Luk 11:22 | KingComments | STEP | The strong one is satan. When Christ was not yet on earth, satan had a firm grip on men. The number of demon-possessed people in the days of the Lord Jesus, the number of cases with which He is confronted, shows that. Except for a single exception, like the man in the tombs ( ), those people did not show that they were demon-possessed. In this way, the man with the unclean spirit could be inconspicuous in the synagogue. The unclean spirit did not reveal itself until Christ came there and he had to reveal himself ( ). Demons cannot remain hidden in the presence of the Lord; but until He is there, demon-possessed people live in the peace of satan. We see that in countries like China and India, where people live in the greatest idolatry without being concerned that they are in the power of satan. The unrest only comes when they come into contact with the gospel. Then the Lord Jesus comes toward satan. He is stronger than satan. That is what He proved in the temptations in the wilderness ( ). There He conquered him, and deprived him of his power, and put him out of action. From then on He is busy taking his plunder. In such an opposition as that between Christ and satan, there is only one choice possible: with Him or against Him. He is the utterly Rejected. This requires a radical choice. This choice must be reflected in doing His work of bringing together what belongs to Him. The test that the Lord applies here concerns not only everyone’s person, but also everyone’s work. The former applies more particularly to the unconverted and the latter more to the converted who is working in a worldly manner. It may be that someone has chosen Christ while he imitates the world in his work and pursues his own honor. Such a person could be a popular preacher, for example, but who bind people only to himself and not to Christ. He can also use a certain doctrine as the basis of gathering. This often happens in professing Christianity. This is not gathering with Christ. A major hindrance to gather with Christ is also a spirit of factions and sectarianism that is necessarily hostile to Christ. Gathering Christians with a center other than Christ increases the confusion.

‏ Luke 11:22

Someone Stronger

The strong one is satan. When Christ was not yet on earth, satan had a firm grip on men. The number of demon-possessed people in the days of the Lord Jesus, the number of cases with which He is confronted, shows that. Except for a single exception, like the man in the tombs (Lk 8:27-29), those people did not show that they were demon-possessed. In this way, the man with the unclean spirit could be inconspicuous in the synagogue. The unclean spirit did not reveal itself until Christ came there and he had to reveal himself (Lk 4:33).

Demons cannot remain hidden in the presence of the Lord; but until He is there, demon-possessed people live in the peace of satan. We see that in countries like China and India, where people live in the greatest idolatry without being concerned that they are in the power of satan. The unrest only comes when they come into contact with the gospel.

Then the Lord Jesus comes toward satan. He is stronger than satan. That is what He proved in the temptations in the wilderness (Lk 4:1-13). There He conquered him, and deprived him of his power, and put him out of action. From then on He is busy taking his plunder.

In such an opposition as that between Christ and satan, there is only one choice possible: with Him or against Him. He is the utterly Rejected. This requires a radical choice. This choice must be reflected in doing His work of bringing together what belongs to Him.

The test that the Lord applies here concerns not only everyone’s person, but also everyone’s work. The former applies more particularly to the unconverted and the latter more to the converted who is working in a worldly manner.

It may be that someone has chosen Christ while he imitates the world in his work and pursues his own honor. Such a person could be a popular preacher, for example, but who bind people only to himself and not to Christ. He can also use a certain doctrine as the basis of gathering. This often happens in professing Christianity. This is not gathering with Christ. A major hindrance to gather with Christ is also a spirit of factions and sectarianism that is necessarily hostile to Christ. Gathering Christians with a center other than Christ increases the confusion.