Mark 3:27
in Mark 3Indeed, no one can enter a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But no one can enter into the house of the strong man, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
KJV
No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
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This verse in Mark 3
Commentary
16 notes on this verseFor as in the beginning he enticed man to transgress his Maker's law, and thereby got him into his power; yet his power consists in transgression and apostasy, and with these he bound man [to himself]; so again, on the other hand, it was necessary that through man himself he should, when conquered, be bound with the same chains with which he had bound man, in order that man, being set free, might return to his Lord, leaving to him (Satan) those bonds by which he himself had been fettered, that is, sin.
This site's exposition
So Jesus called them together and began to speak to them in parables
on Mark 3:23-27
In the strong man picture, no one can enter a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Each exorcism shows Satan bound.
This site's exposition
first ties up the strong man
Augustine identifies the strong man as the devil, and his possessions as the captives who would later believe. He links the binding with Revelation 20. Irenaeus adds that Satan held mankind by sin.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
The "strong man" in this passage means the devil who was able to hold the human race in bondage. By his "goods," which Christ was coming to plunder, the devil was keeping for himself those who would in time become faithful, but had remained in the clutches of ungodliness and various sins. It was for the purpose of binding up this strong man that John, in the Apocalypse, saw "an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years." The angel checked and repressed his power to seduce and possess those destined to be set free.
And therefore He conquered the devil first by righteousness, and afterwards by power: namely, by righteousness, because He had no sin, and was slain by him most unjustly; but by power, because having been dead He lived again, never afterwards to die. But He would have conquered the devil by power, even though He could not have been slain by him: although it belongs to a greater power to conquer death itself also by rising again, than to avoid it by living. But the reason is really a different one, why we are justified in the blood of Christ, when we are rescued from the power of the devil through the remission of sins: it pertains to this, that the devil is conquered by Christ by righteousness, not by power. For Christ was crucified, not through immortal power, but through the weakness which He took upon Him in mortal flesh; of which weakness nevertheless the apostle says, "that the weakness of God is stronger than men."
It is not then difficult to see that the devil was conquered, when he who was slain by Him rose again. It is something more, and more profound of comprehension, to see that the devil was conquered when he thought himself to have conquered, that is, when Christ was slain. For then that blood, since it was His who had no sin at all, was poured out for the remission of our sins; that, because the devil deservedly held those whom, as guilty of sin, he bound by the condition of death, he might deservedly loose them through Him, whom, as guilty of no sin, the punishment of death undeservedly affected. The strong man was conquered by this righteousness, and bound with this chain, that his vessels might be spoiled, which with himself and his angels had been vessels of wrath while with him, and might be turned into vessels of mercy.
The Medieval Church2 voices
No one can enter the house of the strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. He calls the strong man the devil, his goods, the men deceived by him; his house, the …
How is it possible, he says, for someone to plunder the goods of the strong man, if he does not first bind him? These words mean the following: the "strong man" is the devil; his "goods" are the people who serve as his vessels. Thus, …
8 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church3 voices
(non occ.) And because He has already shown by an example that a devil cannot cast out a devil, He shows how he can be expelled, saying, No man can enter into a strong man's house, &c.
(in Marc. i. 17) The Lord has also bound the strong man, that is, the devil: which means, He has restrained him from seducing the elect, and entering into his house, the world; He has spoiled his house, and his goods, that is men, because He has snatched them from the snares of the devil, and has united them to His Church. Or, He has spoiled his house, because the four parts of the world, over which the old enemy had sway, He has distributed to the Apostles and their successors, that they may convert the people to the way of life.
The meaning of the example is this: The devil is the strong man; his goods are the men into whom he is received; unless therefore a man first conquers the devil, how can he deprive him of his goods, that is, of the men whom he has possessed? So also I who spoil his goods, that is, free men from suffering by his possession, first spoil the devils and vanquish them, and am their enemy. How then can ye say that I have Beelzebub, and that being the friend of the devils, I cast them out?
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
No man can enter into a strong man's house,.... This is properly a parable; the other seem to be proverbs, or sayings, that were commonly used to show the ill consequences of discords, factions, and divisions, as is explained in the note on See Gill on Mat 12:29.
It is true, the gospel promiseth, because Christ hath purchased, forgiveness for the greatest sins and sinners,
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
We all know how painful it is to have our conduct misunderstood and misrepresented, when we are doing right. It is a trial which our Lord Jesus Christ had to endure continually, all through His earthly ministry. We have an instance in the passage before us. The "Scribes who came down from Jerusalem" saw the miracles which He worked. They could not deny their reality. What then did they do? They accused our blessed Savior of being in league and union with the devil. They said, "He has Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casts he out devils."
