of the wineskins and saw how in that parable Jesus was teaching how the coming of his kingdom in the world and his rule in the new covenant would change how God's people would live, how the worshippers of God would now live in this new age that the forms of the old could not contain the richness of the new.

Today we're going to be looking at a parable that describes another effect of the rule of God in the world, not so much in how the followers of God will live, but how followers are made. What causes someone to turn from their former life and say, I want to follow Jesus? Today we're going to look at a parable called the parable of the strongman and see how Jesus is not only bringing a kingdom into the world and expanding it but also despoiling and plundering the kingdom of his enemy. So Luke 11, beginning in 14 through 22, I'm actually first going to read the parallel in Mark, these two versions. This parallel is found in all three of the synoptic gospels, but I think Mark, the Markan version and the Lucan version go really well hand in hand.

So first the version found in Mark chapter 3. So He called them to himself and said to them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but has an end.

No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man and then he will plunder his house." And then our particular passage, Luke 11, beginning in verse 14. And he was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was when the demon had gone out that the mute spoke and the multitudes marveled. But some of them said, He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. Others testing him sought from him a sign from heaven.

But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say, I cast out demons by Beelzebub. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, He takes from him all his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoils. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this time that we can be together and be in your Word.

Lord, may you open up this parable to us and give us eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart and mind to understand these things. Lord, may you teach us wonderful things from your word. And may we be comforted by what we learn here. Amen. So The context of this parable is in the midst of a controversy about Jesus casting out demons.

These exorcisms have caught the attention of the religious leaders, and they're not happy about it. They're not happy about Jesus' growing popularity. They're not happy that he's doing these things. And they're seeking to tarnish his reputation with the people by using these miraculous abilities, particularly the exorcisms, and you're trying to twist this as evidence that rather than Jesus being the Christ, rather than him being some kind of a prophet or a messenger from God, they're actually saying that he is casting out demons as an agent of Satan. That's the argument they're making.

Now Jesus responds to their claim with what we just read, a series of really proverb-like statements, and finally this parable of the strongman. Now first the proverbial statements. Jesus immediately refutes this claim as foolish on its face. How could he cast out demons by the help of the leader of demons? He's essentially responding to them, if I'm an agent of Satan, Why am I casting out his minions if I'm one of them?

Why if I'm helping Satan oppress men, why would I free them from the oppression of Satan? Why am I fighting against him if I'm on his team? He points out it's a nonsense argument. He points out every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. A house divided against a house falls.

If Satan's divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? Any kingdom, a house, a home, a business, a church, any organization or institution of men must be united if it's going to succeed. If one part is actively working against another part of it, it will at best become ineffective. And ultimately, if left unchecked and uncorrected, it will fail and fall apart. How many nations throughout history have disintegrated because of internal division?

Kingdoms rise and fall. Often they fall because of civil strife, civil war, things like that. How many homes are destroyed because a husband and wife are at odds with one another and cannot reconcile? How many businesses fall apart because there are competing visions for what they ought to do. This general principle is true in everything that we see, every institution.

There must be some measure of unity if any institution is going to succeed. And this applies not only in the physical realm but even in the spiritual. Jesus here affirms the reality of a real Satan. There is a real enemy out there and this real enemy really has a kingdom. And his kingdom is not divided.

He and his agents, he and his followers are united in their goal to deceive and destroy men because of their hatred of God and the image of God in men. So he affirms the reality of this that there is a kingdom opposing the kingdom of God but this kingdom could not stand if it would be divided against itself and so Jesus refutes this silly notion that he's actually using the power of the devil to defeat the devil. It couldn't be because that kingdom could not endure. The Lord has come on the scene in his incarnation and with unique power He is setting free those who have been taken captive by the devil to do his will. In the context here, he admits that the followers of the Pharisees are doing something similar.

He says in verse 19, If I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? There are followers of the Pharisees who are also performing some kind of exorcism. Jesus is telling them, you must judge equally. You have to have an equal standard of judgment. If I'm using demonic power to cast out demons, what are your followers doing?

