Gem #23 - Satan's Attempts to Kill the Christ

When the Lord Jesus came down to earth, Satan knew his mission. He knew

that the Lord Jesus was the Son of God, and when he saw Him an infant in

the manger, he thought if he could kill Him and get Him in the bonds of

death, what a fine thing it would be! So he stirred up the spirit of Herod

to kill Him; but Herod missed his mark. And many a time did Satan strive

to put the personal existence of Christ in danger, so that he might get

Christ to die. Poor fool as he was, he did not know that when Christ died

he would bruise the devil's head.

Once, you remember, when Christ was in the synagogue, the devil stirred up

the people, and made them angry; and he thought, "Oh! what a glorious thing

it would be if I could kill this man; then there would be an end of Him,

and I should reign supreme forever." So he got the people to take Him to

the edge of the cliff, and he gloated over the thought that now surely He

would be thrown down headfirst. But Christ escaped.

He tried to starve Him, he tried to drown Him; He was in the desert without

food, and He was on the sea in a storm; but there was no starving or

drowning Him, and Satan no doubt panted for His blood, and longed that He

should die. At last the day arrived; it was transmitted to the court of

hell that at last Christ would die. They rung their bells with hellish

elation and joy. "He will die now," said he; "Judas has taken the thirty

pieces of silver. Let those Scribes and Pharisees get Him, they will no

more let Him go than the spider will let go of a poor unfortunate fly. He

is as good as dead."

And the devil laughed with excitement, when he saw the Savior stand before

Pilate's bar. And when it was said, "Let Him be crucified," then his joy

knew no limits, except the limit set by his own misery. As far as he

could, he revelled in what was to him a delightful thought, that the Lord

of glory was about to die. In death, as Christ was being observed by

angels, so also He was seen by the devils too; and that dreary march from

Pilate's palace to the cross, was one which devils watched with

extraordinary interest. And when they saw Him on the cross, there stood

the exulting fiend, smiling to himself. "Ah! I have the King of Glory now

in my dominions; I have the power of death, and I have the power over the

Lord Jesus."

He exerted that power, until the Lord Jesus had to cry out in bitter

anguish, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" But ah! how short

lived was hellish victory. How brief was the Satanic triumph! He died;

and "It is finished!" shook the gates of hell. Down from the cross the

conqueror leaped, pursued the fiend with thunderbolts of wrath; swift to

the darkness of hell the fiend did fly, and swift descending went the

conqueror after him; and we may conceive him exclaiming--

"Traitor! this thunderbolt shall find and pierce you through,

Though under hell's deepest, darkest wave you seek to go,

To find a sheltering grave."

And seize him He did--chained him to his chariot wheel; dragged him up the

steeps of glory; angels shouting all the while, "He ascended on high, He

led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." Now, devil, you said

that you would overcome me, when I came to die. Satan, I defy you, and

laugh you to scorn! My master overcame you, and I shall overcome you yet.

You say you will overcome the saint, do you? You could not overcome the

saint's Master, and you will not overcome him.

You once thought you had conquered Jesus: you were bitterly deceived. Ah!

Satan, you may think you shall overcome the little faith and the faint

heart; but you are wondrously mistaken--for we shall assuredly tread Satan

under our feet shortly; and even in our last extremity, with fearful odds

against us, we shall be "more than conquerors through Him that loved us."