“It is finished.”
John 19:30
Humanity’s conflict with the devil goes back to the beginning. Satan tempted the man and the woman and led them into the sin that forfeited paradise. They got the knowledge of evil and came under the power of the evil one. That’s been our story ever since.
But God promised a Redeemer. He said to Satan, “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15). What a picture—the Redeemer stomping on the head of the snake. The snake bites His foot with deadly poison, and in the same act, the head of the snake is bruised.
This happened at the cross: “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Col. 2:15). At the cross, Satan was like a gambler who knew he was losing and now was forced to put everything on the table. And Jesus swept the table.
When Jesus died, He went beyond the reach of Satan. Satan could no longer tempt Him, afflict Him, or cause Him to suffer. The decisive battle with the enemy had been won.
“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” (Heb. 2:14). The Son of God became a man, fulfilled the law of God, then laid down His life as a sacrifice for us. He is able to save sinners, and Satan can do nothing to stop Him. It is finished.
Can you put it in your own words what it means that Jesus triumphed over Satan at the cross?
