John 11: 45-53

 

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

When we review the scriptures above, we see the progressive strategy of Christ’s enemies manifesting. From the temptations in the wilderness, to the final attempt to persuade him to reconsider His position and take His place among the people in the religious establishment. In the wilderness, Satan targeted Christ as he does all men. He did not fully understand the superior motivations of the God-man. He offered him the world, but Christ refused and set out to do God’s work. Jesus demonstrated that He was firmly opposed to all the world had to offer and began to dismantle the works of the devil. He rejected lust of the flesh, eyes, and pride of life, spoken of by the Apostle John (1 John 2:16). These temptations were not worthy of His attention. (Lust of the flesh is an inordinate desire for pleasure and comfort. Lust of the eyes is inordinate desire for possessions. Pride of life is an inordinate desire for exaltation and status among others, or being like God, apart from His instruction and will.) Satan’s targeting failed with these and he tried to arouse fear as well. When these temptations did not work, the accuser used slander in an attempt to discredit His work, but people believed despite the lies. Undeterred, our Lord was persistent in the Father’s work. Satan decided that he had to kill Jesus if he was going to slow down His momentum.

Satan’s strategies have not changed, we just fall for them frequently. Consider the offers that come to us clothed in the things mentioned above: diverse lusts, pride, and fear. Think about how quick we are sometimes to declare them from God, because they have a spiritual sound to them. When we are not motivated by these things, we can triumph over temptation. Consider what the world values and how we exalt Christians in possession of wealth, fame, and titles. The devil can make a person rich, boastful, proud, independent, and a worldly role model for others to emulate. He can also keep those things flowing in a person’s life in order to entangle and distract them from God’s calling. Lawlessness always attempts to cloak itself in righteousness. It will walk, talk, and act spiritual, but we suspect that there is something sinister at work. When worldliness has overtaken us and we are thriled by it, it overtakes our vision and chokes out the leading of the Spirit. The moment we truly begin to think we possess anything, including our next breath — we are deceived into thinking we are gods independent of the One true God.  

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Our challenge is to take inventory and examine ourselves in the light of scripture and the Holy Spirit. In doing so, we get a chance to see where we are at and how we are combating Satan’s strategies. All of us have areas of temptations that we struggle with more, and those are the areas he inflames the most. If our pursuits are filled with diverse lusts and self -seeking, and we are deterred by fear when God is calling, we have fallen for his temptations and need an intervention. Ask yourself what you get most excited about, and what you are willing to sacrifice for? We sacrifice a lot for our work, goals, families, possessions, and even our faith communities. At the end of the day, we need to ask if these things are aligned with God’s intentions.

Hebrews 13:8 states, “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.” He is an overcomer who trains his followers to overcome. Satan wants us to believe that the path of God is boring, hard, and unrewarding. We must reject his lies and cultivate a mindset of obedience to what God wants from our lives. The instruction to overcome is simple; implementation is difficult. Believe in God’s will. It is the only reliable, pure, and noble endeavor we will ever set our hearts upon. Let us persevere.