Out Of Sight But Victorious

Out Of Sight But Victorious

How did Jesus’ three years of public ministry begin and end?

JESUS’ MINISTRY is bracketed by two periods of forty days. In the forty-day period preceding his ministry, Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during all that time and became very hungry.

Then the Devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, change these stones into loaves of bread.”

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every word of God.’”

Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He orders his angels to protect you. And they will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.’”

Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.

Next the Devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the nations of the world and all their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will only kneel down and worship me.”

“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God; serve only him.

Then the Devil went away, and angels came and cared for Jesus. (Matthew 4:3-11)

Jesus had won the first round of his confrontation with Satan. But the great victory came three years later at the end of his ministry. On the cross Christ died to pay the penalty for the sins of his people, all those who sincerely put their trust in him. Jesus was buried and then on Easter morning rose from the dead. “The Devil . . . had the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14), but by his resurrection Christ defeated Satan, demonstrating that death could not hold the victorious Son of God.

In order to make sure that all his followers knew that he had risen from the dead and defeated Satan, Jesus appeared to them time after time during the forty-day period following his resurrection (Acts 1:3).

At the end of this final forty days, on May 14, A.D. 33, Jesus led his disciples to the village of Bethany on the Mount of Olives. There, while lifting up his hands to heaven, he blessed them, and while they were watching, he was taken up into the sky and disappeared into a cloud. As his disciples strained to see him, two white-robed men suddenly stood there among them and said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. And someday, just as you saw him go, he will return” (Acts 1:11).

Jesus was triumphant over Satan in the wilderness and defeated him by his resurrection. One day, after Jesus’ return, the devil will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10), defeated to tempt no more.

Reflection

What wonderful news that Jesus Christ has defeated Satan! What relevance does this defeat have to you personally?

Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—Jesus also became flesh and blood by being born in human form. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the Devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he deliver those who have lived all their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.

Hebrews 2:14-15