Satan's Strategies against the Son of God
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
The Scripture chosen for this study describes a continual conflict which existed between Christ and Satan. The Lord Jesus is the "Stronger Man" of this Scripture, while Satan himself is the "strong man." The strong man is endeavoring to put his hand upon men, however, the real strategy of Satan is centered against the Son of God. Everything beloved of the Son is hated by Satan, and is opposed by him. Our Scripture gives us, however, positive assurance that the Stronger Man will overcome the strong man, and take from him his armor wherein he trusted, dividing the spoils.
When Jesus Christ came on the scene the demons trembled before Him, and He cast them, out with a word. Satan himself, was not so easily vanquished. Conflict between him and the Lord began far back in history. It focused its fury against the Lord during the period of Christ's earthly life. Although Satan was vanquished by the Lord, he was not altogether conquered. His work continues to this hour with deadliest intent, and amazing force against the Church which is Christ's Body. Thus Satan will continue until, finally, he is cast into the pit of the abyss.
We wish to suggest a few things which lead up to Satan's direct conflict against the Son of God.
1. Satan and creation. When God first created the heavens and the earth. He created them not waste and void; therefore we take it that Genesis 1:2 describes God's curse upon the original creation. This judgment and its cataclysmic catastrophe was brought about, we have no doubt, as a sentence upon Satan for his pre-historic activities against the Almighty.
2. The first murderer. When Cain rose up against his brother he must have been empowered of the devil. We read that Satan was a murderer from the beginning, and the murder of Abel was in the beginning so far as man's history is concerned.
3. Satan in Noahic days. As we see the whole earth by sin, we cannot fail to grasp something of Satan's mighty power against the race. Even the fallen angels who are under Satan's sway, had much to do with man's pitiful state at the time of the flood.
4. Satan and Babel. The spirit that prompted the sons of men to build the Tower of Babel was the spirit of pride. This spirit came from Satan's maneuvering. He is the consummation of all that lifts itself up against God.
5. Satan and Babylon. Satan had entrenched himself in the heart of Nebuchadnezzar and his great city which dominated the first world empire. It is not difficult to see in Nebuchadnezzar's boastfulness the spirit of the devil. Thus we could go on through the history of the Old Testament, and we would find Satan ever active against God and God's world.
I. SATAN AND THE SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS (Matthew 2:16-18)
The twelfth chapter of Revelation describes the dragon standing before the woman ready to devour her child as soon as it was born. This Scripture gives a secondary reference to the Lord Jesus, and it refers incidentally, and, in its backward look, to the time when Satan sought to slay the infant, Christ, as soon as He was born.
How did it happen? Herod had inquired diligently of the wise men where Christ was to be born. He did this under pretext of going down to worship Him. Herod's real objective was, however, that he might slay the holy Infant.
During the centuries Satan had endeavored to make impossible the birth of the promised Seed of the woman. Now, that the Seed was born, and the annunciation of the angels had been made, Satan entered into Herod.
The result was Herod's edict that in all Judea every male child from two years of age and under should be killed. Thus it happened that "In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children."
Satan's strategy failed because God, by night, gave Joseph warning 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."
We can learn a great lesson here. The slaughter of the "innocents" was undertaken in order to slay Mary's holy Babe, not because Satan or Herod had ought against the "kiddies" in Judea. Thus we see that Satan's attack against the saints is, in reality, an attack against the Son of God. For His sake we are counted as "sheep for the slaughter."
II. SATAN AND THE WILDERNESS TEMPTATION (Matthew 4:3-4)
From the slaughter of the innocents unto the temptation in the wilderness there lay a period of thirty years. During most of that time Christ had been shielded from the attack of the enemy. He had dwelt with His mother and with Joseph in the city of Nazareth, and had followed the carpenter's trade. Now, however, Christ had gone to the river, Jordan, where He was baptized of John.
After His baptism He stood, and lo, the Heavens were opened, and a voice from Heaven said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The effect of this voice was startling, indeed, so far as the Satan dominated principalities and powers of the air were concerned.
