Victory for the Devil?

Satan must have been pleased with himself. Imagine this embodiment of evil, the father of lies, a murderer from the beginning, smiling in satisfaction as Jesus dies on the cross.

It was the devil's greatest triumph, he thwarted God's plan to save mankind. Ever since the beginning of all things, he hated this creature God had created from the dust of the earth. This man and woman of flesh had cost him everything and his sole purpose for existence became a mission to separate man from God.

The devil tried to tempt the Holy One Himself, when that didn't work Satan turned to the followers of Jesus. He had better luck there. He succeeded in getting Judas to betray his Lord, and then tormented Judas with such guilt that the betrayer hanged himself. The devil was then able to get Simon, to deny that he even knew who this Jesus was.

The devil delighted in all that followed. A trial that convicted Jesus on the testimony of two liars, pawns of the devil, a sentence of death, the pain and suffering, the torture of the Savior, must have pleased Satan no end. Finally, Jesus is executed in the most humiliating way possible, as a common criminal, crucified between two thieves. Surely, thought the evil one, God had been thwarted. There would be no salvation for man. After all, he, the devil, was the prince of this world. He held man firmly in his grasp and would not let him go. The “Savior of the World” was dead, how could He now usher in the Kingdom of God? At the very least, God would have to come up with a better plan.

And so the devil sat back, very pleased with himself. His realm of the damned would continue to grow, Heaven would be empty and God would know the pain of the loneliness that He had sentenced Satan to.

But then, something was not quite right. An uneasiness that the Liar could not shake crept over him. Far off at the edge of his realm, he heard a noise. It was soft at first, but grew louder. Angels, those spirits that refused to join him in his rebellion so long ago, were singing “Alleluia!” The smile fell from his face as he heard a booming echo throughout Sheol. The booming continued until at last the gates of Hell crashed down, trampled underfoot by the Messiah. The Savior, anointed by the Holy Spirit, came not as a damned soul, but as a King shining with the uncreated light of God. And Satan, perhaps for the first time, was afraid.

The Resurrection of Jesus is the fulfillment of all of God's promises to us. Not even a spirit, whose sole purpose is to separate us from God, can thwart that. God has promised us eternal life in the Kingdom to come, with Jesus as our King. And nothing, no evil power, no enemy of God can prevent that from happening.

We know how the story ends, we win.

Pax vobiscum
Easter Sunday