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Jesus, the seed of the woman, is born.
Satan does not give up. Once Jesus is born, his attention turns to killing this seed of the woman before he could accomplish his mission.
1. He uses Herod, who inquires of the wise men just when and where Jesus was supposed to be born. With the information that Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem and the time of his birth, Herod orders that all males, two years and under, were to be killed in Bethlehem. God foils Satan's plan by warning Joseph, Jesus' earthly step-father, to flee into Egypt until Herod's death. So, Satan fails in his attempt to kill the young child. This account can be found in Matthew 2.
2. In Matthew 4:5-7, Satan tempts Jesus to cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple.
3. In Matthew 8:23-24, Satan attempts to kill Jesus by stirring up the winds and the waves of the sea to capsize the boat in which Jesus was sleeping. Jesus rebukes the wind and the sea. All becomes calm.
4. In Matthew 12, the Pharisees attempt to kill Jesus for healing on the Sabbath.
5. In Luke 4:28-30, the Jews take Jesus to a cliff to throw him off but Jesus escapes.
6. In John 5, the Jews seek to kill Jesus for, again, healing on the Sabbath.
7. In John 8:59, the Jews try to stone Jesus for claiming to be God.
8. In John 10:31, they try to kill him, again.
God preserves Jesus from all of Satan's attempts to kill him. So, now, Satan has failed to accomplish his attempts to corrupt man's seed, to stop the line of the seed, and to kill the seed once it entered the world. Now what? Satan still has some tricks up his sleeve. Satan attempts to persuade Jesus to not go to the cross for, once he gets to the cross, he will accomplish the Genesis 3:15 prophecy by bruising Satan's head and rendering his kingdom defeated. Once he gets to the cross, Jesus will restore man to his rightful dominion. Once he gets to the cross, Jesus will pay the penalty for all mankind and man will live forever in a state of dominion, as God had designed in the beginning.
1. Satan uses Peter in a feeble attempt to persuade Jesus that he does not have to suffer and die on the cross. (Matthew 16:21-23 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things…and be killed, and be raised again the third day. [22] Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. [23] But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.) On a side note, I find it incorrect when it is taught that Satan killed Jesus on the cross for Satan knows that if Jesus gets to the cross, that is the end for him. No, Satan wanted to keep him from the cross as proven, here, and in previous given scripture verses.
2. Satan uses Peter, again, in the garden of Gethsemane. When the Romans approached to arrest Jesus, Peter draws his sword and attacks. Satan was attempting to start a ruckus in which Jesus could be killed for resisting. Jesus heals the wound of the Roman and instructs Peter to put his sword away. (See John 18:1-13)
3. In my opinion, Satan attempted to kill Jesus by the brutal scourging he took the night before his crucifixion. To quote the late Bible scholar, Finis Jennings Dake:
"A scourge was a Roman implement for severe physical punishment. It consisted of a handle with about a dozen leather cords with jagged pieces of bone or metal at each end to make the blow more painful and effective. The victim was tied to a post and the blows were applied to the bare back and loins and sometimes to the face and bowels. The flesh was cut in several places by each blow. So hideous was the punishment that the victim often fainted and some died under it…"
Jesus gets to the cross!
Satan fails! Jesus gets to the cross. Amazingly, as Jesus hangs on that cross, Satan has a few more attempts left in him: Matthew 27:39-44 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, [40] And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. [41] Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, [42] He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. [43] He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. [44] The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. Notice that Satan even tempted God, in His time of pain seeing His Son hanging on that cross, to save Jesus. Feeble and futile though it was, Satan had little left to use…and this also failed. So, now what?
The only hope that Satan has, now, is YOU! He must keep YOU from accepting Jesus' work on the cross! He must keep YOU from being given a place of dominion in Jesus! He must keep YOU from eternal life in Jesus!
Is he failing in his attempt to make the cross of Jesus of none effect for YOU?
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