Scripture Reference: John 19:28-30

2. Jesus Addressed “It is Finished” to Satan

I sometimes wonder if Satan ever thought, in his pride and arrogance, that he was really victorious when, at the beginning of history, Adam and Eve fell for his temptation? He should have known better when he had to have overheard the promise given to Adam and Eve:

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).

Well, we are all the seed of the woman. Through all of his maneuverings he has only bruised our heel. Through his servants, the leaders of the Jews, he “succeeded,” to have Jesus crucified. But this very seemingly success of his spelled doomed and utter and final defeat for his plans.

God’s righteous love has now prevailed on earth. The devil is the great deceiver of men but he has, in the final analysis, only deceived himself.

I wonder if he thought he was successful when he instilled hatred into Cain’s heart so that he murdered his brother Abel? Well, the truth is, he wasn’t a success at all. Cain, not Abel, failed and the devil failed with Cain. On the cross, Jesus has taken vengeance on the enemy of our souls for the blood of Abel.

I also wonder if he thought he was successful when he wiped out the line of separation between the descendants of Seth and the descendants of Cain? Did he rejoice and rub his hands in glee when he heard God, the Almighty Creator say of man that “every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5) and “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land . . . for I am sorry that I have made them” (Genesis 6:7)? Did he laugh at Noah when Noah alone preached righteousness among men? Well, it was Christ who witnessed through Noah; it was Christ who prophesied judgment upon unrighteous men. It is Christ who this very day is sending the enemy to the bottomless pit for all his unrighteous instigation of men to rebellion against God Almighty.

Did Satan think that he had succeeded when Abraham, the father of the faithful, failed to trust the promise of God and took the fulfillment of those promises into his own hands? Well, brothers and sisters,  Christ, the great “I Am” is the promised seed of Abraham. Through Christ alone shall the nations of the world be blessed.

When Jesus began His ministry, let’s remember that Jesus and the devil had a person to person confrontation in the wilderness. The enemy sought to persuade Jesus to wipe out the line of distinction between His kingdom and the devil’s kingdom with seemingly “pious” appeal to Scripture.

However, dear believer, remember that Jesus quoted Scripture, too. He proved to the enemy and to all that it is not merely a matter of the words of Scripture but of their sense and meaning. Jesus, through His Holy Spirit has to this very day established the true sense of Scripture in its bearing upon what He as the Messiah came to do. Jesus established the kingdom of truth and of righteousness against the kingdom of the lie and of unrighteousness. Jesus has exposed the enemy for the arch-liar that he is.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
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