ON YOUR MARK: WEEK 3 DAY 4
Mark 3:20-37
20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat.21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.
I am so excited to share the truth of this passage with you; it is THE game changer!
When Satan wanted worship for himself and was cast out of heaven, he made it his mission to deceive God’s children and destroy God’s creation. Starting with Adam and Eve, Satan has tried to fuel his hatred of God by ruining lives. Satan was able to deceive whole peoples, blinding them from the truth, and teaching them false, vile, and corrupted worship. This is why there were many different pagan religions around the world when Jesus arrived on the scene. BUT Jesus defeated this “strong man” when He paid for all sin and God raised Him from death. Satan still has influence, but his power and dominion on earth has been defeated. This is why it is so important for us to carry the good news to every corner of the earth. Those under deception can be freed by hearing the message of Jesus Christ.
C.S. Lewis paints this picture so eloquently in later Narnia books. After Aslan has defeated the White Witch, and the children rule and govern Narnia; one of Peter’s duties is to go to the borderlands to push back the terrible giants who had been loyal to the White Witch. In the same way we are called to take the Gospel to the borderlands, and fight back the giants and monsters who linger only because we have not yet plundered the land with the good news!