Parables in the Book of Mark: Mark 3:23-27

Continuing in our study of the Parables in the Book of Mark.

“And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” With a few simple words in Mark 3:23–27, Jesus exposes the insanity of sin, unmasks the strategy of Satan, and points us to the triumph of the cross.

The Setting: A Strange Accusation

Before Jesus tells this parable, the scribes make a shocking charge: that He casts out devils by the power of the devil himself (see Mark 3:22). They cannot deny His power, so they try to discredit its source. Instead of bowing to the Son of God, they label Him an agent of Satan. In response, “he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?” (Mark 3:23, KJV).

Jesus does not begin with anger but with logic. He exposes the contradiction at the heart of their accusation. If Satan is truly behind Jesus, why would Satan empower a ministry that destroys his own works?

A Kingdom Divided: The Cost of Internal War

Jesus continues, “And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand” (Mark 3:24, KJV). We know this from history. Nations destroyed not only by enemies at their gates, but by corruption, infighting, and civil war within. No army can stand if half of its soldiers fire on the other half.

He then brings the image closer to home: “And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (Mark 3:25, KJV). A divided house is more than a building; it is a family, a church, a marriage, a community. Many Christians fear the attack from “out there” while quietly tolerating division “in here.” Yet Jesus says the internal fracture is just as deadly as any outside assault.

This raises a searching question: What subtle divisions are we allowing in our own “house”? Resentment between family members, unconfessed bitterness in a congregation, factions in Christian fellowship—these are not small side issues. According to Jesus, they threaten the very stability of the house.

Satan’s End: The Collapse of a Broken Kingdom

Jesus goes further: “And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end” (Mark 3:26, KJV). The scribes’ accusation unintentionally points to Satan’s defeat. If the devil were working against himself, his fall would be certain.

But Jesus’ point is: that is not what is happening. Demons are being cast out, lives are being restored, captives are being freed—not because Satan is turning on himself, but because Someone stronger has arrived. Evil is being overthrown from the outside, not eroded from within.

Yet Christ’s words still hint at something important: every kingdom that stands against God has an “end.” Whether it is Satan’s dark domain, or any human system built on pride and rebellion, division and decay will one day expose its weakness. Only God’s kingdom endures.

The Strong Man and the Stronger One

Then comes the heart of the parable: “No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house” (Mark 3:27, KJV).

Here the “strong man” is Satan, and his “house” is the domain over which he exercises power—lives held in bondage, minds blinded, hearts enslaved by sin. The “goods” are the people, the souls, the captives he claims as his own. Jesus is not the servant of Satan; He is the intruder who has come to plunder Satan’s house.

Notice the order:

1. The strong man must first be bound.
2. Then his house can be plundered.

This is not a picture of negotiation. It is a picture of invasion. Salvation is not God politely asking Satan if He may have a few souls; it is Christ breaking in, conquering, binding, and rescuing what the enemy claimed as his own.

At the cross, Jesus did exactly this. In apparent weakness, He allowed Himself to be arrested, bound, mocked, and nailed to a tree. Yet in that very act of suffering, He was binding the true strong man. By bearing our sin, disarming principalities and powers, and rising again, He proved Himself the stronger One who can truly “spoil his goods.”

What This Means for Us Today

This brief parable speaks powerfully into our lives.

1. Examine your “house” for division.
   A divided house cannot stand. If there is ongoing bitterness in your home, your church, or your relationships, repent quickly. Do not accept division as normal. The One who unites us to God also calls us to pursue reconciliation with one another.
2. Take Satan seriously—but not ultimately.
   Jesus calls Satan a “strong man,” not a harmless myth. The enemy is real, and so is his hostility. Yet Satan is not the strongest man. There is One who can bind him, and that One is Christ. Do not live as though the war is undecided.
3. See salvation as rescue, not self-improvement.
   We do not free ourselves from the house of bondage by moral effort or religious performance. The gospel is not advice to the trapped; it is news that a Deliverer has entered the house. If you are in Christ, it is because He came for you, bound your captor, and carried you out.
4. Live as plunder belonging to Christ.
   If Jesus has “spoiled” the strong man’s house and taken you as His own, you are no longer Satan’s possession; you belong to a new Lord. Your life, your body, your time, your gifts—they are now treasures in the hands of the One who rescued you.

A Call to Trust the Stronger Man

In Mark 3:23–27, Jesus answers a slander, but He also opens a window into the invisible war around us. Satan is strong, his kingdom organized, his house full of stolen goods. But over against him stands the Son of God, who will not share credit with the devil, who will not be mistaken for a servant of darkness, and who has already stepped across the threshold of the strong man’s house.

He has bound the enemy. He is plundering his goods. And all who trust in Him become living proof that the kingdom of darkness cannot stand against the kingdom of Christ.

May we refuse division in our homes and churches, resist the lies of the enemy, and rest in the victorious strength of the One who said, “No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house” (Mark 3:27, KJV).

If you missed the study of the Parables in the Book of Matthew, check it out HERE or print it out for your small group study.

Discovering the Path of Salvation series by Stephen Luckett