Identity- Part 3: Victorious and Vindicated
The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Luke 4:3-13 (New International Version, NIV)
In this instance, satan attacked Jesus directly with words challenging who He was. Later, we see him attacking Jesus’ identity again, but in a different way.
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” Luke 23:35-39 (New International Version, NIV)
This time the devil, the accuser, attacked Jesus’ identity through the words of people and during the most difficult time of Jesus’ life. The people challenged Jesus, saying that if He was who He claimed to be, then He should save Himself. This was a more severe attack due to the fact that Jesus was in extreme pain. He was suffering and dying on the cross. The enemy always attacks the most intensely at our weakest point. At all times, we must know who we are and act on the Word of God.
In the wilderness, the devil had attacked Jesus’ authority. Jesus had already cast satan out of heaven and had authority over him in the earth. So, then satan wanted worship from Jesus- God in the flesh. The creation is to worship the Creator, not the Creator worship the creation. The devil attacked true worship, and Jesus responded by saying that we are to worship, meaning to bow down, to the Lord and serve Him only.
At the cross, the soldiers mocked Jesus, just as the devil did in the desert. They taunted Him with “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” Practically every challenge was aimed at His identity and challenging Him to prove who He was. He didn’t fall for their traps. We must let God take care of things. We don’t have to prove anything to the doubters when we know who we are and Whose we are. The mocking will eventually end and we will come through victorious. It is ironic that they posted on His cross a sign proclaiming Him to be the King of the Jews, actually confirming Who He was (and is) and a prophetic sign that all will eventually bow before Him and proclaim Him as Lord.
In the desert, the enemy tried to trick Jesus by misquoting Scripture regarding the protection of God. The devil will try to get us to do the wrong thing by misusing the Scriptures. When He was on the cross, the devil spoke through one of the thieves, a criminal, being crucified with Him. The enemy, the original criminal and the biggest thief of all, taunting Him and challenging Him to save Himself and them if he was really the Messiah. We cannot fall prey to the enemy’s tricks. We must not do foolish things to try to save ourselves. Instead, we should wait on God and He will save us. In both instances, Jesus came out the winner.
So, when satan attacks, directly or indirectly, know Who God is and that you are His child. Know His Word, speaking and standing on it, and watch God cause you to come through everything victorious and vindicated. After all that’s who you are: the victorious ones who are vindicated in Christ.
