The victory of the cross - 9 April 2009 |
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The devil frightens people. He only appears quite rarely in the Bible, but when he does he appears so evil, and seems to possess such extraordinary power, that in many parts of the world people live in constant fear of him. This is certainly true in countries where witchcraft and demon-worship are common. It may be less true in the secular West, but maybe we’re mistaken. Maybe we’ve underestimated the devil! Maybe we should be more worried about him than we actually are!
Certainly there are lots of questions that Christians might ask about the devil. What does the devil do? Does he have any power over us? And if so, has Jesus done anything to defeat him? We find the answer to these questions in Zechariah 3.
In Zechariah 3, the prophet sees a vision of a heavenly courtroom, in which Joshua the High Priest, representing God’s people, stands before Almighty God. Beside him stands Satan, the devil, and here we discover what Satan does. Look at v. 1:
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
Satan accuses God people. Indeed, the name ‘Satan’ means ‘accuser’. Satan stands before God like a prosecution lawyer, listing the sins we have committed against God. ‘Look!’ he says to God, ‘Look at those people, whom you have created! Look at their wickedness! Look at how they mistreat each other! Look at how they ignore your law! Look at how they make other gods for themselves, and ignore you, the only true God!’
Satan’s case is well founded, for his accusations are true. For v. 3 says, ‘Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments.’ These filthy garments symbolise the sin that defiles not only Joshua, but all of God’s people.
This explains why the Bible describes Satan as ‘the one who has the power of death’ (Hebrews 2:14). Satan has no power of his own to impose the death penalty; only God can do that. But Satan stands before God, demanding that he should impose the penalty that he – God – has stipulated. And since God is a righteous judge, he cannot ignore the charges that Satan brings.
So it seems that Satan is a powerful enemy indeed. He holds the power of accusation – he accuses us of sin before God. And because we have sinned, he holds the power of death, because death is God’s penalty for sin. God cannot lie, so sinners cannot live.
How is this great enemy to be defeated? We discover the answer in vv. 4-5:
And the angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Remove the filthy garments from him.’ And to him he said, ‘Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.’ And I said, ‘Let them put a clean turban on his head.’ So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD was standing by.
In Zechariah’s vision, God’s provides a wonderful solution to Joshua’s predicament: a change of clothes. His filthy garments, symbolising his sin, are taken from him, and replaced with clean robes, ‘pure vestments’ (v. 4).
This means that Satan no longer has any power over him, because his accusations are now not true. Joshua has been purified. He no longer stands before God defiled and guilty, but pure and sinless. Satan says, ‘Look at this filthy, loathsome sinner!’ And God replies, ‘Where? I can only see a man dressed in white robes, a righteous man, a priest fit to serve in my temple.’ Satan’s accusations are silenced, and so Satan’s power is broken.
This is a vivid picture of what Jesus Christ did to break Satan’s power over all his people. Just as Satan stood before God, accusing Joshua of sin, so also he accuses each of us. He stands before God brandishing a list of sins – sins of which we are all guilty. ‘Look at those people,’ he says, ‘Look! Look at their wickedness! Look at how they mistreat each other! Look at how they ignore your law! Look at how they make other gods for themselves, and ignore you, the only true God!’
But God took that list of sins out of the hand of Satan, and nailed it to the cross of Christ. The sins that God’s people have committed are the sins for which Christ died. Listen to how the apostle Paul described what happened at the cross:
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:13-15)
According to Paul, the ‘record of debt’ was cancelled. The list of sins was taken away, and was nailed ‘to the cross’. Christ died under the condemnation due to us for our sins. This means that Satan no longer has any power over God’s people. He can accuse us all he likes, but now his accusations are false. Just as Joshua stood before God dressed in pure vestments, so also we stand holy and righteous in God’s sight.
Satan’s hold over us is broken; we need not fear his accusations.
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
This is the victory of the cross.
Posted by Steve Jeffery · Topics: Bible, Easter meditations, Minister's Blog