The Truth Is Still Alive

In thinking about all the times the devil tried to stop Jesus Christ from accomplishing the Father's will, I began at the beginning. The evil one has always and will always seek to undermine God's plan. Remember when Joseph was uncertain if he should marry his fiance Mary? One of the choices he had was to stone her, thus destroying the baby she carried. But God came to him in a dream and Joseph married her. Then, exposed to the elements and in unsanitary conditions, Jesus was born. Without the ministrations of a midwife, or even her mother, Mary and Joseph delivered Jesus in that animal shelter.

And He lived and grew. But evil still attempted to end the Salvation story. The ruler of the day heard a king of the Jews had been born. He was stirred up with jealousy and fear. He ordered all the male babies up to two years of age to be slaughtered. Again, Joseph was advised in a dream to take his family to Egypt. The baby was safe and they returned only when God's messenger advised Joseph it was safe.

We do not know how many times during Jesus' childhood He was in danger of being destroyed. Was there a serpent waiting in a pile of wood He was using to build something with Joseph? Were there illnesses that plagued children of that day, and He was spared? We only know He grew in the grace and the wisdom of the LORD.

When it was time for Jesus to begin His ministry, the devil tried three times to tempt Christ so He would stray from His Father's plan. Several times people wanted to stone Him, when His words of truth convicted them of sin and hypocrisy. He would just walk away and they were left frustrated, planning their revenge for another day. Even His disciple Peter did not want to hear of how the Father's plan was to unfold.

In Judas Iscariot, the devil discovered a tool to destroy both Jesus and the Father's salvation plan all at once. One can only imagine his glee and satisfaction. Struggling in the Garden before the traitor brought the soldiers, Jesus was again tempted by the evil one not to go through with the Father's plan, but He determined to fulfill it out of love for us.The subsequent betrayal, the six trials, the beatings and cruelty of that event and finally, the horrible finality of the crucifixion, all made it appear as though Satan had won. But the devil is not all knowing. Jesus did not struggle for His life. He died within three hours because He was doing the Father's will. As He said, He came to give His life as a ransom for many.

We are now on this side of those events and we know how perfectly Jesus fulfilled every prophecy about the Suffering Servant God would send to save us. We know about the Resurrection! We know and we rejoice. We know and we are forever grateful. We know and we are changed!
Christ Jesus victor, lift us out of our fearful, doubting culture and establish us as your Easter people. Amen Happy Easter! Doma