Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem. While there, Simeon took the child into his arms and blessed God, saying, “My eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples” (Luke 2:30–31).
Jesus’ public ministry provided further clues that he is the savior. Right from the beginning of his ministry, Jesus proclaimed openly and with authority that “the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15). In other words, it was time for the messianic kingdom of God to be established. The long-awaited kingdom was coming, because the long-awaited savior and king had come. It was time to dethrone Satan and take away his power over people. It was time to see Satan fall like lightning from heaven (Luke 10:18).
Jesus’ message of the nearness of the kingdom was confirmed by his casting out demons. In Mark 1:23–26, Jesus confronted a man possessed by an unclean spirit. Most of, if not all, the people witnessing this confrontation did not know who Jesus was or that he was the promised Messiah. The unclean spirit, however, knew exactly who Jesus was: “I know who you are—the Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24). He also knew what Jesus had come to do—that is, to redeem his people and conquer the reign of evil in the world. This is why the unclean spirit was defensive and said, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” The demon recognized the nearness of the kingdom of God and was frightened. Jesus responded to the demon by commanding him to come out of the man. In so doing, Jesus demonstrated his power and authority over the kingdom of evil. He did this time and time again (Mark 1:32–34, 39). In fact, the abundance of unclean spirits during Jesus’ time on earth was undoubtedly a result of his presence. The climactic battle between God and Satan had arrived.
Jesus’ many miracles of healing also confirmed that he is the promised savior. Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus healing the sick, making the blind see, cleansing lepers, and so forth. When John the Baptist was in prison, he began to wonder if Jesus was really the Messiah. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he really was the one. Jesus responded, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matt 11:4–5). Jesus was saying that he was indeed the Messiah, because he was doing the things that the Old Testament prophets said the Messiah would do (Isaiah 35; Luke 8:14–17).
Jesus’ healing power highlighted the fact that he saves from sin and all of its consequences. To the paralytic man who wanted healing, Jesus said, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5). Some of the scribes and Pharisees wondered what right Jesus had to forgive sins. And so Jesus said to them, “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?” (Mark 2:9). Jesus’ miracles of healing demonstrated that he has power over the cause of sickness—namely, sin. In other words, he is the promised savior of sinners (and thus has the right to forgive sins), because he is able to save people from the consequences of sin: misery, sickness, and death.
Jesus’ other miracles provided further evidence that he is the promised savior. After showing Nathanael his ability to know things that no ordinary person could know, Nathanael cried out, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49). Upon his feeding the five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish, the people said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” (John 6:14). Although the people misunderstood Jesus’ mission, they were right that Jesus is indeed the promised savior. And so his birth set the stage for the climactic battle between God and Satan.
The Climactic Battle
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, wise men from the East went to Jerusalem looking for the one who had been born king of the Jews so that they might worship him. Upon learning from the chief priests and the scribes where the Christ was to be born, Herod told the wise men to go look in the little town of Bethlehem. He also directed them to bring back news of his exact whereabouts. Ostensibly, Herod wanted to know where Jesus was living so that he, too, might worship him. But in reality, he felt threatened by this newborn king. So to protect his dynasty, Herod decided to kill the child.
Satan was, of course, working behind the scenes for his own purposes—namely, to kill the seed of the woman. After countless failed attempts, he could now taste victory. With the help of the Hebrew Scriptures and the bright star, the wise men found Jesus. Having worshipped him and given him gifts, they were ready to return to Jerusalem to tell Herod, who would not waste any time in killing the young king. The war would soon be over and he, Satan, would emerge triumphant.
God, however, is not one to be defeated. He warned the wise men in a dream to avoid Herod. So they returned to their own country by another way (Matt 2:12). God also warned Joseph in a dream to take Jesus and Mary and flee to Egypt for a time, because Herod was seeking to destroy Jesus. This Joseph did (Matt 2:14). And just in time, too! Because Herod became furious that the wise men did not return to him, and decided to put to death all the male children who were two years old and under in Bethlehem and all its districts (Matt 2:16). The Apostle John graphically depicts this scene and Satan’s involvement in Revelation 12:3–5:
And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne.
Still, all was not lost for Satan. Although he had failed to keep the seed of the woman from coming into the world, there was still the opportunity to do to Jesus what he had done to Adam. Adam had led humankind into the kingdom of darkness. Jesus had come to lead us out. But if Satan could get Jesus to remain in his domain, then all would be well. And this is what he tried to do when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness.
Satan tempted Jesus, who was desperately hungry, to use his divine power to save himself by turning stones into bread. Although not a sin in and of itself, it would have been for Jesus, because it would have disqualified him from being our human mediator and savior. Appealing to Scripture, or rather twisting the meaning of Scripture, Satan urged Jesus to test God. Knowing that Jesus had come to take away his kingdom, Satan freely offered it to him, if only he will bow down and worship. Unlike Adam, Jesus resisted the devil at every turn, remaining faithful to his Father in heaven.
Destroying the devil, however, would require more work than simply resisting temptation. Jesus was going to have to go on the offensive and conquer Satan’s stranglehold over us. In Matthew 12:28–29, Jesus interpreted his exorcisms with these words: “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.” Jesus was going to bind Satan (the strong man) and plunder his house (lead us out of Satan’s kingdom and into his own kingdom).
How Jesus did this exactly is nothing short of extraordinary. The devil was still desperate to eliminate Jesus. He enlisted Judas, unbelieving Jews, and Romans to execute Jesus. In so doing, he undoubtedly thought he will win. But just the opposite happened—Jesus willingly laid down his life in order to crush and destroy Satan. By suffering and dying, Jesus administered the fatal blow and sets us free! As he said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:31–32; see also Col 2:13–15).
According to Revelation 20:3, Satan is now bound “so that he might not deceive the nations any longer.” No more will Satan be allowed to entice us into sin, seduce us into error, and keep us under his influence. For he has been cast out as ruler and prince of this world. The seed of the woman has crushed the serpent’s head. The works of the devil have been destroyed.
