“Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man?”
The full verse · Matthew 12:29 · KJV
else a strong , , he the strong ? he will .
Asked by
Jesus: the Son of God and promised Messiah, explaining His power to cast out devils (Matthew 12:28)
Asked to
Pharisees: a Jewish religious party known for strict keeping of the law and tradition, who said Jesus cast out devils "by Beelzebub the prince of the devils" (Matthew 12:24)
The Scene
Jesus has healed a man possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb, and the Pharisees answer the crowd's amazement by saying He casts out devils "by Beelzebub the prince of the devils" (Matthew 12:22-24).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionJesus used a simple picture to explain what His miracles meant. No one can rob a strong man's house while the strong man is free to defend it. Barnes explains, "A man could not break into the house of a strong man, and take his property, unless he had rendered the man himself helpless." Then he gives Jesus' meaning: "So I, says he, have taken this 'property - this possessed person' - from the dominion of Satan." Gill identifies the strong man as the devil and says the point is that "Christ is stronger than he." Casting out devils did not prove Jesus was Satan's ally. It proved He had overpowered him.
The Response
What Scripture recordsJesus finished the picture Himself: "and then he will spoil his house" (Matthew 12:29). Then He made the choice plain: "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad" (Matthew 12:30). No reply to the picture itself is recorded. When certain of the scribes and Pharisees next spoke, they asked for a sign (Matthew 12:38).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsIn the KJV, "spoil" means to plunder, not to ruin. Barnes points out that the word "commonly means now, to corrupt, injure, or destroy," but here it means to carry off by force. The Greek words are harpazo, to seize, and diarpazo, to plunder thoroughly. The "strong man" is ischyros, a word for someone mighty or powerful.
Gill links the picture to Isaiah 49:24, where God asks, "Shall the prey be taken from the mighty?" and then promises, "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away" (Isaiah 49:25).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question shows Jesus as the stronger One who comes to set captives free. Satan held people in bondage, but Jesus entered his house, bound him, and took back what he held. Every person set free was a sign that God's kingdom had come (Matthew 12:28). Luke records the same picture: "when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted" (Luke 11:22).
Isaiah had promised that the LORD would rescue the captives of the mighty (Isaiah 49:25). Jesus' miracles showed that promise coming true. Then Jesus adds that there is no neutral ground: "He that is not with me is against me" (Matthew 12:30).
Look Closer
In Jesus' picture, what must happen before the strong man's house can be plundered?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord Jesus, You are stronger than the one who held me captive; what are You still setting free in my life that I need to trust You with?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Jesus said there is no neutral ground: "He that is not with me is against me" (Matthew 12:30). What makes it tempting to stand in the middle?
- Share a story of someone you have seen set free by Christ from something that once held them.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Jesus is stronger than anything that has held you. The picture of the bound strong man means that Satan's grip is not final. Christ has already entered the house and overcome him.
That truth can give you courage to pray for people who seem far from God. Christ is stronger than the strong man who holds them (Matthew 12:29; Luke 11:22).
This does not mean the Christian life has no struggle. Jesus also said that whoever does not gather with Him scatters (Matthew 12:30). His victory calls you to stand with Him and join His work, not to sit back.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“How can Satan cast out Satan?”
“If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?”
“If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?”
“If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?”