He admits they're doing something similar, but there is an inherent difference. Notice what Jesus says, If I cast out demons with the finger of God Surely the kingdom has come upon you There is something different about the way Jesus is performing these miracles None of the demons fell down before a follower of a Pharisee and trembled. None of the demons fell before a follower of the Pharisees and confessed, You are the Son of God. That never happened. Jesus has a unique and overwhelming power over the demons, over the followers of Satan.

And so he casts them out with ease. Remember there was the one story where the disciples came to Jesus, we can't do anything, we can't cast this one out. What is going on? And Jesus with a word does what the disciples could not do. Jesus had a unique authority because of who he was and what he was doing in the world.

And so Jesus easily refutes the idea that he's using demonic power to overcome the devil. Rather, his power over the forces of Satan are a sign that a greater kingdom has come into the world. He affirms the reality of yes, there is a real Satan and yes, Satan has a kingdom, but there is now a greater king and there is now a greater kingdom in this world. The language there in verse 20 is emphatic in Greek. We read here, if I cast out demons with the finger of God, but you could render it as, but If by the power of God I myself cast out demons, there's a double emphasis on Jesus himself.

There's a newness and a uniqueness to the way that Christ is doing this. He calls attention to both the means and the agent of this new power that's in the world. The means, the finger of God or the power of God. And in Matthew's parallel account, he says the spirit of God. There's a unique and new divine power at work in the world with the incarnation of the Son of God.

And the agent is the incarnate Son Himself, uniquely. No one is able to accomplish what Jesus does. How many times do we read that, that he is unique, that he is the only begotten. No one ever spoke like this man. No one has ever done what this man does.

There is a great singularity on the work and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though there are others doing similar things, he is in a class all to himself because he is not merely a prophet. He is the king of kings, bringing his kingdom into the world. And so he presents this work and this display of the power of the kingdom of God in this parable about a strong man guarding his home and his goods. Again we read here in Luke, when a strong man fully armed guards his own palace his goods are in peace But when a stronger than he comes and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoils." And again, back to the Markan version, No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man and then he will plunder his house.

First we need to consider who is who in the parable. What is what? The strong man, I think, is without question a picture of Satan. He is the ruler of the palace. He is the owner of the home, the house.

He's in his house or his palace and his goods are under his secure control. The strong man is the devil, his house is this world in its fallen state. This world where Satan has a kingdom, not in the sense that he is a true, genuine rival or threat to the kingdom of God as if he has some legitimate claim to rulership. Don't misunderstand. That's not what's being taught here.

He is a usurper. He is a rebel who has declared himself a king and is pulling away creation after himself in an attempt to overthrow God's rule. He is leading other rebels, fallen mankind, in their rebellion against the true king in a foolish and ultimately doomed rebellion. What are the goods in his palace? The goods, I believe, are people.

It's mankind. It's human souls. The goods are they who are still enslaved to their sin and ultimately, even if unknowingly, are part of the kingdom of darkness and do the will of the evil one. The human heart, unconverted and dead in its sin, is not under its own dominion, but it's under the domination of Satan. And note what Luke says here.

The strong man guards his own palace and his goods are in peace. The goods of the palace, these human souls are kept under Satan's strong hand and are by all appearance from the outside safe and secure. They are at peace. There seems to be no threat that they'll be lost or taken from his power. The human heart, as we heard this morning, suppresses the truth about God.

And in suppressing the truth that it knows about the true God, the human heart can often be at peace when it should not be at peace. Satan through his strong hand has taken captive human souls and they feel themselves to be secure. They feel themselves to be at peace. So do not be deceived today. You may feel at peace in your soul.

You may feel comfortable and secure where you are and in your own state you may have peace about your actions but just because you are at peace and your conscience is not convicting you does not necessarily mean that you are free from the dominion of Satan. You may be in fact most securely in his grip when there is peace in your conscience. You may be at peace simply because you have been so thoroughly deceived and not yet awakened to the reality that we heard about this morning. The security you may feel may not be from being free from your sin, but actually being enslaved to it. How many times have we heard people justify themselves and justify their actions by saying, well, I feel at peace about it.

