Four

From the very beginning of our Lord's public ministry, the battle lines were drawn. God had sent His Son into this world as a man with a specific purpose. This Man who was the representative of God, and in the exact image and likeness of God, should meet Satan in Spiritual Warfare and reclaim the dominion that the first man delivered to Satan when man chose to make Satan his god. The facts that specifically spell out this intention are found when the Holy Spirit came on, filled and anointed the Man Jesus.

Notice the emphasis of these verses: "Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted by the devil." [Luke 4: 1, 2] Matthew specifically states: "To be tempted by the devil". [Matthew 4:1] This area of spiritual conflict was chosen by God at the time that was also God's choice. God set the stage which was the exact repeat of the attack of Satan on man in Genesis. In a very real sense, this was God's challenge to Satan to attempt to defeat this Man whom God deliberately sent on this mission in the same way he defeated the first man.

The devil immediately took up the challenge. He had proved once already that he could be victorious, even though the one he tempted was a pure and holy man, one who was in the closest fellowship with God, who was the personal representative of God and in the image and likeness of God. If he had done that once, he was convinced that he could do it again this time.

The Scriptures tell us of Jesus "being tempted for forty days by the devil." [Luke 4:2]The Scriptures do not give us a detailed list of the many temptations that the devil attempted to use, but they do tell us that the Lord Jesus "was in all points tempted as we are." [Hebrews 4:15]

The Gospels do give us three specific temptations that reveal the tactics of the enemy. The first has to do with turning stones into bread. "He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." [Luke 4:2,3] This is nothing but to resort to "the lust of the flesh"...satisfying legitimate appetites in a way that was outside the will of God. The answer of Jesus was already given, "I always do those things that please Him." [John 8:29] "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God." [Luke 4: 4]

Then there was "the lust of the eyes". "The devil...showed Him all the kingdoms of the world...All this authority I will give You, and their glory." [verse 6] "Look at all these - You can have it. " The answer, "I always do those things that please Him." "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve." [verse 8]

Finally, "the pride of life". "Throw Yourself down... He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you, and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone." [verses 10,11] The answer, "I always do those things that please Him!" "You shall not tempt the LORD your God." [verse12]

And so the devil backed off, but only for a while. The attacks were repeatedly launched against Him, but always there was that same victorious answer, "I always do those things that please Him."

It is obvious that the shadow of that final Spiritual Conflict was always with Him. As He knew He was drawing nearer and nearer to that conflict, He repeatedly spoke of the fact that it was inevitable, and He attempted to warn His disciples to be ready.

In Matthew, at the time when He asked the disciples, "Whom do you say that I am?" [Matthew 16:15] and Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" [verse16], the Lord Jesus went on to speak about the fact that "He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."[verse 21]

Peter rebuked the Lord Jesus and claimed, "This shall not happen to You." [verse22]The answer of the Lord Jesus is most significant, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an offence to Me." [verse 23] Why were His words so strong? Because Peter was not only mindful "of the things of men", he was actually using the arguments of Satan: To get what you want, you can find an easier way; you do not have to follow the Word and the will of God.

They were the closest disciples of Jesus, but they were using the arguments of Satan against Jesus, especially whenever He spoke to them of the coming suffering and death which was always at the heart of the Spiritual Warfare that He knew He must face! And this same attitude remains far too common today, as so many believe that their intercession can conveniently ignore the reality of the cross.

The heat of the battle is seen rising as the disciples share the Last Supper with the Lord Jesus. "The devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him." [John 13: 2] Yet Judas still took his place at the table. The enemy was preparing to claim his victory, but the Lord Jesus was not caught unprepared. He confidently moved on to always do the things that pleased the Father!

When He spoke about being betrayed, the disciples were temporarily dismayed, but quickly returned to that which interested them the most -- which of them would be the greatest. They were focusing on "the pride of life", while He was steadily moving forward to the final conflict, still determined to always do that which pleased His Father.

It is obvious that the crucial moment that will bring the most vital confrontation in Spiritual Warfare had been reached. Recognizing this fact, it is important for us to notice how the two parties are being configured at this time. The events of the Upper Room and the Garden of Gethsemane force us to notice that the Man that God has sent to fulfill this vital mission, the Man who is the representative of God in the exact image and likeness of God, has been left to stand alone! Matthew reminds us of the reaction of all the disciples. "Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled." [Matthew 26: 5] They were interested only in saving themselves.

On the other side were gathered, not only Satan, but the principalities, the powers, the rulers of darkness of this age, and the spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. Standing fully allied with all of these spiritual forces of evil were all of the political powers of the world. Remember -- "Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate." [Luke 23: 11]

The military powers of the world, represented by Pilate and the Roman legions, joined in the total rejection of Jesus and sentenced Him to be crucified, and to then supervise that crucifixion.