Satan immediately was forced by the Spirit to meet the Son of God face to face.
The conflict took place in the wilderness whence the Spirit led the Lord. The temptation followed along the general lines of the temptation which overcame the first Adam. Christ was tempted from the viewpoint of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. To every thrust of Satan He was impervious. He proved Himself to be not only the all-conquering Christ, but the impeccable Son of God. In each case of the threefold testing Christ met Satan with the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Thus, He threw down His enemy and vanquished him. In this victory Christ did not achieve our redemption, but He proved Himself to be the Son of God worthy of all praise, and a possible Saviour.
Let us comfort our hearts with the fact that we have a Lord who conquered Satan, and who leads us in the train of His triumph and makes us more than conquerors.
III. SATAN AND THE HILL AT NAZARETH (Luke 4:29)
After the temptation in the wilderness Jesus Christ went into the city of Nazareth where He had been brought up as a youth. As He entered into the synagogue, He took from the attendant the scroll of the Prophets, and began to read these words: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."
Having closed the Book He began to speak from these words. At first the people marveled at His gracious message. However, as the Master proceeded, He evidently began to speak of how Satan had imprisoned the people and blinded them to the truth of the glory of God. It was because of this that He told them that He had come to open the prison doors, and to set them free. Immediately the people were enraged against Him, and they led Him to the brow of the hill upon which the Temple was built that they might cast Him off and kill Him.
In all of this we plainly see Satan trying to do away with the Lord Jesus; he would have killed Him if he could.
From the pinnacle of the Temple he had already asked Christ to cast Himself down. Now, from the brow of the hill he was intent on thrusting the Lord over and down to His physical destruction. With majestic power, however, the Lord quietly moved away leaving Satan, and the Satan-dominated crowd, amazed at the power of the Man of Calvary.
Shall we not once more take comfort? No weapon raised against us can prosper. The Lord is saying, "Because I live, ye shall live also." He offers His life as security for ours and that sufficeth.
IV. SATAN AND THE GALILEE STORM (Luke 8:23-24)
As the disciples, accompanied by the Master, were crossing the Sea of Galilee the Lord, being weary, lay soundly sleeping in the boat. As He slept a tremendous storm came rushing down from the hills, and fell upon the lake turning it into the madness of fury.
The boat was about to sink, as it was rapidly filling with water. Peter awoke the Master, saying, "Master, Master, we perish." With nothing of fear, yea, without a shadow of worry, the Master quietly arose. He rebuked His disciples with the words, "Where is your faith?" Then He held up His hand, and addressing the waves and the winds said: "Peace be still" (Mark 4:39).
We read that "there was a great calm." Who was it, think you, had whipped those waves into madness? Satan, realizing that he could not cope with Christ while awake, sought to attack Him while He was asleep. Perhaps Satan thought: "While Christ is unawares, I will sweep down with Euroclydon force against the little boat, and overwhelm the Son of God. This, however, Satan could not do, yea, nor can he do it now.
We who sail the sea of life need have no fear so long as the Lord rides with us in the boat. Storms may come and storms may go, but God's children go on forever.
There hath no temptation, no attack from Satan, overtaken us, but that God is able to deliver us. Yea, and He will deliver those who put their faith in Him.
A little girl, seeing a picture of Christ asleep in the boat, said: "I wouldn't have been afraid as long as Jesus was there." Why, then, should we fear?
V. SATAN AND THE CRUCIFIXION (Colossians 2:15)
As the three years of Christ's ministry came to their close the clouds darkened deeply over the Master's head. The thunders began to roll, as the lightning" flashed across the sky of His life. All men seemed set against Him. Those who had eaten of His loaves and fishes joined with the rabble in seeking His death. In the upper room the Lord finally sat with His disciples, saying, "The hour is come; behold, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners." Then it was that Satan entered into Judas, and Judas went to the scribes and Pharisees and sold his Lord for thirty pieces of silver.
