When Hell Misread the Cross
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
The demonic diagnosis of Jesus’ death on the cross was that it was over. This movement of the Way is shut down. Satan believed he won, but he failed to notice that the OT prophesies were actually being fulfilled. The trial of Jesus, along with the Jews rejecting Him as Messiah, only served to make Jesus famous throughout all nations.
The devil has never and will never stop harassing the servants of the Lord. He will use the same techniques he has always used. He will attempt to get us to question who God is and question our identity. He did it to Eve, to Jesus, and to everyone in between.
Whenever we hold on to promises from the word of God, we get interrogated by the devil with questions like, Did God really say you shall live and not die? Did God really say you will live to see the goodness of God in the land of the living? Did God really say He created you in His image?
When Satan tried to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, he did so by questioning His identity – If you are the Son of God, prove it. Turn a stone into bread, jump off this cliff, and bow down to me. Every time, Jesus used God’s word to rebuke the devil. Then the devil left Him until another opportunity arose, and the angels ministered to Jesus.
Satan has been negotiating with humans from the beginning.
Back to Where it All Started
8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” 18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” – Gen 2:8-9, 15-18
The truth is -
God planted and established a garden – enclosure
He put a man in it, whom He formed – also covenanted with
In this garden, He made every tree to grow or spring, shine forth
The tree of life was there, in the middle of the garden. Life – alive – as of God, the living one, the fountain of life
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was also there. Good = welfare, prosperity, and happiness. Evil = distress, misery, injury, or calamity.
Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because in the day you do, you will die.
God made for the man a helper, a mate, there to make things easier.
The Serpent’s Strategy
1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. – Gen 3:1-7
Yes, if you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall surely die. Though it may not happen at the moment, your life of evil will cause you death. The wages of sin are death.
It has been this way since Adam and Eve disobeyed their Creator, Father, and God. Thankfully, a way was made that would pay the wages of our sin. Jesus Christ’s blood.
The demonic diagnosis was death, but it was given in stealth mode. Satan knows we die when we choose to follow him and his ways. So, he asks questions that get us to doubt God.
The Stealth Diagnosis of Death
Most people don’t realize their choices are leading to eternal separation from God, death, and destruction.
James tells us about demonic wisdom. It is carnal and sensual. It is bitterness, envy, and self-seeking lodged in hearts. These sins create confusion and allow for every evil thing.
God’s wisdom is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits. We only get this kind of wisdom when we receive a new heart through putting our faith in Christ.
The fruit of wisdom will bear a name, Christ or the devil.
Satan skillfully devised a plan to enter God’s garden (enclosure) and get man to fall from grace.
The Cross: What Looked Like Defeat Was Victory
At the time, the cross may not have seemed like a good idea. After all, a Man was going to be tortured on that thing and die. That was part of God's joyfully implemented plan. Jesus died, and it looked like Satan won. Game over. Miracles, wonders, signs, healing, and salvation were gone at the cross. But wait….He rose.
Jesus had the final word on the Cross when He said, "It is finished." Every Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah had been completed, and everything lost through Adam’s sin had been restored. Satan’s dominion came to an end when Jesus turned the tide and rose from the dead.
Can you imagine the day Jesus walked out of that guarded tomb and straight to hell?
Jesus Descended, Conquered, and Rose
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, - 1 Pe 3:18-19 NASB
Ephesians tells us that Christ descended into the lower parts of the earth. God raised up Jesus and loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
Because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, Nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. – Act 2:27
I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. – Rev 1:18
Jesus destroyed the power of death. He rules with life. We surrender, we live. We rebel, we die.
Imagine the day Jesus showed up in hell and said, Give Me the keys, I won.
When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. – Col 2:15
He also gave gifts to men. He founded His Church with power and authority. The power to speak life or death. The authority to cast out demons and lay hands on the sick.
The Testimony That Lives
Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are more than a story; it is a life-giving, life-sustaining testimony.
Jesus is not a figurative, mythological character like Thor or Zeus. He is real, and every testimony of life, deliverance, healing, and miracles testifies to His reality.
Just as Adam died and all died in him, so as Christ resurrected all who believe will be raised from the dead as He was.
…. at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. – Phil 2:10-11
Let's pray,
Heavenly Father, we could not be more grateful than we are when we think about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He died and rose so we could live. God, we are grateful for You. Jesus, Lord of all. May we never take our salvation lightly and forget what we have in You and who we are. In Jesus name, Amen
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