tempts to destroy Jesus. In the early part of His ministry, Jesus preached at the synagogue of His native town, Nazareth. The people listened intently and marvelled at the gracious words which came from His lips. But Satan was present as well and roused the people to furious enmity. They “ rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong” (Luke 4:29). As the ministry went on, Jesus encountered the growing opposition of the Pharisees. Our Lord healed a man on the Sabbath day and the people were furious. “Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day” (John 5:16). When He later told them that He lived before Abraham, they “ took up stones to cast at him” (John 8:59). Again when He announced to them that He was the One Who did God’s will and works, “ they sought again to take him” (John 10:39). But all things worked according to the time and method which God had planned. God said that Christ should defeat Satan even though he did his utmost against Him. Jesus died, but by dying wrought our salvation. Jesus was victorious. “ This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses . . . being by the right hand of God exalted” (Acts 2:32, 33). The final picture shows the complete fulfillment of the prophecy. Jesus is seen as the “ Faithful and True, and
race, but on an individual. Speed was essential for the time was short. Every day brought Satan’s defeat nearer. He began operations immediately. The Wise Men came from the East and asked Herod where the king was to be born. Herod, the next agent by Satan, was horrified. Was he to lose his throne? He asked the wise men to tell him where they found the child. He would pretend wor ship while planning murder. God intervened, warned the wise men and they returned home without revisiting Herod. He was furiously angry, and no doubt Satan was as well. Herod though again, and this time he planned a murder which he thought would account for the child. He “ sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had dili gently inquired of the wise men” (Matt. 2:16). But God moved first. “ The angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him” (Matt. 2:13). Satan was so near, but so far. As Christ came to manhood and began His life’s work Satan had various methods of trying to defeat Him. At the outset of Jesus’ ministry Satan tried the method of direct temptation. The first temptation was a frontal attack to turn Christ from the will of God. God said a certain object was a stone. Would Christ say, “ No, it is bread?” The next temptation (taking the order given by Matthew) was more subtle. Would Jesus not get accept ance from the people by falling or flinging Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple? God had promised to keep Him, Satan assured Him. Yet it was the third temptation which was the most crucial. The kingdoms of the world were offered to Christ by Satan if only He would offer an act of worship. The kingdoms of the world would come under the authority of Christ anyway;, why not accept them the easy way; why the cruel road of Calvary? Had our Lord accepted Satan’s offer, Satan would have won. There would have been no crushing of his head that way. He also tried to overthrow Christ by working through His followers, in fact through the leader of the apostolic band. Amazing as it is, it was directly after Peter had made his great confession of Jesus’ deity that Satan gained Peter’s attention and service. To our Lord’s announcement of His suffering Peter replied: “ Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee” (Matt. 16:22). In this he tried to turn Christ from the path in which He would destroy the serpent. So strongly did Christ feel this to be a temptation from the devil that He gives Peter one of the strongest rebukes He ever gave to anyone. “ Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” Towards the end of Christ’s ministry it was a follower of His once more who became the tool of the devil. He had put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot to sell the Lord for a very small sum of money. In John’s Gospel chapter 13 we read three tragic statements about Judas. “ And supper being ended, the devil having now put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him.” “ After the sop Satan entered into him.” He “ went im mediately out: and it was night.” Satan seems to have thought that if he could get Christ crucified, Scripture would be falsified. Satan’s power at that time was great. So Jesus says to His adversaries: “ This is your hour, and the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53). Then the Jews were not left out from serving the wicked schemes of the devil. They too helped in his at- NOVEM BER, 1960
WHAT WE NEED We mutter and sputter, We fume and we spurt; We mumble and grumble, Our feels get hurt; We can't understand things, Our vision grows dim, When all that we need is A moment with Him!
in righteousness he doth judge and make war.” “ And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19:11, 16). Satan is in “ the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tor mented day and night for ever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). Thousands of years intervene between prophecy and ful fillment, but there was never a doubt about what would happen. God never fails. Satan has lost his prey. He now turns to us and we are subject to attack. As Christ was victorious so shall we be. “ The accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Rev. 12:10, 11). Paul in writing to the Church at Rome (16:20) gives this great encouragement: “ The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.” God is working His purposes out. Are we in line with His purposes? If we are, then we shall enjoy His glory and blessing. 17
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