INTRODUCTION
You could summarize the story of the whole Bible as “Kill the Dragon; get the girl.” This is what Adam failed to do, and it is what our Jesus has done. We remember and celebrate Palm Sunday as the beginning of that great combat, when our hero rode into Jerusalem to face down our mortal foe.
The Text: “… When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils” (Lk. 11:14-22).
SUMMARY OF THE TEXT
One of the highlights of Jesus’ earthly ministry was casting out demons – demons that deformed the image of God, as we see here with someone who could not speak (Lk. 11:14). But some accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of some greater demon, the “chief of the devils” Beelzebub and demanded a sign to prove otherwise (Lk. 11:15-16). But Jesus pointed out the folly of such an accusation, since that would mean that Satan was divided against himself and was fighting against himself (Lk. 11:17-19). But rather, if Jesus casts out demons, it proves that the Kingdom of God has come (Lk. 11:20). For when an armed strong man is secure in his palace, everything is calm, but when a Stronger Man comes and kills him, He strips his armor and divides the spoils – and that is what Jesus was doing (Lk. 11:21-22).
DRAGONS & GIANTS
The Bible clearly teaches that there have been dragons in this world, and they are frequently associated with evil powers. In the beginning, God created great sea monsters (Gen. 1:21), and the same word is translated “dragon” in Isaiah: “In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea” (Is. 27:1, cf. Job 41). In the wilderness, Israel was attacked by “fiery serpents,” literally “serpent-seraphs,” suggesting that Satan is a fallen “seraph,” which Revelation seems to confirm: “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev. 12:9) – which also explains why he showed up as a dragon-serpent in the garden (Gen. 3:1).
The Bible suggests a similar typology with giants: “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth…” (Gen. 6:4-5). The word for giants is “nephilim,” which is what the spies saw in Canaan, which was likewise full of wickedness (Num. 13:33, Gen. 15:16). Some believe that the “sons of God” were angels that intermarried with human women, which might account for where giants came from, and Jude suggests that something like that has happened, as suggested by the perversions of the men in Sodom (Jude 6-7, Gen. 19:5). I think “sons of God” more naturally refers to the descendants of Seth in Genesis, but I also think weird demon-human relations likely happened at some point, given what Jude says and ancient mythology (e.g. Ovid’s Metamorphosis).
Regardless, a great deal of the conquest of Canaan included giant-slaying, and these were vile, wicked men (Dt. 2:11, 20, 3:13). Chief among the wicked giants was Og king of Bashan, whose iron bedstead was 13.5-15 feet long and around 6 feet wide (Dt. 3:11), suggesting that he was perhaps 12-13 feet tall. Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, was over nine feet tall (1 Sam. 17:4). “And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him” (1 Sam. 17:5-7). He was clearly a gigantic man, and the word for coat of “mail” is literally “scales,” like a dragon. David and his “mighty men” were giant-dragon slayers (cf. 2 Sam. 23).
BINDING THE STRONG MAN
There really were dragons and giants on the earth in those days, and they were often the instruments of the Devil, the dragon of old and his “giant” power in the earth. As with the men of Israel before the Philistine “strong man,” their greatest power was fear. And this is why Jesus came, to destroy that power: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:14-15).
The power of the Devil, and all his demonic seed, is fear of death, and men fear death because of their sin. For sinners, death is a judgment: “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:13-15). So this is how Jesus bound Satan, stripped his armor, and divided his spoil.
He took the death that we deserve, forgiving all our sins, blotting out all the laws we have broken, and rose from the dead to set us free from the tyranny of the Devil.
APPLICATIONS
The name “Satan” literally means “accuser.” In Revelation it says, “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night” (Rev. 12:10).
When was the accuser cast down? “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This He said, signifying what death He should die” (Jn. 12:31-33).
And what kind of death did Jesus die? “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:14-15). Jesus died the death of a poisonous serpent/dragon because that is what our sin is. “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21).
This is what we celebrate on Palm Sunday: our Jesus riding into Jerusalem as our Great David, our New Adam, our Stronger Man come to strike down that dragon of old, our Goliath-Accuser and set us completely free.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Whoever believes in Him cannot perish but has eternal life.