The Third Sunday in Lent AD 2025

At the end of today’s Gospel, Jesus tells two parables. In the first of them, He speaks of Satan and Himself: Satan is the strong one, Jesus is the one who is stronger than Satan and has defeated him.

However, although Jesus has defeated Satan, it is quite frightening and alarming that Jesus portrays Satan as a landlord, armed to the teeth and holding everything he owns, including mankind, which has become his slave through sin, with almost absolute power.

The only way out of this situation is the redemption accomplished in Jesus Christ: He is the stronger man who has defeated Satan, taken away his armour and divided his spoils, granting freedom to those Satan had imprisoned.

Jesus has done this through His suffering, death on the cross and resurrection. He has brought us forgiveness and reconciliation with God – and not only that, but by the power of His grace he continues the work of renewing and sanctifying us, so that we are no longer slaves to sin, but may yield ourselves to God as those that are alive from the dead, and our members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

This is what Jesus is talking about in the second parable: He has given us freedom so that instead of evil, goodness would reign in our hearts, instead of injustice, righteousness, instead of evil spirits, God’s Holy Spirit. Jesus does not want our last state to be worse than the first. On the contrary, He wants to give us eternal joy and the fullness of life in His heavenly kingdom.