Wise as Serpents: Christ is Risen and Satan is Thrown out of Court (Part 16 of Sermon Series)

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.  (Hebrews 2:14-18  ESV)

We have been regularly reminding ourselves as we have studied this dark subject of evil that Christ is victor, that evil has not won and is not going to win and in fact has been defeated by Christ already. In particular, this Easter morning we remember these things. Christ is Risen! Christ has conquered that evil enemy and death, and we want to recall today how He has done this.

The Devil Keeps Showing Up

Right from the very beginning, in Eden, we have two kingdoms in conflict. The kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness.

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  (Colossians 1:13-14  ESV)

There they are: the domain or kingdom of darkness, and the kingdom of His Son. Each kingdom has a king. All who are outside of Christ, every person as they are born into this world, is a slave in the kingdom of darkness. Among many other blessings, when Christ saves us He delivers us, ransoms us, from the devil’s kingdom and rule. There is a radical change in our citizenship. Paul speaks of it:

But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles — to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’  (Acts 26:16-18  ESV)  [Emphasis added.]

The power and kingdom of Satan, you see.

Let’s see if we can follow this thread through Scripture, at least part of it, in order to see more clearly just how great a victory Christ won when He rose from the tomb that first Easter morning.

In Scripture, when Christ comes on the scene, when the Gospel comes to some new region, inevitably the king of darkness makes an appearance — sometimes as charming angel of light — working to oppose the Light of Christ:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”  (Genesis 3:1  ESV)

Satan’s motive? To be god. What does he crave? To be worshipped; to possess absolute power and control. This, as we know, is the essence of evil and it characterizes every henchman who serves the devil.

There are many other points in the Old Testament record which tell of Satan working to preserve his dark kingdom and destroy the Kingdom of God. The book of Job records that Satan wanted to undermine Job’s faith and integrity. Cain killed Abel. The devil led King David into the sin of numbering his army. Satan launched many attacks against Israel, knowing that it was from the seed of Abraham that the Messiah would come.

But it is at the point of Christ coming into this world that Satan really went to work to extinguish the kingdom of Light.

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.  (Matthew 2:16  ESV)

Satan is behind that, trying to kill the infant Jesus. Then Jesus began His public ministry and the first thing we see:

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  (Matthew 3:16-17  ESV)

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.  (Matthew 4:1-11  ESV)  [Emphasis added.]

Throughout His ministry, Jesus was opposed by many evil people, and He always knew who they really were:

You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father — even God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  (John 8:41-44  ESV)  [Emphasis added.]

Jesus acknowledged and taught that the devil was always at work opposing the truth of the Gospel, bringing people into bondage:

The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.  (Mark 4:14-15  ESV)  [Emphasis added.]

And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”  (Luke 13:11-16  ESV)  [Emphasis added.]

Peter acknowledged the activity of the devil in his sermon:

As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.  (Acts 10:36-38  ESV)  [Emphasis added.]

Satan Steps it Up

Now, as the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus drew nearer, you see Satan mentioned with some frequency:

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”  (Matthew 16:21-23  ESV)  [Emphasis added.]

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”  (Luke 22:31-34  ESV)  [Emphasis added.]

And the betrayal of Judas is particularly connected with the activity of the devil:

Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.  (John 6:70-71  ESV)  [Emphasis added.]

And in John 13:1-30 —

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

“I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”

Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.  (ESV)  [Emphasis added.]

And in Luke 22:1-6:

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people. Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.  (ESV)  [Emphasis added.]

Satan behind it all, you see. He had his “man”, his secret agent, right in among the disciples in Christ’s inner circle.

Satan’s Defeat

Sometimes we may think “Evil is everywhere! What’s the use?” That’s when we need to remember that although Satan is still active today, after the cross, he is a defeated foe and he knows it. That is one of the reasons he rages so. Consider these Scriptures which speak of this:

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?  (Acts 5:3  ESV)  [Emphasis added.]

But we notice very carefully that Christ defeated Satan through His perfect obedience to the Law of God and by His atoning death on the cross, All as our perfect and victorious Adam in whom we are.

Jesus announced Satan’s expulsion from heaven:

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.  (Luke 10:17-19  ESV)  [Emphasis added.]

Here is an account of this defeat of the devil as described in Revelation, along with the devil’s present, enraged activity because he knows his time is short and because his power over us has been broken:

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world — he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. [He goes right after the church.] But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring [that’s us; that’s the church], on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.  (Revelation 12:7-17  ESV)  [Emphasis added.]

These things are not future. Satan knows he is defeated — he knows he is toast. And he is doing all he can to persecute the church of God. Satan’s defeat has happened, and Christ’s death and resurrection are how this has been won. Here it is in perfectly clarity:

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.  (Hebrews 2:14-15  ESV)  [Emphasis added.]

Christ’s incarnation, perfect obedience to God’s Law in His life, and His atoning death have effected destruction of the works of the devil and have delivered us from his bondage. This is the good news of Easter — Jesus is Risen. Satan has been expelled from God’s courtroom. He no longer has any basis for accusing us, so the power of death he once had is broken. As we see evil on the increase in this world, we know that it is an indication that Christ’s coming is drawing closer and closer because Satan knows it, and is raging.

Because Christ is risen, His people need not fear death. We do not need to fear it. In Christ we are conquerors over the grave. All that the death of our bodies does is launch us into the presence of Christ and one day even our bodies will be raised, never to suffer any kind of “work of the devil” again.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”  (John 11:25-26  ESV)

No wonder Christ tells us we can encourage one another with these words:

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.  (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18  ESV)  [Emphasis added.]

[February 14, 2023: Editors’ notes:

—For some comments made prior to February 14, 2023 that quoted from the post, the text in the comment that was quoted from the post might no longer be an exact match.
—For some comments made prior to February 14, 2023 that quoted from the post, the text in the comment that was quoted from the post might no longer be found in the post.
If you would like to compare the text in the comments made prior to February 14, 2023 that quoted from the post to the post as it is now (February 14, 2023), click here [Internet Archive link] for the most recent Internet Archive copy of the post.]

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Audio and PDF of this sermon here.

Go to Part 17 of this series

A list of the entire series can be found on our Wise as Serpents Digest.

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UPDATE  Sept 2021:  Barbara Roberts has come to believe that Jeff Crippen does not practise what he preaches.  He vilely persecuted an abuse victim and spiritually abused many other people in the Tillamook congregation. Go here to read the evidence. Jeff has not gone to the people that he spiritually and emotionally abused. He has not apologised to them, let alone asked for their forgiveness.

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