Satan Waits At The Cross …
While Satan waited for what he believed would be the end of Jesus, he reminisced with some of his demon underlings.
Satan had been delighted to have such a fortunate opportunity with Eve. His techniques had worked well. If he had only been able to get Adam and Eve to eat of the Tree of Life and live forever, he would have had plenty of time to perfect everything.
But that had been just a temporary setback. Even though God bounced them all out of the garden, there had been other chances for satan to advance his evil plans. Satan was patient.
When the devil had finished all this tempting,
he left him until an opportune time.
Luke 4:13 (NIV2011)
There had been plenty of opportune times. Satan had managed to get quite a few people on his payroll. He always used his proven formula.
Plant doubt. Make the human doubt what God said.
Make the human believe God has not provided as much as He could have.
Offer them what they believe they have missed.
Promise them anything.
Capture them.
Put them on the payroll for the wages of sin.
Keep them working for you.
If they try to defect, heap lots of guilt and shame on them.
Convince them God will never take them back.
Threaten them with horrible things if they try to leave.
Satan made it clear to his demon lieutenants they were never to permit the humans to start thanking God for anything.
If they somehow slipped through and did, the demons were to negate every positive thought with a negative one.
Satan still wasn’t sure what had gone wrong in the bronze snake incident.
He had succeeded in getting the people to complain bitterly about what God had provided for them. He was sure he had them. Yet somehow God had turned the tables on him. When he saw Moses lifting the bronze snake, he was sure victory was within his grasp. But it somehow backfired.
Satan reckoned maybe it had something to do with the humans asking forgiveness. He had to admit he didn’t understand the concept of forgiveness. It didn’t make sense. It seemed so weak.
Satan took another victory slither around the cross. He smugly patted himself on the head with his tail. It had been a really good day.
He had absolutely perfected his attacks on the human body. He had to hand it to Jesus. He had suffered quietly, like a lamb being led to the slaughter.
Satan was surprised. He expected more from Him. Even though the torture was pretty dramatic, a good show of resistance would have made it better.
Speaking of sweet, satan wondered again where that sweet smell was coming from. He had been to plenty of crucifixions. He had never smelled anything like that. It reminded him of that expensive perfume.
Satan thought about that bronze snake episode again. Jesus had said something really strange about it recently. Satan, like any good scout for the other team, had watched Jesus every minute. He had taken mental notes on everything Jesus said, so he could incorporate it into his plans. What could Jesus have meant when he said,
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,
so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
John 3:14-15 (NIV2011)
Satan had a moment of doubt himself. He hated it. He was not used to having any doubts about anything. Had he missed something?
But wait, no, all was well. He thought Jesus was too far gone to say anything else, but Jesus was speaking. Satan leaned in to hear His weak Voice.
But … The Voice was not weak. It was as if every roll of thunder satan had ever heard was combined into one mighty drum roll.
…“It is finished!” …
John 19:30 (GW)
