Who is the "Strong Man" in Mark's Gospel?: Studies in Mark, Pt. 5
Of nearly 50 works written on the Gospel according to Mark that I have recently surveyed, 99.9% of them agree that the “strong man” mentioned in Mk. 3.27 is satan. The argument goes as follows: Jesus is the thief who breaks into satan’s house, ties satan up and then plunders him for his followers. Honestly, I must say that I am shocked at such conclusions. It reminds me of the early atonement theory expounded by Pope Gregory the Great (AD 600) who said, “…matching deceit with deceit, Christ frees man by tricking the devil into overstepping his authority. Christ becomes a ‘fishhook’: His humanity is the bait, His divinity the hook, and Leviathan (satan) is snared.” I want to show here though, that Christ does not have to trick or deceive satan to lead believers to Himself. Just as well, He does not have to, as would a thief under the cover of night, attempt to break into satan’s home (this earth) and steal believers away! Yet, when Christ is taken as the “thief” and satan as “the strong...