My conscience is clear when they are doing what is clearly contrary to what scripture teaches. Do not let a false sense of peace lull you into a false security. Those who are dead in sin may be the most at peace in their own hearts. Because the dead are peaceful. They need to be brought to life to see reality.

That rather than the sinner being at peace, he is actually at war. He is at war against God, and he needs to be brought to life to see that reality so he can find true lasting peace. They need to be disturbed and plundered from their current master by one who is stronger and able to set them free. And that's who Jesus is in the parable, the one who is stronger than the strong man. That is our Lord Jesus Christ.

He is the one who is stronger than he is, stronger than the devil, stronger than the strong man. He is the one who comes and binds Satan in order to plunder his goods. In the incarnation, the Lord Jesus brought the kingdom or the rule of God into the world and with that kingdom began this great rescue mission. Not that souls in the old covenant weren't rescued but again things have changed with the coming of Christ and the coming of his kingdom in a greater fullness and depth and glory than the old covenant knew. And one evidence of this change is what Jesus is doing here in this passage.

He is breaking the power of Satan in these people who have been taken possession of it, literally possessed by demons. Jesus, the stronger man, has invaded the strong man's household in this world, overpowered him, bound him, and is freeing his captives. He is spoiling his house, plundering his goods. And this plunder continues to this day. This is not just a reality in the first century.

What we see here is a picture. Yes, he is literally setting people free from demonic possession, demonic oppression, but this is a description of how salvation always works, how salvation always happens. The fallen human heart is enslaved to sin and the devil and must be set free. No man frees himself from his sin. It is not possible.

The dead cannot make themselves alive. The stronger man must come and bind the oppressor and free them. And we see similar descriptions of this work of Christ throughout scripture. The most obvious parallels to this passage other than the actual parallels in the other synoptic gospels is in the book of Revelation. We see the binding of Satan so that he may no longer deceive the nations in Revelation 20.

I believe this is referring to the same thing. In the Incarnation there was a unique binding placed on the devil so that now the kingdom of God can go and spread and fill the earth as we were promised it will do. And we have the 144, 000 which is the same as the great multitude of those who are sealed and redeemed from all mankind and they follow the Lamb. They are saved, they are set free by the Lamb and His death and His resurrection in chapters 14, sorry, chapters 14 and chapter 7 of the book of Revelation. And then we have the picture of Christ himself as the rider on the white horse going forth conquering his enemies in chapter 6 and chapter 19 in Revelation.

Now, another fascinating parallel to this, I believe, is 2 Corinthians 2, 14. I don't have time to go into all the details but this I believe is one of the most incredible pictures we have of what Christ is doing in saving souls. 2nd Corinthians 2 14 reads, now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. Now we read that in the New King James Version, we may be tempted to think that what it's saying is that it means that God is causing us to triumph in Christ as if we're the victorious ones with Jesus' help. That's not what it's teaching.

Now I think, probably, don't hurt me for saying this, I think the NIV is probably the best translation of this verse. Second Corinthians 2, 14 in the NIV says, but thanks be to God who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession. That's what it's getting at. The triumph is not talking about us having victory over whatever but it's Christ's victory over the devil and over us. The triumph or the triumphal procession in Rome was what amounted to a military parade through the streets of Rome.

When an emperor or a general would have accomplished a great victory in battle There were the whole city would come out to see this triumph this triumphal procession and you would have this supposed God among men marching through or leading through the city streets riding a white horse. He who had brought salvation to those who are in darkness and now have been brought to the light of the rule of Rome. And this commander would lead the triumphal procession and his honor guard would follow him and after them would come the captives, those captured in battle, kings defeated and in chains. You would have row after row after row of those who have been made captives, led in triumphal procession following this commander who has broken them. That's what's happening here.

Christ has come as that conquering king on the white horse. He has conquered Satan. He has broken his power and he is breaking the rebel heart of everyone that he brings to himself. And he leads us in his triumphal procession. As another passage puts it, he has led captivity captive.

