A Great Mistake

Today is Easter. To some it’s simply another holiday but to me and my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ it is a day of celebration and excitement. Our Saviour is risen and that is great news. I love the story of the Crucifixion. It’s powerful. Jesus made the choice to stay on that cross even though it was my sin that put him up there.

I also love the story because I think it is Satan’s greatest mistake. Satan from the day of his rebellion has been trying to claim creation as his own and from the moment Eve bit the apple and Adam followed suit we became sinful and trapped in his rebellious nature.The only fix to our situation came and is still from the Lord Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. Ultimately, it was our sin that put him there, and his love that kept him there.

But there is something that I find quite interesting about the way Christ died and how his trial and death came about. He was betrayed by a man whom he loved for money because he was deceived by Satan. His trial was unfair, accused of things he had never done, by men giving false testimony because they too were siding with Satan. And crucifixion was an execution reserved for the most vile of criminals and we know that Jesus was not a criminal because he was sinless, so this too, was part of the plan and I’m sure Satan enjoyed the thrill of seeing him hang there in humiliation.

Yet, I think when the nails were pounded in he began to realize that he had just made a great mistake. In order for Christ to create a path of redemption he had to live a sinless life and die and rise from the dead. I’m not sure which part of that would be the hardest, a life without sin or rising from the dead. That doesn’t matter though because he accomplished both a sinless life and freedom from grips of death. When Christ was nailed to the cross he hadn’t sinned yet, and I imagine that this is when panic set in for Satan.

See, he’d just had a perfect man crucified and as we know crucifixion leads into death. He’d just made it easier for Christ to accomplish his goal. So, how did he respond? Like he does in every situation- he begins tempting.

Shortly after the crucifixion we see that the crowds begin to harass Christ. Mocking, screaming, taunting, and so much more. The Gospels tell a story of a harsh and brutal crowd saying things like, “if you’re truly God’s son, come down off the cross” or “you say you’re here to save but you cannot even save yourself.” Temptation at his weakest moment, the moments before death. Yet, LOVE kept him there.

I’m thankful that Satan became so caught up in destroying the Son of God that he in the end ended up destroying his own kingdom and set in motion the destruction of his reign of terror.So, today I am celebrating the greatest gift of love and the power and victory of Christ over death. But also, laughing at Satan’s great mistake.