Imagine the scene on crucifixion day. Jesus is mutilated beyond description. He’s hanging from a rugged, splintery beam, enduring what’s still considered to be the cruelest form of execution. It’s so cruel, in fact, that Rome wouldn’t put its own citizens through it. No, they’d only crucify strangers.
Satan Thought He Silenced Jesus
It must’ve been a delight to the devil to hear Jesus cry out from His tree of scorn: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” Perhaps Satan and his minions took a victory lap that day, believing that they had separated the Father from the Son—made them as strangers to each other. “We’ve silenced the voice of deliverance,” I imagine they declared.
Perhaps Satan remembered the Scripture from Deuteronomy: “Cursed is a man who hangs on a tree” (21:23). And he probably celebrated that he had overcome the curse placed upon him back in the Garden of Eden, and had now put Jesus under a curse.
What Satan Always Forgets
But Satan is so near-sighted. He often misses the forest for the trees. And his arrogant celebration blinded him to a significant truth: Jesus was known for turning tables!
Though the devil thought that he had Jesus, he forgot Isaiah 53:5—Jesus was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by His wounds we were healed. He didn’t know about Revelations 13:8, that God had a plan from the beginning—Jesus was to be the final lamb that was slain. He couldn’t have imagined Colossians 2:14-15—the strategy all along was that the cross would disarm Satan and his minions and put them to public shame.
The Ultimate “Gotcha!”
You see, Satan thought he had Jesus, but He didn’t consider the cross! Satan didn’t know that Jesus would voluntarily take the sins of the world on His shoulders and use the cross as a trap to lure the devil in. As I vividly detail in my book, Silence Satan, the very instrument of execution meant to silence the Son of God was actually the means of silencing Satan. It was the ultimate “gotcha!”
“For this purpose the Son of God was revealed, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8, MEV).
The cross was the moment that God’s plan to the destroy the works of the devil was revealed! It’s unfathomable! Some 2,000 years ago, what looked like the place of death turned into the place of life.
And it’s the same for your life today. The devil might think he’s got you, but he’s forgotten the cross! The cross is still the place where Jesus turns the tables. It’s still the plan of victory. It’s still the place where those who go there, release their junk there, and stake their lives there can boast, “Gotcha, devil!” {eoa}
Kyle Winkler equips people to live in victory. His mobile app, Shut Up, Devil!, is the #1 spiritual warfare app; and his recent book, Silence Satan, has helped thousands shut down the enemy’s attacks, threats, lies and accusations. Kyle holds a Master of Divinity in biblical studies from Regent University. Get daily encouragement from Kyle on Facebook and Twitter.
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