Matthew 27:63
They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’”
Satan has been called the Great Deceiver, and so he is. He first deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden, and I’m humbled by how many times, how often, and how easily he deceives me to sin. He’s really good at it; he must have been practicing for years. So it’s a bit shocking when reading the verse above to hear the leading priests and Pharisees describe Jesus as a deceiver. Yet when I think about it, they were absolutely right! What’s more, he’s good at deceiving. Here my line of thinking:
Jesus was sent to this world by God to die and be resurrected for our sins. There had been plenty of prophesies in the Old Testament about a coming redeemer and king, but none of them were specific about how he would redeem his people. So Satan knew the Messiah was coming, and he, like everybody else, assumed that Jesus would take back God’s nation and rule as a king. (You can confirm in the New Testament that this idea was unanimously held.) But knowing that Jesus needed to die and be resurrected, God also realized that if Satan became aware of this, he (Satan) would never allowed Jesus to die because doing so would seal his (Satan’s) own defeat. So God and Jesus allowed Satan to believe a lie so that God’s plan could be fulfilled.
In fact, Jesus can be seen almost encouraging the Jewish leaders to plot against him, turning them against him by calling them names and pointing out their faults, by claiming to be the Messiah, and by winning the populace over through wonders and wisdom. This wound the leaders up so much that they plotted and succeeded in killing Jesus, thus fulfilling God’s original plan. They didn’t know it, but Jesus was never meant to be a ruler; he was sent as a sacrifice, defeating Satan and all evil forever through his death.
In essence, and here is what makes me laugh, Jesus was able to deceive Satan by telling the truth. He did not once lie about who he was or what he was here to do. Not once did he tell the Jewish leaders that he intended to reunite and rule God’s chosen people, in the political way that was expected. He told the truth about himself, but still deceived Satan into fulfilling God’s plan. So while Satan may be the Great Deceiver, but Jesus is the ULTIMATE DECEIVER! He out-foxed the fox in the greatest, most elaborate and dramatic sting operation there has ever been.
That’s why, when the leading priests and Pharisees describe Jesus as a deceiver, they’re absolutely right, and not telling a lie.
They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’”
Satan has been called the Great Deceiver, and so he is. He first deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden, and I’m humbled by how many times, how often, and how easily he deceives me to sin. He’s really good at it; he must have been practicing for years. So it’s a bit shocking when reading the verse above to hear the leading priests and Pharisees describe Jesus as a deceiver. Yet when I think about it, they were absolutely right! What’s more, he’s good at deceiving. Here my line of thinking:
Jesus was sent to this world by God to die and be resurrected for our sins. There had been plenty of prophesies in the Old Testament about a coming redeemer and king, but none of them were specific about how he would redeem his people. So Satan knew the Messiah was coming, and he, like everybody else, assumed that Jesus would take back God’s nation and rule as a king. (You can confirm in the New Testament that this idea was unanimously held.) But knowing that Jesus needed to die and be resurrected, God also realized that if Satan became aware of this, he (Satan) would never allowed Jesus to die because doing so would seal his (Satan’s) own defeat. So God and Jesus allowed Satan to believe a lie so that God’s plan could be fulfilled.
In fact, Jesus can be seen almost encouraging the Jewish leaders to plot against him, turning them against him by calling them names and pointing out their faults, by claiming to be the Messiah, and by winning the populace over through wonders and wisdom. This wound the leaders up so much that they plotted and succeeded in killing Jesus, thus fulfilling God’s original plan. They didn’t know it, but Jesus was never meant to be a ruler; he was sent as a sacrifice, defeating Satan and all evil forever through his death.
In essence, and here is what makes me laugh, Jesus was able to deceive Satan by telling the truth. He did not once lie about who he was or what he was here to do. Not once did he tell the Jewish leaders that he intended to reunite and rule God’s chosen people, in the political way that was expected. He told the truth about himself, but still deceived Satan into fulfilling God’s plan. So while Satan may be the Great Deceiver, but Jesus is the ULTIMATE DECEIVER! He out-foxed the fox in the greatest, most elaborate and dramatic sting operation there has ever been.
That’s why, when the leading priests and Pharisees describe Jesus as a deceiver, they’re absolutely right, and not telling a lie.
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