(During Lent 2024, I'm encouraging my congregation to join in reading through the Gospel of Mark. I'm posting occasional reflections and insights to guide reading.)
Photo by GR Stocks on Unsplash
Jesus' teaching and actions convince some people that he is crazy while some others suggest that he is in cahoots with the devil (vv. 21-22). Jesus argues back that he can't oppose Satan in the name of Satan and then shares an odd sentence: "No one can enter the house of a strong man and take his possessions unless he first binds up the strong man. Then he can rob the house."
Huh?
This strange phrase is actually helpful for understanding Jesus in Mark's Gospel. The "strong man" Jesus refers to is likely Satan (or evil, or Sin -- more on that in a moment). In coming to earth as human, Jesus is entering a "house" claimed by Satan for himself. In order to set people free from Sin and Death (that is, "rob the house"), he first needs to defeat Satan by binding him up. So Jesus is coming to defeat Satan/Sin/Evil so that the people Satan claims as his own can be taken and returned to God, where they belong.
This is where I find that some modern readers run into a problem, usually because many people are more comfortable believing in a loving God than in a wicked devil. I don't know if it's because Americans tend to avoid negativity (think happy thoughts!), that the caricature of the devil is kind of silly (the Bible does NOT say Satan is a red goat-man with horns and a pitchfork), or something else, but I find many people are uncomfortable with the idea of an evil being working against God in our lives.
I'm not going to argue that you have to believe in the literal devil (especially not the red goat-man). Even the Bible is never totally clear on what or who Satan is. But it's important to recognize that the writers of the Bible DO believe there are evil beings/forces/spirits/demons at work in the world that oppose God and God's love. At various times, the Bible calls that evil Satan, the devil, Beelzebul, Sin, Death, or other names.
If you are uncomfortable with the idea of evil spirits, it might be easier to think of whatever you are most afraid of that you can't control. A disease? Economic collapse? A war? A nasty neighbor or coworker? Our own habits? Jesus tells the crowds that whatever we call it, he has come to disarm and bind up the evil we fear, to assure us that it has no real power, and we are free.
Evil is the interloper in God's creation and Jesus wants to steal us back.
From the Gray,
Pastor Ari
“If vision is the only validation, then most of my life isn’t real.” -Sam Sparro, “Black and Gold”
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