Out into the Garden of Gethsemane the traitor led the haters of the Son of God. From thence the Lord Jesus was led to Caiaphas and Annas, and then to Pilate in the judgment hall. Plainly we see demonized men, Satan-driven, centering themselves against the Son of God. Surely that night was a devil-filled night. Christ said it was their hour and the power of darkness. When finally the ordeal before Herod and Pilate had passed; when the anguish of the whipping-post was over; when the crushing weight of the Cross under which He fainted was behind Him, and when the Son of God was upon the Cross numbered with the transgressors, with the principalities and power of the air commandeered by Satan, and Satan-energized and driven men all gathered with one heart and mind against the Son of God and God, the Son. Then the Lord all alone met them and vanquished them triumphing over them in it. In His seeming hour of defeat, He wrought His greatest victory.
VI. SATAN AND THE ASCENSION (Ephesians 1:19-20)
We would have thought that Satan would have given up the fight with the bruising of His head at Calvary, but no he is determined to press on against every obstacle and every power. Satan is still the prince of the power of the air, for we read in Ephesians that Jesus Christ ascended up far above all principalities and powers, and took His seat at the right hand of God.
We cannot for a moment believe that He went up above those principalities and powers, unopposed. If ever there is to be a war in heaven, there was one then. He who went up above principalities and powers went up through them. The very fact that He sat down at the Father's right hand with Satan and his forces under His feet is sufficient proof that He is reckoned a Victor.
The twenty-fourth Psalm may be indeed the Psalm of Christ's Return, but we love to think of it in its relation to His ascension. Hear the words, "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in."
This was the cry of the ascending hosts who accompanied our Lord on His upward way. Down from the parapets of Heaven came the response: "Who is this King of Glory?" The second call given by the ascending hosts is: "The Lord mighty in battle"! Do these words not have a reference beyond Christ's conflict, and victory over Satan in the wilderness of temptation, in His earth life, and in the conflict at the Cross? Do they not strongly suggest the conflict in the skies as the Lord ascended, a conflict where the Lord proved Himself strong and mighty in battle?
One thing we know: that the Lord Jesus Christ now sits with the Father, a Victor, and He is able and willing to lead us in the train of His triumph, and to acclaim us more than conquerors because of His own conquest.
VII. SATAN AND THE SECOND COMING (Revelation 12:7-9)
When the Lord Jesus Christ went up into Heaven, He went up above principalities and powers above the air and all of its forces. When the Lord Jesus Christ descends from Heaven into the air, Satan must be cast down to the earth, inasmuch as it would be impossible for Christ to dwell in the same realm where Satan rules. Our text describes this war in Heaven. The first battle in the air was as Christ went up; the second is as Christ comes down.
We read that Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought against Michael.
We remember that there had been another conflict in the skies when Michael contended with the devil over the body of Moses. That seemed to be in the nature of a dual between the mighty archangel, Michael, and the mighty fallen angel, Satan. When Christ comes again, however, the conflict will be enlarged, Michael will be joined by his angels, and the dragon, by his angels. Satan will not prevail, but will be cast down to the earth.
A warning will then be sounded to the people inhabiting the earth: "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." Then the voice will add: "Rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."
Thus do we read of the great battle wherein Satan once more will meet defeat. It is not, however, until the end of the Millennium that Satan is altogether overcome. At the beginning of the thousand years, a great angel will lay hold upon him, chain him, and cast him into the abyss! After the Millennium Satan will be cast into the lake of fire, where he will forever be shut out from God, and God's children, and God's universe.
AN ILLUSTRATION
During the war of the sixties, Mr. Seward, Secretary of War under Mr. Lincoln, said something like this: "We will whip the South in just six months." The reason he spoke thus, was because he had not rightly judged either the strength or the vitality of the South. He did not know what the South was made of. So it is, that when you go out and fight against the devil you may imagine that you have a little battle on hand, and you will not therefore be fully prepared to meet your enemy. The devil is not merely a myth. I believe in the old-fashioned devil; I don't mean that he is old-fashioned at all, he is up-to-date. I mean that I believe in the old-fashioned Bible story of the devil, a literal devil, a devil of marvelous and unspeakable power. It is of that devil we speak today.