Subtitled: The Undeceiving of
the Nations
On Palm Sunday Jesus addressed what appears
to be a mixed crowd of Jews and Greeks.
John records the events this way:
““Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I
say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this
hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have
glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and
heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the
judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I,
when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said
this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered
him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you
say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” So Jesus
said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you
have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness
does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the
light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he
departed and hid himself from them.” (John
12:27–36, ESV)
As stunning it must have been to hear the
Father's audible commendation of the Son was the commentary offered to the
crowd after this Voice broke through the cosmos. It was then that Jesus said, "Now is the judgment of this world;
now will the ruler of this world be cast out . . .." The
clarity of this statement refutes any attempt to rationalize it or marginalize
it. The Biblical record has shown us that
the wicked ruler of this world, in this state of the Fall, is Satan. What does Christ mean when He says that Satan
will be cast out?
When
examine the text we see notions of judgment, casting out and salvation/evangelism,
all within the same thought pattern. For
clarity we need to look for texts with the same pattern and hope for intelligibility. For example in John 16:8–11 (ESV), when Christ
speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit, He says,
8 And when he comes, he will
convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin,
because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning
righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning
judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."
Note
that spiritual conviction of the world is going to happen through the work of
the Spirit because "the ruler of this world is judged." In Revelation 20 we have a similar
scenario. There we read:
“And
he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and
bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and
sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until
the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little
while.” (Revelation 20:2–3, ESV)
There is a direct correlation to John 12:31 and Revelation 20:3. Both words "cast out" or ἐκβάλλω in John or the βάλλω are from the same root word; and John in both
his Gospel and in the Apocalypse associate the time of the "casting
out" with Christ being crucified on the Cross.
Dr. D.A. Carson similarly notes, "Although the cross might seem like Satan’s
triumph, it is in fact his defeat. In one sense Satan was defeated by the
outbreaking power of the kingdom of God even within the ministry of Jesus (Lk.
10:18). But the fundamental smashing of his reign of tyranny takes place in the
death/exaltation of Jesus. This is a brief statement analogous to the
apocalyptic scene in Revelation: the followers of the Lamb overcome the dragon
‘by [i.e. “on account of”] the blood of the Lamb’ (Rev. 12:11)."[1]
Aside from the futuristic debates, the passage is clear that Satan has
been rendered bound – in this sense: "he might not deceive the nations any
longer." There, the same circumstances
are being played out with the result of salvation to the nations. The Gospels are not silent of this binding of
Satan. Jesus asks the poignant
question: “Or
how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he
first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.” (Matthew
12:29, ESV). Why did Jesus come at His
first advent? “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he
himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might
destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all
those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” (Hebrews
2:14–15, ESV).
Colossians 2:15 speaks again of similar
activities associated with the Cross. “He disarmed the rulers and
authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” (Colossians
2:15, ESV). The evidence in the Gospels
and the Epistles seems clear that the work of Christ in His first advent; His
death, burial and resurrection; and His exaltation, all point to a binding of
Satan, casting him out of a position of influence, that ultimately disarmed
him, in a way that resulted in the "un-deceiving" of the nations. Dr. Sam Waldron clearly summarizes it this
way: "Satan has been definitively
restrained [Note: not in everything!]
from so blinding the minds of his subjects as to block the missionary outreach
of the church."[2]
Thus Jesus could say in His
post-resurrection commission to His disciples, “All authority in heaven and
on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations .
. ..” (Matthew 28:18–19, ESV). And
upon His ascension we have this warm and welcoming communication between the
Father and the Son recorded for us in Psalm 2:7–8 (ESV)
"7
. . . 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.'"
This truth that some
incorrectly are yet waiting for, has already taken place; and it is this reality that enables worldwide
mission today. No longer does the god of
this world have the power to deceive, but instead Christ's Church through the
proclamation of the Gospel can go forward as Paul did “to
open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the
power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place
among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” (Acts 26:18, ESV).
Let us go, preach and pray, with confidence.
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