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Mark 3:27

in Mark 3

Indeed, 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

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Irenaeus

AGAINST HERESIES 5.21.3 · Written before 202.

For 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

he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables

on Mark 3:23-27

Jesus answers the Beelzebub charge with plain logic before any parable proper, how can Satan cast out Satan, since a kingdom or house divided against itself falls by its own division rather than by an enemy's hand. If Satan is really casting out Satan, Jesus argues, then Satan's own kingdom is ending from within, an outcome that serves no one's interest but the kingdom of God's. The strong man saying then reframes the whole scene positively, no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods without first binding the strong man, so the exorcisms are not evidence of alliance with the devil but evidence that the strong man has already been bound and his house is being plundered. The bench reads this as Jesus's own explanation of every exorcism in the book, each one entry into territory Satan no longer holds securely.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice

on Mark 3:22-30

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."

The words behind it

26 Greek words

Every 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.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

17 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Isaiah 49:24–26Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be delivered?20 worksLuke 11:21When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are secure.18 worksMatthew 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.16 worksEphesians 6:10–13Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.13 worksRevelation 20:1–3Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Abyss, holding in his hand a great chain.12 works1 John 4:4You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.10 works
The other 11 cross-references, with their words ▾
Isaiah 53:12Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He has poured out His life unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors. Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.10 worksIsaiah 27:1In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.9 worksColossians 2:15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.8 worksRomans 16:20The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.7 worksIsaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,7 works1 John 3:8The 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 devil.7 worksJohn 12:31Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out.7 worksLuke 10:17–20The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.”7 worksRevelation 12:7–9Then a war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.7 worksHebrews 2:14Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,6 worksGenesis 3:15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”6 works

The walk

5 stops

Each 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 12:29

    Or 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…

Where this verse is studied

About Mark

Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee — Rembrandt (1633), public domain
Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee — Rembrandt (1633), public domain
Mark: the study guide →Read Mark 3 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; 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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Mark 3 →