Matthew 12:29

“Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? And then he will spoil his house.”

The thought now moves to a household. Jesus is not only invading the kingdom of the strong man, he is entering his very palace. Satan is routed. Let them consider what that means about Him. The only one who can enter a strong man's house and spoil his goods in this way, is One Who is stronger than he, One Who can bind him. Then He will be able to ‘despoil' his house. Thus Jesus is by this claiming to be greater than Satan (contrast Jude 1:9). The binding of the strong man is depicted vividly in Revelation 20:2 where it is to take place during the ‘thousand years' (God's perfect but immeasurable length of time) which comes before the final judgment. So the ‘thousand years' has already begun here and will continue on until the consummation (compare 2 Peter 3:8 where it is also the period during which men can repent).

By this Jesus is emphasising that He is stronger than Satan (which even Michael the Archangel dared not do - Jude 1:9) and that He is now here to bind the strong man. The despoiling of his house speaks of all those whom Jesus is delivering from His power (Acts 26:18), and especially demon-possessed people. Being delivered from his household, they will enter the household of the Kingly Rule of God (Matthew 12:49), for if they do not their last state may be worse than their first (Matthew 12:45).

This ‘binding of Satan' prevents him from interfering in Jesus' deliverance of all who believe in Him. But it does not prevent many of his other activities against God's people (Ephesians 6:10). It does, however, mean that they are strictly controlled. He is not, for example, allowed to tempt God's people beyond what they can cope with (1 Corinthians 10:13).