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
We all know how painful it is to have our conduct misunderstood and misrepresented, when we are doing right. It is a trial which our Lord Jesus Christ had to endure continually, all through His earthly ministry. We have an instance in the passage before us. The "Scribes who came down from Jerusalem" saw the miracles which He worked. They could not deny their reality. What then did they do? They accused our blessed Savior of being in league and union with the devil. They said, "He has Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casts he out devils." In our Lord's answer to this wicked accusation, there are expressions which deserve special attention. Let us see what lessons they contain for our use. We ought to notice, in the first place, how great is the evil of dissension and divisions . This is a lesson which is strongly brought out in the beginning of our Lord's reply to the scribes. He shows the absurdity of supposing that Satan would "cast out Satan," and so help to destroy his own power. He appeals to the notorious fact, which even his enemies must allow, that there can be no strength where there is division. "If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand." This truth is one which does not receive sufficient consideration. On no point has the abuse of the right of private judgment produced so much evil. The divisions of Christians are one great cause of the weakness of the visible church. They often absorb energy, time, and power, which might have been well bestowed on better things. They furnish the infidel with a prime argument against the truth of Christianity. They help the devil. Satan indeed is the chief promoter of religious divisions. If he cannot extinguish Christianity, he labors to make Christians quarrel with one another, and to set every man's hand against his neighbor.
No man, etc. - For an explanation of these verses, and a definition of the sin against the Holy Ghost, see Mat 12:29-33.
The words behind it
26 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀλλ᾽ | all᾽ | But | G235 → | 635 times |
| οὐ | ou | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| δύναται | dunatai | is able | G1410 → | 207 times |
| οὐδεὶς | oudeis | no [one] | G3762 → | 232 times |
| εἰς | eis | into | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| οἰκίαν | oikian | house | G3614 → | 93 times |
| τοῦ | tou | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἰσχυροῦ | ischurou | strong man | G2478 → | 29 times |
| εἰσελθὼν | eiselthon | having entered | G1525 → | 194 times |
| τὰ | ta | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| σκεύη | skeue | goods | G4632 → | |
| αὐτοῦ | autou | of him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| διαρπάσαι, | diarpasai | to plunder, | G1283 → | |
| ἐὰν | ean | only | G1437 → | 352 times |
| μὴ | me | unless | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| πρῶτον | proton | first | G4413 → | 152 times |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἰσχυρὸν | ischuron | strong man | G2478 → | 29 times |
| δήσῃ, | dese | he shall bind, | G1210 → | 43 times |
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| τότε | tote | then | G5119 → | 160 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| οἰκίαν | oikian | house | G3614 → | 93 times |
| αὐτοῦ | autou | of him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| διαρπάσει.¶ | diarpasei | he will plunder. | G1283 → |
ἀλλ᾽But
all᾽G235 →635 times
οὐnot
ouG3756 →1664 times
δύναταιis able
dunataiG1410 →207 times
οὐδεὶςno [one]
oudeisG3762 →232 times
εἰςinto
eisG1519 →1755 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
οἰκίανhouse
oikianG3614 →93 times
τοῦof the
touG3588 →19766 times
ἰσχυροῦstrong man
ischurouG2478 →29 times
εἰσελθὼνhaving entered
eiselthonG1525 →194 times
τὰthe
taG3588 →19766 times
σκεύηgoods
skeueG4632 →
αὐτοῦof him
autouG846 →5565 times
διαρπάσαι,to plunder,
diarpasaiG1283 →
ἐὰνonly
eanG1437 →352 times
μὴunless
meG3361 →1066 times
πρῶτονfirst
protonG4413 →152 times
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
ἰσχυρὸνstrong man
ischuronG2478 →29 times
δήσῃ,he shall bind,
deseG1210 →43 times
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
τότεthen
toteG5119 →160 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
οἰκίανhouse
oikianG3614 →93 times
αὐτοῦof him
autouG846 →5565 times
διαρπάσει.¶he will plunder.
diarpaseiG1283 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 12:29Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.
it leads to
- Isaiah 49:24
Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be delivered?
- Luke 11:21–22
When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are secure.
- 1 John 4:4
You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
- Revelation 20:7–9
When the thousand years are complete, Satan will be released from his prison,
- 1 John 3:8
The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the…
- Isaiah 49:24
Where this verse is studied
About Mark
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Augustine of Hippo, City of God 20.7; Augustine of Hippo, ON THE TRINITY 13.14.18; Augustine of Hippo, ON THE TRINITY 13.15.19; Bede, On the Gospel of Mark; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Glossa Ordinaria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Irenaeus, AGAINST HERESIES 5.21.3; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark and Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.