Message Seven: Satan vs The Savior

By Dr. Michael Guido, D.D.

Matthew 2:13-23

A little girl had been saying, “What the devil” quite frequently, and it bothered her mother. “That’s a word that nice people don’t use,” cautioned the mother, “and I never want to hear you use it again.” Several weeks passed and the girl obediently refrained from the word. Then, one Sunday evening the mother asked, “What was your Sunday School lesson about?” “Well, it was about–the gentleman who keeps hell,” answered the girl.

But the devil isn’t a gentleman, and he doesn’t keep hell. He’s not in hell now, and when he goes there he won’t be keeping it, it will be keeping him. The devil will be suffering more than any other sinner.

“But,” you ask, “where did the devil come from?”

God is the Creator of everyone and everything. Therefore, God created Lucifer, the greatest and grandest angel. He was everything. He was created holy and wise, and God gave him the government of this world. God didn’t create the devil. The devil made himself a devil. By his own free act he sinned. When he did, he lost his original dignity and turned himself into a fiend. His great wisdom, corrupted by pride, developed into craftiness and wickedness.

Lucifer became Satan when he tried to make himself not only equal with God, but as the one above God. Although still an angelic being, he never was or ever shall be merciful, loving, kind or patient. From the moment he fell, Satan labored with superhuman power, along with his evil hosts, to destroy Christ and the Christians.

In the Garden of Eden Satan was present when God said, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and hers; he will crush your head.” From that faraway hour, Satan has been seeking to destroy the promised seed.

Satan knows men. He knows the human heart. Next to God, there’s no one who knows it as well as he does. He moved Cain to kill his brother, Abel. Then there was a population explosion, and he sowed tares upon the earth. When the Lord God saw the extent of human wickedness, and the direction of men’s lives were only towards evil, it broke His heart. So the people were destroyed by the flood. But Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord.

Satan, who was a murderer from the beginning and the father of lies, stirred up Esau to say, “I’ll kill my brother Jacob.” But God delivered Jacob. In the same attempt to destroy the promised seed, Satan moved Pharaoh, when Moses was born, to destroy all the boy babies. And he nourished that same blood red purpose during Israel’s kingdom days to destroy the chosen seed. He sowed treachery and slaughter among the sons of David, and he continued doing this until Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

It was Satan who moved Herod to butcher all of the boy babies in Bethlehem, hoping to kill Christ. The same Satan sought the destruction of Christ when he persuaded the people of Nazareth to throw Him off the brow of the hill on which their city was built. He sought the destruction of Jesus when he moved the scribes and Pharisees to take up stones and kill Him. When his devilish disciples failed, he tried to kill Christ by blowing up a storm so that He would drown, but again he failed.

Once more Satan called for volunteers. He bought the gentlemen of the mansions, the soldiers of the army, and a follower of our Lord–even Judas. One day, as He was praying in the Garden, Judas, who had betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver, walked up to Him and kissed Him on the cheek. The mob seized Him and led Him to the High Priest’s residence. The guards mocked Him, spit on Him, and hit Him with their fists. He went through a mockery of a trial. Satan bought the judge and the jury, and Jesus was condemned to die.

On Friday afternoon, Satan, with all of his madness and might, pounced upon Him and killed Him. What a triumph when Satan saw the mangled body of the Lord Jesus Christ, wrapped in linen, embalmed in spices, and sealed in a tomb. But God the Father Almighty raised Jesus from the dead. What a victory!

One day Napoleon put his finger on a kingdom colored red on a map of the world and said to his men, “If it weren’t for that red spot, I could conquer the world.” That red spot was the British Isles.

I can see Satan placing his finger on a red spot called Calvary, and saying to his demons, “If it weren’t for that red spot, I could conquer the world.” Calvary was his Waterloo. That’s where the Lord Jesus died to save us from Satan’s power. Accept the person of Christ, and you’ll have His power.

copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic Association

All Scripture verses are quoted from the New King James Version.

This series of messages on the books of the Bible were originally written for broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program, "The Sower." They are collected and reprinted here for your enjoyment and spiritual edification. Go to the Sower's site for more at www.TheSower.com.