He has plundered the house of Satan, those who have been taken captive by the devil and he has made us instead of slaves of the devil, slaves and servants of God. He's freed a great multitude of sinners from their slavery to sin and made them servants of God. The palace of Satan is ransacked, and souls have been rescued to serve as a kingdom of priests to the true God. That's what's happened here. That's what this parable is teaching us.

That Satan has been bound and now Christ is marching forth and conquering a great host. To the praise of his glorious grace. So what do we make of this? What consequence is there for us? First we have to consider what side are we on.

I didn't even get to the verse, but the next verse in Luke 11 says, Jesus says, he who is not with me is against me and he who is not for me or does not gather with me scatters. You have only two options. There is no neutrality. This is a war where you are on one side or the other, there is no Switzerland in this conflict between God and Satan. Is God or the devil?

Is Christ or chaos? And again you may think you are secure simply because you feel at peace, but if you have not repented and bowed the knee to King Jesus, you are still at war with him no matter how you feel in your heart. True peace is found only in turning to Christ. True peace is only found in Jesus. Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Romans 5 tells us.

Secondly, we must rejoice that a greater King has come and we have a greater kingdom. A greater and more glorious kingdom has broken into this world and it is invaded and it is conquering and it will go forth and conquer. And we should rejoice to see it. Rejoice that you are a part of it. Rejoice when you see it expand.

King Jesus is this imperial king riding out to conquer and bring his rule and his law to the world. It's good for us that we're Americans. We should be thankful for that. But we should be far more grateful that we are Christians. We should be far more thankful that we have been brought into an eternal kingdom that cannot be shaken.

An eternal kingdom that will never pass away lastly if this is the power of our King He is the stronger man who has bound his enemy and is plundering his house. If that is who our King is, trust him. Trust him. Trust that he has power over his enemies. Satan, as powerful as he is, and the Bible never diminishes the power of Satan.

Don't get confused. You are not stronger than him. But Jesus is. As strong as Satan is, Christ is stronger. He is a mightier man.

He is a mightier king. He is the stronger one who is bound as enemy and defeated him. Do not let your life be ruled by the fear of Satan and of his agents, but instead let your life be ruled by the peace of Christ. Let your heart be at peace knowing that you have the stronger one on your side, that you follow him, that he rides out to conquer. Know that the Son of God is mighty and He is undefeated and He is undefeatable.

There is absolutely nothing that the enemy can do to stop him. All of our king's enemies will be made a footstool for his feet. Every enemy will be brought low. There is nothing Satan can do to stop it. Even death itself will be defeated.

And so trust him, you have this great king, this mighty man. Take your needs to him. Take your fears to him, your sins and your failures to him. He can bear it all. He can accomplish what you cannot.

He's mighty to save. And he will save. And he will forgive. And He will be glorified in this world. Trust Him and follow Him.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this parable. Thank you for this picture you've given of your son. This great and powerful servant that you've given, the servant of God that you've given in your son Jesus Christ. It was both King and servant, priest and sacrifice.

God, we're just overwhelmed at all you've done in giving your son. Oh God, we thank you that you have not left us to the power of the enemy. You've broken his power and you are rescuing souls from him. We thank you God that you've rescued us and we pray Lord that you would rescue more. Let none be here who would have a false peace.

Lord we pray that all who are here, our children, visitors, anyone who may falsely feel a sense of security, God, may you break through and rescue them. Oh, Father, may your Son break the power of Satan in their hearts and rescue them and bring them from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. And Lord, as we meditate on this thought that Your son is that strong man who has broken his enemy. Lord, may we be comforted. May we go from here in great hope, knowing that you, through your son, rule and reign.

And we follow after you. Lord, may it be a great comfort and a delight to us as we go throughout our day and our week, and we go through the difficulties and trials of life. May we be comforted knowing that we have a stronger one who goes before us and who is defeating all his enemies. Oh Lord, thank you again and may you be glorified in the rest of our day today. In Christ's wonderful name we pray, amen.

And again, for an announcement, remember the book, the family of church, the study for the month of July. I think there's still some copies out in the foyer. If you don't have one, grab one and we will begin that study next week. We are dismissed.