Matthew 12:29

Of a strong man (τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ) Rev. rightly gives the force of the article, the strong man. Christ is not citing a general illustration, but is pointing to a specific enemy - Satan. How can I despoil Satan without first having conquered him? Goods (σκεύη) The word originally means a vessel, and so mostly in the New Testament. See Mark 11:16; John 19:29. But also the entire equipment of a house, collectively: chattels, house-gear. Also the baggage of an army. Here in the sense of house-gear. Compare Luke 17:31; Acts 27:17, of the gear or tackling of the ship. Rev., lowered the gear.

Matthew 12:29-30 . How can one enter, &c. — How could I cast out Satan, and destroy his works, if I did not first overcome him? “The house of the strong man (or, strong one, as του ισχυρου should rather be rendered) into which Christ entered, was the world, fitly called Beelzebub’s house, or palace, because there he is served by luxury, lust, covetousness, pride, anger, and the other evil passions of men. The goods or vessels belonging to the strong one are the wicked, called Satan’s vessels metaphorically, as Paul is called Christ’s chosen vessel, Acts 9:15 . Or, by the vessels, or furniture of Beelzebub’s house, we may understand the lusts and passions of men’s hearts, the instruments by which he keeps possession of them.” He that is not with me is against me — He that does not unite and co- operate with me, who am contending against Satan and his kingdom, is against me, as being unwilling that his kingdom should be destroyed. And he that gathereth not with me — That does not set himself, according to his ability, to gather subjects into my kingdom, and promote the cause of truth and grace among men, scattereth abroad — Hinders the work of God upon earth, and either prevents men from entering upon a life of piety and virtue, or obstructs their progress therein. In other words, there are no neuters in this war: every one must be either with Christ or against him; either a loyal subject or a rebel; and there are none upon earth who neither promote nor obstruct his kingdom.

For every one does either one or the other daily. Much more criminal and fatal, then, must the character and conduct of those be, who, with deliberate, implacable malice, oppose Christ’s cause, and are resolved, at all adventures, to do their utmost to bring it down, as the Pharisees were now attempting to do by these vile suggestions, whereby they endeavoured to represent Christ, who came to save men, as an accomplice with Satan, who was labouring to destroy them.

Matthew 12:29 . o help them to decide Jesus throws out yet another parabolic line of thought.— ἢ : if all that I have said does not convince you consider this. The parable seems based on Isaiah 49:24-25 , and like all Christ’s parabolic utterances appeals to common sense. The theme is, spoiling the spoiler, and the argument that the enterprise implies hostile purpose and success in it superior power . The application is: the demoniac is a captive of Satan; in seeking to cure him I show myself Satan’s enemy ; in actually curing him I show myself Satan’s master .— τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ : the article is either generic, or individualising after the manner of parabolic speech. Proverbs and parables assume acquaintance with their characters.— σκεύη , household furniture ( Genesis 31:37 ); ἁρπάσαι , seize ( Jdg 21:21 ).— διαρπάσει , make a clean sweep of all that is in the house, the owner, bound hand and foot, being utterly helpless. The use of this compound verb points to the thoroughness of the cures wrought on demoniacs, as in the case of the demoniac of Gadara: quiet, clothed, sane ( Mark 5:15 ).

(29) How can one enter into a strong man’s house. —The parable implied in the question appears in a fuller form in Luke 11:21-22 . Here it will be enough to note that the “strong man” is Satan. The “house” is the region which is subject to him— i.e., either the world at large, or the spirits of individual men; the “goods” or “instruments ” (comp. the “armour” of Luke 11:22 ) are the demons or subordinate powers of evil by which he maintains his dominion; the “binding of the strong man” is the check given to the tyranny of Satan by emancipating the possessed sufferers from their thraldom; the “spoiling of the house” implies the final victory over him.

Matthew 12:29 . ἤ , or else? )=Latin, an? A disjunctive interrogation.— οἰκίαν , house ) The world was the house of Satan.— τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ , of the strong ) sc. of any one who is strong; cf. Hebrews 2:14 .— πρῶτον , first ) Jesus bound Satan: then took his spoils.— δήση , shall have bound ) by superior strength.— διαρπάσει , shall spoil ) See Gnomon on Mark 3:27 .

Mark hath the same words, with little variation, Mark 3:27 ; Luke saith, Luke 11:21,22 , When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoil. The sense is the same, though the words be multiplied. Our Saviour showeth how his casting out of devils by the Spirit and power of God argued that the Messiah was come, and the time come when God would set up his kingdom amongst men. The devil, (saith he), who is the god of the world, and the prince of the power of the air, is very strong; there is none, save God only, who is stronger than he. If I were not God, I could never cast out this strong man, who reigns in the world as in his house; as you see amongst men, the strong man is not overcome but by one stronger. He by this also lets them know, that he was so far from any covenant or compact with Beelzebub, that he came into the world a professed enemy to him, to dispossess him of that tyrannical power he exercised amongst men, by his keeping them in darkness, blinding them with error and superstition, and seducing them to sinful practices, till God, for their prodigious sins, had also given him a power over their bodies, variously to vex, afflict, and torment them.

Christ took from this strong man all his armour: by scattering the darkness which was in the world by the full revelation of gospel truth: by expelling error and superstition, teaching people the truths of God, and the right way of his worship: by taking away the guilt, and destroying the power of sin and death, ignorance, error, profaneness; the sense of the guilt of sin, and the power of lusts within us, being the devil’s armour, by which he kept up his power, and doth yet keep up what dominion he hath in the world.

Matthew 12:29 . Ἤ ] Transition by way of proceeding to give further proof of the actual state of the case. τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ ] The article indicates the particular strong man (hero) with whom the τίς has to do. The thought embodied in this illustration is as follows: Or —if you still hesitate to admit the inference in Matthew 12:28 — how is it possible for me to despoil Satan of his servants and instruments ( τὰ σκεύη αὐτοῦ corresponding to the demons in the application )—withdraw them from his control— without having first of all conquered him? Does my casting out of demons not prove that I have subdued Satan,—have deprived him of his power, just as it is necessary to bind a strong man before plundering his house? For ἤ , when serving to introduce a question by way of rejoinder, see Bäumlein, Partik . p. 132. The σκεύη in the illustration are the furniture of the house (not the weapons), as is evident from τ . οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ below. Mark 3:27 . The figurative language may have been suggested by a recollection of Isaiah 49:24 f.