Scripture shows that God is faithful

Easter is a time of celebration for the followers of Jesus.  What do we celebrate?  The fact that God is faithful and does what He says He will.  After Adam and Eve listened to the serpent and disobeyed God, He said, ‘And I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.’ ¹  ‘That ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan,’ ²  God’s and man’s enemy, understood that the one who will crush his head will be born of a woman.  So he set off on his efforts to make sure it will not happen.

#  Demonic intermarriages

In Genesis 6:1-9 he tried to taint the pure blood of Adam’s descendants with his demonic intermarriages.  But…Noah was a man, blameless and righteous.  The ark preserved him and his family and all the demonic offspring died in the flood.  Satan failed.

#  Drown the Israelite boys in the river Nile.

He tried to kill all the Israelite boys in Egypt.  Again, he failed, because God used Moses to lead the nation out of Egyptian slavery through the 10 plagues. ³

#  The bloodline of King David

When Athaliah, mother of king Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to kill the royal family.  One prince was saved by Jehosheba and eventually Joash was proclaimed king.  He had offspring that carried on the line of king David through whom the Messiah was to be born. ⁴  Satan failed.

#  The Jews saved by queen Esther

During the times of the Persians, Haman had a plan to destroy all the Jews.  His plan failed. ⁵  Satan failed.  God’s prophecy of Genesis 3:15 still stood.

#  Herod kills all the boys under 2 years in Bethlehem.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Satan used Herod to try to kill Him.   An angel warned Joseph to take Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt. ⁶  Satan failed.

#  Jesus’ temptations

The devil tried to kill Jesus when he suggested that He jump off the highest point of the temple.  Jesus rebuffed him. ⁷  Satan failed again although he still hoped to thwart God’s prophecy in Genesis 3:15 – ‘When the devil had finished all his tempting, he left Him until an opportune time.’ ⁸

#  The Crucifixion

That opportune time came when the Jews decided to crucify Jesus.  Did the devil love that?  He enjoyed it when Jesus went through all the various tortures.  Did he feel very smug when Jesus was finally declared dead, buried and the tomb sealed?  Sure he did.  Victory at last!

#  The Resurrection

However Satan forgot that when God promises, He surely delivers.  The promise was that the Son, born of a woman, will crush his head.  Then, on the third day, when Jesus rose from the dead, he must have had a fainting fit and banged his head against the wall in frustration (metaphorically).  He failed and Jesus won.

Conclusion

This is what we celebrate at Easter – God’s faithfulness to do what He promised.  Jesus crushed the head of the devil.  He was victorious over sin, death and the plans of the devil.  It paved the way for us to become part of the Bride of Christ, the glorious Son of God, who gives us the wonderful Holy Spirit.  We may rejoice in our King!  He deserves all the honour, glory, praise and worship.

References

1. Genesis 3:15
2. Revelation 12:9
3. Exodus 1-11
4. 2 Chronicles 22-23
5. Esther 3-9
6. Matthew 2:1-12
7. Matthew 4:5-6
8. Luke 4:13