What civil authorities there were at that time meekly went along with the crowd. The crowd had been very thoroughly manipulated and controlled by the religious authorities of the world at that time. They pursued their evil objective with unrelenting hatred in their determination to utterly destroy the Lord Jesus.

The battle is engaged...the combined forces of evil unleashed all their vile weapons and their most deadly armaments against this Man. He faced them strong, resolute and unyielding, responding with but one solitary weapon at His disposal.

Watch as the battle unfolds. The religious powers resort to lies and false accusations. "They spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck you?" [Matthew 26: 67, 68] But He did not reply, nor rebuke, nor retaliate!

Pilate, so weak and vacillating, finally condemns Him to be crucified, knowing that he is sentencing an innocent man. And still not a word comes from the lips of Jesus that is spoken in either self -justification or retaliation or rebuke.

Condemned to be taken out and crucified, the Roman soldiers proceed to do their utmost in their attempt to totally humiliate Him. They strip His own robe off Him and put on Him some ragged purple rag in mockery of the fact that He supposedly claimed to be a King. They weave a crown of thorns and force it down on His head. They get a weak useless reed and pretend that it is His royal scepter, and they mock Him, using that reed to beat Him over the already thorn-crowned head. And yet they draw no response from Him.

What kind of Spiritual Warfare is this? Already it appears to be completely one sided. While the combined forces of evil in the world attack Him so violently, there is no sign of any defense on His part, no evidence of any retaliation. How could this be described as conflict? Look more carefully. Listen more attentively!

The Lord Jesus has already, once and for all, given the only answer He ever needed to give, "I always do those things that please Him!" If only we, as His people, would always and only follow His example, how many difficulties would be immediately resolved; how many perplexities would totally evaporate. A sense of deep peace and serenity would become firmly established in our hearts, our minds, our lives.

When confronted by the rabble that had come out to arrest Him, He said to them, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness." [Luke 22: 52, 53]

This is the hour when Satan is claiming the right to assert his total, despotic power and authority. In this terribly dark hour, the world, the flesh and Satan are one in their attempt to prove once and for all the supreme authority and power of the darkness.

Darkness reigns as the devil prepares to throw all of the total resource of evil into the Spiritual Warfare with the Lord Jesus. Satan was convinced that there could only be one possible outcome of this decisive battle; he would prove to be completely victorious. The only light that remained to oppose the demonic darkness appeared to Satan to be this one flickering candle that would be utterly extinguished. That one last flickering candle was the Man God had sent as His representative to face this momentous moment of Spiritual Warfare.

Look at the facts: Pilate had already condemned this Jesus to be executed. The Roman soldiers had taken Jesus into their custody with the specific intention of escorting Him to the hill called Golgotha, there to crucify Him. And the One who was condemned to that fate had done nothing, and appeared to be able to do nothing to reverse this decision.

When they arrived at Golgotha, they found the preparations already made. The soldiers stretched Jesus on that cruel rugged cross and hammered through His hands and feet those rough spikes that would ensure that He was securely fixed to that cross. Then they raised the cross and let it just drop with a sickening thud into the hole that had already been prepared for it. Every indication was that the condemned could do nothing , and attempt to do nothing to hinder these developments.

This is Spiritual Warfare in which the power of darkness is so cruelly exerting its total dominance. It certainly appears that there was nothing that the crucified Man could do to reverse these developments. He quietly, humbly submitted to everything that was done to Him.

Then we watch the crowd that had gathered to witness this utter humiliation and total defeat of this One. The crowd represented all areas of humanity. There were soldiers representing Roman authority. Among them were the Jewish priests and scribes representing all areas of the religious life of the people. And so many others from all walks of life who had been attracted to these events.

As these gathered and shared, there rose up a united chorus of voices, all of which had but one motive, to mock and ridicule this One as He died. "He saved others; let Him save Himself, if He is the Christ, the chosen of God." [Luke 23: 35] "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself." [verse 37] "He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him: for He said, I am the Son of God." [Matthew 27: 43]

As that crowd delivered their most hateful attack in the strongest possible terms, it appears as though He had nothing to say in return, except perhaps, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." [Luke 23: 34]

"This is your hour and the power of darkness." Yes, the prince of darkness reigned, running rampant as the foolish and deceived dupes took up the mockery and ridicule that he continually fed to them.

"Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour." [Luke 23: 44] When darkness reigns....we have witnessed the vicious attacks which the human allies of the devil threw against Him as he hung on the cross. But what happened during those hours when darkness actually reigned and dominated the entire scene.

