Matthew 12:29
“Or, how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he will plunder his house”.
Jesus is describing what He does with us when we accept Him. We’ve messed up our lives in many ways. When we accept Christ He is now in charge. In that case our flesh and sin were the bosses. When Christ comes in there is a new sheriff in town.
Paul talks about being frustrated by the power of the flesh and sin in Romans 7:18-20, “For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I do the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me.” We are unable to fix ourselves. People see Jesus as weak and meek. Wrong. He created and sustains the universe (Colossians 1:17). He wants to order our lives.
Jesus’ voice can calm the storms (Mark 4:39). He calms the storms of our lives. He comes in and says, “Peace, be still.” It’s such a blessing to look back and see how far He’s brought us. The lyric of one of Petra’s songs goes like this, “Some times it’s good to look back down. We’ve come so far, gained so much ground.”
He created us and knows us far better than we know ourselves. His plans for us are the best. There are things that I thought I wanted, but not so. The pressure there would have withered me. The area where He put me has been a blessing. I’m able to serve and love others and hopefully be a blessing to them.
The direct context of today’s verse is speaking about one who is demon possessed. Jesus cast out the demon in that man. The demon was the strong man that Jesus over powered and sent elsewhere. Our present day doesn’t take seriously the spiritual world. They describe a demon possessed person in psychological ways. Back in Jesus’ time people saw it for what it was. I wouldn’t say all who were described as demon possessed were. Some would have had psychological issues. So also today many that have so-called psych issues are demon possessed. Jesus can help them.
Lord, thank You that You are the stronger one. You conquer the demons and sin and our weak flesh. You order our lives and make us new. Thank You.