This is Spiritual Warfare! We can be sure that Satan and all his hosts of evil used this opportunity to hurl against the Lord every possible vile and vicious missile in their armory. No opportunity would be lost to deepen the wounds and increasingly aggravate the results of these unrelenting attacks.

We get a brief glimpse of but one area in which this warfare effected the One attacked, as "at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? Which is translated, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" [Mark 15: 34]

It was as He hung there on the cross, while darkness reigned and the spiritual hosts of evil hurled at Him every possible weapon that they could enlist in their attack, that something else of vital significance happened...."Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree..." [1 Peter 2: 24]

In the midst of this awesome Spiritual Warfare, He totally identified with all those He had come to set free, as God "made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us," that as the result of His taking our place, "we might become the righteousness of God in Him." [2 Corinthians 5: 21]

In the Spiritual Conflict, under the most indescribably violent attack of the enemy, He placed Himself in total identification with us. Those who would be true intercessors must take this decision and development very seriously...this identification with the one for whom we intercede.

This brings us to the climax of this Spiritual Warfare. In these attacks, Satan and all the combined forces of evil have done their utmost to destroy Him and every appearance is that they have succeeded.

As He submits to the full fury of the attacks, He reaches the point where He is heard to say, "It is finished: and bowing His head, He gave up His Spirit." [ John 19: 30]

He was dead...finished! It appears as though Satan's vile and violent strategy had proved to be totally effective. The Man God had sent to reclaim dominion had been vanquished, having proved to be unable to protect Himself from Satan's onslaught.

Was this the case? No! Had this Man failed to protect Himself from this most malicious attack which culminated in His death? No! Using the only weapon He had ever used, this Man proved that God's plan worked perfectly. God had made no mistake. The One whom He had sent had accomplished everything God had sent Him to accomplish. Everything!

The devil was far too bold, and foolishly assumed that this was the way of victory for him, whereas it proved to be the way of his ultimate and total defeat. The enemy should have listened more closely to something that Jesus had stated earlier, for as He hung on the cross, so patiently enduring all of the most vile assaults that the enemy could throw against Him, this Man, in fellowship with God, was fashioning a most glorious victory!

It is in John 10 that we find the key to understanding these developments. There we hear Him say, "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father." [John 10: 17, 18]

"This command I have received from My Father." What command? To lay down His life! As He hung on the cross and endured that utterly indescribable attack from all the forces of evil, the enemy did not take His life from Him. He gave up His Spirit. He laid down His life in full obedience to the command of His Father. "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" willingly gave His life to be all that His Father appointed.

Remember the key verse: "For I always do those things that please Him." All that happened, that He appeared to abjectly resign Himself to endure because He had no other way to combat the attacks, was taken by this reality and used as the ultimate and unfailing weapon of victory!

Satan had never, could never, understand the ways of God. The perfect purposes of God were, and are, expressed in a love and grace that are completely outside Satan's comprehension. As he witnessed the death of the Lord Jesus, he was so sure that he had won and that God's plan was utterly thwarted. But how wrong he was!

We have no idea how long it took before the devil was staring the truth in the face, but face it he had to! The Man whom he thought he had completely defeated, had, in fact, by His very death defeated him! The immediate and eternal consequences of this Spiritual Warfare was victory for the Man God had sent, the Man who was God's representative in the image and likeness of God.

Listen again to God's evaluation of the outcome of this Spiritual Warfare: "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were subject to bondage." [Hebrews 2: 14, 15]

Through death He destroyed the devil. By destroying the devil, He rightfully claimed the dominion, and is able to release and to deliver all those whom Satan held in bondage.

If we fail to understand the implications of this Spiritual Victory, we will miss completely the real significance of all these events. It is certainly only in the light of these events that we can ever begin to understand what Paul meant when he wrote, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds;" [ 2 Corinthians 10: 4] ...and for effectively and victoriously binding the strong man and setting his captives free.

Also, it is certainly only in the light of these events that we can ever really begin to understand the place that such Spiritual Warfare will have in intercession for missions. If we ignore this fact such intercession for missions will be rendered almost and completely ineffective.

Again, we are reminded of the absolutely vital importance of the witness of the Lord Jesus, "For I always do those things that please Him!" That statement was so utterly vital in the victory that the Lord Jesus won for God as He died on the cross of Calvary, even as it was central to every other aspect of all He was, all He did and said, and everything that He accomplished.

Any Christian who ignores this statement, or seeks to replace it in any way whatsoever, is choosing the path of ultimate and inevitable defeat. There is no other way that anything relating to Spiritual Warfare can be entered into.

In this study, we have briefly looked at the role of the Lord Jesus in this Spiritual Warfare, and we must realize that this is only the beginning. We must now begin to look at all this has to say to us about the role that the Lord Jesus has entrusted to us in this continuing Spiritual Warfare.